Practical Approaches to Writing Lyrics (for Producers, Mainly)
For electronic home producers, writing lyrics doesn’t always come easy. Here are a few tried-and-true strategies culled from our newest online course.
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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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Breaking Down Beach House’s Stressed Out and Shoegazey New Single, “Dark Spring”
+ Soundfly helps curious musicians meet their goals with online courses like The Creative Power of Advanced Harmony and Pop Vocal Production. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe for unlimited access. With their newly released album, 7, Baltimore dream pop outfit Beach House have reached new emotionally intoxicating heights, but with a sound that feels denser and…
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Scaffolding: How to Use Structure to Map Out the Energy Flow of Your Song
+ 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. Songs are almost always built from sections that will feel very familiar, and yet they still have the power to bring us delightful surprises. How songs are put together has varied over the…
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Songwriting School: Verse Two – Now What?
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. A common stumbling block for songwriters is how to handle the second verse. After all, many songs only have two verses structurally, and the second verse often…
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5 Steps to Getting “Gig Ready”
You just got hired to play a cover gig with a band. You’ve got about a week to prepare, and it pays pretty well. But you’re expected to play about 20 new tunes (give or take), and most likely, you won’t be rehearsing with the band, save for running a few things at soundcheck. What…
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Defining & Deconstructing the Characteristics of a Billboard #1 Hit Song
What is it that makes a Billboard #1 song? Why do some songs make it to the top while others flop? The answer seems to be a difficult cocktail made up of formulaic songwriting mixed with a few unique ingredients that set a song apart; when blended correctly, it’s capable of hooking millions of listeners. Let’s…
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Pop Music Theory Analysis: Katy Perry’s Olympic Theme “Rise” Falls Just Short of Gold
On Friday, Katy Perry and NBC launched an anthem you’ll likely be hearing throughout the rest of the summer. Her new tune, “Rise,” is designed to accompany NBC’s coverage of the Rio Olympics, but is apparently a project the pop singer has been working on for some time. In her own words, “Rise” is “a…
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The Art of Songwriting: The Soup Versus Salad Debate
After taking Oli Rockberger’s course The New Songwriter’s Workshop, I was left with a single glaring question about the nature of my craft. When approaching the art of songwriting, should I focus on fluidity and a singular unified message across the instrumentation, vocal style, lyrics, and tone? Or, should I let each element stand out individually…
