A Brief History of Songwriting Stars You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
We profile the great songwriting minds behind some of the greatest pop hits of the modern era. You might not know their names, but you know their work!
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What’s in a Name? How Bands Make Use of Strange Symbols and Characters
Call it a trend, call it annoying to type and impossible to google, these bands will never have to be worried about being confused with anyone else!
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Chorus Writing Strategy 101
+ Improve your songwriting with Soundfly! Explore our range of courses on emotional chord progressions, basic songwriting technique, songwriting for producers, and many more. Subscribe for unlimited access here. If ever you needed proof that there is joy in repetition, the contemporary pop music chorus is the smoking gun. The chorus gives the listener the entire point of the song summed up…
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Is Janelle Monáe’s “Dirty Computer” the New “Purple Rain” or Something Else Entirely?
Welcome to Soundfly Slacks Off, a published team discussion. The following conversation took place among Soundfly team members on May 4, 2018 and has been edited to provide maximum interesting stuff and minimal snoody gibberish (but we kept some of that in there too). Want to nerd out with us on musical topics or get…
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The Cleansing: “Dirty Computer” Ushers in a New Era of Janelle Monáe
In the era of Cardi B, Beyoncé, Lena Waithe, Laverne Cox, Tiffany Haddish, and many others, we bask in the glory of Black womxn. No longer are we afraid to show our thick thighs, curvy curls, and infectious attitudes. And why should we be? Black womxn have been told to sit down and shut up,…
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Quick Tracks Nº 11: Make a 60-Second Rhythmic Funk Groove à la Prince
Welcome back to the dance floor, Quick Trackers! Once a month, we hook you up with a short production or songwriting challenge, aimed at helping to up your musicianship. To respond to the challenge, just email us, leave a comment, or post to social media with the hashtag #quicktracks and tag us @learntosoundfly. For this month’s challenge, let’s…
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The Music Inside Haruki Murakami’s Literary World
Haruki Murakami is not (quite) a musician, but he has a greater command of music as an art form than most musicians I know, myself included. How is that possible? Read on. Murakami is considered by many to be Japan’s finest contemporary author. He burst onto the scene in 1979 with his gritty novella, Hear the…
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17 of the Greatest Televised Moments in Music History
If you missed these 17 moments when they were broadcast on television, relive them and learn their historical impact on not only music but also pop culture.
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The Best Guitar Music in the World Is Coming from Agadez
It was late 2009 when I got my first taste of Agadez. Searching a relatively primitive YouTube for new music to explore for an ethnomusicology class, I came across a four-minute clip that would change my perspective on the electric guitar for years to come. Recorded in 2004 by Sublime Frequencies founder Hisham Mayet, the…
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Are There “Happy” Blue Notes? Well, Maybe…
Okay, so there’s no such thing as a “happy” blue note, I made that up. But if you’re curious as to why I did that, read on. To start, if you don’t know what a blue note is — or what the difference is between a “blue note” and a “blues scale note” — you should…
