Hooks, hooks, hooks. Songwriters are obsessed about them, and rightfully so. Hooks serve like doors into the building that is your song. Hooks grab people’s attention and make them remember. Hooks are important. Creating hooks doesn’t have to be the most important goal of your songwriting. But it’s great …
Melody is like the face of a song. That’s where listeners’ attention goes. Writing great melodies isn’t the only way to write a great song. But if you write quality melodies, you’re half way there. In this video I discuss two key concepts in understanding melodies: Directions …
I always wondered about this conundrum. Why are there such big discrepancies between great songs and not-so-great ones? Particularly among some of the most successful artists with long careers? Sure, not every song has to be a hit. But if they figured out how to write hit-worthy songs, …
Should we call it a talent, the ability to attract exceptional collaborators? I think we should. Ozzy Osbourne has a knack of attracting high-caliber collaborators. They go on to establish themselves as top-tier talent in the rock/metal domain. The major reason must be Ozzy’s status as the vocalist …
In this episode, we’re looking at Nickel Creek’s “This Side” with a focus on learning how to use some exotic chords in your songwriting. Here are the particular techniques we are analyzing: Using G# in the key of E and why that works — it’s because the song temporarily shifts …