One-Minute Songwriting Tips
36mBeginner2017-03-31
Authors
Cliff Goldmacher
Recording Engineer, Producer, and GRAMMY-Recognized Songwriter
Course details
What makes the songs you know and love so powerful? Is it the melody or the beat, the verse or the chorus, the lyrics or the underlying message? One-Minute Songwriting Tips breaks down the secrets of great songwriters, using examples from today's top 10 Billboard hits. Cliff Goldmacher offers a short 1-minute tip that you can put into practice immediately. Don't wait to sit down and write! Get a dose of songwriting inspiration and technical insights, ranging from techniques for writing better songs, getting past writing blocks, and collaborating with cowriters to making it in the music business.
Learning objectives
Writing lyrics that are easy to sing
Putting the message in the chorus
Being productive at home
Putting the hook at the end of the chorus
Keeping rhyme schemes consistent
Using repetition in melodies
Making rough recordings
Reading poetry for inspiration
Writing at a regular time
Taking a writing assignment
Cutting down a song's length
Learning objectives
Writing lyrics that are easy to sing
Putting the message in the chorus
Being productive at home
Putting the hook at the end of the chorus
Keeping rhyme schemes consistent
Using repetition in melodies
Making rough recordings
Reading poetry for inspiration
Writing at a regular time
Taking a writing assignment
Cutting down a song's length
Skills covered
SongwritingTips, Tricks, & TechniquesAudio and Music
Concepts
0. Introduction
- 01 - Welcome
Cliff's Weekly Songwriting Tips
- 02 - If you write songs, then you're a songwriter
- 03 - Make your lyric easy to sing
- 04 - Don't wait to sit down and write
- 05 - Your chorus is the song's main message
- 06 - Set up a place at home to write
- 07 - Try using nonsense words in your lyric
- 08 - Write down a song title every day
- 09 - Make your metaphor's imagery consistent
- 10 - Write more and edit less
- 11 - Try the hook at the end of the chorus
- 12 - Keep a file of unfinished songs
- 13 - Try using the first line as the last line, too
- 14 - Commit to writing for five minutes
- 15 - Keep your rhyme scheme the same
- 16 - Write like you have a publishing deal
- 17 - Use imagery and details in your verses
- 18 - Try switching your verses around
- 19 - Think of songs as having three parts
- 20 - Learn your songwriting strengths
- 21 - Make sure your melody isn't too rangy
- 22 - Don't reject a cowriter's suggestion
- 23 - Use repetition in a melody
- 24 - Keep a recorder running while writing
- 25 - Ensure your bridge takes a new angle on your theme
- 26 - Make a rough recording of your song
- 27 - Everything points to the hook
- 28 - How songwriting is a muscle
- 29 - Don't chase trends
- 30 - Reach out to a new cowriter
- 31 - 50 50 - The simplest and best split
- 32 - Try learning a new instrument
- 33 - Read poetry
- 34 - Write based on the day's conversation
- 35 - Join or start a songwriting group
- 36 - Set a regular time of day to write
- 37 - Give yourself a writing assignment
- 38 - Do one business thing every day
- 39 - Make one song pitch every week
- 40 - Catalog your lyrics and demo recordings
- 41 - Make each verse line further your story
- 42 - When in doubt, say less
- 43 - Write a song based on the structure of one of your favorites
- 44 - Make your bridge an instrumental
- 45 - Similar sections should have similar structures
- 46 - Cut your song s intro in half
- 47 - A song under 2 minutes is fine if that's all you have to say
- 48 - Make sure your song isn't too long
- 49 - A lyric is a start, but you ll need a melody before you can call it a song