Songwriting

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…

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…

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…

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…

Clay and I often run into people who are doing all the wrong things in their pursuit of success with their music. Most of the time, the thing they need to be doing is improving their songs. That’s often the one thing they aren’t doing. They are meeting with publishers and people at PRO’s (ASCAP, BMI and…

I’ve spent a lot of time this morning reflecting on the past, looking at my career as a songwriter, and thinking about where I’d like to go moving forward. Call this the reflections of a pro songwriter. Marty and my top goal since starting SongTown has been to help as many songwriters as we could.…

There is a famous quote by Michelangelo that says “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” That is a beautiful description of what songwriters must learn to do. We get a song’s big idea and we see the “angel” inside it. So we carve and carve until the…

During mentoring sessions, I am asked often how a writer can make his songs more universal. It’s easy to become frustrated when a deeply personal song (that moves YOU) fails to move your audience. My answer is to become a more universal musician/writer and stop focusing on the fix that will make your latest song…

The more I write, the more I see parallels between raising kids and writing songs… When my first child, Matthew was born, I knew that I knew NOTHING about parenting. I had read a lot of books about it, but I had never really done it. In fact, I had never changed a diaper until he came along.…