Posts Tagged ‘Articles’
Free The Angel: Supporting Your Song’s Big Idea
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…
Read MoreThe Creative River Series: What’s Stopping You?
I remember sitting in a Mexican restaurant a few years ago with the late songwriter Tim Johnson. We were preparing to play a benefit that evening for a local high school. “What’s stopping you?” Tim asked. You see, I’d just told him that I’d always dreamed of playing the stage at the legendary Ryman Auditorium.…
Read MoreWhat Do Publishers Look For In Songs (Revised 2023)
For many songwriters and artists, trying to figure out what publishers look for in songs can often feel like stumbling through an endless maze. Often this search for what someone else is look for leaves an artist or writer losing touch with their own talent and uniqueness. Throughout my career I’ve managed to navigate this…
Read MoreDo Songwriters Need A Publisher?
Do songwriters need a publisher? This is a question that I get all the time. Like most things in life, there is not a one-size-fits-all answer to the question. In general, I explain it to people this way. It’s very similar to the way I would answer the question “Do I really need a mechanic to…
Read MoreSongwriter Split Sheets: Pro Writer Explains What You Really Need To Know!
Hit Songwriter Marty Dodson talks about getting co-signed songwriting split sheets for your songs and why they are so important. Chapters Chapter 1: What is on a songwriter split sheet? Chapter 2: How are the percentages split? Chapter 3: Why are songwriter split sheets important? Chapter 4: Is publishing important to list? Chapter 5: What…
Read MoreThe 10 Co-Writing Commandments For Songwriters (Revised for 2023)
Co-writing: The art of sharing your heartfelt ideas with another person and trusting the two of you will create songwriting magic. Co-writing songs can be tremendously rewarding and often frustrating. But there are some guidelines to make this experience more often than not a great one. If Moses came down from the mountain with a tablet for…
Read More6 Keys To Writing Better Songs
Writing Better Songs Let’s face it, there’s nothing sweeter than playing a song for an audience, a publisher, or a friend and having it move them. Excite them. Make them dance. Or leave them tearing up. As writers, we want to reach out and touch people with our songs. As a professional songwriter, I have…
Read MoreRaising Kids and Writing Songs
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.…
Read MoreHow 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,…
Read MoreSometimes All A Songwriter Needs Is Someone To Believe In Them: When All Else Fails
Yesterday during a mentoring session I was asked the question, “When did you decide to be a songwriter/musician?” I thought about it a couple of moments and realized it was never a conscious decision. It was more like music made me. Music made me a musician by always being there. When everything else failed, I…
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