Songwriter Theory Podcast: Learn Songwriting And Write Meaningful Lyrics and Songs

🎵Take The Start & Finish A Song In 5 Days Challenge https://www.songwritertheory.com/saf-song-challenge

🎵Take The Start & Finish A Song In 5 Days Challenge https://www.songwritertheory.com/saf-song-challenge

🎵Take The Start & Finish A Song In 5 Days Challenge https://www.songwritertheory.com/saf-song-challenge Check out Dana here: https://www.youtube.com/@danaandrewsmusic  

🎵Take The Start & Finish A Song In 5 Days Challenge https://www.songwritertheory.com/saf-song-challenge

We're talking about the only songwriting tip that ultimately matters and an important announcement. ►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/

►► Download the 6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist here: https://songwritertheory.com/lyricchecklist/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we talk about the power of parallelism in your lyrics, why bridges are the perfect song section to start utilizing modes and borrowed chords, the art of subtly different song structure in our songs, non-lazy songwriting, and more! We're going off of the great song 100 Years by Five for Fighting for this episode. 0:00 Intro 2:51 The Power of Parallelism In Lyrics 12:59 Where To Use Modes and Borrowed Chords In Your Songs 35:32 Changing Up Song Song Structure 50:00 The Art of Non-Lazy Songwriting 1:08:36 Should We Have Our Song Title In The First Line? #SongwriterTheory #JosephVadala

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/   In this episode of the new format of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're learning about Hook Writing, 3rd Verses, Wordplay, and more off of the song Everything You Want by my favorite artist,  @VerticalHorizonMusic  . We'll be covering what we can learn about hook writing, lyric writing, song structure, and more in this episode. Let's talk about it!

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this bonus episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about your biggest songwriting struggles. We're going to talk through and attempt to give the solution or some advice as to how to get past the struggles you're having in your songwriting. Transcript: We're back with another bonus episode of the Songwriter Theory podcast. It's going to be part eight of addressing your biggest songwriting struggles. No, I didn't forget about this series. Just didn't have time for a hot second, but we're back. We're going to finish out responding to these, not necessarily in this episode, unless actually, almost certainly we're not going to finish in this episode. No, it's not important to have watched the other ones. If you're thinking, Oh my goodness, part eight, do I have to go watch the other ones? No, they're all self-contained. Each one is me addressing different of your responses to this survey that I sent out. And whether you are somebody that actually responded to this and you're waiting to hear specifically what I have to say about your songwriting struggle and maybe the advice I give or whatever it might be. But also you might be somebody who shares a struggle with another songwriter out there. In fact, in going through these, I've realized, wow, there are a lot of themes that come up over and over. So there might be something in here to help you as well. Let's talk about it. Hello, friend. Welcome to another episode of the songwriter theory podcast. Another bonus episode talking about your biggest songwriting struggles. If you haven't already, be sure to grab my free guide. 20 different ways to start writing a song, starting songs and finishing songs or some of the recurring themes that come up here. And this free guide will help you with starting songs. It's a cheat sheet now. It's much shorter. It's very easy, practical to apply. Great way to stay creatively fresh. And just it's good to have a variety instead of being stuck in one way to start a song, especially because sometimes the one way to start a song isn't actually what's best for us. Maybe you've always started a song writing lyrics first and you haven't even contemplated that maybe an easier way to write songs for you is actually starting on the music side. Maybe something specific like a bass line or a guitar riff or chord progression. Regardless, it's a great way to mix things up. Songwritertheory.com slash free guide. Let's dive into question or feedback, I guess. Response. There's the word. Number one, lately I've been having trouble getting into the flow and starting a project and or staying focused. It's a big problem in today's society. Yes, yes, it is. Also, I have trouble finishing projects and following through and letting them out into the world. I'm not very experienced at the mixing process, but I know what sounds good, at least to me. I know I can figure out how to use the mixing tools in Ableton Live 11 Suite, which I recently acquired. Not an EDM artist, however, Ableton is perfect for the kind of music I want to play and I'm playing with all of its tweakable sounds and effects and features. But I feel like my music is so far removed from the mainstream that there's no point in putting it out there because A, no one is going to like it or listen to it. And B, I want people to hear it. But that's not the most important thing.(...) I like I make music because it's what I've always done. I'm originally a singer songwriter and trying new things with Ableton on keyboard guitars, bass drums. Do I need an attitude adjustment? Should I go back to busking on 9th Street with my classical guitar in harmonica? What do you think? 0:00 Intro 3:26 I Have Trouble Getting Into a Songwriting Flow! 8:41 I Have Trouble Staying Focused On Songwriting! 16:44 Who Will Even Care About My Music? 24:19 I Struggle Writing Melodies! 33:06 I Struggle with Metaphors In My Lyrics!

