Graham English

Posts Tagged ‘Songwriting’

How To Find The Head-Turning Hook That Reels ‘Em In

Be the one song your fans listen to today that gets their adrenaline pumping.
Before you commit to a single note of your next song, you want to do some serious sleuthing behind the scenes.
I call it being a hook detective. What you’re looking for is the “hook” of your song–that unique part of the song [...]

New MusicHacks Series

I got excited about my previous creativity hacks and busted out a number of ideas for a hacks series. So stay tuned for songwriting hacks and ear training hacks and stay connected to my MusicHacks del.icio.us bookmarks. Because you’re going to help me write them…you’ll see why soon
Did you know that you can [...]

It’s February Album Writing Month!

I wish I hadn’t found about this on February 11. But we’ve still got 17 days to take up the songwriting challenge. Who’s down?
Find out more about February Album Writing Month
Btw, I found this link from Joe Taylor Jr.

Songwriting For Busy People

Mind Hacks posted how choice is demotivating when there are too many options.
“Offer students a choice of 6 essays, rather than 30 essays, for extra-credit and more will take up the opportunity if there is less choice of essay titles - and, what is more, they write better essays.”
And if you have 45 song ideas [...]

Squidoo: Everybody’s An Expert On Something

Seth Godin has created a service called Squidoo. It’s a platform for you to share your expertise.
I’ve created two Squidoo lenses:
Ear Training Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts
Songwriting Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts
Where’s your area of expertise? Go reserve your Squidoo lens while it’s still available.

How Do You Develop New And Interesting Chord Changes?

Here’s a handful of my top techniques that I use to develop new and interesting chord changes.
1. Stick with I-IV-V
I know, it’s not new, but I-IV-V doesn’t have to be uninteresting. There’s a reason why these chords are so fundamental to our harmony. So master them. Use their constraints to challenge your songwriting ability.
2. Copy [...]

Top 10 Lyric Writing Insights

*Before I continue, and I’ll say this many times, I operate under the assumption that the opposite of everything I say is equally true. Including the opposite of what I just said.
Here’s my top 10 lyric writing insights:
1. The rhythm of your melody and the rhythm of your lyrics should match.
Rhythm has *strong and [...]

The Astonishing Hit-Making Magic of Song Titles

Why almost everyone is completely wrong about what makes a good song title… and why this is a tremendous advantage for anyone who knows the secrets.
Most people - and shamefully, most so-called experts in songwriting - wouldn’t know a good song title if it bit them on the ass. The fact is, there is more [...]

Check Out Podsafeaudio.com

Check out podesafeaudio.com
This site aims to provide a location where musicians can upload music under the Creative Commons License for use in Podcasts, Mashups, Shoutcasts, Webcasts and every other kind of ‘casting’ that exists on the ‘net.
I just subscribed to their podcast in iTunes and they’ve got some really good music on there. Plus, they’ll [...]

GarageBand 3

Just got a copy of GarageBand 3. Get ready for the podcast.
For a long time now I’ve recorded everything I play on my iPod. Then I flesh out the ideas I like in GarageBand. From there I choose my best ideas and finish them in Logic Pro. It’s a really smooth songwriting workflow.
But [...]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 songs (not ranked) that shaped Rock and Roll, based on the permanent exhibit of the same name (source available at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Website)
Want to study how to write a piece of revolutionary rock and roll? It’s a serious songwriter’s resource!

Get My Hit Song Cheat Sheet

Attention Songwriters:
Get Your FREE “Hit Song Cheat Sheet” » Powerful Songwriting Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts!

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Your privacy always comes first and your information is never shared with anyone ever!

MasterWriter Review

Here is my review of MasterWriter, a collection of writing tools for songwriters.

First of all, I give MasterWriter two big thumbs up. It has been an invaluable songwriting tool for me since the day I bought just over a year ago.
MasterWriter is a powerful Windows and Mac compatible suite of songwriting tools. MasterWriter is an [...]