Crafting Conversational Lyrics: Making Songs Feel Like Real-Life Stories
Have you ever listened to a song and felt like the singer was talking directly to you—like you were overhearing a deeply personal moment or eavesdropping on an honest conversation? That’s the power of conversational lyrics. They pull you in, disarm your defenses, and make the message feel personal, intimate, and real. In a world […]
A Closer Look at 12 Fingerpicking Patterns That Elevate Your Songwriting
There’s something undeniably intimate about fingerpicking on an acoustic guitar. It’s like handwriting a letter in a world of typed text, each note shaped by touch, each rhythm a heartbeat. Whether you’re strumming by the fire or layering tracks in the studio, the way you move through the strings can be just as important as […]
How to Be the Ideal Songwriting Collaborator: What to Bring to a Co-Writing Session
Songwriting collaborations can be magical. When two (or more) creative minds come together, the possibilities for musical alchemy are endless—but only if each person comes in prepared. Whether you’re heading to your first co-writing session or your fiftieth, showing up with the right gear, mindset, and intention can elevate the process and tell your collaborator, […]
What Makes the Perfect First Line in a Song?
In songwriting, first impressions matter. A song’s opening line is your handshake, your welcome mat, your spark, and it needs to be strong enough to stop a listener in their tracks, even if they’ve never heard the song before. But what exactly makes a first line perfect? What qualities compel a person to lean in, […]
Saying More With Less: The Power of Economy in Songwriting
One of the great paradoxes of songwriting is this: the fewer words you use, the more they often seem to say. This isn’t just a stylistic choice though, it’s a core principle of the art form. Songs, unlike essays or novels, don’t have the luxury of long explanations. They thrive on immediacy, emotion, and connection. […]
Does Taking Longer to Write a Song Make It Better?
There’s a long-standing belief in the creative world that great art takes great time. The idea that the longer we labour over a song, the more valuable or meaningful it becomes. But as any songwriter who’s been at it long enough knows, the relationship between time spent and song quality is far from straightforward. So, […]
Burnout and the Songwriter: How to Cope, Heal, and Rekindle Your Creative Flame
At some point in every songwriter’s journey, the well runs dry. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. You might be experiencing something that many creatives face but few openly talk about: burnout. Burnout isn’t just about being tired. It’s a deeper form of depletion (emotional, mental, even spiritual) that can leave you feeling disconnected […]
When to Listen to Your Inner Critic: Why the Best Time Is During Rewriting, Not Writing
In the songwriting process, there are two voices that accompany us at every step, the Creator and the Critic. The Creator is the dreamer, the explorer, the playful child who dives headfirst into the unknown, following instinct, emotion, and inspiration wherever they may lead. The Critic, on the other hand, is the observer, the analyst, […]
The Art of Addition and Subtraction: Which Songwriting Approach Works Best?
When it comes to writing songs, one of the biggest creative questions we face is this: Should I throw in every idea I can think of and trim the fat later?Or should I start with the bare bones and carefully build from there? It’s a battle between addition and subtraction — between creative overflow and […]
The Blank Page Is Not Your Enemy: Conquering Songwriter’s Block
It starts the same way for all of us: the blank page. A vast, empty space staring back, daring you to make the first move. Maybe it’s a fresh notebook you bought with high hopes, or a pristine screen in your DAW waiting for the first note. The longer you sit there, the heavier it […]