Ghost Songs: Lyrics First

by | Jun 12, 2021 | Lyrics

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...

5 Steps To Finish Unfinished Songs

by | Dec 17, 2019 | Song Craft

Sometimes it’s hard to finish unfinished songs.  And, there’s nothing worse than sitting down to write and ending up with a partially completed song. Do you have a pile of lyrics and melodies with a verse and chorus but are stuck?  Have you hit the second...

Melodies The Same? Song Maps Create Variety

by | Jan 21, 2018 | Advanced

Song maps are a way to find patterns and tendencies that you often repeat. Just changing a few of these items can create new songs in your catalogue. And, by understanding the rhythms, chord structure, line lengths, lyrical meter that you are most comfortable with,...

Song Prompt: Memories + Word Challenge

by | Jan 13, 2018 | Song Prompts

We’ll keep this one simple: you’ll use your own catalogue of memories for step one, then we’ll add a word challenge twist. This one evolves from Jason Isbell’s “Cumberland Gap” which uses memories of his hometown to set the scene of...

Simple Steps To Melodies

by | Jan 5, 2018 | Beginning, Melody

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...