Why Co-Write At All?
It’s a valid question. Why co-write at all? I mean, you know how to write songs, and other people sort of get in the way of your...
Read MoreCo-Writes Can End With Two Versions Of A Song
Whenever you go into a co-write, you’re usually thinking “OK – we’re going to write a song.” And usually,...
Read MoreCo-Writing 101: Getting Started With Co-Writing
I get a lot of questions about co-writing and how co-writing happens in the room. The biggest question is what should I expect to happen...
Read MoreBeats Per Minute: Online Tools
Beats per minute (BPM) is a major component of your song. It’s basically the tempo of your song. It helps set the overall tone of...
Read MoreSongwriters’ Notebooks: Nashville Pro Writers
Songwriters’ notebooks are the holy grail of ideas, titles, hooks and great phrases. Afterall, a songwriter’s notebook is a...
Read MoreSongwriter Craig Wiseman
Craig Wiseman is one of Nashville’s pre-eminent songwriters. He’s had more than a dozen songs reach number one on the country...
Read MoreGeorge Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
How did “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” evolve from George Harrison’s songwriting self-assignment? In his own words from...
Read MoreOrganize Your Hook Book
Organize your hook book! It’s one of the best things you can do to make sure you’ve got ideas and lines at your fingertips...
Read MorePro Tip: Having A Songwriting Life
I was recently in Nashville recording a demo at The 515 Studio, and got to know Chip Hardy, a long-time music industry producer and...
Read MoreSongwriter Ashley Arrison
Below are excerpts from an interview with Ashley Arrison on Rob Brayl’s BeyondBeyonce.com back in January of 2011. Q So I...
Read More6 Tips To Make Your Songs More Commercial
Guest Post By Brent Baxter If your goals are like mine – getting cuts, hits, etc., then your best bet is by writing...
Read MoreOriginal Demo: “Bette Davis Eyes” Bluegrass
The third best-selling song of the 1980’s sung by Kim Carnes was a originally a pop ballad appearing on Jackie DeShannon’s...
Read MoreSongwriter Lori McKenna
Lori McKenna is one of my favorite songwriters on the planet – Janet (sorry – just a habit from the 80’s). You may know...
Read MoreOriginal Songwriter Demos
Hit songs come from the original songwriter demos being pitched to different publishers in Nashville. Ever wonder what your favorite...
Read MoreSongwriter Lance Carpenter
I met songwriter Lance Carpenter (@LanceCarpenter) because he had volunteered to kick off NSAI coordinator training. He ended up spending...
Read MoreCMA Songwriter Series Interviews
On its 10th anniversary, interviews with founder Bob DiPiero on why he started the series as well as perspectives on participating from...
Read MorePistol Annies’ Angaleena Presley On Songwriting
Angaleena Presley talks about songwriting and the 12 tracks she wrote or co-wrote on her debut CD ‘American Middle Class.’...
Read MoreSongwriter Brett James
In this songwriter profile we’ll take a look at one of Nashville’s biggest hit makers, Brett James. He’s had over 300...
Read MoreStory Behind Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho And Lefty”
“Pancho And Lefty” Wasn’t Historical Townes Van Zandt is one of the the best songwriters who ever walked the planet. ...
Read MoreGuy Clark’s “My Favorite Picture Of You”
Guy Clark has been writing for years and goes back to the early days of hanging out with Townes Van Zandt. Who better to answer the...
Read MoreSongwriter Interview: Bob McDill
Interview with Nashville songwriting legend Bob McDill in American Songwriter on the state of country music. [Excerpt from the interview]...
Read MoreInterview with Marshall Chapman
American Songwriter Magazine spent some time with Marshall Chapman. This is a great interview covering her songwriting process, some new...
Read MoreNPR Project Song Moby & Kelli Scarr
Despite being given only 48 hours to complete a song, Moby and his collaborator Kelli Scarr completed theirs in one day. And it’s...
Read MoreNPR Project Song: Chris Walla & J. Robbins
Project Song documents the songwriting process over the course of two days. All songs created as part of the project are based on an image...
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