I write with a number of young songwriters and I can’t count the times that I have referenced an older song (80’s or 90’s) and discovered that they had never heard the song and in many cases, had never heard of the artist either. This isn’t shocking to me –...
Your songwriting rhyme scheme helps the listener keep up with where they are in the song. You want to keep the rhyme scheme consistent across all of the verses and consistent across all of the choruses if the choruses change. Not doing so makes the listener feel unsettled. Your hook or title...
A couple of weeks ago in New York City, I found myself doing some things I never dreamed of doing. In fact, I never set out to do them. They just needed to be done and I was the only one in the room who had the skill set to...
Now that a number of SongTownians are getting songs pitched and some of them are being put on 'hold', I wanted to talk about what a hold means and how to act when you get one. First of all - what is a hold? A hold is when an artist or...
From time to time, we like to remind people what SongTown is all about. Just in case you haven't heard of our little "town", here's the rundown: SongTown is a community of songwriters from all across the globe who want to learn to write better songs. Our mantra in SongTown is that...
In many ways, I am the least likely person to become a hit songwriter. I grew up with serious self-esteem issues. I've always been short and was self-conscious about it most of my life. I was never popular in school. I am painfully shy and introverted. I grew up...
I believe that it’s never too late to be what you might have been. I was in my mid thirties when I started trying to write professionally. A friend of mine just landed a starring role (Her first) in a movie with some HUGE actors at age 49. I...
In the ever changing world of the music business, many terms get thrown around in ways that are confusing. If you are interested in playing in the "big leagues" as a "pro" writer, it's important to know what people in the music business are talking about when they use...
From time to time, someone asks me "What are the odds of getting a cut?" In my mind, what they are really asking is "Is this even worth trying?" I'm going to suggest here that this is the wrong approach to dream chasing of any form. Let me put it to...
One of the biggest "ailments" I see when I mentor songwriters is that they are writing WAY too many ballads. It seems like many of us default to slow songs. While a well written ballad can be very successful and meaningful, there are also many reasons it is NOT a great...