Psychologically speaking, there are two ways to approach songwriting; you can be the kind of person who assumes you’ve got it wrong, or the kind of person who assumes you’ve got it right. Most of the time, your songwriting process relies greatly on improvisation and testing ideas as you go. When you create something — […]
Here’s an alternative to always thinking in the verse-chorus format: try creating three short melodic fragments, all in the same key, and then putting them together to create a complete song. Don’t worry or think about which one is the verse or chorus. If you want a real example of what I’m talking about, you […]
Innovative, unique chord progressions are tricky, because in most pop songs the chords have an important function: provide a simple way — a musical path or road, so to speak — to move away from the tonic chord and then back again. It really is that simple. “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook bundle includes “Writing a Song […]
If you wish that your songs had better lyrics, and you’re actively working on improving that aspect of your songwriting, that is definitely time well spent. Meaningful, powerful lyrics will likely be studied and admired long after practically any other element of songs. In the writing of more poignant lyrics, it’s worth noting that meaning and meaningful […]
You’ll wind up with a better song if you’re willing to experiment and change the things you’ve written. You like to think of your song as being kind of like your “baby” — you’re willing to accept it, warts and all. But before you fall irretrievably in love with your song, experimenting by changing bits […]
Any creative activity requires the brain to be generating new ideas spontaneously. As a songwriter, you know that there are days when that feels easy and natural, and other days when it feels impossible. There is debate over whether or not it’s good to force yourself to write, even on the days you don’t want […]
