Article Index

Here’s a complete list of all articles on this blog:

• When “Broken” Rules Work – learn the rules first, then break ‘em
• Using Life Experiences To Write - it happened to me, it can happen to you!
• Pay Me $250 To Re-Demo Your Song - IJ gets an email about another scam
• Finding New Fans Can Backfire - be careful what you wish for
• Finding Your Own Private Brill Building - finding the space in your life to write
• Great Song, Mediocre Lyric - critiquing Jamie Cullum’s “I’m All Over It
• Help!  I’ve Never Written A Song Before – some ideas to get you started
• Mailbag Nov 8/10 – some questions from a reader
• Songwriting Secrets (not!) – is there a secret to songwriting?
• Be Careful Out There – avoiding the song sharks
• Hacked! – updates on this website
• “Like A G6″ Lyrics Analyzed by Kimberly Cole
• Lady GaGa’s Challenge - will she take it?
• Sample Songwriting Partnership Agreement
• Songwriters – Are You Too Self-Centred?
• My 10 All Time Favourite Songs – simply personal
• Listen To New Music - do you do that enough?
• Listen to new music – expose yourself to something different
• Are You A Good Listener? - listen to the music
• Songwriting Without An Instrument – is this your problem?
• Songwriting Challenge June 2010 – what can you come up with?
• Trouble In Music City – Nashville Floods
• I Read The News Today, Oh Boy - a look at Lennon’s handwritten lyrics
• New Feature…Song of the Month! – why not throw yours in the mix?
• When It’s Time To Record Your Song – a checklist of sorts
• A New Forum – check it out!
• Beware of Bogus Tips – something you should know
• Songwriting Challenge – first one on this blog!  Try it out
• Million Dollar Baby or Not? – someone else who wants to make a million
• Nothing To Write About? – here are some ideas!
• What Fred Taught Me – good mentors are hard to come by
• The Use of Contrast in Songwriting
• ‘Ear’ We Go Again – Another Plagiarism Case
• The 10 Worst Covers Ever – Just my opinion
• Black-Eyed Peas and Plagiarism – Have a listen
• Can He Sell a Million? - You Be The Judge
• Welcome To The New Blog! – The Times They Are A Changin’
• The Bridge – Somewhere Between Here and There
• Signing To A Major Label Ain’t What It’s Cracked Up To Be – need I say more?
• Songs That Break The Rules – A few examples
• The Viva La Vida Plagiarism Controversy
  
• Do Lyrics Need To Mean Anything?
• Muse’s Clues from Feb.09
• Muse’s Clues from Mar.09
• Elvis Costello’s TV Show “Spectacle” – Watch!
• ‘Tis The Season For Song Contests – One Skeptic’s Perspective
• Songs For The Flu – A Musical Tribute to H1N1
• A PBS Show You Must Watch! – The Music Instinct
• Muse’s Clues Apr.09
• The End of ‘Performing Songwriter’ - Another Magazine Bites The Dust
• Songwriting in a Lousy Economy – Is It Worth The Effort?
• Power Of Observation – What To Look For
• Songwriting Exercise
• How Do Songs Get On The Radio?
• Are They The Same? – Two Pop Songs You Should Listen To
• Write About What You Know – One Example
• The Verse’s Purpose – never underestimate it
• Be Bold - freshen your songs up
• Don’t Bore Us, Get To The Chorus – a primer
• Great Songs and Apple Pies!- the “write” ingredients
• How Much Money Does A Songwriter Make? – A Reality Check
• Phrasing – What is it?
• Q & A – Putting Music To Lyrics
• Composing vs Songwriting – my work in television
• The Real Deal – songwriting websites I recommend
• Inspiration vs Writer’s Block/Other Writer’s Inspiration/Lyric Framework by Cyril Rawson (and more) – a collection of my earliest songwriting tips
• The Muse – Some Personal Experiences
• Song Contests – One Opinion
• The Hit Song – do your songs measure up?
• Genres- some definitions!
• Pain of Separation- separating yourself from your songs
• Your First Open Mic – A few tips!
• Song Forms & Terms - A quick study
• Song Breakthroughs How do they happen?
• Songwriting Topics Take the poll!
• A Web Presence Do you need it?
• Where To Get Critiques
• Results of My Demographic Survey
• Vowels and Consonants and Syllables, Oh My!
• Your Songwriting Career Taking the Small Steps
• The Second Verse How to Write The #@*&!! Thing!
• Self-Indulgence Don’t Sound Like A Beginner!
• Dynamics & Tension What They Are and How to Use ‘Em!
• Rejection Three Stages of Recovery
• The Theory of Relatively Do People Relate?
• Rhymes They’re Trickier Than You Think!
• I’m Too Happy To Write Where does it come from?
• Chord Keys Which chords sound right together
• Rule #1!! There ARE NO RULES!!
• Publishing A Brief Beginners’ Guide
• Success What’s Standing In Your Way?
• More On Magical Melodies – A quick study
• Your Weaknesses Pinpoint, including production quality!
• Recording Tips Recording your new gems!
• Music Terminology For those not familiar with it
• Songwriting As Storytelling Even if it isn’t!
• Performance Tips Playing To An Audience
• Threads Tying It All Together
• Putting Music With Lyrics Some simple tricks
• Tools Of The Trade My tools and how I use ‘em
• Finding YOUR Voice A song is as individual as you are
• How I Critique Or how thick is your skin?
• Step By Step How I wrote a song starting with one line
• Go With The Flow Getting into a creative headspace
• The Magic Of Melody Writing better melodies
• Getting Down to Details The nitpicking part of the craft
• Why I write…how ’bout you? That says it all!
• Meaning and Metaphor Adding depth to your lyrics
• The Trouble With Lyrics Fixing those common problems
• Performance Anxiety A couple of remedies
• Song Structure Defining a song’s parts
• Attitude Is Everything! How’s yours?
• The Music – More musical ideas
• Critique and LEARN! So you thought you were too new?