6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist: https://songwritertheory.com/lyric-writing-guide/ Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks about 2 simple ways to add some lyrical contrast to your different song sections.

6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/lyric-writing-guide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/lyric-writing-guide/</a> Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala</a> Joseph talks about 2 simple ways to add some lyrical contrast to your different song sections.

2 Simple Ways To Add Lyrical Contrast To Your Song Sections

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala In this episode, Joseph talks about his 30 Day Song Seed Challenge, what it is, why you should do it, and how it benefitted his songwriting (and can benefit yours too!)

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala</a> In this episode, Joseph talks about his 30 Day Song Seed Challenge, what it is, why you should do it, and how it benefitted his songwriting (and can benefit yours too!)

30 Day Song Seed Challenge And How It Helped My Songwriting

6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist: https://songwritertheory.com/lyric-writing-guide/ Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks about the 2-sided major misperception about the role of ideas in songwriting (and really, in creativity in general)

6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/lyric-writing-guide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/lyric-writing-guide/</a> Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala</a> Joseph talks about the 2-sided major misperception about the role of ideas in songwriting (and really, in creativity in general)

Songwriters Often Have The Wrong Idea About Ideas

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala In this episode, Joseph talks a very unintuitive tip: To try not listening to other music for a bit in order to hit the reset button and put your creativity and originality into overdrive.

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala</a> In this episode, Joseph talks a very unintuitive tip: To try not listening to other music for a bit in order to hit the reset button and put your creativity and originality into overdrive.

Why You Should Try Fasting From Music

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala In this episode, Joseph pulls back to talk about some melody writing fundamentals. These are 3 basic, but very important, melody writing tips.

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala</a> In this episode, Joseph pulls back to talk about some melody writing fundamentals. These are 3 basic, but very important, melody writing tips.

3 Basic Melody Writing Tips

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala In this episode, Joseph talks how putting some constraints on our songwriting can actually HELP our creativity. 

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala</a> In this episode, Joseph talks how putting some constraints on our songwriting can actually HELP our creativity.

How Constraints Can Actually Help Our Songwriting Creativity

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala In this episode, Joseph talks about 3 less intuitive songwriting skills.

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala</a> In this episode, Joseph talks about 3 less intuitive songwriting skills.

3 Unintuitive Songwriting Skills

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala In this episode, Joseph talks about 3 big-picture things to know before you take the dive into songwriting... or 3 fundamental things to re-think through if you're a more seasoned songwriter!

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala</a> In this episode, Joseph talks about 3 big-picture things to know before you take the dive into songwriting... or 3 fundamental things to re-think through if you're a more seasoned songwriter!

3 Things To Know Before You Start Songwriting

Pat Pattison

6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist: https://songwritertheory.com/lyric-writing-guide/ Get "Writing Better Lyrics" By Pat Pattison here: https://amzn.to/3fyK3NWFor Full Disclosure: The above is an affiliate link, so if you end up buying from that link, it will support me as well (at no extra cost to you!). If not, no hard feelings, but I hope you get the book anyway! Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks about 3 major things he learned from Pat Pattison's great book "Writing Better Lyrics: The Essential Guide To Powerful Songwriting"

6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/lyric-writing-guide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/lyric-writing-guide/</a> Get "Writing Better Lyrics" By Pat Pattison here: <a href="https://amzn.to/3fyK3NW" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/3fyK3NW</a>For Full Disclosure: The above is an affiliate link, so if you end up buying from that link, it will support me as well (at no extra cost to you!). If not, no hard feelings, but I hope you get the book anyway! Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala</a> Joseph talks about 3 major things he learned from Pat Pattison's great book "Writing Better Lyrics: The Essential Guide To Powerful Songwriting"

3 Tips From "Writing Better Lyrics" by Pat Pattison 

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala In this episode, Joseph talks about how to actually FINISH a partly-written song.

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala</a> In this episode, Joseph talks about how to actually FINISH a partly-written song.

How To Turn A Song Piece Into A Full Song

Let's learn songwriting! Learn to write impactful and meaningful songs by writing great melodies, lyrics that move your listeners, and arrangements and chord progressions that evoke the right emotions.Do you want to write emotional and powerful melodies? Learn to write incredible melodies, regardless of your musical background.Do you wish you could write incredible lyrics that move your listeners? Learn how to write great lyrics that are worthy of being framed and hung up on your wall.Want to make full, rich arrangements that sound fully professional? Learn how to arrange in a way that makes your song shine.Do you sometimes have trouble finding inspiration or staying productive? Learn how to find, maintain and regain inspiration as well as remain productive in your creative processes.Do you ever get overwhelmed by songwriting?Do you find yourself getting into creative ruts?Do you wish your songwriting efficiency was better?If you want asimpleguide to learn to get past the overwhelm of songwriting, thisshow is for you!So let's learn how to songwrite with music theory, lyric writing, creative productivity, inspiration, and more!Anyone who's ever had feelings or thoughts can become a songwriter, so let's dive deep into our inner creator and learn how to write songs!If you want to dive even deeper, gograb my free guide on 10 proven ways to start writing a song in under an hour here: http://songwritertheory.com/free-guide/

I love what you are doing! Keep up the good work. Great advice!

Great Show!

