You may not know the song “Comme d’habitude“, written by French songwriters Claude François and Jacques Revaux, but you’ll no doubt know “My Way,” a big hit for Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and others. Paul Anka acquired the rights to the melody (for $1), and then penned a new English lyric that brought the song to […]
There are several different kinds of hooks you might find in the song, but they all do essentially the same thing: they all give the listener something catchy, something singable, and something that will bring them back to the song. So no matter where your main hook appears (chorus, intro, backing accompaniment, etc. ) here […]
We tend to think of dissatisfaction as being a negative trait. That word conjures up notions of being unhappy and defeatist. Certainly to be dissatisfied comes hand-in-hand with being a bit unhappy. But I would make the point that unless you’re dissatisfied, it’s hard to improve as a songwriter. We might be tempted to use […]
If you spend any time at all comparing verse and chorus melodies, you’ll notice right away that verses often centre in on one or two pitches. And it may not be that they sing those one or two constantly, but you’ll hear everything coming back, over and over again, to those couple of notes. A […]
After almost 8 years of doing a blog, I’ve decided to take the plunge and switch to a new self-hosted version. For many of you, you likely got to this page by being redirected from an old WordPress link. And if you’re new here, welcome! My new blog address is https://www.secretsofsongwriting.com. So if you have […]
I recently wrote an article for SongBay that discussed ways in which the chords you choose can work hand-in-hand with your lyrics, and actually enhance their meaning. Getting words and chords working together makes for a more meaningful experience for your audience. Along the same lines, there are things you can be doing as you […]
