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Category

Songwriting Tips

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Spotify: Is it Worth the Time and Effort for Musicians?

How to Succeed on Spotify

Spotify is one of the main streaming services, one that many musicians feel they need to use. My guest post today is from Ellie Mckinsey, please see her bio below! As a musician in these testing times, the opportunity to form a new income stream is one that can't be turned down. One of these options is to stream your music online via platforms such as Spotify. Yet with criticism of Sp[...]

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The David Sedaris Masterclass: Will It Help Aspiring Writers?

David Sedaris MasterClass

You guys. I am so excited for this one. I am SUCH a huge David Sedaris fan. I've seen him live at a book reading, I own all of his books, and I've read every article I can get my hands on. It's pretty safe to say I'll be very biased when taking this course, however, I do want to see if it can actually help me. As you may know, I have a passion for writing. Not just songwriting, but es[...]

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Danny Elfman MasterClass: My Composing Results and Final Overview

Danny Elfman's Film Scoring MasterClass

We are at Part 4 of 4 of my Danny Elfman MasterClass review! I've finished the course and the self-directed final project (since there was no project for this class). I'm going to cover the final few classes as well as my overall opinion, and then you can laugh at my abysmal attempt at film scoring. *This post contains affiliate links Danny Elfman's MasterClass First, if you'[...]

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Danny Elfman MasterClass Review: How to Edit Film Scores

Danny Elfman's Film Scoring Masterclass

Danny Elfman is a renowned film composer and has a MasterClass on how to do what he does. This is part 3 of my 4-part review of Danny Elfman's MasterClass, where you learn to compose music for film. You can see parts one here and two here. This part discusses several movie case studies, score editing and why everyone in the music industry drives me to the brink of madness with their ri[...]

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Top Free and Paid Ways to Learn Piano

How to Learn Piano

My post today is a guest post by Furqan Ahmed. I'd like to thank him for providing this awesome resource to learn to play the piano! If you're looking for ways to learn how to play piano, check out his tips below! I don't normally write about piano (here is another guest post) but I'm always happy to have others chime in! Top Free and Paid Ways to Learn Piano Learning piano is n[...]

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Danny Elfman MasterClass Review: Starting the Music (Part 2 of 4)

Danny Elfman MasterClass Reviews

This is Part 2 of my review of the Danny Elfman MasterClass, where he teaches scoring music for film. You can see Part 1 here, but let me give you a brief overview: Unlike previous MasterClasses I've taken, Danny Elfman's doesn't have a logical "flow" to the class structure. Every video stands on its own, so it was difficult to find a way to group the course. The groupings here are jus[...]

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Finding The Beat – A Simple Guide for Beginning Songwriters

Finding a Song's Beat and Using it to Find a Groove

Songs talk about "The Beat" all the time. There are so many references that I couldn't fit them all here, but I'm sure you've heard a band or artist mention a beat at some point. This is occasionally a point of confusion for some writers or clients who aren't terribly familiar with a song's beat, so let's talk about it a little bit. How to Stick to the Beat As a session singer, it'[...]

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The Danny Elfman MasterClass: Is It Worth The Money?

A Review of Danny Elfman MasterClass Review

If you're a regular here, you know I'm a big fan of MasterClass. So far I've done Christina Aguilera, Reba McEntire and Deadmau5. I wanted to try a different genre this time, and I love The Simpsons, so Danny Elfman seemed like a decent choice. This is the first of a four-part series, so please subscribe to stay updated on the course! Please note: MasterClass is an affiliate, which mea[...]

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How to Write Better Lyrics: 5 Tips to Improve Your Songs Today

How to Write Great Song Lyrics - 5 Tips

Lyrics can make or break a good song, but they are so easy to do wrong! It's surprisingly simple to create something tone-deaf, cringey or just plain boring. It's a lot more difficult to create lyrics that draw the listener in and hook them to your message. As a session singer and voice actor, it's my job to make people's lyrics come to life. However, I can promise you that no amount[...]

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How to Get a Great Bass Track for Your Song

Bass Tips for Songwriters

Bass is kind of a generic term for “the lower parts” of the song. A bass can be a singer, a guitar, or several types of instruments (like a ukulele or clarinet). You may also hear people ask to "bring the bass up" or down. These are general things to know before heading into your session! How to Get Great Bass on Your Music These are just *some* tips and ideas, not an exhausti[...]