Songwriting tips, techniques, and ideas
Here’s one translator’s comment on Dante’s writing style in his Inferno: “…it seeks to avoid elegance simply for the sake of elegance. And overwhelmingly it is a spoken tongue.” –translator John …
Continue Reading about Songwriting Lessons From Dante’s Inferno: Write Conversationally →
A “hook” in songwriting is simply a short phrase or passage that grabs a listener’s attention and sticks in their memory. A hook can be musical, lyrical, or both. In commercial songwriting, strong …
Work on your art. Often. That’s the only way. If you’re like me, you’ll easily be able to provide half a dozen reasons why you can’t work on your art today. Most of these excuses are just symptoms of …
Continue Reading about The Key to Being a Truly Great Songwriter: →
Last night, there was a show-and-tell, in which the writers read and the artists showed slides of their work. Most of all, I enjoyed listening to the artists describe their work. They are unapologetic …
Continue Reading about A Simple Idea Songwriters Can Steal from Visual Artists and Sculptors →
Every week my guitar students file in and, inevitably, at least a few of them won’t make eye contact with me when I ask whether or not they practiced. I ask them not to feel guilty about it. Instead, …
Continue Reading about Did you Miss Practice Today? Quit Hitting Yourself. →
If you’re a songwriting jack-of-all-trades like myself, you may not even think about it anymore—when it’s time to write, you set up your instrument. You warm up your voice. You take it all on at once. …