Karma and song critiques… I occasionally have people come to me and say “I don’t put my songs up in the SongTown forum for critiques by my peers because it seems like so many people there are so ‘green’ and the advice I get is not usually helpful.” What they are actually saying, in a…

My very first publisher used to read me this quote. Over the years it has always served as a constant reminder to keep my songwriting muscle in shape…. “Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers,…

As co-founders of SongTown, Clay Mills and I have had a lot of success as writers in the country genre. But we pride ourselves on using techniques that work in songwriting in all styles. Many people assume that we are “country songwriters” and that what we teach only applies to country music.  This is a false assumption.…

When I first started writing songs I was obsessed with listening to records. Songs and sound just turned me on. I was thoroughly engrossed with my favorite artist. I read books about Bob Dylan, I read liner notes and interviews with the Eagles. Deep down, I felt I was part of their world through their…

Most of us songwriters are happy-go-lucky types… We waltz into a co-write with lofty dreams and aspirations and then we boogie our way home with smiles on our faces because we just wrote another “hit” that could change our lives. That’s a fun way to approach life for sure. But, we often forget some CRUCIAL…

Writers often overlook the importance of a great first verse. A first verse can make or break your song. Here’s why: 1) Industry people don’t have a lot of time to spend on each song. If your first verse doesn’t grab them, they will turn off your song and not even listen to the rest,…