►► Download the 4 Pillars of Music Theory For Songwriters Guide here: http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about how I'd learn songwriting if I had to start over. After writing songs and continuing to learn for around 20 years, I'd certainly do things differently if I had the chance to do it all again. So, in this podcast I'm going to walk you through exactly what I would do in what order if I had to learn songwriting from scratch. What I'd do if I wanted to learn songwriting but had never written a single song before. The ultimate "songwriting for beginners" guide if you will. So, let's talk about how I would learn songwriting if I had to start from the beginning.

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this bonus episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're continuing to respond to your biggest songwriting struggles. I asked you all what your #1 biggest songwriting struggle is, and you answered! And now I'm going through each of your responses to try and help you out! So, let's talk about your biggest songwriting struggles and how you might overcome them!

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about another factor leading to or signpost indicating how good a song is. This time we're talking about honesty. A song doesn't have to be literally true, but it definitely should be communicating truth. Often, our songs are touching on themes and exploring different stories to try to glean some meaning from life. Our songs, like any other art, should represent reality. Again, not literal reality, but the reality of the nature of the world and creatures with free will. Just as Tolkien used fantasy characters to explore core human truths, so should we be writing with core human truths in mind. Are you characters consistent? Do your stories represent what is likely to happen in the real world? Do your characters seem like they would or could be real people? A part of what makes art great is the illusion of the lack of the hand of the artist- but yet art is completely created by an artist. But if the art feels honest and real, we don't see the hand of the artist. We do see the hand of the artist when the artist makes characters do things out of character so the rest of the plot can happen, or when they present a world that bears no resemblance to what we know of the reality around us. So let's talk about honesty as a factor leading to great songs! Transcript: In this episode, we are continuing our conversation about what makes a song great. It's a difficult conversation to have. It's not something that is super easy. It's not something that can just be made into a simple math equation. But we all have this sense that there is such a thing as one piece of art or one song being better than another. We all think, "How do I make my song better?" Which implies the existence of better. So, it's important to talk about what are the factors that lead to that. When I say that I want to make my second verse lyric better, what are some of the underlying principles or factors that go into making it better versus maybe making it worse? And we can apply that to all different parts of any given song. So, we're going to talk about things philosophically today, but we're talking about what makes a song great. But to... Hello, friend. Welcome to another episode of the Songwriting Theory Podcast. I'm your host, as always, Joseph Adala. I'm honored that you would take some time out of your busy day to talk songwriting with me. I could be listening to Rogan, but instead, you are here. And I'm sure that Joe Rogan is more entertaining than I am, given that, well, we are talking about things that are largely informational. So, as entertaining as I may or may not be as a human being, this podcast is no Joe Rogan show. Joe Rogan experience, I'm sorry. What's wrong with me? Goodness. That being said, I know that, you know, probably we have time for one, two, maybe three podcasts to actually keep up on in the fact that any podcast talking about songwriting, the craft of songwriting, and learning more about songwriting makes the cut for you, means that songwriting as a craft is really important to you. And that pumps me up, because it's important to me. That's why I do this. That's why we're 251 episodes in, something like that. I care about the craft of songwriting, and the fact that there's anybody out there listening at all, of course, means that other people care about the craft, too, which is the best. So, thank you for being here. I appreciate that. If you haven't already, be sure to grab my free guide. I always do always to start writing a song. We're talking philosophical today. So, makes sense to offer you something for free. That is purely practical, basically. It is, if you want to start a song, do this, or this, or this. And it's not a comprehensive list. But I think too many of us just kind of default to one way to start writing a song and never even entertain the idea that there's a bunch of different ways to start a song that can inspire us in different directions creatively, or can get us out of our creative rut. Too many times, I think we think that, "Oh, the muse hasn't visited me," or, "My creativity's just run out. I just can't write a song right now." But it's not because our creativity ran out. It's because our creativity with that specific thing has run out. Maybe right now, if I were to try to come up with a piano riff, I've just kind of run out for now, because I've done too many in the last several months. And I just need to go try to start a song with a bass line, or start a song with an interesting drum part, or perhaps start with a song title instead, something on the lyrical side. Start with what I think is a compelling story, and then figure out, "Okay, how do I tell that story via song?" So if any of that seems interesting to you, be sure to check out that guide, songartethery.com, slash, free guide. We guide 20 different ways to starting a

