Songwriting Dos and Don’ts
A recent “Play For a Publisher” event featured Stacey Willbur, VP of Publishing and A&R for Full Circle Music sharing her feedback about 10 songs that were selected to be showcased. Read the post.
song structures
Get bluesy with Mixolydian and the Mixo-Dorian Blues
Study up on the Mixolydian Mode, queue up a nice Mixo chord progression, and you’ll see why guitar masters like Eddie Van Halen, Angus Young, and Duane Allman all love Mixo-Dorian Blues. Read the post.
Lift ‘em up with the Lydian Mode
In music, a mode is a formula for creating a musical scale. The Ionian (major) formula is W–W–H–W–W–W–H. The Lydian formula (W–W–W–H–W–W–H) can give your melody or progression an uplifting and yearning feeling. Read the post.
Re-arranging big songs for solo performance
Whether you’re dancing on piano keys or dreaming on acoustic guitar, reimagining your favorite songs for solo performance with just you, your voice, and a single instrument can be as fun as it is challenging. Read the post.
Songwriting tips from the Beatles’ “Help!”
Few popular songs meld music, lyrics, and theme as potently as the Beatles’ 1965 hit single, “Help!” Here’s how they did it. Read the post.
Choose the right key for your songs
There are a lot of factors that play into choosing the right arrangement for a song — but choosing the right key for you and the musicians might be the most important. Read the post.
Fifth time’s the charm: The Carpenter’s smash hit, “Close to You”
Before and after the Carpenters scored a massive hit with “(They Long To Be) Close To You,” others tried, but they all seemed to miss what Richard Carpenter figured out: When you have a great melody, great lyrics, and a great singer — less is more.
Using suspended chords in your songwriting
Suspended chords offer more than just a frilly little something to add to your music. They work as substitution chords, they can smooth out chord progressions, and they can add tension to your music. Read the post.
Cover to cover: “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”
Not only does “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” hold the distinction of the being the first and last number one R&B song in 1968, it is the only song to have been a number one R&B hit for three artists. Read the post.
What multiple listens can reveal about a song
When learning a song or diving into ideas for music production, multiple listens to an inspiring track can help you discover arrangement and recording tricks that you can apply to your own music. Read the post.
How Stephen Stills turned an unreleased leftover into the smash hit “Southern Cross”
This is the second in a series that examines cover songs that went on to be huge hits, even though the original versions were mostly unknown. This post covers Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Southern Cross.” Read the post.
Unlocking a hit song — Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love”
How did a forgotten 1965 B-side become a 1981 smash? “Tainted Love” had hidden elements that Soft Cell unlocked to turn it into an enduring (and often covered) hit song. Read the post.
Two chords can make a song
These songs from decades past show us that, really, more is less. Let’s explore the magic of the bVII-I progression and how two chords can make a song. Read the post.
Sometimes, one chord is all you need
While it might be difficult to keep a song interesting if you limit it to one chord, it can also help create tension, highlight your lyrics, or drive a hypnotic groove. Read the post.
The art of music arrangement: an interview with Dr. Richard Niles
Music arrangement might be the invisible art, but the results can spell the difference between a smash hit and a “nice” song. Dr. Richard Niles has a storied history as an arranger and shares some thoughts and insights in this interview. Read the post.