Ray Charles

The Importance of Silencing Your Inner Critic

You can learn as much about songwriting by listening to bad songs as you can by listening to good ones. And that applies to your own songwriting efforts. In the pop genres, there is something to be said for getting something written as quickly as possible, and then try to figure out if it’s any good. […]

Guitarist - Singer - Songwriter

How Pretending Can Help Your Songwriting Process

I’ve seen a quote online, attributed to James Taylor, that goes, “I started being a songwriter pretending I could do it, and it turned out I could.” It’s worth thinking about that statement, because there’s a positive aspect to it, pertaining to one’s basic zeal for songwriting: “If I just dive in, acting as if […]

Guitarist - Songwriter

The Problem With Stream of Consciousness Lyric-Writing

Let’s say that you’re working out a lyric that tries to explain to your listeners how you’re feeling about some aspect of your life. It might be that you’re going through a rough patch, let’s say, and you want the audience to feel something of what you’re facing. So the lyrics come to you quickly […]

Stream of Consciousness

How Stream of Consciousness Writing Helps Songwriters

Stream of consciousness writing means to put down your thoughts as they occur to you – literally a continuous stream of thoughts, ideas, opinions in as close to real time as you can get. One of the most interesting (some might say negative) characteristics of stream of consciousness is the fact that there is no time […]

Improving a Songwriter’s Imagination

Thinking beyond the world of songwriting gives you the best chance to improve your imagination. _____________ Get “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook Bundle packages for your laptop, desktop, iPad, and any other PDF-reading device you own. The 10-eBook Deluxe Bundle is on sale at a discount price. Read more.. _____________ Any time a work of art […]