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about 1 factor that seems to be one of the factors contributing to a song actually being good. We're talking about how every part of the song working together to communicate what the song is about - aka the COHESION of the song. If your lyrics are about something tragic, but the melody sounds playful and the harmony sounds like a grand romantic piece, is that any good? No. The song may be made of different parts and song sections, but it also is a singular song. So let's discuss the COHESION or..... I'll say it, synergy of songs. Transcript: As songwriters who are seeking to constantly improve at the craft of songwriting and write better and better songs, I think we are constantly on this quest where we're asking ourselves, "How do I write a better song? How do I write a better chorus? How do I write better melodies? How do I write a bridge that's more emotionally resonant?" And yet sometimes we don't actually take the time to think about, "Well, wait a second. When I say better chorus, when I say a better song, what does that even mean? What are the things that we're looking at? What are some of the factors that lead into this idea of something being better in any piece of art?" This is a difficult thing for us to tackle, but as I mentioned in last week's episode, we're going to try. And I realized very quickly that this probably would take more than one episode to even begin to do this justice and not have it be multiple hours long. So this is going to be part one in our Who Knows How Long series about trying to tackle what actually makes a song great or what are some of the common factors to what sort of leads to a good song. Let's talk about it. Hello, friend. Welcome to another episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast. I'm your host as always, Joseph Vidal. I know that you would take some time out of your busy day, your busy week to talk songwriting with me. If you're listening to anything and instead you're listening to something that you're hoping is going to help you and hopefully me talking about it will also help me become better songwriters so that we can all become better songwriters together, at least be striving in that direction so that hopefully both you and I are better songwriters next year than we were this year and much better five years from now than now and etc. So on, so forth. Don't want to bore you. It's just going through random numbers. I think you understand. So that's the goal. But in today's episode, we're tackling something heavy. Not heavy, maybe emotionally, but something that I feel like most people aren't even willing to start to discuss. But I think it's important to discuss because if we can't define or talk about here are some factors that seem to lead to a song being better or more good or great, then, you know, how can we possibly talk about here's how to make your lyrics better? Like we'll define better if we can't have some idea of some of the factors that go into an element of the song or the song as a whole being better, then we can't actually answer the question what would make this better. So I think it's an important thing to discuss. I think it's something that artists in general don't talk about enough. And it's just one of those things that I think it's a net negative for all of us. Yes, it's a hard discussion, but that doesn't mean it's not one worth having. Most important discussions are difficult and don't have clear answers, but that doesn't make them not important to have. So we're going to do that. It's going to be part one because I realized there's no shot that I could even begin to do justice to this in one part. So we're breaking it up. Let me know in the comments down below if you're on YouTube what some of your ideas are and please back them up. Don't just be like, "I think a great song is X and you have no reasoning as to Y." I mean, you can, but it's kind of hard to... it's not really making a point if you just list a thing and don't justify why it's a thing. But that being said, I am very curious what other people think is meant to be a discussion. I again do not pretend to have the answers. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this pretty much throughout my life, but that doesn't mean that I'm right. It doesn't mean that I'm right. But hopefully it's at least well thought out and has some merit to talking about, hopefully. But I guess that's up to you to decide. So if you haven't already, be sure to grab my free guide. 20 different ways to start writing a song, especially if you're like, "All right, we're talking philosophy and getting real deep into what makes something good today." But where's my hard just go do this songwriting advice? There it is, songwritertheory.com slash free guide. It gives you 20 different ways to start writing a song because I'm personally of th