I honestly didn&#39;t really listen to podcasts until I found this one. I&#39;ve been listening for well over a few months now. You can tell Joseph is very knowledgeable in the world of music theory and songwriting. I don&#39;t always agree with every last bit of advice, but it&#39;s refreshing to hear from someone that actually has an opinion on the subject. He has an episode for just about whatever need you could have as a songwriter, from lyric writing, improving lyrics, explaining complicated music theory topics, what to do if you&#39;re stuck, achieving better sound quality. I&#39;ve been in music since fourth grade, so a lot of it wasn&#39;t 100% new to me, but it&#39;s still so very helpful to have those reminders of things easily forgotten. I enjoy that it doesn&#39;t focus on one thing during the entire series. It strikes a good balance of theory and practice.

Great Podcast!

Let's learn songwriting! Learn to write impactful and meaningful songs by writing great melodies, lyrics that move your listeners, and arrangements and chord progressions that evoke the right <a href="http://emotions.Do" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">emotions.Do</a> you want to write emotional and powerful melodies? Learn to write incredible melodies, regardless of your musical <a href="http://background.Do" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">background.Do</a> you wish you could write incredible lyrics that move your listeners? Learn how to write great lyrics that are worthy of being framed and hung up on your wall.Want to make full, rich arrangements that sound fully professional? Learn how to arrange in a way that makes your song <a href="http://shine.Do" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">shine.Do</a> you sometimes have trouble finding inspiration or staying productive? Learn how to find, maintain and regain inspiration as well as remain productive in your creative <a href="http://processes.Do" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">processes.Do</a> you ever get overwhelmed by songwriting?Do you find yourself getting into creative ruts?Do you wish your songwriting efficiency was better?If you want asimpleguide to learn to get past the overwhelm of songwriting, thisshow is for you!So let's learn how to songwrite with music theory, lyric writing, creative productivity, inspiration, and more!Anyone who's ever had feelings or thoughts can become a songwriter, so let's dive deep into our inner creator and learn how to write songs!If you want to dive even deeper, gograb my free guide on 10 proven ways to start writing a song in under an hour here: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/free-guide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/free-guide/</a>

Songwriter Theory: Learn Songwriting And Write Meaningful Lyrics and Songs

FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Iteration is defined as the act or process of repeating. For example, iteration can include repetition of a sequence of operations in order to get ever closer to a desired result. To-do List app:Start with basic to-do’sNext iteration, add priority levels 1-3Priority levels don’t work right, so fix them for next iteration, and add levels 4 and 5Find out users don’t want priority levels, but due dates, so replace priority with due dateThe datepicker for due date is garbage, because it takes too long to select a date one year from now, so make that quicker and easier Making Yard Nicer:Mow grass one dayNext day do weed whacking - grass looking goodNext day water grass + trim bushesNext day put new mulch downNext day do some gardening- cut back some plants, plant new ones Section level - Verses, ChorusesLine level - linesWord level I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songAnd I hear your melodyYou think you don’t belong I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songI know how hard it isTo always stay so strong I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songLiving in a silent worldWhere burdens don’t last long I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songLiving in a busy worldWhere burdens don’t last long I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songLiving in an absent worldWhere burdens don’t last long I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songLiving in a restless worldWhere burdens don’t last long I know the ache/grief of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songLiving in a restless worldWhere burdens don’t last long I know the ache of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songClinging to a restless worldWhere burdens don’t last long

FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Iteration is defined as the act or process of repeating. For example, iteration can include repetition of a sequence of operations in order to get ever closer to a desired result. To-do List app:Start with basic to-do’sNext iteration, add priority levels 1-3Priority levels don’t work right, so fix them for next iteration, and add levels 4 and 5Find out users don’t want priority levels, but due dates, so replace priority with due dateThe datepicker for due date is garbage, because it takes too long to select a date one year from now, so make that quicker and easier Making Yard Nicer:Mow grass one dayNext day do weed whacking - grass looking goodNext day water grass + trim bushesNext day put new mulch downNext day do some gardening- cut back some plants, plant new ones Section level - Verses, ChorusesLine level - linesWord level I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songAnd I hear your melodyYou think you don’t belong I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songI know how hard it isTo always stay so strong I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songLiving in a silent worldWhere burdens don’t last long I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songLiving in a busy worldWhere burdens don’t last long I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songLiving in an absent worldWhere burdens don’t last long I know the pain of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songLiving in a restless worldWhere burdens don’t last long I know the ache/grief of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songLiving in a restless worldWhere burdens don’t last long I know the ache of a lonely heartThat cheers itself with songClinging to a restless worldWhere burdens don’t last long

Intro To Iterative Lyric Writing

Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/NEW MUSIC THEORY FREE GUIDE LINK: http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/ Joseph talks about song structures- including some less common song parts. 

Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/</a>NEW MUSIC THEORY FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/</a> Joseph talks about song structures- including some less common song parts.

Song Structure

Songwriting Sessions Free Access: https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/Music Theory Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/ Joseph talks about how to start writing melody.

Songwriting Sessions Free Access: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/</a>Music Theory Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/</a>Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/</a> Joseph talks about how to start writing melody.

