If you ask me the MOST important thing about songwriting, and want a short answer so that you can get on with your day, here it is: It's All About the Lyrics. What? Why? In a Hurry? Here's a quick answer that will get you on your way. If somebody asks you "what's that song… Continue reading It’s All About the Lyrics
Category: Blog
Articles intended to answer questions on the minds of our clients
Who Says We Have to Match?
I'm happy to have worked, and to continue to work, with artists who are capable of doing some of the recording themselves. True, I will insist on a certain standard of technical quality, but many of my clients are fully capable of saving themselves some money while becoming a greater part of the project. Does… Continue reading Who Says We Have to Match?
What You Talkin’ About?
I'm often asked by my songwriter/artist friends to give my thoughts on their new releases. I'm happy to do so, but when they wait until they have a finished (and usually released) master, there's not likely much I can offer beyond "sounds great", because IT'S ALREADY OUT THERE. Let's put that aside for a moment,… Continue reading What You Talkin’ About?
Be Mighty. Take Charge.
I work with a lot of young artists who are trying to figure it all out. Every one of them makes choices and learns from failure to make themselves stronger. Most of them seek to work with collaborators to make something bigger and better than either of them could create on their own. However, sometimes… Continue reading Be Mighty. Take Charge.
Forget About Rhyming, For A Moment
I love working with songwriters on their songs. We'll put our heads together and craft a replacement line of lyric to make the song stronger. We'll brainstorm, tossing ideas back and forth, and there's something that often gets in the way of finding a great line - RHYME. The Cart Before The Horse Yes, chances… Continue reading Forget About Rhyming, For A Moment
A New Year – How About Some New Verbs?
How's this, for a New Year's Resolution - elevate your lyrics by employing rich verbs? Verby Derby Doooooo First draft lyrics. You know the ones - we come up with a great idea of something to say, and write on paper the first phrases that capture the idea in words. Sometimes we later refer to… Continue reading A New Year – How About Some New Verbs?
2020: The Year of Hindsight
Happy New Year! The first day of a new calendar year is a natural time to look back and re-examine our way of doing things, especially when we can learn something from doing so. Look Behind For Help They say that "hindsight is 20/20", meaning that we get the clearest picture of any situation when… Continue reading 2020: The Year of Hindsight
Give Yourself the Gift of Garbage
Even if you don't observe Christmas, you can give yourself a gift as a songwriter. And that gift is something you never would have expected - Garbage! One Songwriter's Garbage, is Another Songwriter's... Garbage? Okay, I won't suggest that one writer's garbage is another writer's gold, or anything like that. What I'm really talking about… Continue reading Give Yourself the Gift of Garbage
Remember That Song We “Wrote Together”?
Ah, Co-Writing. What a great way to write a song that you wouldn't, and couldn't, have written by yourself. Ah, Co-Writing. How the hell do we figure out the "splits" on our co-written song? Ah, Co-Writing. But you didn't actually write the song with me, so why are you asking for a writer's credit? There… Continue reading Remember That Song We “Wrote Together”?
Five Reasons to Love and Hate Song Competitions
Over the years, I have entered my songs in many different songwriting competitions. Local and Regional competitions, National and International competitions, I've tried them all, with some thrilling results: An international song competition win - Mike Pinder's SONGWARS - funded the recording of my third full-length album, along with some handsome prizes.A regional song competition… Continue reading Five Reasons to Love and Hate Song Competitions