How To Get Motivated To Write More & Better Songs

Over the last 8 years at SongTown I have personally responded to thousands of aspiring songwriter emails. Many want to write better songs but can’t seem to find the answer to how to get motivated to write on a regular basis. If this is you, you are not alone. We all feel the pull of emails,…

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The Scariest Songwriting Moment

I believe that the scariest songwriting moment in songwriting is the moment before you start. Most of us have voices that play in our heads. Those voices often tell us that the task at hand “can’t be done”. “You aren’t good enough”. “You can’t handle this”…. you know the drill.   It is the rare…

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How To Write Romantic Songs

how-to-write-romantic-songs- songtown

Over the course of my career, my biggest hits have been romantic ballads or mid-tempo songs. So, I’m not the stereotypical pro writer who writes up-tempo all of the time. I’m not afraid to write a ballad! And, I don’t think you should be either. Some of the biggest songs in music history have been…

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Songwriters: How To Format Lyric Sheets Like A Pro (Update for 2023)

One of the most overlooked details in the songwriting business is how to properly format lyric sheets. Here are the “dos and don’ts” for aspiring songwriters wanting to present themselves as real pros. Since starting SongTown, fellow hitmaker Marty Dodson and I have had the chance to see many songs lyrics presented in our publisher…

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4 Tips To Help Songwriters Get Better Song Critiques

Sometimes, people get frustrated with the kind of feedback they get on their songs, but when we dig into the issue, we discover that they really didn’t give the feedback giver much to go on. Here are some tips to help you get better song critiques back on your songs: Don’t submit finished demos if…

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Heart vs. Head: How To Write Your Best Songs

Songwriting is beautifully complex and yet simple… I am often reminded when teaching aspiring songwriters how simple, and yet complex, writing songs can be. It’s a beautiful mix of emotions, wit, determination, and being in the moment. A very common obstacle I see to great writing is what I call “Heart vs. Head Songwriting.”  Too much emotional…

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Between The Rhymes & Songwriting

Songwriters & Rhymes Last week I wrote with a talented young songwriter who was obsessed with finding a fresh, new rhyme at every turn of the songwriting process. “Surely we can use a rhyme here that no one’s thought of”, he said, several times. That got me thinking after the session about rhymes and my…

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Are You Using The “Songwriter Chord”

Want to make your songs contemporary but also not lose that classic feel of great songs? Follow along as Hit Songwriter Clay Mills shares his secret weapon –the songwriter chord. This two-fingered major and minor 10th chord voicing has  been used on many mega hits throughout the history of recorded music. So, Grab an instrument,…

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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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Songwriters: Relax and Create Better Songs

Last month was a busy month of mentoring. I believe I mentored 6 people in just one week. One theme that kept coming up is that people are really stressed out over getting their songs to “the right people“. So my message today is to relax and create. To begin with, I’m still not sure…

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