Songwriting

Everyone says to write what you know. There’s a lot of truth to that advice. You’ll have more confidence and authority, plus you’ll be pulling from a deeper well. But even if you write about what you know, you’re not going to know everything. Yesterday I was trying to write a song about boats. I’ve […]

Have you ever watched the TV show House? It’s about a brilliant but abrasive doctor who is masterful at solving difficult-to-diagnose cases. In the show, Dr. House and his team of doctors hold meetings. In the room, there’s a white board, and House paces holding a marker while his team offers possible diagnoses. Lupus? No.

Sometimes when you’re writing you’ll have an idea that seems silly. This happens a lot when you’re cowriting. In these scenarios it’s harder to chase the idea because you have a witness to your potential stupidity. Still, the idea fairy tapped on your shoulder. I find it helpful to use phrases like: “Can we try

Coming up with a great metaphor seems tricky, but it’s simpler than you think. At the end of the day, a great metaphor is you showing the listener how two things they hadn’t thought were very similar are actually very much the same. You might think the good ones are already taken, but that’s because

Sometimes friends and maybe even strangers will send you a song and ask for feedback. Before you go all “advice monster” on them, try to remember when you first sent your songs to people for feedback. Were you really wanting critical comments and analysis or were you simply wanting some affirmation and encouragement? If you

When I was a kid, I only knew one kind of winter. That was a Minnesota winter. Winter meant cold. It meant icy roads, and walking to school with frost on my eyelashes. Then one October when I was nine, my family traveled to Florida. We got off the plane and it was hot. I

Your job as a songwriter is not to simply relay a story as it actually happened. Sure, there are great real-life stories out there, but for the most part they need to be adjusted or embellished for a bigger truth. Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about. In a song of

When I’m deciding what project to work on next, it’s helpful to keep in mind a metaphorical intersection. The two “streets” are Curiosity and Conscience. The project should live at the corner of those two streets. Why? Curiosity gives me permission to chase the things that are interesting to me. If they’re interesting to me,

In the movies, there’s a narrative device called the cold open. It’s where the film jumps right into the story, usually before the opening credits. You don’t really know what’s going on, but your interest is piqued. Think of the Jason Bourne movies. So much action at close camera angles. Who’s who? Where are they?

Sometimes I like to write a paragraph or two of what I think my song-in-progress is about. It’s not because I think I’ll come to any real conclusion. It’s because I’m trying to get my brain to give me words around a particular topic. Once I was trying to write a song about the oil