Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website Follow Gary on Twitter It takes more than a good chord progression to make a song work. That’s because the best progressions in the songwriting world are the ones that stay out of the way of the rest of the song. And you’ve got […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: Many songwriters start the writing process by coming up with a chord progression, and then try to create a melody that works with it. The problem with this approach can be that the melody lacks shape, as the importance is placed on the progression first. […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: Looking to write a song, but stuck at the chord progression stage? Here are some you can try: i) Asus A Bm E F#m D Bm7 C# This one has a few interesting twists. We’re used to starting progressions on the tonic chord, but this […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: Did you know that chord progressions are not protected by copyright? That’s mainly because, try as you might, you can’t find an original progression. And if you can, it probably stinks. 😉 Not because you can’t write good progressions, but the good ones have likely […]
___________________________ I wish more songwriters would do the melody-first method. Coming up with the melody after endless strumming of chords can often result in a tune that is directionless and uninspiring. What probably scares writers off of writing a melody first is… how do you harmonize it? Getting a bit of understanding with regard to […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: Songwriters are always looking for ways to be more creative with chords. Some of the best ways involve simple modifications, and chord inversions offer great bang for the buck. You may know the term “inversion” by another term: “slash chords.” What it means is that […]
