Posts by Marty Dodson
Songwriters: How To Increase Your Chances If You Live Outside A Music Center
As a mentor and coach, I am often helping many songwriters that don’t live in a music town. Here are my ideas for increasing your chances of success as a songwriter if you live outside a music center: 1) Visit as often as you can. Even if it’s just once a year. Some wisely planned…
Read MoreWe Wrote 15,000 Songs (Here’s What We Learned)
Multi-hit songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson have written 15,000 songs over their careers. These are the most important keys they’ve learned for writing great songs and hit songs. 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 MoreMelody Hacks For Lyricist Songwriters
I have been primarily a lyricist for almost 25 years. To survive that long in the music business, I have had to stretch my boundaries to come up with ways to evolve my lyric writing along with changing music landscapes. Over those years, I’ve developed what I like to think of as melody hacks for…
Read MoreWhat Makes A Song Great?
I’m often asked the question, “What makes a song great?” So, here are the answers, in my opinion: A great song will usually be relatable and relevant many years after it was written. So let’s take a look at what makes a song great… A great song connects with people. Timeless songs connect to millions of…
Read MoreIs Songwriting A Dream or A Plan?
In a mentoring session the other day I was helping a young songwriter who felt like she was really floundering around in pursuit of her dream. She talked about how frustrating it was to tell whether or not she was making progress and how difficult it is to tell what she should be doing differently…
Read MoreYou’re Only As Good As Your Next Song
I read an article with Adele after she had broken the record for the biggest debut for an album ever. She was asked why it took her 4 years to come out with a new album. She had recorded more than another album’s worth of songs in the meantime and scrapped all of it to…
Read More5 Ways To Improve Your Songwriting Instantly
There are some simple steps you can take to improve your songwriting instantly. Try these steps to see a dramatic improvement overnight: 1- Write with someone who is strong where you are weak. Years ago, my mentor told me to identify my strengths (honestly) and to let him know what I thought I was world class…
Read MoreWhat NOT To Do While Co-Writing (The Worst Songwriting Fails)
Multi-hit songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson share epic cowriting fails. With over 10,000 co-writing sessions between them they have seen it all… and it’s not all good! Don’t make these mistakes! 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…
Read MoreWe Critiqued 2,000 People’s Songs (Here’s What We Learned)
Multi-hit songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson critiqued over 2,000 member songs in 3 years at SongTown. These are the most common songwriting mistakes they found. Don’t make these! 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 MoreCo-Writing Songs: Understanding The Roles In The Room
“Understanding your role in the writing room on any given day is key to a songwriter’s success.” 16 time #1 Hit Songwriter Jon Nite gave this advice in a SongTown on Songwriting podcast episode. And I agree 1000%! All successful co-writing begins with learning the roles in the room. As I start writing each day, I’m…
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