Songwriting tips, techniques, and ideas
Songwriting is a collection of skills that you can learn, practice, and improve over time.
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In commercial songwriting books, you’ll sometimes see mention of writing “universal” songs—songs that just about anyone can relate to. While reading Pam Oland’s book The Art of Writing Great Lyrics, …
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Liszt’s lover Caroline about the famous composer’s work habits: “He must be made to concentrate, otherwise he gets all mixed up,” said she. “It is not genius he lacks, but the capacity to sit …
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This week I’m honored to be featured as a guest writer on Matt Blick’s excellent blog Beatles Songwriting Academy! The article’s called Getting Naked with John & Yoko. In the interest of science, …
Your hands are like dogs, going to the same places they've been. You have to be careful when playing is no longer in the mind but in the fingers, going to happy places. You have to break them of their …
A father and his very young boy are riding home late at night, and the boy begins crying that the “Erl King” is whispering promises, trying to lure him away… Der Erlkönig was a poem by …
“Schubert found three ways… to set verses to music. (1) He wrote one verse of music and repeated it for each verse of poetry; this is called strophic treatment. (2) He followed the text as closely as …
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