Reverse Dictionary: I have recently covered great online applications like rhyming dictionaries and thesaurus.com. But Jeff Caylor contacted me about this great OneLook Reverse Dictionary. According to the site: OneLook lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept. Your description can be a few words, [...]
Not long ago I posted a review of the two main songwriting magazines. In that article I mentioned that I liked the look-and-feel of Performing Songwriter Magazine over American Songwriting Magazine. While I don’t know much print-speak I knew I just liked how it felt, and the squared binding. It would appear I was not [...]
Here are some responses by musicians about computers being used in the songwriting process. “I think it’s methodically killing great songwriting and singing.” “I do not write songs with software. I write songs (always have and continue to) with my guitar, a pad of paper and a pen.” However, I tend to agree with Gina [...]
Many songwriters say that once they have a good song title the “song practically writes itself”. If you are one of these people, then this tip is for you. If you are not one of these people, perhaps this exercise will help spur on creativity. This songwriting exercise is built off of an older, existing [...]
My behavior when visiting a musician’s website has changed considerably over the last year. Today, when I visit a site I immediately scan the homepage for a MySpace link. Almost all musicians have a link on their homepage now. (An example here, here, and here.) Keep in mind this is not a commercial for MySpace. [...]
Links and articles for today, March 7th, 2006. Sound on Sound: 5 Part Series on Writing Lyrics (thanks Graham) Understanding And Writing Lyrics: Part 1 Understanding And Writing Lyrics: Part 2 Modes Understanding And Writing Lyrics: Part 3: Metre and Rhyme Understanding And Writing Lyrics: Part 4: Connotation And Metonymy Understanding And Writing Lyrics: Part [...]
In this continuing series on Capturing Song Ideas, we discuss various methods songwriters keep from losing their great fragments of inspiration. Many budding songwriters work Dilbert-style day jobs and may have additional avenues to capture thoughts, ideas, melodies, and lyrics. One that has worked particularly well for me has been my laptop. Currently my Dell [...]
What a great idea for capturing song ideas. Use something as simple as the Crayola Window Marker. This is an as-yet untested method of capturing ideas but I thought I’d throw it out there. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to pee and a song or phrase pops into your head. Grab [...]
In this continuing series on Capturing Song Ideas, we discuss various methods songwriters keep from losing their great fragments of inspiration. There is no denying the iPod is making inroads into the world’s personal listening (and now viewing) habits. Almost 15% of the world’s internet population is now subscribed to iTunes (Feb 2005). Most musicians [...]
In this continuing series on Capturing Song Ideas, we discuss various methods songwriters keep from losing their great fragments of inspiration. Using built-in answering machine and voicemail for recording phrases and melodies has become the lifeline for many musicians – especially musicians on the road. In a cramped tour bus, where everyone trips over everyone [...]
