Posts Tagged ‘Articles’

At least twice a week I get an email seeking advice on how to overcome writer’s block. For many songwriters the worst part of the whole writing experience is just getting started. Those times when we sit down to write and nothing comes out. We feel like we have nothing to say. Well here are…

  One of the biggest “ailments” I see when I mentor songwriters is that they are writing WAY too many ballads. It seems like many of us default to slow songs. While a well written ballad can be very successful and meaningful, there are also many reasons it is NOT a great idea to write…

 Let’s talk… This morning several ads popped up on my Facebook feed for things like… Learning To Write Great Songs In Just 3 Days, Writing Songs Really Fast, or Earn A Hundred Thousands Dollars In First Year For Writing Movie Songs…oh my… I must be the slowest songwriter on earth…I’ve been a professional writer for 25+ years and still learning everyday to play guitar, write better songs—and…

One of the most common questions people ask me is “Do you think I have what it takes to do this?” They are usually referring to their music. In reality, the current quality of their music is not the primary factor in answering that question. When I got my first writing deal, I didn’t have…

Over the course of my career, I’ve had a diverse collection of artists sing my songs, from R&B artist Babyface to rocker Darius Rucker to country’s Reba McEntire. I believe the reason for this lies in my ninja power for writing an explosive hit chorus— songs that leap out of the speaker when they hit…

Here are 4 areas of songwriter quicksand that are hard to get out of. Watch where you step! 1) The “I can’t play this for anyone until it’s perfect” quicksand. I can’t count the number of people who have told me that they are not going to let anyone hear their music until it’s perfect.…

It struck me recently that there are basically two kinds of writers I work with. There are empowered songwriters and non-empowered songwriters. Empowered songwriters write confidently and take chances. They don’t complain about the state of the music business or whine about someone not getting them cuts. They realize that THEY are in charge of…

Sometimes, people get frustrated with the kind of feedback they get on their songs, but when we dig into the issue, we discover that they really didn’t give the feedback giver much to go on. Here are some tips to help you get better song critiques back on your songs: Don’t submit finished demos if…

Over the last 10 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,…