Creating Musical Ideas

How Your Song’s Chorus Should Differ From Your Verse

Don’t be surprised if most of the time you start your songwriting process by working on getting the chorus happening first. For most of your listeners, your song will be defined by what’s happening in the chorus; it’s the chorus that really needs to shine. Songwriters are very familiar with the chorus hook, but there are […]

Peter Frampton

Switching From Major to Minor in a Song Isn’t Common, But Has a Powerful Effect

Songs are our best teachers, but what if you can’t tell WHY some songs work so well? “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 10-eBook Bundle reveals eleven important principles of songwriting, and how they show up in practically every song ever written. Immediate download. If you’re planning to write a song that contrasts major and minor […]

Recording Studio

The Job of a Good Performer is NOT to Fix Your Song

If you ever needed a reminder that the excellence of music in the pop genres (or any genre) starts with the quality of the song, you need to listen to this great interview/discussion of music on the “Professional Musicians React” YouTube channel. In that video (“This bassist has played on over 2000 ALBUMS!!!“), bassist Leland Sklar, […]

Faith Hill

Moving a Chorus Range Up an Octave For Musical Power

Back in 2000, Faith Hill had the number 1 country tune and pop single of the year with “Breathe” (Stephanie Bentley, Holly Lamar). It’s hard to believe that it’s been twenty-one years since that song hit the charts! “Breathe” is a great example of a song where the range of the chorus notes is approximately […]

guitar - keyboard - headphones

The Songwriter’s Rut: You’ve Always Got Tomorrow

There is a kind of rule of life that most of us are familiar with: that the time it takes to complete a job expands to fill the time allotted to it. In short, if you give yourself a week to finish a task, it will take a week. If you like starting songs by […]

Song instrumental

What a Bridge Might Look Like In Your Song

The bridge of a song typically happens after the second chorus. There are lots of reasons you might use a bridge: To introduce a new melody. To introduce a new key area. To complete the lyric (where the bridge is followed by chorus repeats.) To extend the length of your song. Most of the time, […]