So said Steve Jobs (quoting Pablo Picasso) of Apple and Pixar fame. He went on to explain how he has been shameless about stealing ideas directly from competitors and improving them or making them appeal to the mass market.
For those in the business of songwriting this philosophy can come in quite handy. Here are three [...]

Capture music. Music123 is now shipping the ultra-cool Zoom Handy Recorder (Shown right)

(From the sales blurb) … the ideal solution for recording live musical performances, interviews, podcasts, meetings, classes and seminars. The H4 includes such features as two studio quality condenser microphones, two combination XLR-1/4 inch input jacks with phantom power, built in effects and [...]

Figured I would give you an update on the Songwriting Tips Group Project we announced last week.
First off, thank you for all the great tips! We got dozens of songwriting tips and are ready to start showing them to the world.
You can visit the Songwriting Tips Archives here.
There are some little nuances that I [...]

Just finished watching Joseph Arthur perform “Slide Away” on Letterman (video link) and I have to say the guy is sounding better than ever.
For those of you familiar with him, it looks like he is definitely making an attempt at larger mainstream exposure. Instead of the brooding, mysterious Joseph Arthur we see a new dude. [...]

We have talked before about quick and easy ways to capture audio, and if you already have some recording software on your computer, Behringer has just released a cool little USB audio interface box called the U-Control, that I have been using - with decent results. For under $30, it’s not a bad deal.
Previously I [...]

Writing poetry is hard, and let’s face it — in many ways songwriting is poetry. It’s even more challenging because you’re trying to fit words to melody, as well as meter and rhyme. You have three or four minutes to tell your story, and a third of that time is eaten up by the chorus. [...]

The New York Sun writes about songwriter Regina Spektor
A song a week. A couple weeks ago we talked about Jonathan Coulton’s amazing songwriting project where he set a goal to write 1 song per week for a year. Well, according to his site, he has finished up his 52nd song. Amazing! And he went out [...]

Contributed by Janet Fischer of Good Night Kiss Music.
Are your lyrics too repetitive? Do the same words (or phrases or ideas) repeat in the chorus that are already in your verses? If so, replace them with more storyline or more aspects of the situation.
Are your lyrics really special? Get rid of fluff and tired rhymes. [...]