To listen to the song examples in this video, be sure to turn on Youtube “Annotations.” Click on the square speech bubble at the bottom of the video screen. Or you can listen on Spotify, Rdio, or any stream-on-demand music website.
Tip: Stockpile Ideas for Songs
Problem: You don’t have big chunks of time to spend on your songwriting. (Not many of us do.) So when you finally do get an afternoon to work on your songs – or at least a couple of uninterrupted hours – you need to get the most from it. You don’t need to be spending the first hour or two just trying to find an idea you want to work on.
Here are three BIG songwriting tips that can help you avoid wasting hours!
Video #4 Create a Song Path
To listen to the hit song example in this video, be sure to turn on Youtube “Annotations.” Click on the square speech bubble at the bottom of the video screen.
STRONGER (WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU) – Kelly Clarkson
WHY STUDY THIS SONG? This is a great Pop/Rock song that went to #1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary (AC) chart. It also made it into the top ten on the Hot 100, Pop, and Dance Club charts. It’s also worth noting that this is just the kind of song that every American Idol finalist and semi-finalist hungers for (and so do record labels and publishers).
The melody has a huge range, which works well for singers with big voices. It also has plenty of passion and excitement plus a positive message. If you’re interested in today’s melodic Pop/Rock genre, this is a song that’s worth studying. It offers a master class in contemporary melody and lyric craft.
Find out more in this Secrets of Hit Songwriting video!
Rhymes – Not As Important As You Think!
Working on an early draft of a song? Don’t worry about rhyming too early. Forcing a rhyme can twist your song out of shape, making a line sound unnatural. Worse, it can make you say something you don’t mean. That’s when listeners start to tune out. Instead…
1st: Say what you want to say. Write a couple of lines that express the heart of your song. (Don’t think about rhyming.)