We know that melodies that just aimlessly wander will kill a song by making them impossible for listeners to remember. Obviously, songs need a captivating contour in order to be successful. Part of that contour is the placement of a climactic high point. This is a part of the melody that seems to be a […]
A verse needs to progress in such a way as to make the chorus feel like the next logical step. By this I mean that verse lyrics, melody and chords should be constructed to build certain tensions that are then resolved in the chorus. But sometimes, moving from the verse to the chorus can seem […]
In songwriting, you really only get a few seconds to impress the listener enough to make them want to keep listening. If you haven’t done something that captivates them within the first 7 – 10 seconds, you’ll lose them. It’s why intros can be such an important section, and require some serious thought. If all […]
Coming up with a chord progression that works is not rocket science, but if you don’t get things quite right, you’ll wind up with a song that just feels wrong. Many songwriters will start the songwriting process by coming up with a set of chords that work before they even deal with the melody. But […]
Momentum in the songwriting world comes from the sense that whatever is happening in the song right now is about to get better; whatever questions are being asked are about to be answered; whatever tension is being created harmonically is about to be resolved, and so on. Momentum, otherwise known as song energy or forward motion, […]
Why is it that I hear the term “killer chord progression” all the time, but I hardly ever hear anyone talk about a “killer melody.” Frankly, as long as your chord progression merely works, you’ve got something that can produce a hit song. But melodies – they have to do more than work. They need […]
