Posts by Marty Dodson

Someone pointed out this weekend that my posts often have as much to do with life as they do with songwriting. That made me think, and I realized that it’s probably because songwriting is just a reflection of life. So many of the principles we talk about in our posts and the answers we give are really just…

The biggest songwriting question that every songwriter I know struggles with is “Do I have what it takes?”  I’ve asked myself that one hundreds of times.  So have Clay and every other pro songwriter I know. So, if you’ve ever looked in the mirror and asked that hopeful songwriter staring back at you that question,…

These are 5 songwriting tips that you might not have thought of. Over the course of my pro songwriting career I have picked up many such tips but these are my top 5 to share with you today! Your songwriting rhyme scheme helps the listener keep up with where they are in the song. You…

Music has the power to move us, to stir our emotions, and to compel us to take action. Yet, many songwriters struggle with a common challenge: creating songs that are technically sound but fail to resonate emotionally with listeners. In today’s digital age, where streaming platforms dominate and 100,000+ songs a day are uploaded, the…

I’m a big believer in positive thinking. Here are some positive thoughts for songwriters that can help keep you moving forward and help you enjoy the journey. 1) The only person I have to beat is me. If I continually work at writing a better song than I wrote yesterday, then I will someday be…

Songwriting mentors can help you avoid huge mistakes… I am a huge believer in finding a songwriting mentor.  My songwriting mentors helped me avoid so many mistakes and they cut years off the learning curve I would have experienced if I had to figure out everything on my own.  Little statements from my mentors still…

I spent the first 2/3 of my life to date living in fear. Fear of failure. Fear of risk. Fear of conflict. Fear of performing or speaking in public. Fear of God striking me down if I misbehaved. The list goes on an on. And, around that 2/3 mark, I noticed that those fears began…