(This is an article in the series “Songwriting For Beginners”. We are filing the series under the Songwriting Basics category.) Question: How do you stop a guitarist from playing? Answer: Put music in front of him. That’s me. I can’t read music and I doubt I ever will. However, over the last three years, I’ve [...]

(This is an article in the series “Songwriting For Beginners”. We are filing the series under the Songwriting Basics category.) Great beginning and great ending One of the first things I learned was the importance of focusing on the beginning and ending of the song. A great beginning will get folks wanting more; a great [...]

(This is an article in the series “Songwriting For Beginners”. We are filing the series under the Songwriting Basics category.) The great thing about music is that there are so many different possibile structures. The structure I focus on is American folk music. Within this category, the possibilities are still endless, but hopefully I can [...]

(This is an article in the series “Songwriting For Beginners”. We are filing the series under the Songwriting Basics category.) There are many approaches to getting ideas for songs. Below are some that I use and recommend. The basic idea, in almost all of these approaches, is the free capture of ideas rather than starting [...]

(This is an article in the series “Songwriting For Beginners”. You can find more beginning articles here.) I’ve heard so many people say, “I’ve always wanted to write a song, but never have.” To this I say, “everyone is a songwriter, it’s just the degree of artistry that sets songwriters apart.” At age six, my [...]