Songwriting
Look Around: Don’t Underestimate Your Songwriting Peers!
One of the biggest mistakes I see aspiring writers make is that of overlooking their peers. When we are trying to get things going with our writing, too many of us are so busy looking up that we forget to look around. There are people at your level right now that are easily accessible to…
Read MoreCreating Perfect Opening Song Lines: Lyrics That Are Musical
Often when we talk about key elements of a song, you’ll hear people talk opening song lines. They’ll say things like, that’s where you grab the listener’s attention, and that’s where you set the scene of the song. Or maybe if you don’t do it right, you’re going to lose the listener at the very…
Read MoreHow Valuable Is “Exposure” for Songwriters?
If I had a dollar for every time someone offered to let me entertain them for free in exchange for some songwriter exposure, I could buy a new car. I’ve had offers from TV shows, wanting me to grant them a license for my song for free so that I could “pad my resume’” and…
Read MoreDon’t Let Your Next Song Critique Drive You Crazy
After receiving different song critiques of the same song from two different people, I often hear an aspiring writer complain that the critiques contradict each other. For example: the first person critiquing the song likes the second verse, but not the first; the second person, however, likes the first verse, but not the second. Usually, the…
Read More3 Exercises To Strengthen Your Songwriting Muscles
Songwriting skills are like muscles. The more you use them and challenge them, the stronger they get. Sometimes when I have a few spare minutes, I use these exercises to keep my writing muscles in shape. 1. Choose a song from the music charts and come up with a response to it. For instance,…
Read More5 Steps For Eliminating Roadblocks To Your Songwriting Success
Songwriters, does this sound familiar? You start out with good intentions to write a new song today and then the phone rings, or you remember an errand you forgot to do, and there’s that email you need to reply to. Before you know it you have spent the whole day doing anything and everything else…
Read MoreFinding Your Place In The Music Business
When I first started to pursue a career in music, I set out on a path to try to become the best at everything. I saw people making their own demos, so I went out and bought a ton of gear. I saw people coming up with really cool guitar licks, so I started working…
Read MoreCreate Hookier Songs With Conversational Verse Melodies
Want the best set up for your big hooky chorus? Work on your conversation skills — your conversational verse melody skills, that is. Publishers, artists and producers will tell you they are either looking for or trying to create that next hit chorus — or, at the very least, a chorus that resonates with their…
Read MoreSongwriting Is TOO Hard
Legendary songwriter Kim Williams signed me to my first writing deal and for that, I’m forever grateful. I absolutely wouldn’t have the life I now have if Kim had not believed in me and given me a chance. There is no way I will ever be able to repay the time he spent mentoring me…
Read MoreAre You Too Close To Your Song? Good Songs Need Songwriting Perspective
Have you ever poured your heart into a song about a traumatic experience you’ve just experienced, barely able to hold back the tears as you write, and then rush out to play it for someone only to get a lukewarm reaction? How does this happen? Learning the art of songwriting perspective will give your songs…
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