Posts by Clay Mills
Job #1 As A Songwriter… Do Your Job!
Last week in a mentoring session I was offering tips to help a young writer understand a songwriter’s #1 job. One of the demos had an extremely long guitar solo after the first chorus. I suggested that: #1- Guitar solos typically are after the 2nd chorus and not the first. #2- The solo was so…
Read MoreVerses Need Hooks Too! #Songwriting Hacks
Video Summary: Today more than ever, it’s not enough that your song has a great catchy chorus. In the modern world you must pull the listener into your song and keep them listening. To do that you need to remember verses need hooks too! We’ve put together a video lesson that covers these and much…
Read MoreSongwriting: The Art Of Choosing
Where should I take the second verse? Should I switch to first person? What is the chorus missing? Is my set-up line better using the opposite technique? Songwriting choices. Many are conscious, and many are made so fast we don’t realize we’ve made them. But, no song can be written without making choices. Many writers…
Read MoreYour Ticket Into The Music Business: Writing Better Songs
Marty Dodson and I spend a lot of time preaching the gospel of “writing better songs.” Each time we blog about the power of a great song, we inevitably get several emphatic comments stating something like this: “I have lots of great songs, but I don’t have the connections you guys have!” While this is…
Read MoreMastering Co-writing: Strategies to Overcome Obstacles and Avoid Breakups
Cowriting songs can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to end in a breakup. Clay Mills & Marty Dodson share strategies to overcome obstacles and avoid breakups when writing music together. Learn from real co-writing scenarios and master the art of collaboration! Adding More Heart To Your Songs : Online CrashCourse Change the way the…
Read MoreHow To Write Commercial Songs – Without Selling Your Soul
Often songwriters in our SongTown classes ask, “How do I write commercial songs without selling out?” They are writers who would like to have commercial success and hear one of their songs on the radio or an album. But they want to know how to accomplish this and still be true to themselves. They…
Read MoreExercising The Songwriting Muscle
My very first publisher used to read me this quote. Over the years it has always served as a constant reminder to keep my songwriting muscle in shape…. “Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers,…
Read MoreThe Loop/Keys/Vocal Worktape
Hit Songwriter Clay Mills is a ten-time ASCAP awards winning songwriter/producer, penning #1 hits for Darius Rucker (“Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”), Diamond Rio (“Beautiful Mess”), and Kimberley Locke (“Fall”). Along the way collecting Grammy Nominations for “Beautiful Mess” and Trisha Yearwood’s “Heaven Heartache and the Power of Love”. Clay has had over…
Read MoreSongTown – The Power Of Community For Songwriters
When I first started writing songs I was obsessed with listening to records. Songs and sound just turned me on. I was thoroughly engrossed with my favorite artist. I read books about Bob Dylan, I read liner notes and interviews with the Eagles. Deep down, I felt I was part of their world through their…
Read MoreSongwriters: Are You Using The Power Of Metadata?
Let’s talk about a powerful tool that I use daily in my songwriting life, Metadata. Metadata is the key to mastering your song catalog and making better pitches. It organizes your songs and helps you target with what they’re looking for. And most importantly, when you send your song to a publisher or producer or…
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