Songwriter’s Challenge: Write a Standard Form Song

Beginners Guide To Song Form Part 2 After receiving such great feedback from you guys, we’ve decided to continue the songwriting form series. Last time we touched on the AABA format using Paul Simon’s “Still Crazy After All These Years” as an example, and today I want to focus on the most popular song structure-ABABCB. Understanding Song Structure Basics: ABABCB Song Form The ABABCB Song Form: The most common song form is the ABABCB form, which is a verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus song…. [Read More]

Songwriting Tips: You Can’t Force Inspiration

Have you ever tried writing a song on a deadline? There may be any number of reasons why you’d put a due date on songwriting. You could be trying to write a song for a TV or film licensing opportunity that has a deadline. Or maybe you have a show coming up and you wanted to make sure you had a brand new song to perform for your fans. It could be that you’ve set up a meeting with the… [Read More]

Songwriting Tip: Intros

Did you ever wonder about what the most important part of a song is? Your initial thought might be that it’s the chorus or the hook… I’m not here to say that the chorus is not important…  It certainly is. But it’s worth noting that a chorus won’t mean much if the listener never hears it. People have short attention spans when they’re listening to music, so you’ve got to catch their attention as soon as possible with your song…. [Read More]

Songwriting Tip: Lyrical Themes

A successful song usually has great lyrics that stick to a central theme or idea. “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos has a theme of an unrequited love, while “Fix You” by Coldplay is full of sympathy and comforting words. Great lyrics tell a story or create a mood, sucking the listener in with every successive word. But writing great lyrics can be easier said than done. If you don’t try to contain your thoughts to a particular theme, you… [Read More]

Writing a Music Bridge

A music bridge is a new section of a song that differs from the verses and choruses.  A great bridge can really take your song to the next level, but sometimes we’re so focused on the verses and the choruses that we forget how powerful an amazing bridge can be. A memorable song bridge can break up the monotony of simply switching back and forth between verses and choruses. It can be a great place to bring the dynamic level… [Read More]

Hit Songs Need Clean Music Production to Be Heard

So many talented songwriters and composers love melodies and harmonies so much that they layer as many into their song as they possibly can. They want the best music productions for their songs, but think that adding more and more instruments and parts will make their production sound great. Unfortunately, it won’t! Less is more Have you ever noticed that some of the biggest hits of all time only have three or four instruments on them? Lots of classic Beatles… [Read More]

Rhymes: A Lyric Writing Tip

Who doesn’t love a good rhyme? There’s really no way around it: if you’re going to be writing songs with lyrics, you’re going to end up coming up with rhymes. Rhymes help a song sound cohesive and consistent, poetic and memorable. Rhymes are usually part of the art of a song–it’s really just a poem set to music, and most poems rhyme. It’s true that your song doesn’t have to rhyme (I’ll touch on that below), but since most of… [Read More]

Songwriting Contest: What You Need to Know

Did you ever wonder if your song has what it takes to win a songwriting competition? There are many contests out there to choose from, including the International Songwriting Competition and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Boasting celebrity judges and thousands of dollars worth in prizes, winning one of these competitions could not only help you financially, but it could potentially bring great exposure to your music. I used to think I should just send my songs to every competition… [Read More]

Writing a Great Chorus

It’s happened to all of us: you go an entire day with the chorus of a song in your head, unable to make it go away. You listen to the song over and over again, you listen to other songs to get it out of your head, but try as you might that tune is stubbornly stuck in your brain for good. Infectious catchiness is the hallmark of many a great song. Usually, the catchiest part of the song is… [Read More]

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