3 Powerful Activities Guaranteed to Improve Your Musical Ear

If you’ve got a bit of a tin ear, it doesn’t mean you’re unmusical. Try these tips for improving your aural skills. _____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and solve your songwriting problems TODAY. _____________ The ability to identify and label musical sounds is a very sophisticated activity. Just think about it: you listen to […]

Songwriting Challenge: Can You Write a Melody That Uses Only 2 Notes?

Putting a limit on one song element forces you to think hard – about everything else. __________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle. Become the best songwriter you can be! __________________ Here’s an interesting challenge. Can you write a song melody that uses only 2 pitches? A few years ago, while I was teaching a […]

How Tempo Affects Your Song's Melodies

Great songs SELL! – Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle and START WRITING GREAT SONGS! __________________ Following guidelines as you write songs can help you keep on track, and minimize the possibility of your song “failing.” But truth be told, it’s hard to come up with rules and regulations that guarantee the success of a […]

What's the Difference Between a Hook and a Motif?

Written by Gary Ewer, Senior Instructor, Dalhousie University, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. • Follow Gary on Twitter • “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle is available now at a 50% savings! ________________________________ A motif is a musical idea that keeps recurring throughout a song. This may be a rhythmic fragment, it might […]

How Many Notes Does a Good Melody Need?

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. FOLLOW GARY ON TWITTER Find Your Songwriting Breakthrough – Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” _______________ Melodies are confusing little beasts. Just when you’re convinced that a good melody requires a nice contour, taking the listener through an octave-and-a-half journey, along comes a Bob Dylan […]