Posts by Marty Dodson
The 3 Most Important Lines In a Song (Amateur Songwriters Miss These!)
In this week’s SongTown Songwriting Podcast episode, multi-hit songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson, break down the 3 most important lines in a Song. Master these 3 concepts and you will instantly be writing better songs! Clay & Marty’s 10-day video series: This video series will help you level-up your songs and finish them faster. CLICK…
Read MoreThe Songwriter’s Pitch To Publisher Checklist
There’s an art to a songwriter’s pitch to publisher opportunities. You can avoid many of the mistakes I made early on if you do these things when you get a chance to pitch to a publisher. 1. Before you even agree to the meeting, ask yourself “Are my songs REALLY radio/recording artist ready? Are…
Read MoreDon’t Be This Co-Writer: Mistakes Every Songwriter Should Avoid When Co-writing
Early on in my songwriting career I had enough bad/weird co-writing experiences that I acquired vast database of material to draw from for co-writing no-no’s. So here is my list of things NOT TO DO in a co-write… 1. Write down ideas that your co-writers throw out so you can use them later. When you throw out…
Read More7 Ways To Get Inspired To Write Songs (Never Run Out Of Ideas!)
In this episode multi-hit writers Clay Mills & Marty Dodson share their top 7 ways that pro songwriters get inspired to write songs. Say goodbye to writer’s block forever. Clay & Marty’s 10-day video series: This video series will help you level-up your songs and finish them faster. CLICK HERE to begin! SongTown Press Books: Mastering Melody…
Read More5 Things I Wish My Amateur Songwriting Self Had Known
If I could go back and mentor my younger songwriting self, I could help him avoid a lot of the disappointments he experienced and help him succeed much faster. So, I thought I’d share some of the wisdom I would give to him with you. Here we go: It takes a LONG time to become…
Read MoreSongwriting And Life: Lessons That Apply To Both
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…
Read MoreHow To Build Your SongWriting Team (7 Pro Tips)
Multi-hit/Grammy nominated songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson share their top strategies on how to build your songwriting team for success. To reach most songwriting goals, you need a team – let’s get yours rolling! Clay & Marty’s 10-day video series: This video series will help you level-up your songs and finish them faster. CLICK HERE to…
Read More“Do I Have What It Takes?” The Songwriter’s Million Dollar Question
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,…
Read More10 WRONG Things Amateur Songwriters Focus On
This week on the SongTown Songwriting Podcast, multi-hit writers Clay Mills and Marty Dodson reveal 10 common mistakes that hold amateur songwriters back. Discover how to share your truth in a way that connects with artists—and moves audiences. Adopting the pro mindset can take your songwriting skills to the next level! Clay & Marty’s 10-day…
Read More5 Songwriting Tips You Might Not Have Thought Of
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…
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