Writing with Artists vs. Writing to Pitch

Marty & Clay drop some bomb tips on writing a song with a recording artist vs. writing to pitch a song to many artists. Pros have two different approaches and here’s how you can be successful at both. Write For Recording Artists CrashCourse ***REGISTRATION NOW OPEN for one of our most popular CrashCourses! 👉 SIGN…

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Top Ways To Complicate Your Songs and Confuse Your Audience

There’s a number of common songwriting errors that complicate the lyric and confuse the listener. If you want to leave your audience scratching their heads (not recommended), try these techniques for songwriting confusion. Switch your pronouns around. Include several female characters in your song and then use the pronouns “she” or “her”. This gets them…

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Taking Lyrics from Good to Great: 4 Pro Tips

Multi #1 songwriters Clay Mills & Marty Dodson share their top 4 tips for taking your song lyrics from good to great. Whether you’re wanting to know how to write a song or you are a more experienced writer. The SongTown On SongTown Podcast will help you level up your songwriting skills. Write For Recording…

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Separating The Song From Its Production

As a songwriter I have been blessed with both a career I never dreamed possible and a chance to help thousands of talented writers at SongTown level-up up their songwriting. I especially love delving into vocal melodies and different production techniques that will make a song stand the test of time. Every January I give…

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Pros Reveal Top Secrets To Songwriting Success

Pay no attention to the cheesy AI driven title 😂. Clay and Marty have a little fun and drop real pro tips on creating songwriting Success. Write For Recording Artists CrashCourse ***REGISTRATION NOW OPEN for one of our most popular CrashCourses! 👉 SIGN UP HERE! Want to write directly for recording artists?! This is your…

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What Do Publishers Look For In Songs?

For many songwriters and artists, trying to figure out what publishers look for in songs can often feel like stumbling through an endless maze. Often this search for what someone else is looking for leaves an artists or writer losing touch with their own talent and uniqueness. Throughout my career I’ve managed to navigate this…

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Songwriting: The Starting Is The Hardest Part

That first awkward creative step… I’ve always heard that the first step is the hardest. That is particularly true in creative endeavors such as songwriting. Getting over the hurdle of “I can’t do this!” or “What if I fail?” is sometimes so daunting that we give up before we have tried. The paralysis brought on by our fears…

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The “Instant Melancholy” Chord Substitution

The Melancholy Chord Substitution. I’ve been blessed to get away with some interesting chord changes over the course of my songwriting career. Those songs found their way onto pop and country mainstream radio—two formats that, right or wrong, have a rap for simple chords.   Whether it was sneaking in a 2 Major Sus chord…

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Songwriters: Say What You Want To Say

As a songwriting mentor, I find myself critiquing 1000’s of songs for other writers. In most of those sessions, I find myself asking “What were you trying to say?” and then, upon hearing the answer, responding “Why don’t you say that?” I’m firmly convinced that many of us make songwriting harder than it has to…

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6 Keys To Writing Better Songs

Writing Better Songs Let’s face it, there’s nothing sweeter than playing a song for an audience, a publisher, or a friend and having it move them. Excite them. Make them dance. Or leave them tearing up. As writers, we want to reach out and touch people with our songs. As a professional songwriter, I have…

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