Category: Uncategorized
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Why You Shouldn’t Bother Being “A Songwriter”
I was in Queenstown, New Zealand last week with my best friend from high school. We were there before setting off on a 3-night hike on one of the ‘Great Walks’ of New Zealand — the Kepler Track. Queenstown is stunning — right on a lake, wrapped in mountains, with a kind of Swiss-village energy…
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You’ll Never Guess Why “Golden” Is Surprisingly Catchy
You’ll Never Guess Why “Golden” Is Surprisingly Catchy Whether you’re a fan or not, you would have surely heard of K-Pop Demon Hunters by now. Netflix’s latest movie has taken the world by storm, with multiple songs from the soundtrack gracing the Billboard with their presence. In this article, we’ll discuss the secrets hidden within…
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What’s the Most Crucial Melody Mistake Songwriters Make? Discover Now
What’s the Most Crucial Melody Mistake Songwriters Make? Discover Now One might think that the biggest melody mistake songwriters make would be something that’s directly related to melody. For example, some might think it has to do with the repetitiveness of a melody. Meanwhile, others might think it has to do with the number of…
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The Big Problem with Writing Melody First
I recently got a message from one of the songwriters in our membership Community, Leigh Ann, who expressed a very common frustration: “I create melodies but get stuck with putting lyrics to them – or visa versa.” I get it. Finding the right words to a pre-written melody can feel awkward, and often feels like we…
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The Magic of Borrowed Chords Explained
The Magic of Borrowed Chords Explained Chord progressions can make or break a song. Despite this fact, many songwriters often have trouble coming up with interesting chord progressions. They get stuck using the same old sequences over and over again. Fortunately, there is an easy solution to help spice up your chord progressions, and that’s…
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Sonic Targeting – The Secret Technique to Writing Amazing Lyrics
Sonic Targeting – The Secret Technique to Writing Amazing Lyrics Songwriting is a game of balance. We have to be relatable to our listeners, but also truthful to our story. We have to be interesting, yet also familiar. Although this may sound difficult, it certainly isn’t impossible. In this article, we’ll discuss how to help…
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5 Steps to Turn a Good Song Great
5 Steps to Turn a Good Song Great We previously wrote a first draft of a song in this video “How to Write a Great Song in Under an Hour”. In this article, we go through the steps we’ve taken in order to turn that song draft into a great song! It’s to be noted…
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Analysing Sting’s Songwriting Process
Analysing Sting’s Songwriting Process Studying the songwriting process of established songwriters is a great way to get an insight into other ways of thinking artistically. This in turn broadens our pool of creative knowledge to draw from. In this article, we take a close look at 17-time Grammy Award Winner Sting and discover some of…
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A How-To Guide for Writing Choruses
A How-To Guide for Writing Choruses A chorus is not just the bit where the lyrics repeat. It’s something else entirely. In this article, we tell you what a chorus is, different types of choruses, as well as 3 practical tips – one lyrical, one melodic, and one chord-based – that will help you write…
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System #3 to Help You Always Make Time for Songwriting – Seeking Accountability
System #3 to Help You Always Make Time for Songwriting – Seeking Accountability In a world where time is a precious commodity, finding ways to make time for songwriting can be a constant struggle. Plenty of songwriters have told us how they lack the discipline to stick to a schedule. In this article, we’ll discuss…
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5 Creative Chord Progressions to Reignite Your Creativity
5 Creative Chord Progressions to Reignite Your Creativity In this article, we’ll go through 5 captivating, out-of-the-box chord progressions, each using different chords outside their key, that any songwriter can use immediately to make your chord progressions more interesting, sophisticated, and creative. This article is a summarised transcript of our video “5 Out-of-the-Ordinary Chord Progressions…
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Upcoming Songwriting Workshop | ‘Understanding Chords: How to 10x Your Chord Options in 2 Simple Steps’
This is a totally hands-on, practical workshop. We’ll tackle two of the biggest questions in songwriting: ‘How do I know what chords to use?’ and, ‘How do I write more interesting songs?’ Click here to register. In this 90-minute workshop, we’ll explore a process for writing chord progressions that doesn’t feel random, doesn’t get repetitive and…
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System #1 to Help You Make Time for Songwriting – Practice Daily
System #1 to Help You Make Time for Songwriting – Practice Daily We received loads of responses from a survey we sent out to our subscribers asking “What’s your biggest challenge with songwriting?”. One of the most common responses was that it’s difficult to make time to get any songwriting done. In this article, we’ll…
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‘Write a Song in 60 mins’ Workshop—Oct 21/22 2023
This is a totally hands-on, practical workshop. In 60 minutes, we’ll be working through a 5-step process for writing great songs, fast. You will come away from this workshop with a finished first draft of a song. Click here to register now! If you are a songwriter of any level of experience, and struggle with…
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Step #6 of Writing Great Melodies – Introduce Some Variation
Step #6 of Writing Great Melodies – Introduce Some Variation Once we have the framework of our melody set up, a question that often next comes to mind is “Where do I go from here?”. In this blog post, we’ll talk about how introducing variation can help differentiate sections. We’ll also discuss methods you could…
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Flip Method #6 – Pairing
Flip Method #6 – Pairing Clichés are great. They’re relatable, well-known and convey what we need to in a short and sweet way. However, because of all these same traits, they can also come off as dull and overused. In this blog post, we take a look at pairing – a method to flip around…
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Habits of Highly Successful Songwriters
What if I told you that some of the greatest songwriters out there love to venture outside of their comfort zone? 🤔 They’re not just waiting for inspiration to strike, but they dip their toe into unknown territory to lend fate a helping hand. You might be surprised to learn that Dave Grohl – front…
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Flip Method #5 – Swapping
Flip Method #5 – Swapping So many songwriters default to clichés when they write their lyrics. This is completely understandable – after all, clichés are well-known and relatable. However, they are also uninteresting and stale. In this blog post, we’ll discuss a simple technique we call “Swapping”, that can be used to create new phrases…
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Flip Method #4 – Inverting
Flip Method #4 – Inverting Clichés are an integral part of songwriting, but they can sometimes become stale and lose their impact. In this blog post, we’ll discuss inverting – which is one of the ways we can switch up well-known clichés, and create memorable lyrics. This blog post aims to summarise the fourth part…
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Flip Method #3 – Extending
Flip Method #3 – Extending Clichés are well-known and relatable. In fact, that’s a large part of the reason that we as songwriters even use them. However, because they’re so well-known, they’re also often stale and overused. In this blog post, we’ll talk about how to add depth to your clichés by extending them. This…