The Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, and Vocal Harmonies

There are many songs that use the same or similar melody for the chorus as is used for the verse. It works if you’ve come up with a good, hooky sort of melody. But using a similar melody presents you with a problem: how do you make sure that you don’t simply bore your listeners […]

Shontelle's "Impossible": Why It Works

Written by Gary Ewer, Senior Instructor, Dalhousie University, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. • Follow Gary on Twitter • Check out “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle ______________________ Bajan singer Shontelle is releasing her second album, “No Gravity”, in June of this year. Her first single from that album is a great […]

Creating Melodies with Symmetrical Patterns

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 constructed of repeating patterns are usually the easiest melodies to remember, so if writing hit songs is of interest to you, you’ll want to be sure that […]

The Basics of the Melody- Verse, Pre-chorus, Chorus and Beyond

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. The difference between a hit song and a failing song is usually one small snag. Turn your songs into winners with these songwriter’s instructional e-books. Get them now! _________ A great melody is hard to define; no melody operates independently of the lyric or […]

Composing from the Chorus Backwards

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. _____________ It’s not unusual for songwriters to get the chorus of their new song working before any other section. After all, it’s the hooky part that often coalesces before the other sections become apparent. But once you’ve got that great hook, how do you work backwards […]

Invert Melodic Shapes: Create a Connection Between Verse and Chorus

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” suite of 6 e-books shows you how to write great songs. (His newest e-book, “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting- Chord Progression Formulas” is being offered for free when you purchase any other of his songwriting e-books.) Let these six e-books […]