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Songwriting Articles |
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Here are a few articles you might find interesting. I am always looking for more articles to display here so if you have any ideas, let me know!
For a listing of interviews conducted with fascinating songwriters & other individuals in the music business, check HERE.
There is also a page for newer songwriting-related articles written after March of 2007. That page includes articles from many of the current columnists and will continue to be updated on a regular basis (whereas this one will now remain static).
For ease of discovery, these articles have been broken down into topics:
Creativity | Business | Vocal Tips | History | Publishing | Lifestyle | On Other Sites | Articles by Former Columnists |
Creativity:
- On Writing A Musical - David Reiser talks about his history of writing musicals - how he writes them and what makes the writing worthwhile.
- Building the Perfect Beast: Form Follows Function - Brought to you by Author/Teacher/Songwriter, Pat Pattison, this enlightening article explains why it's a good idea to have your rhyming and rhythm scheme follow your song's subject - and gives you tips on how to do it too!
- Verse Development - by Pat Pattison. How to hone your songwriting skills, verse by verse.
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Business:
- Inspiration for the new Year - Jennifer Yeko advises on how to get the most out of your musical career.
- Back In Black - Allen Farmelo talks about how your recordings should always make you money.
- Walking That Line - Harriet Schock takes us for a walk between that fine line of art and commerce.
- The Do's & Don'ts Of Finding A Manager - Jennifer Yeko, of True Talent Management talks about what you should and shouldn't do to catch the right manager's eye (and interest!)
- Songposium - James Linderman tells us what this wonderful conference, put on by the Songwriting Association of Canada, is all about.
- How to Get and Stay In Tune - Gary Talley gives some valuable advice on how to keep your guitar from being your worst enemy on stage.
- It's a Jungle Out There - Robert Angello, owner and operator of Angello Sound Studio, a recording studio in Nashville, gives advice on how to choose the right studio for your demo project.
- The Hit Song Puzzle - James Linderman gives some hints on how to look at your songwriting from the publisher's point of view.
- Using New Technologies For Promotion - Caesar Pink of the band The Imperial Orgy takes us through the various steps he and his band have gone through to get themselves promoted on a shoestring budget.
- Promoting On The Web: The Value of Directories - Jodi Krangle (hey! That's me! :-) shares with you some of the secrets about getting listed in these incredibly important directories. Can't find yourself on the web? Getting listed with these directories will help change that.
- Presenting Your Demo - by John Braheny. Lots of useful advice about how to get your demo actually listened to! (This article was updated on February 23, 2003)
- Troubadours, Pirates and the Digital Police - Songwriting, publishing, production and distribution in Y2K - a comprehensive 5-parter with tons of links & informative information, by Jerry Flattum. Songwriting in the Year 2000? You be the judge.
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Vocal Tips:
Publishing:
- Music Publishing 101 - Steven Hudis from Lyn Ashley Music explains how a publisher works and what he/she looks for.
Lifestyle:
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History:
- More Articles by Bronson Herrmuth:
- Songwriting Commercially - by Bronson Herrmuth - A songwriter's personal journey from writing for himself, to writing for other people. Highly educational!
- MoneyChords: Circle Progressions - by Rich Scott - This is a great article that will help you to think differently about how you form chord progressions in your songs. Check out the rest of the site for some other great ideas on the same, plus some great songwriting tips!
- The A&R Online Reading Room - from Chris Standring - You'll find tons of music business education essays, industry articles, songwriter interviews and indie promotional tips at this great resource.
- Sell More CDs Online: A Three-Pronged Approach - by David Nevue - "How you go about marketing your music successfully depends on a great many factors. This article contains some suggestions where to start."
- Essays On Songwriting - UK artist, poet and songwriter, Richard Ebbs, is as close to a renaissance man as I've ever seen. The first essay at the link above has to do with overcoming writer's block but there are many more beneath that. You might also want to check out his Music Tips & Tricks section where he talks about home recording tips, the physics of sound, and much more.
- Luring The Muse - Patty Larkin talks insightfully about how to find your inspiration.
- Getting Heard In A "No Unsolicited Material" World - by John Braheny - An excellent article by a very knowledgable individual. (This article was written for Hal over at Li'l Hank's Guide For Songwriters and he has kindly allowed me to link to it. I really think you'll enjoy it.)
- Part I: Writing Chord Progressions in Major Keys
Part II: Writing Chord Progressions in Minor Keys Part III: Writing an Effective Melody Brought to you by Dan Cross, the About.com Guitar Guru (they call them "Guides", don't they? ;-)), here are some articles specifically for you guitar players out there interested in working on your songwriting skills.
- MusicDish Industry Survey Results - Ever-changing survey results brought to you by MusicDish.
- Ricky's Tips - Ricky Lee Ponder has a section devoted to passing along information about the various aspects of songwriting including sound production and copyright information. Check it out!
- Shell's Songwriting Articles - Shelley Jacobson's songwriting articles appear regularly in ISWR. Here's a collection of some past articles that you might find useful.
- Feature Articles on MAS:Musician's Assistance Site - A series of wonderful articles brought to you by the many talents of the contributors to MAS. If you haven't yet seen this site, this resource alone is worth the visit (but there's lots more to see!)
- El poso del cafe - (coffee grounds for you) - A series of bi-monthly articles by performer and songwriter Daniel Cros in Barcelona, Spain. It's all in Spanish, but for those of you that don't speak Spanish, you could try using Alta Vista's Translation Services.
- Molly-Ann Leikin - Songwriting Consultant, has added a bi-monthly column to her page. The current column can be seen here . You can also view her previous articles.
- Writing Songs for Very Young Children - by Laurie Early. A great article that I personally have found very helpful.
- FREE Online Book, How To HOOK The Words To Music - by Richard Melvin Brown. A book for free? Impossible, you say. Nope. Take a look and see if it gives you some ideas.
- Writing in Space - by Harriet Schock. What do you do when you don't have a lot of time on your hands? Here are a few great techniques from a lady who really knows what she's talking about.
- Step One: Touch Somebody - by Harriet Schock. Writing to create a response - how do you get to the heart of the matter? Here are Harriet's thoughts on that subject, from her wonderful book, BECOMING REMARKABLE.
- Songwriting - A few more thoughts - by Chris Davies. Chris' band, Just About Everything in Australia, is just on the verge of "making it". His observations about his own songwriting speak to us all.
- Charles' Songwriting Notes - A nifty place where Charles details his notions about songwriting. Some very handy and helpful ideas you'll find useful to read about.
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