Harmony THEORY-PRACTICE: The history of music is replete with songwriter/performers who – technically speaking – didn’t know squat about music. But through creative genius and a good ear, they were able to create songs that inspired millions of people the world over. So while “THEORY” isn’t essential to make good or even great music, if…
A song can be broken down into four constituent elements. 1) Words – or LYRICS – which are sung along to a: 2) MELODY – which is the part of a tune you hum to yourself because you can’t get it out of your head. Melody is overlaid with: 3) HARMONY – and harmony consists…
HOW TO WRITE A SONG – PART TWO “A” – LYRICS AND THEME When writing lyrics, the first rule is never to take yourself too seriously. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking all your lyrics must be deeply profound or meaningful to be considered worthy. To disabuse yourself of this notion, all you have…
IMAGERY IN SONG WRITING – Songwriters use flowery or descriptive imagery in place of the actual things they describe. Think Bob Seger in “Like a Rock”, Or Poison’s “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn”, or Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield”. Beware of tortured or awkward sounding metaphors or similes. He was like a dog with…