You’ve gotten to the point now where your songs are starting to take shape; now it’s time to start writing the lyrics. If you’re writing any type of popular music- rock, folk, rap, etc.- you’re probably going to want the words to rhyme, right? Okay, cool. There are some people who actually prefer to start […]
Just like any other creative skill, a lot of songwriting is just about keeping the gears greased. With the way modern music is made, this can be a difficult practice to enforce. There are few tried and true methods that have worked for me, and one of them is Stream of Consciousness Album writing. The […]
Fifths are your friend. You’ve probably heard by now that there are 12 tones in the Western musical scale. It’s the kind of stuff we musicians talk about when civilians are out of earshot, so as not to divulge our secrets. I kid; but at some point, you’ve probably become accustomed to the way that the notes […]
It’s time to talk about how to get a professional vocal sound, using plug-ins in Pro Tools. With so many options, it’s hard to know what’s necessary, and what’s excess. It’s important to experiment and try new things when you’re recording a song, but there are a few basic tools you’ll want to get familiar with, […]
Most of the time, the most difficult part of songwriting is just doing it. We build up these mythologies around songs that we love, and as a result, we believe that songs will just “come to us” when the time is right. While songs will sometimes just come to you, 95% of the time, you’re […]