Songwriting tips, techniques, and ideas
A few days after deciding that I'd write 14 songs in February, I started noticing song premises every day. I hadn't consciously changed my routine. I hadn't even begun to put in significant time at …
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By February 29th—four weeks from today—you could have an album completed. Written, recorded, done. During February Album Writing Month (FAWM), songwriters sprint to complete an album’s worth of …
Losing my life’s work in 2011 was one of the luckiest spins I could've hoped for. All those half-finished songs? Gone. Failed novels? Outta here! Awful sonnets? Ciao! For a decade I’d been starting …
Continue Reading about Burn Your File of Song Ideas and Start Over (I Dare You) →
I hope you've had a great New Year so far. While the year is young, this is a great time to reflect a bit on 2011 and start thinking about what you want from 2012. Here are some questions you'll want …
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Song titles are more important than ever. When browsers happen upon your page on CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes, or wherever, they're much more likely to at least click and listen to a preview of your music …
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Phil Swann has over thirty years of experience in show business. He’s been a lounge piano player, a commercial songwriter, a novelist, an Off-Broadway composer, and a creative workshop instructor. …
Continue Reading about Stale Scotch and Cheap Cigars: a Conversation With Phil Swann →
Obvious to you. Amazing to others. from Derek Sivers on Vimeo. AVC: Do you generally feel like you have a good sense of what your best work is? Because obviously you have fans who love songs that …
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Previously I laid out 4 Inspiring, Time-Tested Song Structures. These are some great structures to study and listen for in recordings. The next challenge is identifying which structure will be best …
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I just posted a new article to the Song Structures 101 section. It's called How Contrast Makes Any Song More Interesting, and it outlines a few ways to keep your audience--and …
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Your eyes do not deceive you, and nothing’s wrong with your screen. The Halted Clock is roughly two years old, and I’m quite excited to roll out the site’s new design today (if you’re reading this …
Here in the States we celebrated Thanksgiving today. As the name suggests, it’s a holiday of gratitude. For many, it’s also a holiday of overeating, consuming alcohol, and watching football. I bet …
In a song, a timepiece is any device used by the songwriter to indicate the passage of time. You could just sing something obvious and direct like “Six months later…”, of course—but that feels a bit …
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