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Category

Songwriting Tips

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How to Add Orchestral Instruments Into Your Song for Cinematic Effect

Orchestral Instruments VSTs

Orchestral instruments can add a lovely element to your song and make it shine. Today's post is a guest post from Graeme Rattray from HomeStudioLabs.com - Please see his bio at the end! I appreciate his hard work and want to thank him and Home Studio Labs! In this article, we are going to look at how to add Orchestral Instruments into your song using Orchestral VST plugins. For this ar[...]

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How to Write a Chorus or Hook for a Song

How to Write a Song Chorus

The chorus, also called "hook" or "refrain," is, in my opinion, the easiest part of the song to write. Think about it: you only have to write it once, and then a third of the song is done. The verses are where you tell the story and explain yourself. The chorus is where you hammer the main point home. Your chorus can also be absolute nonsense. Everything from "baby" a thousand times[...]

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How to License Your Music: A Simple Guide For Beginners

The Beginner's Guide to Licensing Music

My guest post today is from Charles Vallena, who wrote for me before (check out a list of important music terms here). I'm excited to have him back! Have you ever wondered how you can make money with your music?  If getting the right compensation for your musical work has ever crossed your mind, you may want to get to know more about music licensing. The permission to have your[...]

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Chord Progressions: A Simple Explanation for Songwriting Beginners

Chord Progressions Explained for Beginners

You want to write a song, but you have no idea where to begin. How can you start songwriting if you don't know what you don't know? What comes first? You try for a few hours, pouring over ideas, but you get frustrated and quit. Sound familiar? This happens ALL the time to MANY songwriters (even the pros), so you're not alone! One confusing part of songwriting is that there seems to[...]

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Toplining Etiquette: How to Hire a Topliner

Hire a topliner

Toplining is a vague and confusing topic. The more I've been doing it, the more I realize that most people don't know what it is or aren't sure what it entails. I think it needs to be discussed and defined, so why not do it for you here? I've been a topliner since I was a kid, when my uncle would give me instrumentals to write over. I know, that's a really boring story, but I just wan[...]

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Music Success Tips: How to Be Like the Top 10 Artists of 2020

The Top 10 Artists of 2020

Top 10 Artists of 2020 - Each year I recap the most successful artists of the year and see what we can learn from their success. This year will be very different, due to Covid and tour restrictions. However, major artists are still making bank, and we can study them to learn how to emulate their success. Obviously, all of these artists are under major labels. I wrote about why that's i[...]

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David Sedaris MasterClass: A Full Review for Writers

Is the David Sedaris Masterclass worth the money? Review

David Sedaris MasterClass was a gift from God this year, one of the only gifts I would cling to while my life shattered to pieces. It wasn't enough to get me through, unfortunately, but nothing would have been. Anyway, hi, I took the David Sedaris MasterClass. Here are my full thoughts and opinions. I'm a blogger, but I'm also a freelance writer and a huge David Sedaris fan. I took[...]

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How to Write and Label a Song Bridge

Song Bridge Tips for Songwriters

A lot of my clients have trouble writing their song's bridge. It's the one part of the song that breaks away from the rest, so it can definitely be tricky. Another problem writers tend to have is labeling their songs correctly. Lyric sheets need to be formatted so that your session musicians can understand them. Pitch sheets need to be labeled as well. Let's dive into the bridge and stra[...]

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Dolly Parton Success Secrets: Hulu and Netflix Interviews

Dolly Parton Documentary Review

Dolly Parton has become my most recent obsession. After reading her book (see here) and studying her vocal technique here, I decided I had to learn more about this captivating icon. I watched her interviews on Hulu and Netflix, and learned so much about the music industry. I want to share these with you, but I highly recommend watching them yourself! Hopefully these reviews will help[...]