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...
Read MoreSC Exercise: Write For An Artist
This exercise focuses on writing for another artist. You’ll work through some simple steps to (1) find an artist that works with...
Read MoreSC Exercise: Turning Poems Into Songs
Turning poems into songs sounds like something that’s pretty easy to do. After all, the words are there. The rhyme is there. The...
Read MoreGiving Song Feedback Like A Pro
If you’re part of a songwriting group, one of your activities is probably getting and giving feedback on songs. And, one of the most...
Read MoreSong 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...
Read MoreWrite From Inspiration But Need Discipline?
Waiting for inspiration to hit doesn’t always lead to a high volume, or even steady flow, of songs. We recently got a question in...
Read MoreWhat’s Furniture In Lyrics?
You’ve probably gotten song critiques that suggest you need more furniture in lyrics to give the song a stronger sense of showing...
Read MoreKnow Your Strengths To Create Goals
We’ve all heard it: “Set goals to achieve success.” But, for many of use, songwriting is one of many things in our...
Read MoreChange Perspective But Keep Your Point Of View
Perspective isn’t a common songwriting topic. Most songwriting conversations revolve around Point of View (POV), but there’s...
Read More5 Steps To Organize Your Song Files
It happens to every songwriter. The business of music. Your focus is on writing songs, not organizing your song files! Why bother? But,...
Read MoreTargeting Your Song Pitches To A Cut
If you’re writing for someone else to cut your songs and don’t perform live, you’ll need to know how to sell what...
Read MoreMusic Business Made Easy!
If you’re trying to make it in the new world order of independent music, this is the music business book for you. I’ve used...
Read MoreCreating Effective Similes In Songs
Similes in songs can take a ho-hum lyric and turn it into a “wow!” lyric. The magic of a simile is that it allows you to use a...
Read MoreAmy Speace Song Critiques
Amy Speace takes a look at several songs submitted for the American Songwriter Magazine songwriting contest. Songwriters were given the...
Read More5 Steps To Song Creation Success
How can we make songwriting easier? Change your perspective before you start writing! Songs are really just scenes strung together –...
Read More4 Steps To Connect Your Song Scenes
Here are four easy steps to help you connect the verses in your song – or song scenes! Following them will help make your song more...
Read MorePop Songs: Music & Melody
The below is taken from a chat board that is long since gone, and was part of a much larger post string. I’ve aggregated the...
Read More6 Essential Songwriting Books On Melody
Melodies are the messaging highway of your song. They help maintain the interest of your listener (like scenery along the route), give...
Read More6 Essential Songwriting Books On Rhyming
Rhyming lines is a fundamental component of songwriting and song craft. Doing it in a way that doesn’t sound contrived or...
Read MoreTip To Match Line Length In Verses
Line length is a key element of any song. Without knowing how long your lines are, you risk making your verse melody lines different....
Read MoreSong Outline Worksheet: Stripes
Brandy Clark’s “Stripes” One of the things I’m not so good at is the song’s story. I tend to get a little...
Read MoreLearn The Parts Of A Song For Success
Updated 2/20/19 The parts of a song are important to understand because they are the skeleton you’ll drape words and music on it to...
Read MoreSong Key Conversion Site
There are a few sites on the web that allow you to either copy and paste the chords, or find the song in their library, then select...
Read MoreNashville Number System Made Easy
If you’ve recorded in Nashville, you’ve run into the Nashville Number System. While I could explain it here, there are quite a...
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