Using Observation to Write Better Song Melodies

Melodies and lyrics are the two components of any song that must be unique. Song titles, chord progressions, rhythms… they can all have been heard before, and probably have. But melodies, if they share more than a few notes in a row with some other song, are said to have been plagiarized. Because every melody needs to […]

Synth keyboard/band rehearsal

How Long It Takes To Finish a Song

Writing great songs doesn’t need to be a random occurrence. There are things you can and should be doing to improve your songwriting consistency. Get “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 10-eBook Bundle, and FREE copy of “Creative Chord Progressions” For some songwriters, starting the song is the easy part; continuing the process after that is […]

Piano and guitar - songwriting process

Why So Many Songwriters Start By Working Out Chords

The basic mood your songs convey is one of the most important aspects of songwriting. Before anyone figures out even what your song is about, they can pick up a mood pretty quickly. And the one element that often conveys mood quicker than any other is the chord progression. That, in a nutshell, is why so many songwriters […]

What Songwriters Can Learn From Golf and the People Who Play It

I don’t play golf, but I know a few people who do. My general feeling about it is that I rarely hear anyone talk about the pleasure they get from the game. It’s always about their low level of ability and their general frustration with that. It almost seems that for weekend golfers, no one is deriving […]

Guitarist - Songwriter

How to Use Chord Inversions (“Slash Chords”) – Plus 6 Examples

Every chord has contains at least 3 notes: C uses C-E-G; Dm uses D-F-A; Em uses E-G-B, and so on. Some chords contain more than 3. For example, G7 has the 3 notes that make up the “triad” part: G-B-D, and then a 7th on top, making it a 4-note chord: G-B-D-F. The root of a chord is the note represented by […]

Singer - Band Rehearsal

Here’s Why Your Song’s Pre-Chorus Isn’t Working

It’s easy to understand why a song uses verses and choruses. The chorus tells the listener the essence of the song. The verse explains the situation behind the emotions of the chorus. That part is usually pretty cut-&-dried. But there are other miscellaneous sections your songs might use. And a commonly-used section (also a commonly-misunderstood […]