Category: songwriting
Generating Ideas for Lyrics
Song Starters
Uncategorized
Writing Prompts
14-Day Songwriting Challenge: DAY 4
January 16, 2023
#4. Listen deeply. This task is excerpted from the wonderful book, ‘The Art of Noticing,’ by Rob Walker:…
Creative Practice
Generating Ideas for Lyrics
Lyric Writing
Song Starters
Uncategorized
Writing Prompts
14-Day Songwriting Challenge: DAY 3
January 15, 2023
#3. A list. This poem is unbelievable. Listen to it, the whole way through (listen to the recording…
Music Theory for Songwriters
Song Starters
Writing Prompts
14-Day Songwriting Challenge: DAY 2
January 15, 2023
#2. Starting in motion. Write a verse (with lyrics and melody). Instead of I V vi IV (the…
Generating Ideas for Lyrics
Lyric Writing
Song Starters
Uncategorized
Writing Prompts
14-Day Songwriting Challenge: DAY 1
January 14, 2023
#1. Getting past the rust. Write literally the most cliched lyric you can think of. Really squeeze that…
Generating Ideas for Lyrics
Lyric Writing
Song Starters
Top 5 Exercises for Coming Up with Great Song Lyric Ideas—#3: Twisting Cliches
December 13, 2022
Clichés are everywhere. They are encoded into the way we think and express ourselves in such a pervasive…
Generating Ideas for Lyrics
Language
Lyric Writing
metaphor
Song Starters
Uncategorized
Top 5 Exercises for Coming Up with Great Song Lyric Ideas—#2: Metaphor Collisions
December 8, 2022
This exercise is one of my all-time favorites. It is the fastest way to show yourself that you…
Creative Practice
Generating Ideas for Lyrics
Lyric Writing
My writing
Song Starters
Uncategorized
writing
Top 5 Exercises for Coming Up With Great Song Lyric Ideas—#1: Sense Writing.
December 7, 2022
In this series, I’ll go through my all-time Top 5 Exercises for generating lyric ideas, whether I’ve got…
Creative Practice
Uncategorized
How to put your inner critic in its place
December 6, 2022
And do your creative work this year As writers, creators, artists, and musicians, we all have the same…
Chorus Writing
Song Form
Do Songs Need A Chorus?
November 15, 2022
There are so many amazing wonderful songs that absolutely do not have a chorus! A few that come…
Chorus Writing
Generating Ideas for Lyrics
Lyric Writing
Uncategorized
Wisdom from Songwriters
Why the title of your song is so important
November 15, 2022
When we are talking about ‘ideas’ in songs, it’s helpful to draw this distinction: There is the ‘big…
Habits of Success
Melody Writing
Music
Music Theory for Songwriters
Songs I Love
Uncategorized
What I’m listening to and why.
October 18, 2022
I got a phone call from my friend Benny the other night (Benny, who I make videos with…
Music Theory for Songwriters
Uncategorized
Music Theory Fundamentals–Major, Minor, and Diminished Chords
August 24, 2022
A little bit of music theory goes a long way – in this video, I explain the difference…
Generating Ideas for Lyrics
Language
Lyric Writing
metaphor
Songs I Love
Writing better lyrics with metaphor magic
August 12, 2022
In this video, I show you how to write songs—and specifically lyrics—like Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, and John…
Creative Practice
Language
Lyric Writing
Melody Writing
Wisdom from Songwriters
Mastering the Elements of Lyric Writing
August 3, 2022
Studying and understanding the tools that go into making a song can help anyone learn how to write…
Music Theory for Songwriters
Uncategorized
How to Write Great Bridges
July 5, 2022
Three chord strategies for creating satisfying contrast and variation in the bridge section of your songs. We first…