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this Bonus episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're continuing to address your biggest songwriting struggles directly by responding to more of your responses to my survey. We'll be discussing struggles such as: - I Can't Get My Rhythm + Rhyme Right! - I Struggle To Write Lyrics That All Work Together - Opinion: Songs Shouldn't Have A "Message" - I Struggle To Connect Verses + Choruses - I Struggle To Pick The Right Chords For The Right Feels - How Do I Start A Song? - How Do Intentionally Write Songs With Certain Emotions? - What Kind of Songs Should I Write First?   Transcript: This is part seven of responding to your answer to my question of what your number one biggest songwriting struggle or challenge is. Let's talk about it. Hello friend, welcome to another episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast. I'm your host as always, Joseph Galla. Honored that you would take some time out of your busy day, your busy week to talk songwriting with me. And welcome again to another bonus episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast where we are talking about your answers to the question of what your biggest songwriting struggle is. If you haven't already, be sure to grab my free guide, 20 Different Ways to Start Writing a Song. This is a struggle that comes up. We might get to this question today actually, but somebody asks about, "Hey, I struggled figuring out where to start with songs." Not sure if we'll get to it in today's episode or not, but whether you're just somebody that sometimes wants to get out of your creative box a little bit more or you're somebody who struggles to actually start writing songs and not even just being original with starting songs but just starting in general, this is the guide for you to kick writer's block to the curb because writer's block sometimes comes from staring at a blank page, staring at your instrument and just being like, "I don't know. I don't know what to do next." But starting our songs in different ways can be a great way to overcome that, and this free cheat sheet gives you 20 different ways to start writing a song. SongwriterTheory.com slash free guide. First response for this bonus episode. Dear Joseph, songwriting is a very excellent form of literature and philosophy. I agree. As a result, I enjoy English literature such as short stories and memoirs. Songwriting is very special to me and my friends. The tricky part is the rhythm and rhyme. So let's address that first. So when it comes to...so with rhythm and rhyme, because you paired them together, I'm mostly going to assume that you're talking about the rhythm specifically of words and or the melody, aka meter. So the tricky part is meter and rhyme. First thing on that, because I've seen enough lyrics and had enough questions where I know that I think I need to say this, probably more often than I do, but your lyrics should not exist or not be made to serve an arbitrary rhyme scheme. Your lyrics do not serve a rhyme. Your rhyming or lack of rhyming should service and serve your lyrics. So you should never be, for instance, let's say you decide on a rhyme scheme that is A-B-A-B. You should never be significantly altering your lyrics or using corny words you don't really want to use. I'll pick on Night and Light. I've used it in one of my songs. There's nothing wrong with Night and Light. I've used it at some point, but you don't want that to be a constant go-to. If every single one of your songs has Night and Light, it's like, all right, come on. So if you've picked that as a rhyme scheme, A-B-A-B, and you're significantly changing what you actually want to say just in order to fit that arbitrary rhyme scheme, I think we've lost the plot when that happens. Because ultimately, nobody gives a rip whether your song rhymes or not. Just in general. I would argue in the scheme of all things lyrics, rhyme is towards the bottom of what's important. So to your tricky part is the rhythm and rhyme. Worry way more about rhythm, aka meter, than rhyme. Because to take it to the extreme, which is a good way to test any form of logic, but to take it to the extreme, if you had a song where every single, you did not rhyme at all, or a poem where you did not rhyme at all, not a single thing rhymes, not even family rhymes, or consonants rhymes, no rhymes at all, but you paid attention to meter, you could have a great lyric. You could have great lyrics. But if you reverse that and pay no attention at all to meter, your meter is just all over the place. But your rhyme scheme is perfect. Nobody will notice or care that your rhyme scheme is perfect because nobody will be able to see past or hear past the fact that your meter is all over the place. Now when I say meter is all over the place, I don't mean that you have some slight alterations in places. I don't mean that your syllable counts aren't exact, even though your emphas

