Nowadays even the most basic software package offers home users virtually infinite tracking space, making the temptation to over-record stronger than ever. Bear in mind, however, that some of the most compelling productions through the years have been those that favored space and dynamics, rather than uber-overdubbing. To that end,… Read more...
“Show—Don’t Tell” is one of the basic tenets taught in almost every songwriting class. Writing cinematic lyrics—lyrics that incorporate visual imagery that listeners can envision like a movie in their minds—is often thought of as one of the most effective ways to connect with audiences. Cinematic lyrics do not spell… Read more...
What constitutes a hook? Any element of a song that grabs a listener’s attention and “hooks” them in. With there being so much competition for our listeners’ attention, including multiple hooks throughout our songs has become more important than ever. According to an article in The Atlantic magazine, “A short-attention-span… Read more...
It’s a debate that has raged since the advent of multitracking: should a studio be seen as a workshop to craft new material on the spot, or, by contrast, do you wait until you have an inventory of fully fleshed-out song ideas? Actually, there are merits to both, and in… Read more...
Their name more an allusion to their classic influences than their personal geographic roots, The London Souls are a New York City band who harvest the essence of hallowed rock masters like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin and distill it through an explosive contemporary filter. The end results have earned… Read more...
“It’s like Led Zeppelin and the Beatles had a baby, and it was raised by wolves.” That’s how Charlie Sheen described Irontom to Rolling Stone (Sheen had a cameo as a masked man in their 2014 video debut, “The Minista”). The band, made up of vocalist Harry Hayes, guitarist Zach… Read more...
Over the years whenever one of my favorite iconic recordings would come on the radio, invariably I’d wonder, “Why can’t my stuff sound as good as this?” Aside from the obvious pro-studio advantages, those responsible for capturing these exquisite tracks not only knew what to do in the studio, they… Read more...
At a songwriting conference I attended, GRAMMY winning singer/songwriter Colbie Caillat shared some comments that her father, record producer and engineer Ken Caillat (Fleetwood Mac, Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys) had made regarding bridges in songs. He had stated that bridges are crucial elements because they are typically the final… Read more...
Turning the page on a new year is exciting! We get 365 new opportunities to accomplish goals and live our dreams. But success is rarely realized by dreaming unless it is accompanied by action. So … here are some tips to help you attain all that you hope for in… Read more...
Songwriting, like any art form, is shaped by both nature and nurture. Hit songwriter and composer Steve Dorff – who has been honored with more than 40 BMI Awards, 11 Billboard #1 songs, and multiple GRAMMY and Emmy nominations – could have viewed his adolescent son Andrew’s interest in writing… Read more...
