Whether you mean to or not, you’ll almost inevitably work in a particular key when writing a song. You might decide “right, this will be in C minor,” or you might just string together a seemingly ...

Creating suspense in music can be achieved in a number of different ways, but for instant suspense gratification, there's ...

Often when discussing songwriting, we divide it into its two main elements, words and music. But just as lyrics contain a multitude of sub-categories and considerations, so does music. It contains the ...

The presence of a well-crafted and performed chord progression can often be the glue that gels the song together. If executed well, it should support your melody and lyric, while grabbing listeners on ...

Songwriting isn’t easy. Or, rather, writing good songs isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would be doing it. However, it’s not ‘magic’ either. Sure, you need inspiration, dedication and - let’s face it - ...

To celebrate the 30th anniversary issue of American Songwriter (Jan/Feb 2015), “Measure for Measure” served up a smorgasbord of 30 handpicked, solid gold chord progressions. This e-book supplements ...