Articles
Songwriting & Music Industry Guidance
How to Make Time to Write (Even When You Don't Have Time)
Rarely does anyone say, “I have too much time to write.” Most of us are just trying to do the best we can with the time we’ve got. And it usually doesn’t feel like enough.
Big Messages, Small Moments: How to Write Songs That Say Something Real
There are a few things in life we’re told to avoid at dinner with family, namely religion and politics. As it turns out, those same topics tend to trip up us songwriters, too.
What Makes a Song Memorable? A Conversation with AI
I’ve been thinking a lot about the value of music, and specifically, whether it has more or less value if AI makes it. Certainly there is inherent value in creating music, but when it comes to the effect it has on its listener, does intention matter? In my opinion, it does.
Death of a Giant
NPR recently published an article and podcast announcing the soft closure of the largest music festival in the world, South by Southwest, or SXSW, The festival will be drastically scaled back and rolled into next year‘s Film and Interactive Festival.
How to Write Lyrics Like Radiohead
I am always in awe of writers who get away with far-reaching concepts or highly metaphorical and abstract lyrics. While the lyrics of more acoustic and grounded artists like Kris Kristofferson or Johnny Cash leans more into reality, artists like Radiohead venture far into the abstract. Their music allows for strange and interesting concepts like alien landings and fake plastic trees.
When I want to encourage a little more abstraction in my own lyric, I look towards styles and songs with that kind of language to be my guide. This is where lot of rock, metal, electronic, and some pop sits. The character is conveying truth, but does it with loads of metaphor and no sense of specific time or place.
No Matter the Game, The Play Doesn't Change
Making it in the arts has always been difficult, but these days of the independent musician as business owner/CEO/COO/CFO/social media coordinator, booking agent, tour manager, and every other acronym just make the landscape even more demanding. But as complicated as it all seems, there is a simpler way to look at our aspirations as musicians to make music a long-term and regular part of our lives.
Becoming Yourself As An Artist
When we can identify where our unique skillset intersects with the genre that values most of those skillsets, we often see our songs soaring the highest.
So how do we find out what our own natural writing strengths are? We observe our older songs, we look at our influences, and we practice some exercises to see what clues they bring.
Build An Effective Writing Routine
Taking time to write on a regular basis is key to growing as a songwriter. But as important as reserving time to create, is using that time in ways that expand our understanding of our craft. Similar to practicing an instrument, some activities encourage growth more than others. We might be drawn to running the same section of a song that comes more easily to our fingers, avoiding the parts that don’t. Without addressing the tough parts, we find we bump up against the old limitations of our skillsets, never growing past them.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?