Arranging

Building Momentum, Image, the Big Sound & Cohesion | The Holistic Songwriting Podcast 1

Building Momentum, Image, the Big Sound & Cohesion | The Holistic Songwriting Podcast 1

Questions: I've been looking into and planning on attending The Academy of Contemporary Music in Oklahoma City. What's your overall take on music schools? - Sean Gross (0:33) Why do all of the sounds of big name productions sound so big? I understand mixing/panning/effects, but I feel like they're all…continue reading →
[incl. Video] How Taylor Swift Writes Songs (Analysis 1989)

[incl. Video] How Taylor Swift Writes Songs (Analysis 1989)

Wanna find out how Taylor Swift writes her melodies? Tl;dr? Check out the video version of this blog here: Download "the Swift Line" here. TRANSCRIPTION: We’ve all heard of the “formulas of Pop music”, these secret rules songwriters use to hit the charts over and over again. Songwriting giants like…continue reading →
The Best Songs From The ESC (SHORT Reviews From A Songwriter’s Perspective)

The Best Songs From The ESC (SHORT Reviews From A Songwriter’s Perspective)

There's a lot of talent present at this year's ESC. I've taken the time to listen to all of the tracks to help you decide on which ones you might want to listen to. There's a lot of great songwriting to be found in a lot of these songs and with each mini-review, I want to give you a little insight into why I think this song is great or why it's not. …continue reading →
3 Classic Tells That You’re An Amateur Songwriter (And How To Fix Them)

3 Classic Tells That You’re An Amateur Songwriter (And How To Fix Them)

I’ve been a student of songwriting my whole life. I’ve had guitar lessons since I was 5, went to 2 different conservatories, studied jazz guitar, classical and pop music, I’ve written for bands, orchestras and big bands. And with all of this experience I also learned a thing or two. When I listen back to my first songs I can hear that I didn’t understand a couple of simple concepts that I now use all the time. Listening to your contributions on Feedback Friday (my youtube show where I review your songs for free) I now see that I’m not the only one with these problems. There really are 3 things I hear amateur songwriters do repeatedly that tell me they don’t know what they’re doing. …continue reading →
Pretty vs. Energetic Chords (Hit Song Chord Progressions Part II)

Pretty vs. Energetic Chords (Hit Song Chord Progressions Part II)

Last time in our little Chord Progression Workshop we talked about how to create any emotion you want, now let’s take a look at your next big decision: Deciding whether you want your song to have drive or not. This decision comes down to the balance between Direction and Color. (Btw, the same thing happens in Melody - check this article here) …continue reading →
3 Types Of Melodies You Must Know

3 Types Of Melodies You Must Know

Melody is king. No other melodic element in your arrangement will ever be as important - not chords, not the bass, not pluck sounds. So it makes sense to take a really close look at what makes a great melody and which parts it’s made up of. If you’ve read my post on how to write chord progressions that grab an audience (which I recommend you do, if you haven’t done it yet), a lot of what you’ll hear in this post will seem familiar. To me, chords and melodies are almost the same thing anyways (and if you would like to hear about that, let me know in the comment section), so it’s no big surprise that melodies come in the same types as chords: Color Melodies, i.e. melodies that sound pretty Direction Melodies, i.e. melodies that go somewhere Blends, i.e. melodies that use both color AND direction
…continue reading →
  • 1
  • 2