Song Chops
SONG CRAFT
Song Vamp
Using someone else's song to help you get started isn't cheating, and it's not copyright infringement unless you don't change it significantly. So, for the Ghost Songs Lyrics exercise, make sure you change the song you started with to get going. A good test? Can...
Ghost Songs: Lyrics First
Using someone else's song to help you get started isn't cheating, and it's not copyright infringement unless you don't change it significantly. So, for the Ghost Songs Lyrics exercise, make sure you change the song you started with to get going. A good test? Can...
Song Exercise: Rhyme Pattern Proxy
This song exercise is great to use if you're stuck on a song line and can't seem to make the song work. It's a great way to spur new ideas and something you can use whenever you need to get out of a rut. The goal is to force you to find new words or ways to phrase...
Songwriter Glossary
A songwriter glossary of common terms you'll run across as you get feedback about your songs. Allusion An expression or phrase used to...
FREE 5 Step Songwriting System e-Book
When I say "songwriting success" I mean the ability to sit down, write a song and love that you're doing it. We all get frustrated with how overwhelming it can all seem, but SongChops.com can make it easy. This free e-Book will give you the strategies you need to...
Best Songwriter Gifts In 2020!
We're always on the lookout for innovative gadgets, software and books that can make songwriting and creativity easier. I'm a "one for you, one for me" kind of person, so whether you're buying for a friend or yourself, we want to make sure you know the best that's out...
Colter Wall Sings Ian Tyson’s “Bob Fudge”
Ian Tyson is one of the best cowboy song writers around. Maybe songwriters. His song "Bob Fudge" is an exceptional example of how to write from someone else's perspective, cover 71 years, and make it interesting in less than 5 minutes. Writing someone's life story...
LYRICS | MELODY | MUSIC
Song Vamp
Using someone else's song to help you get started isn't cheating, and it's not copyright infringement unless you don't change it significantly. So, for the Ghost Songs Lyrics exercise, make sure you change the song you started with to get going. A good test? Can...
Ghost Songs: Lyrics First
Using someone else's song to help you get started isn't cheating, and it's not copyright infringement unless you don't change it significantly. So, for the Ghost Songs Lyrics exercise, make sure you change the song you started with to get going. A good test? Can...
Song Sketching Exercise Using Story Arcs
If you've ever been in a high school English class, you've studied how drama is created in a play, a novel or short story. So you knows the "story arcs" that can occur and the sequence of how drama unfolds. You know, the introduction of characters, their struggles,...
Song Sketching: Tell Stories Like A Movie
Song Sketching is very similar to object writing, and is the next step in the process to craft your song. Unlike object writing, which focuses intensely on a single object and allows for associations to occur, song sketching has a big picture goal: create a vehicle to...
Poetry As Lyrics: Using Anaphora
We've all heard it: poetry as lyrics just doesn't work. But, as your songwriting skills grow, and you begin using figurative language like similes, metaphors, anaphora and imagery, you'll naturally begin writing more poetically. After all, if you've been using a...
Partial Capos Help Create Variety
Partial capos sound complicated, but they can make your guitar playing easier and add a unique quality to how your songs sound. Why try partial capos? You want a unique sound to a song for some variety with open tunings, but you don't want to be constantly tuning up...
Simple Steps To Melodies
Melodies are one of the most difficult parts of songwriting, but you can become very proficient at it with some basic tools, meaning you spend less time with trial and error. For me, contrast is the key to giving yourself a guide for your melody. You can worry about...
RHYME | PROMPTS | STRUCTURE
Song Exercise: Rhyme Pattern Proxy
This song exercise is great to use if you're stuck on a song line and can't seem to make the song work. It's a great way to spur new ideas and something you can use whenever you need to get out of a rut. The goal is to force you to find new words or ways to phrase...
Holiday Song Prompt: Worst Gift Ever?
Song prompts are a way to get your creative mind going. They're also a way to change up your regular song idea routine. They're great at getting you into a different mindset and make it easy to try something new without worrying about the song meeting some expectation...
Holiday Song Prompt: Holiday Memory
Song prompts are a way to get your creative mind going. They're also a way to change up your regular song idea routine. They're great at getting you into a different mindset and make it easy to try something new without worrying about the song meeting some expectation...
Song Prompt: The Life Of An Historic Character
There are great characters who create great stories throughout history. The best thing about those stories is that all you have to do is a little research, find the human side of all the facts, and bring it to life as a song. OK, so maybe it sounds a little harder now...
Song Prompt: Picture Of Yourself
I recently got a song prompt at a songwriting workshop (yes - a virtual workshop), that initially I was going to pass on. The prompt? Find a picture of yourself and write a song about it. In the moment I thought, there's nothing more self-aggrandizing that writing a...
Song Prompt: Hometown Theme
You can find quite a few songs with a hometown theme. That's because they're usually great places to write about - for a few reasons: Hometowns are idyllic for many, and a source of pride - or some other emotion - depending on your experience. Hometowns bring up a lot...
Song Prompt: Start With The Chorus
It's pretty easy to start a song with a Chorus. But how do you do it well? And . . . why even start with a chorus? Usually, you start with the chorus to get the song focused on the vibe and the message right up front. But, you can't start with the chorus if you need...
You have songs in you! Let the world hear them!