How To Start Writing Melody

FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Website: https://songwritertheory.com/Follow Me on Twitter: @josephNVadala Episode Writeup:Do you ever wonder where to go with your lyrics? Do you have a great theme, but don’t know how to get a chorus, bridge, and 2+ verses?We’ve all been there. Here are 3 methods to figure out how to write a full set of lyrics from your theme.Expansion PrincipleA song idea often starts with a single lyrical line or symbol.And then you ask yourself how you get to 2 verses, a chorus, and a bridge out of that. Maybe even 3 verses.That is where we get the expansion principle.I’ll illustrate with a story.A long, long time ago, in a state fairly far away, I had just found out my grandfather had cancer and likely only a year or so to live.I was upset and already angry at the people who would respond with some cop-out like “I’m so sorry, but I’m sure it will be ok” or “You’ll get through this”Let me feel some sadness, will you? So I wrote the lyric “This night seems so long, just waiting to hear it’s all a bad dream, maybe someday it will be alright, but no it won’t be tonight”In other words “shut up about how it will be alright someday. It’s not someday yet. Let me feel this sadness without trying to make me feel bad about it or saying I should just pray away the sad.” That just doesn’t make quite as good a lyric.But that was all I wrote.So the lyric, at this point, was simply about how it won’t be ok tonight. “Why?” and “What happened?” haven’t been answered yet.A few months later my girlfriend broke up with me. So, I did what any sane human would do. I did nothing but cry and watch “Everybody Loves Raymond” for 50 hours straight, all while consuming no liquids and no food.Then I decided that songwriters lived for the sad moments they could use for creative magic. So I sat at the piano and cranked out 3 verses and all the music for “Won’t Be Tonight”.The lyric that started from a short lyric about today not being alright became a song mourning the rejection and loss of someone you thought was always going to be there. The first verse captures the feelings in the moment of the breakup, the second deals with bitterness in the direct aftermath, and the third with the loneliness you’re left with at the end.The expansion principle. We started with a rough night. We ended with a story of many rough nights, with shock, bitterness, and sadness in between.Reduction PrincipleSometimes we start with a concept that is just too big to tackle in a song. “Homelessness” or “Alzheimer's” for example.If you wrote a song about homelessness in general, it would probably come across as preachy or unrelatable.But what if you told the story of the woman on the street corner in the pink, dirty jacket. All of a sudden we have story we can attach to. Something we care about. Homelessness is a fact. A homeless PERSON is a tragedy we care about.Or, how about Alzheimer's Disease? I wanted to write a song on this for a while as two of my grandparents had it. But I just didn’t know where to start. Alzheimer’s in general is far too broad and factual. For some reason, I couldn’t figure out a way to write a song from my experience either.But then I went to a play that was about Alzheimer’s and finally got the inspiration I needed.The play was called “The Things We Keep”. It centered around a man suffering from Alzheimer’s and the effect it had on his family.A recurring part of the play was the concept of him going outside and sitting down on a stump. He believed it was a bus stop and the bus would come and take him where he needed to go- to those he remembers.After the play, they talked about how using a fake bus stop is actually something some Alzheimer's care facilities do. It prevents the patients from running away, as they merely wait at the fake bus stop. This gives the workers the opportunity to go out and talk to them. Eventually the patients forget why they were out there in the first place, and the workers can guide them back inside.Now I had my story. I started with the huge concept of “Alzheimer’s” and ended with a story of a man and his older relative who keeps waiting for the bus to take him back to those he knows....

<a href="https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FREE GUIDE</a> LINK: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Website: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/</a>Follow Me on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/josephNVadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@josephNVadala</a> Episode Writeup:Do you ever wonder where to go with your lyrics? Do you have a great theme, but don’t know how to get a chorus, bridge, and 2+ verses?We’ve all been there. Here are 3 methods to figure out how to write a full set of lyrics from your theme.Expansion PrincipleA song idea often starts with a single lyrical line or symbol.And then you ask yourself how you get to 2 verses, a chorus, and a bridge out of that. Maybe even 3 verses.That is where we get the expansion principle.I’ll illustrate with a story.A long, long time ago, in a state fairly far away, I had just found out my grandfather had cancer and likely only a year or so to live.I was upset and already angry at the people who would respond with some cop-out like “I’m so sorry, but I’m sure it will be ok” or “You’ll get through this”Let me feel some sadness, will you? So I wrote the lyric “This night seems so long, just waiting to hear it’s all a bad dream, maybe someday it will be alright, but no it won’t be tonight”In other words “shut up about how it will be alright someday. It’s not someday yet. Let me feel this sadness without trying to make me feel bad about it or saying I should just pray away the sad.” That just doesn’t make quite as good a lyric.But that was all I wrote.So the lyric, at this point, was simply about how it won’t be ok tonight. “Why?” and “What happened?” haven’t been answered yet.A few months later my girlfriend broke up with me. So, I did what any sane human would do. I did nothing but cry and watch “Everybody Loves Raymond” for 50 hours straight, all while consuming no liquids and no food.Then I decided that songwriters lived for the sad moments they could use for creative magic. So I sat at the piano and cranked out 3 verses and all the music for “Won’t Be Tonight”.The lyric that started from a short lyric about today not being alright became a song mourning the rejection and loss of someone you thought was always going to be there. The first verse captures the feelings in the moment of the breakup, the second deals with bitterness in the direct aftermath, and the third with the loneliness you’re left with at the end.The expansion principle. We started with a rough night. We ended with a story of many rough nights, with shock, bitterness, and sadness in between.Reduction PrincipleSometimes we start with a concept that is just too big to tackle in a song. “Homelessness” or “Alzheimer's” for example.If you wrote a song about homelessness in general, it would probably come across as preachy or unrelatable.But what if you told the story of the woman on the street corner in the pink, dirty jacket. All of a sudden we have story we can attach to. Something we care about. Homelessness is a fact. A homeless PERSON is a tragedy we care about.Or, how about Alzheimer's Disease? I wanted to write a song on this for a while as two of my grandparents had it. But I just didn’t know where to start. Alzheimer’s in general is far too broad and factual. For some reason, I couldn’t figure out a way to write a song from my experience either.But then I went to a play that was about Alzheimer’s and finally got the inspiration I needed.The play was called “The Things We Keep”. It centered around a man suffering from Alzheimer’s and the effect it had on his family.A recurring part of the play was the concept of him going outside and sitting down on a stump. He believed it was a bus stop and the bus would come and take him where he needed to go- to those he remembers.After the play, they talked about how using a fake bus stop is actually something some Alzheimer's care facilities do. It prevents the patients from running away, as they merely wait at the fake bus stop. This gives the workers the opportunity to go out and talk to them. Eventually the patients forget why they were out there in the first place, and the workers can guide them back inside.Now I had my story. I started with the huge concept of “Alzheimer’s” and ended with a story of a man and his older relative who keeps waiting for the bus to take him back to those he knows....

