Posts Tagged ‘Articles’

One of the hardest things a songwriter has to learn to level-up their writing is learning how to avoid or pull themselves out of a songwriting rut. Here are 5 things I’ve learned over my 25+ year career that have me avoid songwriting ruts and stay inspired… Switch instruments to spark new song ideas… If…

One of the most common questions I get is “How much furniture does my song need?” What the writer means, is “How many nouns and adjectives should my song have?” For instance, if I talk about my rusty blue Ford truck, I have painted you a picture. If I just mention my truck with no…

So you’ve reached that point in the song; you’ve written two verses and a chorus, and that little voice in your head is asking “Does your song need a bridge?” When do you know if a song truly needs a bridge? I’ve heard publishers say things to their writers like, “You must write bridges because…

I believe that our writing “muscles” are just like any other muscle group. If we want to be as flexible as possible, we have to stretch those muscles from time to time. So, this morning, I wanted to give your brain and maybe your writing muscles a little “Morning Stretch”. It makes me cringe every…

Here are some ways to judge whether you are writing “better” commercial songs. No one of these measures alone determines “writing better,” but putting all of them together gives you a pretty good sense of your progress: Are you writing more unique ideas? Look at the songs you wrote a year ago compared to the…

As a professional writer, learning to boost your creativity and songwriting power is crucial to success. I am asked often how I walk into a co-write with superstars like Darius Rucker, Little Big Town, or Lady Antebellum and create songs “on-demand?” Well, I didn’t start out doing this, but I’ve learned a few tricks over…

The more accurate you are in regard to this self-assessment, the better success you will have attracting co-writers who fill in the blanks for you. 1) Be the kind of co-writer you hope to find. If you are organized and professional, then you will be more likely to attract that kind of person. If you…

Years ago, I had a big write scheduled and it got cancelled the morning of the write. One of the biggest writers I had ever written with traded me for a co-write with Cher. I couldn’t blame him, but I was very let down. My publisher said “Turn time on your hands into better songs.”…