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Guide here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're asking if this perspective on art is holding your songwriting back.   I constantly hear people, including songwriters and musicians, say "Music is just all subjective", "Art is subjective", "There is no good or bad, art is purely subjective". Not only is that unequivocally wrong, I think it's an actively destructive view that doesn't leave any room for us to "get better" at lyric writing, music composition, or anything else songwriting because, by definition of music being entirely subjective, there literally is no such thing as "better" lyrics or music or songs. So why spend time trying to make our songs better? How could we even begin to have a discussion on how to write better lyrics or improve our chorus? If it's all completely subjective any of that would be a total waste of time.   So, in this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast that absolutely no one asked for, we're going to talk about why this view is wrong and why it also is destructive to us and our future as songwriters.   Transcript: So there's a certain perspective or opinion or just something that people say, especially artists of any kind, seemingly, and certainly songwriters. It seems like songwriters are constantly saying this and I think it's both destructive and just completely wrong. So because of that, we're gonna talk about it in this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast.  Hello, friend, welcome to another episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast. I'm your host, as always, Joe Svedala. Honored that you would take some time out of your busy day to talk songwriting with me. Extra honored that you would take some time to listen to this podcast where we are, this is a podcast for being honest. Nobody asked for me to talk about this. The vast majority of subjects we talk about is something that either is inspired by what I think some of you would want me to talk about if you did tell me, and then a lot of it is off of what you do tell me. So a lot of the content recently, the last several months, has been inspired very directly by your feedback when I asked what your number one songwriting struggle was. Most of the content has been pretty directly off of that, some more directly maybe than others.   And I still need to finish that series as well, which we'll get back to. I have not forgotten.   But this is one of those episodes where we are talking about something that nobody asked for, but I still think is important to talk about.   And I've wanted to talk about it for a while,   and then just realized it's a good podcast episode. I think it's an important thing to discuss, because you may not end up agreeing with me,   but hopefully I can at least get you to consider that instead of what seems to happen, which a lot of people just kinda,   I wanna say mindlessly kind of repeat this thing, I think it's a cop-out answer, and I think it's not true, or at least there's an argument, I would argue a very compelling argument, that it's clearly not true.   But regardless, hopefully you at least reconsider the repercussions of this view of this perspective, and also maybe consider that maybe it's just not true.   If you haven't already, be sure to grab my free guide, 20 Different Ways to Start Writing a Song. It's a cheat sheet, it's shorter, it's better than it used to be, and has double the ways to start writing a song. It's a great way to go, especially for somebody who is struggling with your song sounding the same, or you feel like you're uninspired. One of my favorite things to do, because my bread and butter way of starting a song is starting with a piano riff or something at the keyboard. But whenever I feel like, I just don't have any piano riffs in my fingers right now, I feel like I've written them all, which obviously I haven't, right? But just, you know, if you write a piano riff   two a day for five days, by the sixth day, you're kind of like, I just, I don't even know, like I've done every key of it, I just don't know where to start. But just doing something as simple as, I'm gonna go grab a stock funk beat and improvise to that, or I'm gonna do a bass line, or I'm gonna start with an interesting symbol or song title instead, or I'm gonna think of an interesting character or an interesting story to tell. Those can be all great ways to start a song that will refresh us creatively, so that we don't get into writer's block.   So anyway, be sure to check that out, songrithury.com slash free guide. So what is this perspective that I'm wanting to talk about that I think is super prevalent and ultimately pretty destructive and just not true, just wrong?   It is that art is completely subjective, or art is totally subjective, or art is just subjective, all the different versions of that quo

►► Download the Musical Keys Cheat Sheet here: https://songwritertheory.com/keys/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about how learning chord types just got easier... because I'm going to tell you exactly what chords to learn in what order to be most effective at writing chord progressions for your songs. The way songwriters should look at chords should be significantly different than how musicians often look at chords. So let's talk about how to learn chord types for songwriters! Transcript: If you have wanted a roadmap to know what chords to learn when along your songwriting journey, then this is the episode for you, because we are talking about what chords you should learn in what order as a songwriter. Let's talk about it. (upbeat music) Hello, friend. Welcome to another episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast. I'm your host, as always, Joseph Adala. I honor that you'll take some time out of your busy day and be here with me talking about songwriting. You could be listening to any podcast right now, which I probably shouldn't remind you of, like Rogan or whatever your favorite podcast is. But instead, you are here wanting to learn about songwriting. And hey, I get it, but I also appreciate it, because there's a lot of entertaining podcasts out there. And the fact that you are choosing one where you would learn something about songwriting, about the craft of songwriting, I'm glad you care enough about the craft of songwriting to, well, be listening to any songwriting podcast much more even so that you chose this one. I was about to say much less this one, but that wouldn't make sense, now would it? If you haven't already, be sure to grab my free Keys Cheat Sheet, a lot of what we're talking about today with chords. There's gonna be my first point before we dive into the chords, but you have to understand the chords within the context of keys. Because as long as your understanding is just, oh, G major to C major sounds good with quotation marks around it, for those of you who aren't watching the video, you're just, you're not really gonna understand chords. The only context where chords have any meaning at all, in chord progressions have any meaning, is within the context of keys. So a C major chord in the key of C major has a totally different sound and a totally different job than a C major chord in the key of G major. Because in C major, a C major chord is a one chord. In G major, it's a four chord, which sounds different. So context matters. So it's really important to understand that, again, that you don't wanna learn super complex theory. So I made it super easy. This Keys Cheat Sheet just breaks down every single one of the main triads, AKA main, major, and minor, as well as diminished chords in every single key. So no matter what your favorite keys are, it will give you exactly all the notes in the keys, which will help you with melody writing and making your own chords, but also all of the main triads, all the main, major, and minor chords. So that's at songwritertheory.com slash keys. Super easy to remember. Link will be in the description down below or in the show notes, depending on whether you are listening via podcast or watching on YouTube. So we're gonna dive into the chords that you should learn in what order. But again, just to reiterate, it's really important to understand chords in context of keys. Yes, you need to know the notes within C major. Let's say you're playing on a keyboard or a piano. Of course, it's important to know, oh, C major is C, E, and G. Yes, great. But the most important way to understand chords as a songwriter is not just C major and G major, and, you know, oh, it's a common chord progression to have a C major, G major, A minor, F major. Yes, that's true, but it's not just that chord progression. Really that chord progression is a 1, 5, 6, 4, and you just happen to say what a 1, 5, 6, 4 chord progression is in the context of C major. So the chord progression G major, D major, E minor, C major is actually the exact same chord progression as C major, G major, A minor, and F major, just for frame of reference, here's your, let me find my pedal here. Here's your C major, G major, A minor, F major, and then if we have instead the G major version of it, so that was a 1, 5, 6, 4 in C major, and then if we have it in G major, then we would have this. (drumming) So that would be the same exact chord progression, and you probably can hear that. It's just in a different key, right, but the chord progression sounds the same. So it's most important to understand chords in that context. In this episode, we're going to be talking about things like major and minor chords, inversions and things like that, but that is only gonna be helpful, or is mostly gonna be helpful if first you understand that just getting an understanding of that Roman numeral notation for chords, and knowing that a C major chord in the context of G major is the same as a D major

