We’ve all been there. A blank page, a strong desire to write an awesome song, but – nothing. No ideas, zero inspiration. Trying to force the beginnings of something but nothing works. In a group dynamic like rehearsals, one member of the group is usually charged and ready to lead the rest out of a creative void. But, alone, staring at your computer, mic or instrument, it can be much harder to bring something to life.
This is when you most need an unexpected boost or nudge in the new direction. You may already have an idea or two bouncing around your mind but it’s missing something to bring it together. Enter the all-important drum groove. Unless you’re an experienced drummer or very well versed in using drum loops, it might not be your first thought to look to drum beats for inspiration. But, whether it’s a laid back vibe or a rock and roll pounding – the energy of a drum beat can really get your creativity flowing and bring a song idea to life.
Here are some great ways to use drum loops to write awesome songs.
After the first attempt, even the most seasoned guitar players realized that songwriting is a horse of a different color. Don’t be disheartened by the new challenge and its learning curve. A well-composed song is a permanent reflection of you as an artist.
In this post, I’ll share five handy (interconnected) tips that will help you turn a good guitar riff into a great song. Of course, my method isn’t the only way to go about it. But I learned it from the pros and found it to be immensely helpful.
So, with the hope that you can accomplish your creative goals with it, let’s get to it.
One problem with therapy—be it psychological or physical, for mental illness or substance abuse—is that it involves a lot of repetition, so keeping focus and attention can be a problem for some clients. Boredom often results, leading to resistance to and the feeling that therapy sessions are something unpleasant that need to be avoided.
We don’t have to tell you how incredible music is. The benefits are endless and impossible to capture with words. Music connects us as people. It is known as the “universal language”. It’s calming. It’s healing. People even use music therapy to lower stress and treat mental health conditions.
But, again, as a songwriter, you undoubtedly already know all of that. Songwriters often have a passion for music that many others don’t possess. But, unless you manage to sell your songs to a famous musician or record label, you might not be able to rely on a career as a writer.
There’s nothing wrong with that. Many songwriters write for themselves or do it as a hobby. But, if songwriting alone isn’t scratching your musical itch, you might want to consider a career in music education. It’s a fantastic way to share your gift and passion with others, and fuel them with the tools and skills they need to discover how incredible music really is.
Traditional CD’s and tapes have been replaced by digital downloadable music. Currently, you can register in a music streaming service and enjoy your favorite music.
There are diverse music streaming platforms and provide varied options for music lovers. Music streaming platform should be compatible with every device you choose. It would be best if you consider the audio quality and support platform for the digital assistant.
Let’s forget about all the technique that goes into lyric writing and let’s look at why you like creating amazing lyrics in the first place. Professional songwriters know that lyric writing is all about what works for you creatively and not so much about the technical things. Lyric writing can present problems in many different ways and technique will help you move past these problems really easily, but just going with what feels right for you is the key to good songwriting.
Whether you are promoting your music, looking for a label, trying to snare a manager or agent, or trying to establish any kind of music industry relationship, there is a simple, yet often overlooked, trick you can use to increase your chances of success – know who you’re contacting.
Sounds pretty obvious, right? Well, it doesn’t just mean to know someone’s name and email address.
What is their job?
What kind of experience do they have?
What kind of music do they like?
There are a few reasons why doing your homework before you approach someone with your music makes sense:
Like all creators, songwriters largely depend on inspiration. Any songwriter would confirm that, when inspired, they feel the creative power with which they can move the mountains.
But, what should you do if you suddenly run out of ideas and Euterpe, the muse of poetry and music, hasn’t been visiting you for days?
In this case, you need to take matters into your own hands and start searching for inspiration.
Don’t know where to start?
We’ve prepared a few productivity tips specifically for those songwriters who’ve been feeling increasingly demotivated and are currently experiencing the creativity drought.
