First, a Bit of Basic Theory… For any given major key, there are 7 chords that occur naturally, one built on each note of the scale. In the key of C major, that gives you these chords: C Dm Em F G Am Bdim According to the very popular HookTheory website, the 3 most commonly […]
There’s a very fine line between good and bad when it comes to songwriting. Your songs may keep missing the mark, but you could be very close to songwriting excellence. “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBooks will help clean up your technique and make you the best songwriter you can be. It could be argued that the […]
There’s a little trick I use when I’m having one of those days where it seems I’m getting nothing done. It works best at the times in my life when I feel that I have nothing to show for how busy my day seems to be: I put the simplest, easiest tasks into my daily […]
The closer you are to finishing a song, the less likely you are to experiment with radical changes. At the start of your process, you might change chords, try different lyrics, and even change the melody. But as your song nears completion, the changes you might try are usually small ones. The song feels “set”, […]
After decades of love songs, guess what still sells? Love songs. There’s something about love that people still want to hear about. Yes, your audience still wants to feel you tug at their heartstrings. And what’s strange — maybe even bizarre — is that you don’t really have to say much of anything unique on the […]
In a movement from a classical symphony, the music isn’t divided up into verses and choruses as is typical for pop songs. You’re more likely to see reference to sections called “1st theme”, “2nd theme”, “transition”, “development”, “coda”, and so on. With pop songs, you get a definite feeling that the basic energy of the music changes […]
