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Coaching

411 MusicGroup CEO Kristen Agee Breaks Down the Anatomy of a Songwriting Camp

American Songwriter - March 22, 2020

Coaching

Songwriter U: On Constructing The Bridge

Paul Zollo - March 18, 2020

Articles

Songwriter U: Collected Wisdom On Songwriting, Part I

Paul Zollo - March 18, 2020

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Coaching

Songwriter U: On the Mystery and Majesty of Melody

Paul Zollo - March 17, 2020 0

Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Burt Bacharach, Dave Brubeck and Others on the Pursuit, Discovery, Usage and Power of Melody in Song “It is the melody which is the charm of music, and it is that which is most difficult to produce. The invention of a fine melody is a work of genius.” — Joseph Haydn […]

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Coaching

What Is A Song?

Paul Zollo - March 16, 2020 0

Songwriter-Educator Andrea Stolpe Explores the Definition of a Song In Modern Times The nature of the popular song has evolved profoundly through the decades as technology has evolved. What one generation considers a...

Coaching

Luthier Ben Wilborn on Loving Your Instrument

Rick Moore - March 10, 2020 0

Ben Wilborn of Wilborn Guitars in the northern Nevada city of Reno is an in-demand acoustic instrument builder with both practical and educational backgrounds in music. A builder for such artists as Gillian Welch, and onetime fiddler...

Coaching

Jimi Hendrix Style: 5 Core Concepts

American Songwriter - March 8, 2020 0

The playing style of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix has been analyzed a great deal and as such, there is a huge list of things you can do to replicate his distinctive guitar playing. However,...

Coaching

Songwriter U: 10 Songwriting Tips For Guitar Players

Ronald Ross - March 1, 2020 0

The feeling of playing songs you wrote is a high many performers keep going back to. Agreed, songwriting is a very long process, probably harder than learning to play the guitar. But who said it was impossible?

Coaching

Songwriter U: Universal Truth in Song

Paul Zollo - February 26, 2020 0

From Woody Guthrie & Willie Dixon through Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Bob Dylan & Paul Simon to Amy Winehouse, Meghan Trainor & Beyond, the Use of Truth in Song Resounds “It’s good to...

Coaching

The Songwriters’ Manager: A Q&A with Lucas Keller of Milk & Honey

Robert Dye - February 13, 2020 0

As a writer it’s about building a valuable catalog. It’s the collection of all the parts over the years... As long as you have credit on songs that are meaningful and that get cut and become hits, there's real money there.

Coaching

Songwriter U: Rejection & Criticism As A Songwriter

Paul Zollo - February 12, 2020 0

"As long as you don't stop, you're unstoppable." Being a songwriter in the world is the best of jobs and the worst of jobs. It’s the best because we make...

Coaching

Songwriter U: Charting Power Ballads on Guitar

Gary Talley - January 25, 2020 0

We’ve charted quite a few Americana and country songs in this column, but here’s something a little different: a chart for a “power ballad.”

Coaching

Songwriter U: Pop Chord Progressions Using The I-IV-V

American Songwriter - January 19, 2020 0

A lot of the elements that make pop music successful relate to it being catchy and familiar. As a songwriter, there are many ways to engender this feeling in listeners, to do with song structure, instrumentation, lyrical...