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ Transcript: Something I think songwriters don't talk about enough are songwriting sessions, because not every songwriting session looks the same or should look the same. In fact, I think there are a lot of different types of songwriting sessions, and most of the time a successful songwriting session is one with a pretty specific goal, not just something like, "I'm going to work on song X." I don't think that is specific enough. So in this episode of the Songwriting Theory Podcast, we are going to talk about five different songwriting sessions that will change everything. Let's talk about it. Hello, friend. Welcome to another episode of the Songwriting Theory Podcast. I'm your host, as always, Joseph Adala. I'm honored that you take some time out of your busy day, your busy week, to talk songwriting with me. It's coming out a bit later than usual, but I was sick with the flu for a week, so that's why this got delayed. And my apologies in advance for any coughing. I will be sure to try to do it not into the mic or anything, but still recovering from that. If you haven't already, be sure to grab my free guide, "20 Different Ways to Start Writing a Song," because a great way to make sure you don't get creatively stuck is simply by starting in different spots, starting with different things, not always starting with a chord progression, not always starting with a bass line, not always starting with lyrics, not always starting with music. Sometimes changing it up is a great way to stay creatively fresh and get some different results with your songs. There's something I don't talk about probably as much as I should, but these aren't just 20 ways to start a song, but they can be 20 different ways to start any given song section. So if you wrote your first verse, and that first verse is built off of a sweet bass line, that's how you started your song, and now you're sort of stuck on the chorus, or you're trying to figure out where the chorus needs to go, you can again go to 20 different ways to start writing a song, but in this case you're actually starting a song section, because just because you started the verse with the bass line doesn't mean that you can't start your chorus with something different, like your melody or with the piano riff or something else. So let's talk about these five different song... so be sure to check that out. It's at songwritingtheory.com slash free guide. So let's talk about these different songwriting sessions. We'll start with the beginning, and that is simply an idea gathering session. And the beauty of these is, first of all, they're fun, and it's just a great way to get really excited about songwriting. If you're stuck on songs, just going back to basics and sitting down with only the intent of gathering ideas. There's something beautiful about the lack of pressure that you have when you know that you are sitting down just to come up with ideas. You don't need to care whether they're good ideas, you're just trying to get as many ideas as possible. And also the lack of pressure that you know you're not trying to come up with an idea so that you can write a song 10 minutes later off of that idea. It just frees you up to think of more ideas, to possibly think outside the box a little bit more. So be sure to check that out at songwritingtheory.com slash free guide. So let's dive into the songwriting sessions that we are talking about. The first one is right at the beginning. It's an idea gathering songwriting session. And you can even argue this isn't really even a songwriting session because it's sort of a pre-songwriting session or as sometimes I like to think of it a song developing session. And really that wording comes from a lot of times in movies they'll say like a movie is in development and what that means, what that usually refers to is the process before you actually start making the movie in the way that most of us think of making a movie. So principal photography is when they actually start to film the movie. It's really getting made. But development is sort of that stage where they're kicking around ideas, they're trying to figure out maybe casting, they're trying to figure out what's the right budget for this movie, is this something that we can do with the budget that we have, all those sorts of things. It's really the pre-movie making stage if you will. So in the same way there's no reason that we as songwriters can't have essentially a pre-songwriting stage. In fact I think it's a great idea. Authors do the same thing. Most of the time an author doesn't just sit and start writing a book. Some do, but a lot plan beforehand. They'll do exercises to really flesh out their characters and make sure they understand their characters before they start writing for them. They don't discover their characters as they write the book. They already know their characters before