How To Write Lyrics Within Your Theme

FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide

FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide</a>

A Great First Step Into Songwriting

Songwriting Sessions Free Access: https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/ Joseph talks about how to start writing lyrics.

Songwriting Sessions Free Access: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/</a>Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/</a> Joseph talks about how to start writing lyrics.

How To Start Writing Lyrics

FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/If you want more visits from the muse or to increase your productivity, you need to find the places that are conducive to writing productivity The most essential tool to become better at songwriting. What is it?Habits.Habits are the foundation of greatness. And you formulate habits with discipline. You don’t get to be a prolific songwriter without having a habit of writing.You don’t get to be a great lead guitarist without having a habit of practicing every day.Motivation comes and goes, but habits stick with you.Whatever it is you want to become greater at, habits are where it should start. Songwriting is no different.Habits protect you from forgetting to do something for a couple days that then turns into a couple months.Because, if you have the habit of writing every day and then you don’t write for a day, you’ll notice. Something will seem off. All day you’ll be itching to get your daily writing in. If this happens, you’ll be sure to make time to get back to writing the next day.If you don’t have the habit to write every day, Netflix and Hulu can slowly keep cutting into your writing time until you’ve somehow gone over a month without a single writing session.The Office and Stranger Things can wait. Recently, I decided I was sick of just being a rhythm guitarist. I want to become a true lead guitarist. I don’t want to need a really good guitarist for my band, because he’ll have to carry the lead guitar load.I want to be able to do it myself. So, over the past month or so, I’ve gotten in the habit of being intentional about practicing every day. I’m practicing my scales over and over and over.I’m practicing some lead guitar over some jam tracks available on youtube. I’m playing with songs I know and love. I do scales and melodies with the scales while watching a judgeworthy amount of Denver Broncos training camp videos and press conferences.Anytime I’m not quite sure what to do next, I pick up the guitar. Anytime I find myself watching Seinfeld or something else on Hulu, I’ll pick up the guitar and get in some scale time while I watch.And, guess what? There’s already been a certifiable ton of improvement. I want to at least be a low-end lead by the end of the year, and I think I’ll get there.Without the habit, I wouldn’t even have a chance. But this habit has made my new default be about 1 hour of guitar practice every day. Specifically working on scales, and soloing over different songs.You don’t become great at something from not doing it.Sound obvious? It is, and yet so many people just wait around, play more video games and just sort of expect to get better over time- practice or not. Nothing is handed to us. We have to work for it. So write every day. At least 15 minutes. If you really don’t have time to do more than 15 minutes that day, that’s fine. But maybe the next day your 15 minutes turns into an hour. Either way, be sure to form the habit. Do you have the habit of writing every day? If not, what is getting in your way? Let me know @ joseph@songwritertheory.com

FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>If you want more visits from the muse or to increase your productivity, you need to find the places that are conducive to writing productivity The most essential tool to become better at songwriting. What is it?Habits.Habits are the foundation of greatness. And you formulate habits with discipline. You don’t get to be a prolific songwriter without having a habit of writing.You don’t get to be a <a href="https://lifein12keys.com/guitar-practice-routines-an-interview-with-5-pro-guitarists/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">great lead guitarist</a> without having a habit of practicing every day.Motivation comes and goes, but habits stick with you.Whatever it is you want to become greater at, habits are where it should start. Songwriting is no different.Habits protect you from forgetting to do something for a couple days that then turns into a couple months.Because, if you have the habit of writing every day and then you don’t write for a day, you’ll notice. Something will seem off. All day you’ll be itching to get your daily writing in. If this happens, you’ll be sure to make time to get back to writing the next day.If you don’t have the habit to write every day, Netflix and Hulu can slowly keep cutting into your writing time until you’ve somehow gone over a month without a single writing session.The Office and Stranger Things can wait. Recently, I decided I was sick of just being a rhythm guitarist. I want to become a true lead guitarist. I don’t want to need a really good guitarist for my band, because he’ll have to carry the lead guitar load.I want to be able to do it myself. So, over the past month or so, I’ve gotten in the habit of being intentional about practicing every day. I’m practicing my scales over and over and over.I’m practicing some lead guitar over some jam tracks available on youtube. I’m playing with songs I know and love. I do scales and melodies with the scales while watching a judgeworthy amount of Denver Broncos training camp videos and press conferences.Anytime I’m not quite sure what to do next, I pick up the guitar. Anytime I find myself watching Seinfeld or something else on Hulu, I’ll pick up the guitar and get in some scale time while I watch.And, guess what? There’s already been a certifiable ton of improvement. I want to at least be a low-end lead by the end of the year, and I think I’ll get there.Without the habit, I wouldn’t even have a chance. But this habit has made my new default be about 1 hour of guitar practice every day. Specifically working on scales, and soloing over different songs.You don’t become great at something from not doing it.Sound obvious? It is, and yet so many people just wait around, play more video games and just sort of expect to get better over time- practice or not. Nothing is handed to us. We have to work for it. So write every day. At least 15 minutes. If you really don’t have time to do more than 15 minutes that day, that’s fine. But maybe the next day your 15 minutes turns into an hour. Either way, be sure to form the habit. Do you have the habit of writing every day? If not, what is getting in your way? Let me know @ joseph@songwritertheory.com

The Most Essential Tool To Become Better At Songwriting

Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Songwriting Sessions Free Access: https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/ Joseph talks about the importance of knowing your "why" or your purpose. 

Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Songwriting Sessions Free Access: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/</a>Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/</a> Joseph talks about the importance of knowing your "why" or your purpose.

You Need To Know Your Why

Figure

FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Find Range:Start in comfort zone, go down until you hit bottomStart in comfort zone, go up until you hit top- belting Consistent {Comfort RangeLower RangeUpper RangeHead Voice Range}Deviant Lower RangeDeviant Upper Range

FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Find Range:Start in comfort zone, go down until you hit bottomStart in comfort zone, go up until you hit top- belting Consistent {Comfort RangeLower RangeUpper RangeHead Voice Range}Deviant Lower RangeDeviant Upper Range

How To Figure Out Your Vocal Range

FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ It’s day 2 of our Week of Lyric Writing Tools. This time, we’re going to look at utilizing parallelism in lyrics.  ParallelismYou have to love some good parallelism. Star Wars has made plenty of use of parallels. Both Luke and Anakin lose their hands.Both (as well as Rey) come from small beginnings on a desolate desert planet.And both of them have their temptation scene with Darth Sidious seated in a metal chair with space behind him. In both, the young Jedi is tempted to kill the sith apprentice. Anakin makes the wrong choice and does, while Luke does the right thing and takes mercy. There are plenty of other examples, but take a look at those two clips and you will see the obvious parallel. We can do the same thing with our songs. A great example of parallelism in a song is Fast Car by Tracy Chapman.Listen to get the rest!

FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a> It’s day 2 of our Week of Lyric Writing Tools. This time, we’re going to look at utilizing parallelism in lyrics.  ParallelismYou have to love some good parallelism. Star Wars has made plenty of use of parallels. Both Luke and Anakin lose their hands.Both (as well as Rey) come from small beginnings on a desolate desert planet.And both of them have their temptation scene with Darth Sidious seated in a metal chair with space behind him. In both, the young Jedi is tempted to kill the sith apprentice. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYT3ctPuVRw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anakin makes the wrong choice</a> and does, while <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1MnMA0TzGI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Luke does the right thing</a> and takes mercy. There are plenty of other examples, but take a look at those two clips and you will see the obvious parallel. We can do the same thing with our songs. A great example of parallelism in a song is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwrHwZyFN7M" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fast Car</a> by Tracy Chapman.Listen to get the rest!

Lyric Writing Tools #2 - Parallelism

Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/NEW MUSIC THEORY FREE GUIDE LINK: http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/ Joseph talks about what the heck sus chords are, why you should care, and how to use them.

Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/</a>NEW MUSIC THEORY FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/</a> Joseph talks about what the heck sus chords are, why you should care, and how to use them.

What on Earth are Sus Chords?

Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/ Joseph explains how writing more precise lyrics can help you go from adequate to great lyrics.

Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/</a> Joseph explains how writing more precise lyrics can help you go from adequate to great lyrics.

Great Lyrics are Precise Lyrics

Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ If you told me a few years ago that I could ensure that I never run out of song ideas, I would never have believed you. I knew the pain of staring at a blank page and thinking: “What do I have to say?” “What can I possibly say that will sound fresh and new?” “What can I say that’s different than the last 10 songs I’ve written?” But this can be done with something as simple as a song development system. What on earth is that? Well, it has a 3 basic parts.Idea Generation Idea Refinement Song Development

Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/</a>FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a> If you told me a few years ago that I could ensure that I never run out of song ideas, I would never have believed you. I knew the pain of staring at a blank page and thinking: <ul><li>“What do I have to say?” </li><li>“What can I possibly say that will sound fresh and new?” </li><li>“What can I say that’s different than the last 10 songs I’ve written?”</li></ul> But this can be done with something as simple as a song development system. What on earth is that? Well, it has a 3 basic parts.<ul><li>Idea Generation </li><li>Idea Refinement </li><li>Song Development</li></ul>

Simple Song Development System

Music Theory Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/Songwriting Sessions Free Access: https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/ Joseph talks about how to start arranging your songs.

Music Theory Free Guide Link: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/</a>Songwriting Sessions Free Access: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/songwritingsessions/</a>Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/</a> Joseph talks about how to start arranging your songs.

How To Start Arranging

Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/NEW MUSIC THEORY FREE GUIDE LINK: http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/ Joseph talks about the relationship between lyrics and rhythm. 

Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/</a>NEW MUSIC THEORY FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/</a> Joseph talks about the relationship between lyrics and rhythm.

Lyrics and Rhythm

SHORT SURVEY LINK: https://forms.gle/hAv8GpXrKEvo9xZN9 help me help you better with the content you need by filling this out! FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ It’s day 5 of our Week of Lyric Writing Tools. This time, we’re going to look at utilizing multiple meanings in lyrics.  Multiple MeaningsSymbolism is one-directional. You have a symbol that represents something “real”. But you can also have multiple meanings, which is bi-directinal. Instead of a “fake” symbol representing the “real” thing you’re talking about, you have something literal you are utilizing to also symbolize something deeper.Multiple meanings doesn’t even need to have any symbolic one. And you aren’t even limited to 2 meanings.Listen for more!

