How Important is Perfect Pitch?

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:   You’ve probably seen the ads in magazines and newspapers that promise to help you develop perfect pitch. They’re talking about the ability to identify a note just by listening to it. Most musicians don’t have this skill, and the real question is, how important is it?   It’s […]

Good Songs Must Capture the Listener Right Away

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:   For your song to be successful, it needs to capture the listeners’ attention right away, and really make an impact. If it doesn’t, it won’t sell, and it’s as simple as that.   There are three aspects of a song that rise above the others in importance: the […]

Australian Songwriters Association Sponsors "Wax Lyrical" Events

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:   The Australian Songwriters Association is providing a stage for newbie and professional songwriters to present their songs and poetry. “Wax Lyrical” offers 15 minutes of performance time, after which the audience is encouraged to write comments, which are then forwarded to the performers.   “At Wax Lyricals, artists can […]

Finding the Right Chords, Part 2

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:   Any melody you come up with will be able to be harmonized in a variety of different ways. And that’s a good thing. It would be a very boring exercise if there was only one possibility for matching chords with melody notes. In the previous article we came […]

Finding the Right Chords

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:   In the previous article, I discussed strong and fragile chord progressions, and the need to have both in your songs. But how do you actually choose the chords? How do you know which chords go with the key of your song? And how to you get them […]

Publishing Your Own Music

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: There’s something to be said for publishing your own music. Doing so is easier than you might think. It requires very little financial outlay to get it set up. It usually means setting up what’s termed a “sole proprietorship” – an unincorporated company. They’re quite easy to set up, […]