Articles
Songwriting & Music Industry Guidance
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.
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.
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.
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.