A number of years ago I wrote a blog article called “Pop Songs: What Checking the Fossil Record Can Do For Us“. In that post, I made a comparison between how Gregorian Chant (the music of the early Christian church of about A.D. 500) bore certain similarities to the way melodies are written today. You may […]
As a songwriter, it wouldn’t be unusual to devote a lot of time to thinking about how to make your audience happy. You’re probably opting for fast tempos, major chords, and lyrics with an upbeat message. But you might be missing something: the positive effect that writing sad music can have on your audience. In 2013 […]
I use the word “fragile” when talking about certain kinds of chord progressions. “Fragile” usually means that the tonic chord less than obvious. In that context, here’s a list of chord progression characteristics that might result in a “fragile” progression: “Fragile” may mean that it uses a lot of chords that don’t exist naturally in the song’s key. For […]
I want to wish all of you, my loyal readers and followers, a heartfelt Happy New Year! I hope 2016 is the best year yet, and I hope you double your fan base! 🙂 And if you’re serious about pulling out the stops and making 2016 your best year yet as a songwriter, here are 3 points […]
As a student of music composition at university, I did a good amount of writing for music ensembles of every configuration. Orchestras, string quartets, choirs, guitar ensembles… I loved the challenges that writing for these groups presented. Some pieces I wrote were short, but in modern day “classical” music, it wasn’t unusual to write multi-movement pieces […]
Do you ever feel that your songs aren’t making an emotional connection to your listeners? Making audiences feel something when they hear your music is a crucial part of success. With every song that you write, most of the following four statements need to be true: You’ve written about personal experiences. You’ve written about people, places […]
