Where Have I Heard This Before? 6 Ways to Avoid Accidental Plagiarism

With only 7 notes in common use for any major or minor key, you’d think that the possibility of accidentally plagiarizing someone else’s song would be commonplace. How many ways can you rearrange notes to come up with something truly unique? I’m sure some mathematician can come up with an actual answer for that, but […]

Tom Petty

When Your Song Sounds Too Much Like Another One

Yesterday I wrote about how to take old melodies and make new ones. The end result should be a song that bears no resemblance whatsoever to the original tune, and that’s the intent. That method should allow your own creativity to make something entirely new out of something old. Having said that, unintentional plagiarism is […]

5 Ways to Know If You’ve Accidentally Plagiarized Someone Else’s Song

Here’s a list of 5 easy things to try if you think you may have mistakenly copied someone else’s song. What do you use your iPad for? Why not let it help you improve your songwriting skills? Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 10-eBook Bundle, and increase your song’s HIT potential. For desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone, or any other mobile PDF-reading device. You’d think that […]

Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams Copy a Feel, And Get Nailed

Can you plagiarize the feel of a song? The jury in the “Blurred Lines” case seems to think so. _____________ “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle (plus a FREE copy of “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro”) is written by Gary Ewer, designed to straighten out your technique and get you writing better songs. ______________________ […]

Improving a Songwriter’s Imagination

Thinking beyond the world of songwriting gives you the best chance to improve your imagination. _____________ Get “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook Bundle packages for your laptop, desktop, iPad, and any other PDF-reading device you own. The 10-eBook Deluxe Bundle is on sale at a discount price. Read more.. _____________ Any time a work of art […]

Deliberately Sounding Like Your Songwriting Hero

Always afraid you’re copying other songwriters? Why not try it as a songwriting technique? “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 10-eBook Bundle comes with this 11th FREE eBOOK: “Use Your Words! Developing a Words-First Songwriting Process”. Back when I was a composition student, my favourite composers were Maurice Ravel and Charles Ives. Many are familiar with Ravel’s music, […]