Guitar - songwriting

How Long Should It Take To Write a Good Song?

It’s understandable to get a bit worried if you find that, after weeks of working away on a song, you’re still not finished. You might find that every time you fix one thing, something else sounds a bit off, and the cycle of editing keeps going on and on. As a songwriter, you’ve no doubt […]

Piano & Guitar

5 Random Songwriting Tips For the Song You Can’t Finish

“It’s finished, but it just doesn’t sound right, and I can’t tell what’s wrong.“ Is that a familiar feeling? You’re not suffering from writer’s block — it’s more that even though your latest song is finished, it’s just missing something. The energy isn’t there, or the melody sounds scattered, or the chords aren’t working, or… you get […]

Singer

How to Know If a Song Needs a Bridge

You could make a case for saying that no song needs a bridge, in the sense that there are other solutions at your disposal. Here’s what I mean by that: One of the most important characteristics of any song is contrast. Audiences need to be able to hear some difference between, say, the verse and the chorus, however […]

Non-singing songwriter

Building an Audience For Your Songs If You’re a Non-Singer

It’s hard to build audiences for songs, if you mean sending your songs “out there” for others to hear and appreciate, and then building a fan base for yourself that way. Songs on their own, standing simply on their own strength, may be excellent, and producers might build their careers around finding great songs. But audiences usually […]

The Knack

About Those Songs That Don’t Seem to Have a Catchy Shape

If you ask someone what they like about a song melody that they love, they’ll usually mention one or more of the following: It’s got a nice contour that explores a large range, from low to high. It’s got a moment (the so-called climactic moment) that acts as a point of focus for the entire tune. […]

songwriting

Making Sure Your Song Has a Clear Message

If you find lyrics hard to write, there could be many issues at play. In general, when I hear someone complain that their lyrics sound “lame”, or “like garbage”, there’s often a problem that’s not immediately noticeable: Weak lyrics often lack focus or a clear message. There are lots of other problems you might encounter when trying […]