Whether you mean to or not, you’ll almost inevitably work in a particular key when writing a song. You might decide “right, this will be in C minor,” or you might just string together a seemingly ...

Often when discussing songwriting, we divide it into its two main elements, words and music. But just as lyrics contain a multitude of sub-categories and considerations, so does music. It contains the ...

Songwriting isn’t easy. Or, rather, writing good songs isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would be doing it. However, it’s not ‘magic’ either. Sure, you need inspiration, dedication and - let’s face it - ...

It goes without saying that a good chord progression can be fundamental to a quality song, but when you find yourself staring at a blank screen, how do you get started and string an appropriate set of ...

Defined as ‘the linear progression of individual melodic lines, voices or parts and their interaction with one another to create harmonies’, voice leading is a music theory technique rooted in choral ...

To celebrate the 30th anniversary issue of American Songwriter (Jan/Feb 2015), “Measure for Measure” served up a smorgasbord of 30 handpicked, solid gold chord progressions. This e-book supplements ...