Songwriting

I believe that it is good for all songwriters to stay in touch with what made them want to write a song in the first place. For me, here were some reasons that I put pen to paper and created melodies: I had a crush on the girl down the street and wanted to write…

Looking back on my career, there have been a number of pivotal songwriting moments that really changed everything. There was the day when, after trying to get the songwriting thing going for 2 years with no success, a friend of mine offered me a job. Actually it was a career. Great salary, benefits. Writing instruction manuals for companies.…

Back when I was beating the streets of Nashville looking for my first cut as a songwriter, I was asked to write a theme song for a TV show about Sisters. They wanted something in the vibe of Sarah McLachlan. As luck would have it my parents had just given me my childhood piano and…

Almost all of the people I write with are trying to get their songs recorded and make a living by doing so.  It is easy to get so caught up in the pursuit of something commercial that I lose sight of the reasons I started writing songs in the first place.  Those reasons, if lost…

Verb tenses changing, or going back and forth in a weird way.  This is one of the mistakes I see most often when critiquing song lyrics. Switching between past, present and future can really mess your lyric up if you are not super clear about what is going on. Let someone else read your lyric…

A couple of weeks ago in New York City, I found myself doing some things I never dreamed of doing. In fact, I never set out to do them. They just needed to be done and I was the only one in the room who had the skill set to pull them off. The play…

In many ways, I am the least likely person to become a hit songwriter. I grew up with serious self-esteem issues.  I’ve always been short and was self-conscious about it most of my life.  I was never popular in school.  I am painfully shy and introverted.    I grew up believing that you should ALWAYS…

In the ever changing world of the music business, many terms get thrown around in ways that are confusing.  If you are interested in playing in the “big leagues” as a “pro” writer, it’s important to know what people in the music business are talking about when they use these words: Pro The dictionary defines…