Songwriting

If you’ve been hanging around SongTown for a while, you’ve heard Clay and I talk about the idea that “The Song Is King”. When we say that, we mean that, when we write, we are there to serve the song, NOT to serve our own interests. I believe that music and songs have a “life”…

I’m obsessed with looking under the hood of great songs to figure out what makes them hum. If we listen closely, some feature cool rhythm patterns in the melody, others defy the norms of form, while other songs showcase unique chord progressions. But, what kind of voodoo pulses through the veins of one-chord songs? Let…

The longer I write songs, the more I realize the importance of keeping your songs fresh and mixing things up from time to time. Here are some ways that I do that: 1. Booking 2-way co-writes with my regular co-writers. I always look for new 3rds to add to the mix. That way, I don’t…

There are a lot of songwriting sites out there. We appreciate you stopping by our “town”. If you are new to us, we want to let you know a little bit about who we are and the SongTown difference. The SongTown Difference begins with walking the walk… SongTown was founded by and is curated by…

The Songwriter’s Code From the Brill Building in New York, to Music Row in Nashville, songwriters have been operating under this “code” for many years. If you hope to join the professional ranks, you MUST learn the code and go by it. If you are just wanting to co-write in general, it’s good to know…

I don’t know how many times each week I hear the word “impossible”.  The ridiculous part of it all is that most of the things I hear being branded impossible are not really impossible to do at all, they’re just difficult. So, I’d like to do a little bit of songwriting “impossible” myth busting. Let’s…

  I believe that “perspective” may be one of the most powerful concepts in our lives. Your perspective can totally change your experience of an event. Siblings can have dramatically different takes on a traumatic home situation because they take different perspectives on what occurred. When I was in high school, Nelson Eddy was my…

“I worked 17 years for overnight songwriting success.”  – Tim Hicks There’s often a misconception when someone in the music business succeeds. It’s easy to think that an artist became and instant sensation or overnight songwriting success. So, I thought I’d share a story of how it most often happens here in the real world……

After writing my first hit song I thought I had arrived but songwriter humble pie wasn’t far behind… About 13 years ago, when my son was eight, I was fortunate enough to have a new single on radio. I had moved to Nashville at 32, and eight years later, it was finally paying off with…