Mechanical Licensing Collective ( MLC) is a new nonprofit organization designated by the U.S. Copyright Office pursuant to the historic Music Modernization Act of 2018. Starting in January 2021, The MLC will administer a new blanket mechanical license available to eligible streaming and download services (digital service providers or DSPs) in the United States.
The MLC will be responsible for collecting the mechanical royalties due under those licenses from the DSPs and then distributing you to music publishers, administrators, and self-administered songwriters, composers, and lyricists.
Hi! My name is Steven Gerein. I am the creator of SongShop! I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce myself, and give you a bit of background as to how SongShop came to be.
SMALL TALK
It was just another set up day – Spend the afternoon loading in gear. Set the stage and lighting. Line check, sound check, and then break until show time. Me and a couple band members did what most others would do – walked down to the bar and grabbed a beer. We sat and chatted for a while, just the usual small talk about the show, set up, and how we thought the night would go. But then we started talking about something else; something that sparked the idea for SongShop. One of the guitar players who plays with us also has his own project, and he had been prepping songs for his next album. I was also starting to prep for another recording, and we got on the topic of finding songs from other writers.
It’s always a good idea to find a way to expand your soloing “vocabulary”. Whatever is your instrument, finding new ways to approach your lead sections is a must if you’re a lead player. You might prefer to write them first, or you might feel like improvising them completely. However, you need to have a better grasp on the matter and have more material to work from. While the choice of scales for lead sections is somewhat limited and usually relies on the minor pentatonic scale or natural minor and major scales, there are a few others worth mentioning. One of the examples is the Dorian mode, which comes as a very interesting collection of notes (so to speak) that can completely reinvent your music and add a new dimension to it.
If you want to learn the piano and thinking about how to get started or what steps you need to take in order to kick start your piano learning journey? Well, keep reading because this post may have the answers to your piano learning-related questions. Here are some steps that can help you to get started.
A young man once went to a renowned psychologist with a small problem that had wreaked major havoc in his life – anger. He had lost a significant client; his wife had left the house with their infant daughter, and his best friend refused to talk to him. After about an hour of hearing out the man’s problems, the psychologist just smiled and said, “Son! You don’t need any medication or therapy. Just go and get yourself some music lessons for the next one month.” The man gave a flustered look to the Doctor, and spurted out, “Doctor, my life has turned upside down, and you are asking me to sing?!” The Doctor only said, “Do as I say, everything will be alright.”
You’ve probably heard the “starving artist” expression more than once in your life as a musician. And while there are plenty of stereotypes about songwriters and their financial struggles, unfortunately, many of those stereotypes are true. Songwriting isn’t always a lucrative profession, especially when you’re just starting out.
In many cases though, it’s just a matter of getting your foot in the door with a great song, or getting noticed by a popular artist to start making real money from your words and music. But what can you do to make that happen? How can you jump-start your career as a songwriter, even if you’re struggling to pay your bills? Let’s take a look at a few tips you can use to work toward a successful songwriting career while remaining financially stable.
How do musicians write their hit songs? There are tons of opinions and books out there on this subject, written from songwriters. A majority of these manuals are written by analysts who do not have any songwriting experience but are good at studying patterns. Is there a secret formula out there that can push the aspiring songwriter to overnight stardom?
As it stands, the search for the hit song’s secret sauce is still on. When asked about it, Lamont Dozier, a Motown legend said that he does not know what the recipe is that creates hit songs. Nevertheless, the songwriter who has crafted 78 top ten songs says that he can sense a hit song by what he ‘feels’.
Since hit songs have a certain ‘feel’, then it is proper to say that these ballads have common elements hit songs have in common.
Let me start by saying that your friends and family members will most likely be very biased about your music. Ask them what they think if you want a self-esteem booster. Take compliments more to heart from strangers who like your music. The most important thing is that you like the music. Will others like it as well? Maybe, maybe not. If they offer suggestions, consider them. There is no right or wrong way to write a song. There are only songs that people can and can’t relate to.
