Create Your Own Rules
Create your own rules to govern how you’ll write the song. You can create rules that defy conventional rules, or just put a twist on a direction you would…
Author: shibes
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Songwriting Exercise: Write For An Artist
This songwriting exercise focuses on writing for an artist. You’ll work through some simple steps to: (1) find an artist that works with your style of writing, and (2)…
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Storytelling: Tell Songs Like A Movie
Storytelling can get pretty messy pretty quick. And, in a song, you only have three to four minutes. So, how do you make sure you’re telling a great story…
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Melody: 5 Essential Books
Melody is the messaging highway of your song. It helps maintain the interest of your listener much like scenery along the route. They can give your lyrics either a…
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Effective Similes In Songs
Creating effective 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 direct…
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Joni Mitchell ‘The Magdalene Laundries’
On her 1994 album Turbulent Indigo Joni Mitchell has one of the most descriptive, powerful songs you’ll ever hear. She crafts a first person story about a young girl incarcerated in one…
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Creating Better Melodies
Melodies can be tricky to find, invent and build – especially when we keep hearing the same thing in our head. So, how do you break the pattern? Melody…
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How Melody And Lyrics Work Together
Melody and lyrics play a key part in: (1) differentiating your song, (2) communicating your message, and (3) creating a compelling, memorable moment for a listener. So how can…
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Verb Power
Verbs are power in a song. So, mastering your verb power will make your songs more memorable because there is more emotion and motion in your songs. Verbs will…
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Rhyme Mastery: Lori McKenna ‘The Bird & The Rifle’
Lori McKenna’s “The Bird & The Rifle” is a masterclass in song craft. Not only is the rhyme pattern brilliant, but she illustrates how to use a metaphor to…
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Organize A 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 when you’re working toward your…
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Kacey Musgraves ‘Merry Go Round’
Kacey Musgraves, along with Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally, uses the play on words in ‘Merry Go Round’ bring the images and the story of “a life” from a…
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Rhyme Patterns
Understanding rhyme patterns is one of the best ways to increase your songwriting ability. What Are Rhyme Patterns To me, rhyme is one of the fundamental building blocks, or…
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Adele ‘Chasing Pavements’
A recent comment on the blog got me thinking. The comment was downplaying the songwriter’s lyrics, mentioning they sounded as if they were written by a 17 year-old, because,…
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Rhyming Tools
A rhyming dictionary is important if you’re a songwriter. It’s a great tool to find new ways of saying things and get you away from predictable rhymes like: when…
