• This exercise is one of my all-time favorites. It is the fastest way to show yourself that you are capable of coming up with totally original, unique ideas and ways to express yourself that no one has ever uttered before. More importantly, this exercise trains your brain to see the world like a songwriter—to make…

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  • In this series, I’ll go through my all-time Top 5 Exercises for generating lyric ideas, whether I’ve got a song idea going already or not.  These exercises don’t require inspiration. They mostly require 10 minutes and a pen. Just like anything in life, you can get better at writing great lyrics with practice. I hope…

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  • And do your creative work this year As writers, creators, artists, and musicians, we all have the same ugly little inner voices that try to sabotage us from doing our work. They come in different flavors: You’re not good enough. You have nothing important to say. This is boring. Ssssleep is sooooo much better than…

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  • We have just released (as in, literally JUST published) our second online mini course: The Art of Co-Writing and Collaboration. The course is a tour through the co-writing process, divided into 3 sections: Preparation, Process, and Professional Practice. We’ve brought together our best insights into successful collaborations from over 20 years in a variety of co-writing…

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  • Do Songs Need A Chorus?

    Do Songs Need A Chorus?

    There are so many amazing wonderful songs that absolutely do not have a chorus! A few that come to mind immediately: Blackbird, by The Beatles The Mother, by Brandi Carlile America, by Simon & Garfunkel Will You Love Me Tomorrow, by Carole King And more recently, Nothing, by Bruno Major. What these songs DO have…

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  • Why the title of your song is so important

    When we are talking about ‘ideas’ in songs, it’s helpful to draw this distinction: There is the ‘big idea’ – the broad story, experience, or concept we want to write about. What Jimmy Webb is talking about here is when the BIG IDEA becomes a SONG IDEA. What’s the difference? A SONG IDEA isn’t just…

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  • Songwriting Tip: Quick Start to Using Modes

    There’s more to life than the major key and the minor key. I’ve been thinking about this a lot in the past few weeks, listening to Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s new song, Unholy, which was topping the global charts (until Taylor Swift released Midnights a week or so ago).  I wrote in a previous post…

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  • What I’m listening to and why.

    I got a phone call from my friend Benny the other night (Benny, who I make videos with on all things songwriting). He was very excited: “Kep! You have got to listen to the new Sam Smith song! It’s in…Phrygian!” What the hell is Phrygian, and why is this so exciting? Well, music nerds, Phrygian…

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  • Our brand new online course – THE SONGWRITING PROCESS: Start to Finish Available here:

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  • What if we have 7 senses instead of 5 … and what if they are actually our songwriting superpowers! Sense Writing is one of the most powerful and effective ways to begin the songwriting process and in this video we look at how you can utilise the senses to create strong imagery and killer lyrics!…

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Weekend Songwriting Intensive - January 4-5

Ignite 2025 with an immersive weekend of songwriting, led by Keppie and Benny.