Songwriting tips, techniques, and ideas
Songwriting is a complex art. We're talking hundreds and even thousands of tiny little techniques here. Consider the skills a songwriter uses when she's simply writing down a melody. Practice has …
Continue Reading about Songwriting Through a Microscope and a Telescope →
Over the past few weeks I've been trading words with a few friends of mine. When I say "trading words", I mean to say that we send each other individual words with no aim at all other than enjoying …
Most of us have a notebook or a computer folder packed to bursting with unfinished songs, lyric fragments, chord progressions, and little threads of melody. "Why can't I finish any of these …
Continue Reading about When the Muse is Late to Her Own Party →
Of all the senses, touch is the most visceral. It's a kiss on the cheek. It's a punch to the solar plexus. It's hot tea coursing down your throat. It's an ice cube slipped down the back of your shirt. …
Continue Reading about Use Touch Imagery to Give Your Listener Chills →
"I liked songs with the names of towns in them and I liked songs with weather in them and something to eat (laughs). So I feel like there's a certain anatomical aspect to a song that I respond to. I …
Continue Reading about Draw Listeners Deep Into Your Lyric With Taste and Smell Imagery →
Where are you while you're reading this? Pause for a moment and listen to your surroundings. No, really, go ahead. Uncork those little white earbuds from your ears if you have to. Right now I …
Continue Reading about Sounds Good: The Art of Describing Ambient Sounds in Lyrics →