What should you do with the songs you’ve written? There are three avenues you can take. This article examines the first two options available to you.
songwriting
Arrangements
There are lots of songwriters who have difficulty arranging their own songs. This article discusses finding others to arrange your songs for you.
Finding The Right Words
Every songwriter is going to have their own unique spin. It’s what makes people want to listen to what you have to say.
Home On Your Range - Theory/Songwriting Workshop 2
This is the second part of our theory and songwriting workshop. In this article we’ll come up with a simple way of figuring out a singer’s vocal range.
Putting Things Together - Theory/Songwriting Workshop 1
This is the first in a series that looks at how melodies and chords work together. It includes specific examples from some well known songs.
À la Bowie
Experimentation and songwriting are nothing new. We’ve put together a little writing exercise inspired by methods David Bowie used in the early seventies.
Networking
To become a successful musician or songwriter you will have to network with other people in the music business. Here are a few starter tips.
Writing Emotions
When you write a song with emotion you need to remember that everyone is going to react to it differently. Let’s look at how emotion is tied to songwriting.
Repetition Repetition Repetition Repetition
The chorus is the part of a song that repeats the most. It can become very annoying if the songwriter doesn’t know what they’re doing.
What is Melody?
Two songs can use the same chords and same strumming pattern yet still be different. Melody is what will distinguish the two songs and make them different.
More Questions and Answers
Here are some more answers to common questions about songwriting and a life in music.
Name That (Part of the) Tune
For anyone who isn’t sure, let’s take a look at the different parts of a song. While every song is different, the structure of songs is pretty consistent.
Questions and Answers
This article answers some of the common songwriting and recording questions that we have received.
Back from the Future
What effects did the industrial revolution have on music and songwriting? Some of the effects were very profound so here is a brief overview of them.
The Main Event
Picking up where the last lesson left off, we’re going to explore songwriting as storytelling a little further.
Storytelling
Once upon a time, songs were meant to tell stories. Rarely are they of this nature now. Let’s take a look back at where it all started.
Piecing The Puzzle
We’ve already looked at hit songs, songwriting vocabulary, hooks and gimmicks. Now let’s to put all these things into perspective.
The Gimmick
Over the years many artists have relied on gimmicks. We’re going to look at a few of these, namely: Kiss, Alice Cooper, Ozzy and Marilyn Manson.
The Hook
An important skill for songwriters is being able to come up with hooks. A Hook is what sells a song. It is what makes people sing it and like it.
Vocabulary
Occasionally lyrics contain words or expressions that create problems for the songwriter. Let’s take a look at vocabulary and its relation to songwriting.
Suggested Links
- Video Guitar Lessons - Learn to play guitar online
- How To Play The Guitar in 30 Days! (Highly recommended - Learn from the best)
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