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Hello again, non-followers! This week’s post is going to be an in-depth walk-through of how I record my demos.  To get an idea of the equipment I use, please refer to last week’s post. First things first:  I have a Song. I’d say that it’s basically 90% finished by the time I start the demo.… Continue reading How the Demo Comes Together: Part 2

Hey there non-followers! This week, I’m going to go over what I use to make the demo once I’ve (more or less) finished the song.  This is going to get pretty involved, so bear with me…I might have to chop this into two or three parts. Before I begin, let me say that up until… Continue reading How the Demo Comes Together: Part 1

Hello non-followers! This week I thought I’d just quickly outline something I thought of to help me out of a rut in my own songwriting.  It’s one of those things that will trick you into writing something cool.  I’m avoiding the word “exercise” here, because an exercise always seemed to be something that you did… Continue reading A Quick One

I’ve been thinking a lot about this particular topic lately. At first glance, it would seem that it has to do with the ability for art to be sold, but it goes way beyond that. Can true artists expect to make a living in the DIY age? Can musicians, and songwriters in particular, be expected… Continue reading The Intersection of Art and Commerce

OK. I’m sure you’ve heard it: “You are so talented. I would never be able to do that.” If someone says that to me, I am always humble and thank them for saying such an apparently nice thing, but I never get to reveal what I truly think of “talent.” Allow me to do that… Continue reading …About Talent

What is your preferred mehod for writing a chorus? For that matter, what is your preferred method for writing songs in general? Do you write whenever the muse strikes you, or are you more disciplined about it? There are probably as many ways to write songs as there are writers. There really is no “right”… Continue reading The Chorus Petal

Since the last few posts have been about influences and listening, this week we’re going to get back into the nut’s and bolts of writing, and I’m going to show you how I use internet tools to help with finding rhymes. You may not even need to purchase a rhyming dictionary! First, let me say… Continue reading The Rhyme of Reason

Once again, this post is going to focus on something all songwriters need to do in order to advance their view of what is possible… intensive listening. I have chosen for this week an album I keep returning to year after year, fascinated by the sound and the feeling of it. It seems like all… Continue reading …An Example of an Album From 1972

Every now and then, I run across a book or artist by accident that totally changes things for me. This week, while perusing the songwriting section of my local library, I got an idea to look more generally at the writing section and the poetry section. One title, in particular caught my eye:  The Poetry… Continue reading Poetry and the Song

This week, I’m going to take a break from hands on songwriting and focus on some abstracts.  I think in large part, the kind of songwriter I am becoming is due to the things I listen to.  I know. Not that revelatory. No  great mystery is being revealed here. Makes sense.  The Beatles were playing Chuck… Continue reading Learning From the Masters