Michael Jackson - Thriller

Making Connections Within a Song to Strengthen Its Structure

When we talk about “making connections within a song”, we’re usually talking about finding ways to have, let’s say, some characteristics of your verse show up in other sections of your song — your chorus, or perhaps pre-chorus or bridge. For example, there is a noticeable connection between the initial verse idea and the start […]

Singer-Songwriter

Using Your Own Good Songs as Models For Your Next Good Ones

If you like starting songs by working with a chord progression, you need to read “Writing a Song From a Chord Progression.” It will give you the pros and cons of this songwriting method, and help you create songs that really work! Many years ago I was a band teacher for a junior high school. […]

Books and music

Remembering the Best Songs You’ve Ever Heard

For most good songs in the pop genres, getting a hook working properly is vital. “Hooks and Riffs: How They Grab Attention, Make Songs Memorable, and Build Your Fan Base” shows you how hooks have made the world’s top songs successful. If you’ve not ever kept a songwriter’s journal, I highly recommend that you start. […]

Guitarist - songwriter

Writing Songs That Are Less Predictable

Every singer-songwriter has an identifiable style, but what does that word style actually refer to? For the most part, your own “style” refers to the performance and production that listeners hear when they listen to your songs. You can take practically any song and move it firmly into one genre or another just by adjusting the way […]

Cool W.A. Mozart

Using Ideas From Mozart to Improve Your Songwriting Process

Once in a while I like to see what I can find out about how famous composers of classical music actually composed. I find myself wondering: Is there anything today’s songwriters can learn from their process? Get this eBook FREE when you purchase “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting”10-eBook Bundle package. Eleven songwriting manuals for $37 USD! In the […]

Writing great song lyrics

What to Do About Disorganized Song Lyrics

Most song lyrics tell a story, but not usually in the “first this happened and then that happened” way. They largely resemble having a conversation with someone, a conversation where your side is frequently the only side that gets heard. “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle” covers every aspect of how to write great […]