Articles

Songwriting & Music Industry Guidance

How to Write Songs with Killer Hooks
Andrea Stolpe Andrea Stolpe

How to Write Songs with Killer Hooks

As a songwriter, I know that a hook is a powerful tool that can make my song unforgettable, but what exactly is a hook? And how do songwriters harness this musical and lyrical power?

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Simple Tools for Better Melodies
Andrea Stolpe Andrea Stolpe

Simple Tools for Better Melodies

Simply put, melody is rhythm plus pitch. The pitch tells us what note to sing, but the rhythm tells us when and how long to hold it. Many times we songwriters play with pitch while turning a blind ear to rhythm. But it is rhythm, I think, that produces a more definable melody than pitch alone.

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How to Manage Difficult Critique
Andrea Stolpe Andrea Stolpe

How to Manage Difficult Critique

We began making music because we felt we had something to express. So what do we do when the feedback we get on our songs is vague, generalized, and tells us to emulate what is already out there?

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Write Faster, Judge Less
Andrea Stolpe Andrea Stolpe

Write Faster, Judge Less

Something I’ve learned over the course of my writing career has come from these two somewhat opposing processes to writing: Involving my analytical brain during the creative brain-storming stalls my writing and clouds my judgement. 

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Simple Tools to Write from a Title
Andrea Stolpe Andrea Stolpe

Simple Tools to Write from a Title

When we start with the title, we are starting with the main message. The title typically falls in the chorus, is usually in the power positions of the first, last, and even the middle line of the chorus section, and may be repeated several times. Titles that are sensory, meaning they involve a specific image such as when a noun and verb are combined, can sometimes be easier to develop into a song than titles that are more general.

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How to To Write Songs with Groove
Andrea Stolpe Andrea Stolpe

How to To Write Songs with Groove

Some genres of music are driven largely by groove. If we’re not accustomed to writing with groove in mind, it can be difficult to push our songwriting into this space. A great first step to writing more groove-oriented songs is to listen to songs driven by a sense of groove. Trying to emulate those grooves on our instrument is an excellent way to start defining what groove is and how it functions in a song.

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4 Critical Listening Tips for Songwriters
Andrea Stolpe Andrea Stolpe

4 Critical Listening Tips for Songwriters

One of the most important techniques you can learn as a songwriter is how to listen critically. So how do we learn to do this? We start by breaking the different components of a song into four large moving parts:  Melody, Chords, Lyric, and Groove.

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How to Work Smarter and Not Just Harder
Andrea Stolpe Andrea Stolpe

How to Work Smarter and Not Just Harder

Having a desire to create without the time or process to create it can feel like an enormous burden. How do we make a plan when we’re not quite sure what activities will land us in the ballpark of the people we want to meet and the songs we want to write?

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