Good lyric writing is, most often, a deceptively simple endeavor. When a lyric is at its best, it seems to effortlessly tell the story of your song using memorable imagery, great details and an unforgettable message. The reality, however, is that there are lots of factors at work “behind the scenes”… Read more...
While a film or TV show’s casting director is tasked with finding the right actors for a given role, those of us who create and represent songs have the job of identifying the ideal artists for our songs. Whether you are a songwriter pitching your own material or a music publisher… Read more...
I recently forwarded three songs to a list of publishers who have agreed to listen to songs that I screen. One of the publishers responded, “This song is very well written and commercial. But I’ve already got this kind of stuff by the dozens. Seems that most writers are all caught… Read more...
Some further ideas for getting the best final mix possible, from digitally fixing recording flubs to ridding tracks of extraneous noises, and more. Read more...
I was recently asked how the tools and techniques I teach today differ from those I have taught in the past. Have I noticed any recent changes in successful songs and in the processes of writing them? I looked back over the thirty years that I have been teaching songwriting, and… Read more...
Donovan is a songwriter for the ages. Releasing his first single, “Catch the Wind,” in 1965, the aspiring, 18-year-old Scottish folk troubadour swiftly defined himself as a prolific writer, welding elements of traditional acoustic folk music with groundbreaking elements of pop, rock, jazz, classical and the burgeoning psychedelia of the Sixties.… Read more...
Whether it’s switching microphones or switching off reverb, one thing I try to do is avoid using the same recording mechanics from song to song. This is particularly true of mixing—if the tendency is to have nearly identical ingredients in the same spot on every track, your album is likely to…well,… Read more...
Some basic ideas for seamlessly cutting up tracks Read more...
If we were collaborating on a song and I suggested that one particular line of lyric – and the melody that accompanies it – be repeated eighteen times, would you think that would be entirely too repetitive to be successful? How about if, in the same song, I insisted that an… Read more...
Since, in my experience, the songwriting journey is a never-ending process of learning your craft, I thought it was time for adding a few more things that I’ve learned as a songwriter since my last article on the subject. So much of a career as a songwriter is about… Read more...