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this bonus episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're continuing to talk about your #1 biggest songwriting struggles. We'll be talking about: I can't flow on a beat or sing on an instrument I'm not able to concentrate I often just give up I am afraid to write lyrics Getting into a creative flow I get stuck after a verse or two If I'm not inspired, I don't write songs I can't write about certain subjects intentionally! How Do I Start My Song?

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about the 3 Simple Steps To Create a 2024 Songwriting Plan You'll Actually Accomplish. We all have dreams, but we need to create goals off of our dreams, then break those goals down into habits that actually inform the day-to-day of how we accomplish our goals. 0:00 Introduction 2:35 Step 1: What Would Make You Thrilled A Year From Now? 9:03 Step 2: Create Tangible Goals 14:27 Step 3: Create Supplementary Habits

►► Download the 6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist here: https://songwritertheory.com/lyricchecklist/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about the easiest way to write a song if you're overwhelmed with songwriting. There are a nearly infinite number of ways to write songs. We can start with chords, melody, lyrics, different song sections, hooks, and more! So, naturally this can be pretty overwhelming. In this podcast, we're going to just talk about the single easiest way to write a song. This is by far the easiest if you don't know any music theory or meter and is even the easiest for those of us that are leveraging great writing tools like music theory, meter, rhyme, story structure, and more. ❤️ If you find my content helpful and want to say thanks, you can buy me a coffee! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala 0:00 Introduction 2:00 The Background Logic To This Songwriting Method 10:49 Step 1: Write the Chord Progression or Song Engine 16:33 Step 2: Write the Melody 23:12 The Easiest Song Section Writing Order 27:19 Step 3: Write Lyrics 32:47 Detailed Version of my Favorite Songwriting Process

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this bonus episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're continuing to talk about your #1 biggest songwriting struggles. We'll be talking about: Where To Find "Great" Ideas for Songs Syllables and Meter for Lyrics What are the # of Words Per Bar Normally? Writing a Memorable Chorus Melody How Do I Figure Out What To Write My Songs About?

►► Download the NEW 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about 3 easy ways to stop overthinking your song. It can be so easy to run into writer's block when we are overthinking our songs. Overthinking can come from different places such as perfectionism, a lack of a plan, or even allowing our knowledge to get in the way of what SOUNDS right in our song. So let's talk about 3 easy ways to STOP OVERTHINKING your songs and actually keep songwriting.

►► Download the 6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist here: https://songwritertheory.com/lyricchecklist/  ►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Guide here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ ►► Write Great Sounding Music Every Time (Musical Keys Cheat Sheet): https://www.songwritertheory.com/keys In another bonus episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're breaking down more of your songwriting struggles and challenges. In this episode, we'll be talking about: Are Stock Chord Progressions Bad? Assigning Chords to a Song - How To Find Interesting Chords I Stop Writing When I Get to the Lyrics How To Find Song Titles That Haven't Been Taken Sequence of the Story in Songs

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're going to talk about 3 Things That Will Make You A Better Songwriter You Don’t Want To Hear. We can't just talk about what we need to hear that we WANT to hear, so sometimes we have to go through the painful process of hearing what we DON'T want to hear. We'll be talking about things like: We Need To Push on Quality AND Quantity Music Theory Has Only Ever Helped People Write Music Being an Artist Doesn’t Mean Merely Following Your Whims So let's talk about some tips that will help you become a better songwriter, even if it's not what you want to hear.