SHORT SURVEY LINK: <a href="https://forms.gle/hAv8GpXrKEvo9xZN9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://forms.gle/hAv8GpXrKEvo9xZN9</a> help me help you better with the content you need by filling this out! FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a> It’s day 5 of our Week of Lyric Writing Tools. This time, we’re going to look at utilizing multiple meanings in lyrics.  Multiple MeaningsSymbolism is one-directional. You have a symbol that represents something “real”. But you can also have multiple meanings, which is bi-directinal. Instead of a “fake” symbol representing the “real” thing you’re talking about, you have something literal you are utilizing to also symbolize something deeper.Multiple meanings doesn’t even need to have any symbolic one. And you aren’t even limited to 2 meanings.Listen for more!

Lyric Writing Tools #5 - Multiple Meanings

Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ It’s the final day of our Week of Lyric Writing Tools. This time, we’re going to look at utilizing open endedness in lyrics.  Open EndednessWhat is the first thing you talked about when walking out of Inception?The ending.Masterful. This is why I strive for the Christopher Nolan principle of creativity.But, if your friend group is anything like mine, you spent a long while discussing whether or not that top was going to fall over. Was he still in a dream or was it reality?To this day, the masterful ending to a masterful movie comes up. And, to this day, discussion will ensue on whether we think it’s reality or dream.

Join the discussion in our Facebook group here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/songwritertheorymastermind/</a>FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a> It’s the final day of our Week of Lyric Writing Tools. This time, we’re going to look at utilizing open endedness in lyrics.  Open EndednessWhat is the first thing you talked about when walking out of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Inception</a>?The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhavsmsi_5M" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ending</a>.Masterful. This is why I strive for the <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/the-christopher-nolan-principle-of-creativity/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Christopher Nolan principle of creativity</a>.But, if your friend group is anything like mine, you spent a long while discussing whether or not that top was going to fall over. Was he still in a dream or was it reality?To this day, the masterful ending to a masterful movie comes up. And, to this day, discussion will ensue on whether we think it’s reality or dream.

Lyric Writing Tools #6 - Open Endedness

FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/If you’re a songwriter, you’ve probably had someone just assume you know a specific song by a specific artist because, well, “you’re a musician!”For me: #Triggered.As much as I love faulty gatekeeping, this ticks me off.Spoiler alert: I would say the answer to whether or not a songwriter needs to know music history is a resounding no. Here’s why.You are Your Own ArtistThe simplest of reasons, but still important.You are your own artist. If you sound nothing like the Beatles, knowing some random song they wrote 50 years ago doesn’t have anything to do with your writing ability.There is even a danger here. Which is that the world needs more first-rate new artists, not second-rate copies of past artists.If you spend time diving so deep into Metallica or Nirvana and end up sounding like Nirvana 2.0, no one will care. Or, perhaps worse, they will care and hate you for being a second-rate copy of an artist they love.Go be you. The sound you craft from all your different influences combined with your style and value judgements is what makes you special.Not knowing some random Beatles song.You Don’t Need to Know Your Entire Influence TreeLet me explain what I mean by an influence tree.For coaching in sports, there is something called a “coaching tree”.If a head coach has 2 assistant coaches, the 2 assistants are likely influenced by how the head coach did things, and likely have very similar strategic values as they were part of the same team.So when they become head coaches, they are a part of the head coach’s coaching tree. When their assistants eventually become head coaches themselves, they are also part of the original head coach’s coaching tree, as he influenced those who influenced these new head coaches.So an influence tree, like the coaching tree, is basically like a “family tree” of influences.Let me share with you a piece of what my “influence tree” looks like.My favorite band, and one of my biggest influences, is Vertical Horizon. So I am a part of their influence tree. They are influenced by the band Rush, so I also am in their influence tree.I don’t listen to rush, and am personally not a huge fan. But I’m still a part of their influence tree, because they influenced who influenced me.I’m also in Breaking Benjamin’s influence tree. They claim Nirvana and Tool as their main influences, so I’m also in their influence tree. Neither influence me directly, as I don’t know much about Tool and, while I enjoy some Nirvana, they aren’t an artist I listen to enough to really be influenced.Now, I’ve been told multiple times how I need to know bands like Metallica, Nirvana, and the Beatles, because they were important to the history of different styles that I fit into.Here’s the thing. Sometimes even a direct influence is hard to hear in a musician. I’m sure you can hear the Vertical Horizon, Five for Fighting, and Goo Goo Dolls influence in most of my stuff. But I was also heavily influenced by John Denver. I know and understand how he influenced me melodically and lyrically, but no one would pick up on that. I don’t sound anything like John Denver.Going back 2 generations? Some of my rock stuff has clear influences from the likes of Vertical Horizon and Breaking Benjamin, but I don’t think anyone would say my music sounds like Rush or even Nirvana.Imagine going back the 5+ generations to the Beatles? They are so far from me in the influence tree, that studying them as an influence would be like worrying that you’re great great grandfather allegedly murdered someone. You’re so far away in the gene pool that you probably aren’t a murderer waiting to happen.ConclusionI’m not saying you should write in a vacuum. What I am saying is that you don’t need to know all about past popular music to write great songs. You don’t even need that to write popular songs.I do think influences are important, but I don’t think we all should be forced to be influenced by the same artists. Chances are, you are influenced by other popular artists, so you clearly have successful influences. So why do you need to be influenced by the most popular artists of all time? It’s not like they are necessarily better than any other artist.  Embrace your influences, don’t let anyone force new influences upon you (or force you to spend time studying artists you don’t like or care about), and be unapologetically you with your music..

FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>If you’re a songwriter, you’ve probably had someone just assume you know a specific song by a specific artist because, well, “you’re a musician!”For me: #Triggered.As much as I love faulty gatekeeping, this ticks me off.Spoiler alert: I would say the answer to whether or not a songwriter needs to know music history is a resounding no. Here’s why.You are Your Own ArtistThe simplest of reasons, but still important.You are your own artist. If you sound nothing like the Beatles, knowing some random song they wrote 50 years ago doesn’t have anything to do with your writing ability.There is even a danger here. Which is that the world needs more first-rate new artists, not second-rate copies of past artists.If you spend time diving so deep into Metallica or Nirvana and end up sounding like Nirvana 2.0, no one will care. Or, perhaps worse, they will care and hate you for being a second-rate copy of an artist they love.Go be you. The sound you craft from all your different influences combined with your style and value judgements is what makes you special.Not knowing some random Beatles song.You Don’t Need to Know Your Entire Influence TreeLet me explain what I mean by an influence tree.For coaching in sports, there is something called a “coaching tree”.If a head coach has 2 assistant coaches, the 2 assistants are likely influenced by how the head coach did things, and likely have very similar strategic values as they were part of the same team.So when they become head coaches, they are a part of the head coach’s coaching tree. When their assistants eventually become head coaches themselves, they are also part of the original head coach’s coaching tree, as he influenced those who influenced these new head coaches.So an influence tree, like the coaching tree, is basically like a “family tree” of influences.Let me share with you a piece of what my “influence tree” looks like.My favorite band, and one of my biggest influences, is Vertical Horizon. So I am a part of their influence tree. They are influenced by the band Rush, so I also am in their influence tree.I don’t listen to rush, and am personally not a huge fan. But I’m still a part of their influence tree, because they influenced who influenced me.I’m also in Breaking Benjamin’s influence tree. They claim Nirvana and Tool as their main influences, so I’m also in their influence tree. Neither influence me directly, as I don’t know much about Tool and, while I enjoy some Nirvana, they aren’t an artist I listen to enough to really be influenced.Now, I’ve been told multiple times how I need to know bands like Metallica, Nirvana, and the Beatles, because they were important to the history of different styles that I fit into.Here’s the thing. Sometimes even a direct influence is hard to hear in a musician. I’m sure you can hear the Vertical Horizon, Five for Fighting, and Goo Goo Dolls influence in most of my stuff. But I was also heavily influenced by John Denver. I know and understand how he influenced me melodically and lyrically, but no one would pick up on that. I don’t sound anything like John Denver.Going back 2 generations? Some of my rock stuff has clear influences from the likes of Vertical Horizon and Breaking Benjamin, but I don’t think anyone would say my music sounds like Rush or even Nirvana.Imagine going back the 5+ generations to the Beatles? They are so far from me in the influence tree, that studying them as an influence would be like worrying that you’re great great grandfather allegedly murdered someone. You’re so far away in the gene pool that you probably aren’t a murderer waiting to happen.ConclusionI’m not saying you should write in a vacuum. What I am saying is that you don’t need to know all about past popular music to write great songs. You don’t even need that to write popular songs.I do think influences are important, but I don’t think we all should be forced to be influenced by the same artists. Chances are, you are influenced by other popular artists, so you clearly have successful influences. So why do you need to be influenced by the most popular artists of all time? It’s not like they are necessarily better than any other artist.  Embrace your influences, don’t let anyone force new influences upon you (or force you to spend time studying artists you don’t like or care about), and be unapologetically you with your music..

Does a Songwriter Need to Know Music History?

FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/Website: https://songwritertheory.com/Follow Me on Twitter: @josephNVadala Episode Writeup:One’s creative identity is foundational to who you are as a musical artist. Understanding what you value, what you like, and who you are is unendingly important.So how do we find our creative identity?Find What You LoveWhat music do you love? Take a moment to write down your top-10 favorite artists.Usually, who we are as an artist is a healthy mix of our favorite artists and the core of who we are.You will often find your own identity reflected by your favorite artists. If all your top-10 artists are male country singers who tend to have themes of love and cowboy boots, your creative identity probably isn’t going to be rapping about how loaded you are.Maybe it will. But it probably won’t.Next, it can be helpful to also write down your top-10 favorite songs. If you have too much repetition of the same artist in this top-10, maybe restrict yourself to 1 song per artist.Once you have these top-10 lists, we can move on to step 2 of finding your creative identity.Find Your Value JudgementsNow we’re going to utilize those top-10 lists.First, find what binds these favorites together. Here are some things to look for that might bind these different artists and songs together:Genre - Post Grunge, Adult Contemporary, Country, Pop, R&amp;B, etcLyrical Themes - Life, Loss of Love, Party Life, etcMelodic Style - Staccato, Legato, Utilize Large Vocal Range, Utilize Small Vocal RangeInstrumental Style - Piano driven, Synth Driven, Distorted Electric Guitar Driven, etcArrangement Style - Sparse arrangements (few instruments), Thick arrangements (more instruments)Mood - Happy, Sad, Angry, Angsty, etcSound Character - Catchy, memorable, emotive, etc You may be surprised by what binds together what you love. Maybe you only care about genre, but like all lyrical themes and moods. Or maybe you don’t care about genre, but only like music that is on the sad side of things. You may love catchy music in all its forms. Or you might prefer memorable, piano-driven songs with sparse arrangements.It’s important to figure out what unites many of your top 10 artists and songs, but finding some outliers can be just as important.For example, you may find that 8 of your top 10 artists are all rock bands. But then you also have a country artist in your top 10. That doesn’t seem to fit, so what characteristic does it share with those rock bands? This shared characteristic might be what you actually care about.Maybe you really just like dense, thick, “epic” sounding arrangements with sad lyrical themes. Which usually goes along with rock music. This doesn’t necessarily mean you like rock music per se. It might be that dense and thick sad songs are your thing.To take this a step further, it can be helpful to find artists that you would consider similar to artists on your top 10 that you don’t like. Because this gives you a way to separate what actually causes you to love your favorite artists and what just happens to be a characteristic of them.Find Your WhyWhy are you a songwriter? What is the greatest compliment someone can pay you as an artist?You might want to provide something positive in a world of negativity.You might want to be brutally honest about what you’re going through so others going through something similar feel less alone.You might want to bring solace to those who were abused.You might want to make people dance and feel ok despite the pain they’re going through.You might want people to just smile when they hear your music.Whatever your reason is, know it.Find What You’re Good At and Not So Good AtUse your strengths. Reduce the impact of your weaknesses.If you aren’t a great guitarist, write songs in a way that no one would know.If you can’t sing lower notes consistently, don’t write a song in that range.Set yourself up for success.

