Archive for the ‘Songwriting Tips’ Category

Before you go into the studio to record your songwriting demo …

By Cliff Goldmacher • Jan 30th, 2007 • Category: Songwriting Articles, Songwriting Tips

Contributed by recording and songwriting expert Cliff Goldmacher.
As a result of recording and producing literally hundreds of demos, I’ve learned that it is always better to “Prepare and Prevent” than to “Repair and Repent.” Here are a few steps you can take to help make your demo recording experience more successful.
Song Preparation
It may sound obvious […]



Songwriting Tip: How to write song lyrics

By Don • Jan 24th, 2007 • Category: Inspiration, Songwriting Advice, Songwriting Articles, Songwriting Basics, Songwriting Tips

Contributed by: Dainis W. Michel
Are you curious about how to write song lyrics? I’ve put together a few tips that might help you. Be sure to go through the free music composition lesson on [the] site [listed below] to gather further information on what will help you grow as a songwriter.
There are many, many approaches […]



Amos Lee discusses songwriting (video)

By Don • Nov 8th, 2006 • Category: Inspiration, Songwriting Tips

One of my favorite songwriters talks about the songwriting process and his evolution as a songwriter between the first album and his new album, Supply And Demand.

This was #4 in a 12-part podcast series. View the whole series at iFilm.



Bye-bye major record labels. Amos Lee, and other songwriting news

By Don • Nov 6th, 2006 • Category: Songwriting Advice, Songwriting News, Songwriting Tips

Don’t label me. The New York Daily News covers high-profile musicians taking the independent route and bypassing major labels altogether (Link):
If done successfully, going the independent route can be more lucrative than a record deal. Artists get to keep the rights to their master recordings and potentially capture a much bigger share of their record […]



John Mayer uses cahiers to capture songwriting ideas

By Don • Nov 1st, 2006 • Category: Songwriting Tips

We’ve talked extensively on Blogging Muses about the importance of capturing song ideas. In particular, I raved about Moleskine notebooks and their links to Hemingway and other notable literary greats. One item I droned on and one about was the wonderful Moleskine Cahiers.
Well, today I was reading John Mayer’s blog (which, by the way, has […]



Songwriting Articles

By Don • Oct 25th, 2006 • Category: Site News, Songwriting Advice, Songwriting Tips

Readers have requested that I highlight the songwriting articles on the site better. I am working on a redesign of the top of the page to highlight featured articles and the articles archive.
In the meantime, here are some of the more popular articles over the last two months:

Songwriters Ask: Should I rewrite?
Create A Great […]



Good artists copy, great artists steal. So do songwriters.

By Don • Oct 14th, 2006 • Category: Songwriting Articles, Songwriting Tips

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 […]



Songwriting Tips Group Project Update

By Don • Oct 11th, 2006 • Category: Songwriting Tips

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 […]



Song Critique Checklist

By Don • Oct 2nd, 2006 • Category: Songwriting Articles, Songwriting Tips

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. […]



Group Project: Songwriting Tips

By Don • Sep 30th, 2006 • Category: Inspiration, Site News, Songwriting Advice, Songwriting Resources, Songwriting Tips, Songwriting Tools

Who’s up for a group songwriting project?
Some readers have emailed me songwriting tips, but don’t really want to contribute a whole article to Blogging Muses. So, more than one reader has suggested putting together a repository of songwriting tips from the Blogging Muses readers.
Great idea! So I spent last night putting together a little […]