Writing a new song is tough! Just thinking about all the elements that go into it is a lot. What happens when you only have a small piece of it in your head like a melody or a beat? Today, we will cover elements to start writing a song and the costs and benefits of...
Where do you even begin?! Seriously, how do you decide what to start with and what are the steps for songwriting? This question is definitely open-ended, but today I’ll break down common techniques I use for approaching a new song. Common Techniques It’s obvious you write a melody, then harmony, and then everything else. Also,...
Your melodies and harmonies are great! Throughout this series, we have discovered new options and techniques to write and harmonize melodic lines. Today we will cover our last topic in this series. Recap Up to this point, we have covered the attributes of a good melody, and various harmonization techniques. This includes our last two...
Harmony seems like never ending rabbit hole of complexity… and it absolutely is! There are so many awesome sounds and techniques to discover. How do we do it? Harmony and Techniques In the last article, we covered inversions and discussed substituting a chord for its inversion. Our goal was to come up with new ways...
Your melody has a lot more potential than you think. It’s memorable, singable, and everyone gets it stuck in their head. You used all my other tips and tricks to write it and add variation. It’s perfect… but why does it get old so quick!? Harmony One of the biggest challenges when working with a...
You know that melody you’re writing that’s stuck in your head? It’s catchy, and your audience will love it. They will get it stuck in their heads and hum it all day long. But you want to take it to the next level. How can you mix it up without losing your original idea? Most...
What’s your favorite song? Well, I have too many to pick from but the first ones that stick out to me were catchy. They are the types of songs that any listener can get stuck in their head in an instant. While there are many elements of a great song to appreciate whether that be...
Cmaj9(#11)(13)!!!! Today, we will be exploring a major 9 #11 13 chord and how to write melodic lines over it. With this chord, you can expand your understanding of major harmonies and how to use a common minor scale to really take your writing to the next level. Where is this Really Used? These kinds...
Bb-9 (13)!!!! Let’s get right to it, this complex jazzy chord sounds great and opens the door for smooth melodies and rich harmony that will take your writing to the next level! Today we will dive into this minor chord, the sounds it has to offer, and what easy scale goes with it. But What...
C7(b9)(b13)!!!! What’s this and why are you screaming jazz at me? The answer to that question, my friend, is simple. Advanced harmony and complex chords are not as mystifying as you might think and we producers and audio engineers who are getting a little stuck writing music have the tools to understand what’s going on....