<a href="https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FREE GUIDE</a> LINK: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a>Website: <a href="https://songwritertheory.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/</a>Follow Me on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/josephNVadala" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@josephNVadala</a> Episode Writeup:One’s creative identity is foundational to who you are as a musical artist. Understanding what you value, what you like, and who you are is unendingly important.So how do we find our creative identity?Find What You LoveWhat music do you love? Take a moment to write down your top-10 favorite artists.Usually, who we are as an artist is a healthy mix of our favorite artists and the core of who we are.You will often find your own identity reflected by your favorite artists. If all your top-10 artists are male country singers who tend to have themes of love and cowboy boots, your creative identity probably isn’t going to be rapping about how loaded you are.Maybe it will. But it probably won’t.Next, it can be helpful to also write down your top-10 favorite songs. If you have too much repetition of the same artist in this top-10, maybe restrict yourself to 1 song per artist.Once you have these top-10 lists, we can move on to step 2 of finding your creative identity.Find Your Value JudgementsNow we’re going to utilize those top-10 lists.First, find what binds these favorites together. Here are some things to look for that might bind these different artists and songs together:<ul><li>Genre - Post Grunge, Adult Contemporary, Country, Pop, R&amp;B, etc</li><li>Lyrical Themes - Life, Loss of Love, Party Life, etc</li><li>Melodic Style - Staccato, Legato, Utilize Large Vocal Range, Utilize Small Vocal Range</li><li>Instrumental Style - Piano driven, Synth Driven, Distorted Electric Guitar Driven, etc</li><li>Arrangement Style - Sparse arrangements (few instruments), Thick arrangements (more instruments)</li><li>Mood - Happy, Sad, Angry, Angsty, etc</li><li>Sound Character - Catchy, memorable, emotive, etc</li></ul> You may be surprised by what binds together what you love. Maybe you only care about genre, but like all lyrical themes and moods. Or maybe you don’t care about genre, but only like music that is on the sad side of things. You may love catchy music in all its forms. Or you might prefer memorable, piano-driven songs with sparse arrangements.It’s important to figure out what unites many of your top 10 artists and songs, but finding some outliers can be just as important.For example, you may find that 8 of your top 10 artists are all rock bands. But then you also have a country artist in your top 10. That doesn’t seem to fit, so what characteristic does it share with those rock bands? This shared characteristic might be what you actually care about.Maybe you really just like dense, thick, “epic” sounding arrangements with sad lyrical themes. Which usually goes along with rock music. This doesn’t necessarily mean you like rock music per se. It might be that dense and thick sad songs are your thing.To take this a step further, it can be helpful to find artists that you would consider similar to artists on your top 10 that you don’t like. Because this gives you a way to separate what actually causes you to love your favorite artists and what just happens to be a characteristic of them.Find Your WhyWhy are you a songwriter? What is the greatest compliment someone can pay you as an artist?You might want to provide something positive in a world of negativity.You might want to be brutally honest about what you’re going through so others going through something similar feel less alone.You might want to bring solace to those who were abused.You might want to make people dance and feel ok despite the pain they’re going through.You might want people to just smile when they hear your music.Whatever your reason is, know it.Find What You’re Good At and Not So Good AtUse your strengths. Reduce the impact of your weaknesses.If you aren’t a great guitarist, write songs in a way that no one would know.If you can’t sing lower notes consistently, don’t write a song in that range.Set yourself up for success.

How to Find Your Creative Identity

FREE GUIDE LINK: https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ Music arrangement theory is so important, and yet it’s hardly discussed. Even when talking about songwriting or music theory, the theory of arrangement is something that is often left out. This is odd because basically every song ever recorded had an arrangement. Do you hear more than one instrument? Ok, then the song was arranged. I’m going to break down how I look at an arrangement. This will guide you to understand what parts you have already and what parts you need. It will also give some insight into the purpose or job of each part. It’s my music arrangement theory.Body, Main, Leads, Filler, Atmospheres

FREE GUIDE LINK: <a href="http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/</a> Music arrangement theory is so important, and yet it’s hardly discussed. Even when talking about songwriting or music theory, the theory of arrangement is something that is often left out. This is odd because basically every song ever recorded had an arrangement. Do you hear more than one instrument? Ok, then the song was arranged. I’m going to break down how I look at an arrangement. This will guide you to understand what parts you have already and what parts you need. It will also give some insight into the purpose or job of each part. It’s my music arrangement theory.Body, Main, Leads, Filler, Atmospheres

Music Arrangement Theory

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