Seven years after moving to Los Angeles to become an overnight sensation, I had my first song recorded and it was slated to be a single. During a phone call, the producer of that song casually mentioned that he would like to write with me the next time I visited Nashville. I promptly booked a flight and hotel, maxing out my credit cards to do so. This was a huge […]

Most of us who are in the business of creating songs are aware of the importance of writing lyrics that have universal appeal, lyrics that connect with millions of hearts. We have also heard about the importance of writing songs that emanate from our hearts, from personal experience. On the surface, it seems these tools would be mutually exclusive. But let’s look a little deeper. Unless we are writing solely […]

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 culture demands short-attention-span songs. The writers of Tin Pan Alley and Motown had to write only one killer hook to get a […]

  I’ve put together a list of 10 things for you to examine when critiquing your songs in order to make them both lyrically and melodically stronger. The Lyric 1. Do you have a strong opening line? The opening line of your song is the first and best chance to engage your listener in the story you’re about to tell. Strong opening lines explain the where, what, and who of […]

One of the main tools in your songwriting arsenal is the almighty Chorus. Sometimes it comes naturally, sometimes it is elusive. Oftentimes, it gets lost in the other sections and needs a way to stand apart. Here are nine unabashed ways to make a chorus sound more like a chorus. 1. Use your hook at the beginning AND end of the chorus. Bookending it gives the listener a chance to hear […]

Songwriting is art.  Like all art, songs require a healthy dose of inspiration which is nearly impossible to predict or control.  In that way, the spark that results in the creation of a song is a gift, but the rest of the process is nothing more (or less) than good, old-fashioned work.  By following through in a variety of different ways, you stand a much better chance of achieving the […]