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A Primer on Tension and Release in Your SongwritingTension and release in songwriting uses the same mechanics as good joke telling. The way you let your story – in your song or joke – unfold is what sets the table for a satisfying hook/punchline. The difference is that songs not only have words to do this but also a melody. When lyric and |
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A Few Tips on Writing Your Second VerseA friend of mine once said she’d have a lot more hit songs if they didn’t require a second verse. For anyone who’s ever written a song, this should make perfect sense. There comes a moment in the process of writing a song where you find yourself wondering how to follow up your first verse |
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Four Things You Might Not Know About Lyric WritingAs a longtime songwriter and – often specifically a lyricist – I’ve had a chance to observe why and how lyrics work. While it’s obvious that the words can tell a story or create a mood, what’s less obvious is what happens when you take a step back and look at the role of the |
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Some Tips on Editing and Re-writing A LyricI’d like to introduce you to Tom Kimmel. Along with releasing several major label albums as an artist himself, Tom has written songs covered by Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt and Randy Travis among others. Tom’s insights into the lyric-writing process are well worth a good read. Enjoy! _____ For some of us, a |
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A Primer on Song Structure For SongwritersAs songwriters, most of us begin writing by emulating the flow and feel of some of our favorite songs without giving too much active thought to the underlying structure. However, the longer you write and the more attention you pay to what makes songs work, the more clear it becomes that there is a great |
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Three Tips for Writing Better Song IntrosIn an era of significantly shorter attention spans and increasingly distracted listeners, you, as songwriters, have an even greater responsibility to grab your audience as quickly as possible. The first and best place to do this is in your song’s intro. This can be done partly in your songwriting and partly in the production of |
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All Good Things…Whelp… After over 150 posts on songwriting, studio work and the music business, I’ve decided to step away from my blog to purse new avenues for my songwriting and teaching. That being said, I’ve worked very hard to make sure that most, if not all, of these posts have what they call “evergreen” information. This |