Yesterday during a mentoring session I was asked the question, “When did you decide to be a songwriter/musician?” I thought about it a couple of moments and realized it was never a conscious decision. It was more like music made me. Music made me a musician by always being there. When everything...
Co-writing: The art of sharing your heartfelt ideas with another person and trusting the two of you will create songwriting magic. This can be tremendously rewarding and often frustrating. But there are some guidelines to make this experience more often than not a great one. If Moses came down from the...
One of the most noticeable style shifts in songwriting over the last few years is the emergence of chorus-like hooks in verses. For the longest time, if you had a memorable and “hit” sing-a-long chorus you were golden. Your chances of finding an audience for your songs were pretty good. Even...
What’s one songwriting component that separates the promising newbie songwriter from the seasoned pro? How much punch the chorus packs. Specifically, when the chorus hits, does it impact the listener? This is one of the main things I work on with writers in my SongTown Melody MasterClasses. Often their choruses show...
The Melancholy Chord Substitution. I’ve been blessed to get away with some interesting chord changes over the course of my songwriting career. Those songs found their way onto pop and country mainstream radio—two formats that, right or wrong, have a rap for simple chords. Whether it was sneaking in a...
Over the weekend someone tagged me in a Facebook thread that had over 500 comments debating heatedly over whether or not a lyricist was an actual "songwriter"... All I can say is who cares? I don't mean that in a harsh way....
SongTown - A no "Guru" zone for songwriters... At SongTown, we've been pretty protective of our songwriting community. It's a private community of some of the best up and coming songwriters around. Marty Dodson and I started it 8 years ago to help grow aspiring writers into...
This is my Songwriter's Holiday Reflection This holiday season, I find myself looking back and remembering people that have been an important part of my life. The winter holidays are a wonderful time for cultivating gratitude. Looking back, there have been people who have been there for me since day...
I have received several emails this week asking about the best approach to recording song demos. There are many things that have changed over the last year since I first blogged about this. Here are a few questions to consider when demoing your songs. 1. Who will be listening?...
"I've got nothing to write a song about today." I remember standing outside Darius Rucker's tour bus saying these words over the phone to a friend. She had just asked me what I was going to write with Darius that day. Here I was outside Chicago, having flown there to...