It’s that time of year once again: people are bundled up in their winter coats and mittens as they plow through lines at the mall, seasonal music is taking over the radio airwaves, and snow is pummeling the streets in an effort to close school early and give snowplow drivers a little something to do.  To be fair, though, we here at Studio Pros are nestled all snug in our Southern California recording studio, so there isn’t much snowfall or… [Read More]

Congratulations to these winners from this past weekend’s TAXI Road Rally!  Please send an email to info@studiopros.com to claim your prize. 1002 – Max Witriol 1060 – Phoenix Rose 1071 – Marcus Black 1118 – Glenn Carter 1126 – Katherine Howe

Did you know that you probably already have enough music to record your album? Even if you just have the basic sketch of a song in your head, it’s probably enough to get started.  The Beatles once famously said that “all you need is love.”  I’m here to say that if you want to record your music, all you really need is a melody and a chord progression. (A little love doesn’t hurt, either!) You don’t need every section of… [Read More]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]