IJ's Songwriting Tips
Welcome...to the world of songwriting!
Here you will find plenty of tips, tricks and info on the craft (and even some on the business) of writing songs, which I hope you will find helpful. Now you can also find the latest tips and articles on IJ's Song Blog ... be sure to check it out!
Also...IJ's Music Wire features the latest news on artists/bands, the music industry, and more!! And a new songwriting forum is up and running! Sign up and join in!
The List:
IJ's SONG BLOG - a continuation of the articles in blog form. The list below will no longer be updated to show recent articles on the blog...just go to the Song Blog to get the latest!
- Lady GaGa's Challenge - will she take it?
- Sample Songwriting Partnership Agreement
- Songwriters - Are You Too Self-Centred?
- My 10 All Time Favourite Songs - simply personal :-)
- Listen To New Music - do you do that enough?
- Are You A Good Listener? - listen to the music
- Songwriting Without An Instrument - Is this your problem?
- Songwriting Challenge June 2010 - what can you come up with?
- Trouble In Music City - Nashville Floods
- I Read The News Today, Oh Boy - John Lennon's Lyrics on Auction
- New Feature...Song of the Month! - why not throw yours in the mix?
- When It's Time To Record Your Song - a checklist of sorts
- A New Forum - join in and participate!
- Beware of Bogus Tips - something you should know
- Songwriting Challenge - Why Not Join In?
- Million Dollar Baby or Not? - you be the judge
- Nothing To Write About? - here are some ideas!
- What Fred Taught Me - good mentors are hard to come by
- The Use of Contrast in Songwriting
- 'Ear' We Go Again - Another Plagiarism Case
- The 10 Worst Covers Ever - Just My Opinion :-)
- Black-Eyed Peas and Plagiarism - Have a Listen
- Can He Sell A Million? - You Be The Judge
- Welcome To The New Blog! - The Times They Are A Changin'
- The Bridge - Somewhere Between Here and There
- Signing To A Major Label Ain't What It's Cracked Up To Be - need I say more?
- Songs That Break The Rules - A few examples
- The Viva La Vida Plagiarism Controversy
- Do Lyrics Need To Mean Anything?
- Muse's Clues from Feb.09
- Muse's Clues from Mar.09
- Elvis Costello's TV Show "Spectacle" - Watch!
- 'Tis The Season For Song Contests - One Skeptic's Perspective
- Songs For The Flu - A Musical Tribute to H1N1
- A PBS Show You Must Watch! - The Music Instinct
- Muse's Clues Apr.09
- The End of 'Performing Songwriter' - Another Magazine Bites The Dust
- Songwriting in a Lousy Economy - Is It Worth The Effort?
- Power Of Observation - What To Look For
- Songwriting Exercise
- How Do Songs Get On The Radio?
- Are They The Same? - Two Pop Songs You Should Listen To
- Write About What You Know - One Example
- The Verse's Purpose - never underestimate it
- Be Bold - freshen your songs up
- Don't Bore Us, Get To The Chorus - a primer
- Great Songs and Apple Pies!- the "write" ingredients
- How Much Money Does A
Songwriter Make? - A Reality Check
- Phrasing - What is it?
- Q&A - How Do I Put Music to Lyrics
- Composing vs Songwriting - my work in television
- The Real Deal - songwriting websites I recommend
- The Muse - Some Personal
Experiences
- Song Contests - One Opinion
- The Hit Song - do your songs measure up?
- Genres- some definitions!
- Pain of Separation-
separating yourself from your songs
- Your First Open Mic - A few tips!
- Song Forms & Terms - A quick study
- Song Breakthroughs How do they happen?
- Songwriting Topics Take the poll!
- A Web Presence Do you
need it?
- Where To Get Critiques
- Results of My Demographic
Survey
- Vowels and Consonants
and Syllables, Oh My!
- Your Songwriting Career Taking the Small Steps
- The Second Verse How to Write The #@*&!! Thing!
- Self-Indulgence Don't
Sound Like A Beginner!
- Dynamics & Tension What They Are and How to Use 'Em!
- Rejection Three
Stages of Recovery
- The Theory of Relatively Do People Relate?
- Rhymes They're Trickier
Than You Think!
- I'm Too Happy To Write Where does it come from?
- Chord Keys Which chords
sound right together
- Rule #1!! There ARE
NO RULES!!
- Publishing A Brief
Beginners' Guide
- Success What's
Standing In Your Way?
- More On Magical Melodies
- A quick study
- Your Weaknesses Pinpoint, including production quality!
- Recording Tips Recording your new gems!
- Music Terminology For those not familiar with it
- Songwriting As Storytelling Even if it isn't!
- Performance Tips Playing To An Audience
- Threads Tying It
All Together
- Putting Music With Lyrics Some simple tricks
- Tools Of The Trade My tools and how I use 'em
- Finding YOUR Voice A song is as individual as you are
- How I Critique Or
how thick is your skin?
- Step By Step How I
wrote a song starting with one line
- Go With The Flow Getting
into a creative headspace
- The Magic Of Melody Writing better melodies
- Getting Down to Details The nitpicking part of the craft
- Why I write...how 'bout
you? That says it all!
- Join rec.music.makers.songwriting! Newsgroup
- Meaning and Metaphor Adding depth to your lyrics
- The Trouble With
Lyrics Fixing those common problems
- Performance Anxiety A couple of remedies
- Song Structure Defining a song's parts
- Attitude Is Everything! How's yours?
- The Music More musical
ideas
- Critique and LEARN! So you thought you were too new?
[To copy or reproduce any articles, please ask. Thanks! ~ IJ]
For more information send an e-mail
Information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
All articles Copyright © 1996 to 2011 by I. Jackson
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Website news
Oct.28/11 - Get IJ's new CD
Shades of Grey!
March 19/11 - The website continues to grow with the addition of Irene's Guitar Blog which is a collection of articles and tips and thoughts on playing the guitar. Watch for more articles to be added soon.
Shades of Grey - Get your copy of Irene's new CD "Shades of Grey"! The CD will be officially released in April, 2011 but you can order your advance copy now.
ij's song blog
This is a continuation of the articles in blog form. For the time being you'll find the same articles in both places, but the blog gives you the opportunity to respond. Or compliment...or argue :-)