Samurai Songwriting Issue 2 Is Now Available
May 17, 2007
0 CommentsIt’s time to dig into the second issue of Samurai Songwriting. If you’re not a subscriber, join now. If you want to purchase just this issue, you can do that here:
Here’s what we cover in this issue:
- The Samurai Songwriter Code. How to develop relentless and unwavering self-discipline.
- The inner game of songwriting. How to make any new action or skill automatic using the New Behavior Generator - a powerful technique for creating lasting change.
- How to get your creative juices flowing and instantly find unique and interesting details to put into your lyrics.
- How to use tension and release in your melodies to keep your listeners interested and make your melodies more memorable.
- An exclusive interview with Molly-Ann Leikin, an Academy award winning songwriter and songwriting consultant to over 4,000 successful songwriters! She’s helped songwriters get Grammy nominations, win Emmys, and place songs in movies, TV, and CDs all over the world!
- Writing techniques that bring your lyrics to life and help you stop writer’s block dead in its tracks
- A real-time analysis of a hit melody. We study the melody of a timeless classic so you can learn how the pros do what they do.
- And so much more!
The cost for a single issue is $27. Subscription price begins at $9.95. Doesn’t it make sense to join today?
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If you’re interested in subscribing to Samurai Songwriting, today is the best day to do it. Tomorrow, Issue 2 will be released and if you subscribe now, you’ll have access to both Issue 1 and Issue 2. After tomorrow, Issue 1 will cost extra.
So if you want great songwriting advice from Academy award winning songwriter, Molly-Ann Leikin, then subscribe today.
We’ll also discuss the Samurai Songwriting Code, how to instantly find unique and interesting details to put into your lyrics, how to use tension and release in your melodies, and much more. Subscribe now!
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Hit Songwriting Tips Podcast 05-20-07
May 12, 2007
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Topics covered:
Advice to developing songwriters, the art and craft of songwriting, strategies for writing hooks and melodies, a 7-step process to writing hit songs, and much more.
Subscribe to Samurai Songwriting to hear the rest of this interview.
Molly-Ann Leikin’s Books and CDs:
“How to Write a Hit Song: The Complete Guide to Writing and Marketing Chart-Topping Lyrics and Music” (Molly-Ann Leikin)
“How to Be a Hit Songwriter: Polishing and Marketing Your Lyrics and Music” (Molly-Ann Leikin)
“Master Class in Songwriting with Molly-Ann Leikin (audio book)” (Molly-Ann Leikin)
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(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5) Loading ...How To Use Tension And Release In Your Melodies
April 23, 2007
4 CommentsMusic, much like life, is fundamentally a swinging pendulum between tension and release. Fortunately, with music, this is easy to represent objectively and to utilize in your music composition.
Taking a look at the C major scale, you can see that each note has a relative degree of stability or instability. We also call this consonance and dissonance. Traditionally, the rules of counterpoint dictate that the unison, third, fifth, sixth, and octave are consonances. The unison, fifth, and octave are perfect consonances while the sixth and third are imperfect consonances. The second, fourth, diminished fifth, tritone, and seventh are called dissonances.
It’s important to note that dissonance doesn’t mean being wrong or bad. Dissonance simply indicates an increase in musical tension.
So a diagram of the C major scale, showing the relative degree of stability to instability, would look like this:
How can you use this as a composer?
Think of where you want to take the listener. A melody is like a roller coaster. It goes up, it goes down. It builds tension and releases tension. The final release doesn’t come until the ride is over and you are still again. Your job as a melody writer is to take your listener on a journey, weaving through tension and release just like that roller coaster ride.
A very practical way to illustrate this is to look at the end of melodic phrases. Perhaps your entire melody has 8 melodic phrases. It would make sense to increase tension in the first few phrases by ending on relatively unstable tones. Then you can resolve it, but not completely, on the fourth phrase. Increase the tension again, and then release it completely on the last phrase by ending on the first or fifth scale degree.
This is also a great strategy for improvisation. If you’ve got 32 bars to solo, don’t resolve until the very end. Or, depending on the section that follows, you may want to increase the tension during the entire solo so that the following section can provide the release.
We just looked at how to use tension and release on an entire melody by choosing stable and unstable tones for the endings of melodic phrases. You can also look at the individual melodic phrases and determine the motion between tension and release you would like the listener to feel within each phrase. You can zoom in and out as far as you need to help you create the desired effect.
Obviously, tension and release are created by a combination of factors, like rhythm, harmony, motion, and so on. I’ve only discussed one aspect of tension and release in melody so far. Here’s the bottom line, whenever you need to make a melodic choice, ask yourself, “What level of stability or instability am I trying to create?” Then make the appropriate choice.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...John Lennon Hit Songwriting Teleseminar
April 17, 2007
0 CommentsAt this moment, you’re just a $20 click away from discovering the Hit Songwriting Secrets of John Lennon… even if you’re starting from scratch.
April 18th and 19th, 2007 6pm PST/ 8pm CST/ 9pm EST
Count me in! Please reserve my tele-slot for your LIVE teletraining so I too can discover the hit songwriting secrets of John Lennon … even if I’m starting from scratch!
I understand that during these LIVE training calls, you’ll reveal proven songwriting secrets that can dramatically improve my songwriting WITHOUT going through years and years of trial and error…
I further understand that you’ll reveal the identical songwriting techniques that have generated dozens of memorable and enduring hits!
By the end of these calls on April 18th and 19th at 6pm Pacific (9pm Eastern) I’ll have access to…
- Analysis of a number of John Lennon’s hit songs: You’ll receive a detailed analysis of the lyrics, melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and song forms of the legendary John Lennon.
- Four hit chord progressions to write a song over.
- Four hit song titles to get you started.
- Two teleseminars to ask questions and discuss songwriting - both teleseminars will be recorded and put online to download (in case you can’t make the scheduled time).
- Learn how to use the “Chorus Cheat Sheet” to write dozens of choruses.
- Learn how to create a songwriting flow so you can generate more ideas faster.
- Learn rewriting and editing techniques to help you improve your work based on what you’ve learned.
And so much more!
I will confirm my registration for this Samurai Songwriting live two-part teleseminar as follows:
VIP Code Registration - Saves you $79 on tuition
FREE $97 BONUS! If I’m one of the first 10 registrants for these live calls, I will also be eligible to claim the new “Songwriting Video Tutorial - From Start to Completion Using Today’s Technology.”
Normal Registration - $99 (No VIP Discount Code)
Warning: These LIVE teleseminars are available only to the first 50 people who register. Once 50 tele-slots are filled, registrants will be placed on our “Stand-By” list. (Sorry, there are absolutely no exceptions)
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