►► Download the 6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist here: https://songwritertheory.com/lyricchecklist/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about how we can write more songs in 2024. Obviously we also want to up our quality of song, but we also want to become more efficient at writing songs, more quick to eliminate blockers and bottlenecks, and just have the best songwriting year of our lives in 2024. So we're going to break down a few ways to do that. We'll talk about:  Incorporating Songwriting Sprints Getting in the Habit of Doing What's Needed, Not Just What We most feel like Getting better at consistency (doing little shifts instead of heavy lifts) Having a songwriting process (or several go-to processes!) so we aren't wasting time with cognitive dissonance about what to do next Let's talk about it! 0:00 Intro  2:55 Incorporate Songwriting Sprints  11:07 Practice Doing What's Needed, Not What You Most Feel Like  17:40 Consistency: Little Shifts Over Heavy Lifts  26:22 Have a Songwriting Process

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Guide here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this bonus episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're continuing our discussion of YOUR biggest songwriting struggles, challenges, and pain points. We'll be addressing things like: How To Finish Songs How To Leverage Life Circumstances and Tragedies Into Songs How much do you need to learn before you start writing songs? How To figure out where a song should go How To Establish Meter (how to establish a syllable or emphasis pattern) Point of View In Songs (Mostly Direct Address and 3rd person) The difference between metaphors and Similes 0:00 Intro 2:05 Finishing Songs 8:31 How To Leverage Life Circumstances Into Songs 14:22 Do I Need To Learn More About Songwriting Before I Start? 22:12 I'm Confused About Where My Song Should Go 25:45 Establishing Meter (Establishing Syllable or Emphasis Pattern) 31:52 Point of View In Songs 38:17 Metaphors + Similes

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Guide here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this bonus episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're continuing to talk about your biggest songwriting pain points, struggles, and challenges. We'll cover things like:  Finishing song recordings  Making grooves  Writing memorable melodies  Talent's role in songwriting  Lyrics that tell the right story  Lyrics that are impactful + touch the heart - Chorus writing Writing melodies with a limited vocal range Keeping melodies too close to the chords Never completing songs And more!

►► Download the 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about YOUR biggest songwriting struggles. I sent out a survey asking you all what your biggest songwriting struggles and pain points are, and I'm going to respond to every single response I got over the course of a few video podcasts. So let's talk about YOUR biggest songwriting struggles.

Kick Writer's Block To The Curb For Good ►► Download the NEW 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Guide here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ Are you growing as a songwriter? We don't grow by default, we stagnate and wither away by default. But, as songwriters, we want to keep becoming BETTER songwriters every year. We should look back at our music from 10 years ago and say "wow, I'm a MUCH better songwriter now" and look back even a year ago or a couple years ago and also see significant growth. So let's figure out 2 different ways to know if we are growing as songwriters. Then we're going to break down a bunch of different directions we can challenge ourselves to grow as songwriters to ensure we ARE growing and CONTINUE to grow in our songwriting skills. Have you ever wondered: - How do I grow as a songwriter? - How do I know if I am getting better at songwriting? - How can I make sure I keep becoming a better songwriter? - How can I make sure my songs are getting better? - How do I get better at songwriting? Then this episode is for you! Let's talk about it!

Start Writing Songs Now + Kick Writer's Block To The Curb For Good ►► Download the NEW 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/

Start Writing Songs Now + Kick Writer's Block To The Curb For Good ►► Download the NEW 20 Ways To Start Writing A Song Cheat Sheet here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ ►► Download the NEW 6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist here: https://songwritertheory.com/lyricchecklist/ 0:00 Intro 1:50 Be a Jack of Many Trades, Master of One 11:37 Write Your Song In Baby Steps 20:11 Deeper Is Almost Always Better In Songwriting In This Episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about 3 principles for writing better songs. Sometimes it's helpful to take a high-level view of songwriting and ask what the central concepts, ideas, and principles are that get us the most results for writing better songs more consistently. What principles will make us better songwriters a year from now than we are today? What principles will help us write songs we're proud of more efficiently? What principles will help us become the songwriters we're capable of being? It's time to unlock your songwriting potential with these 3 principles!

►► Download the 6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist here: https://songwritertheory.com/lyricchecklist/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're talking about 3 principles for writing better lyrics. These principles for lyric writing will help you learn how to write lyrics better and end up with lyrics that you can be proud of. If you've ever wondered: - How to write lyrics for a song - How to write better lyrics - How do I fix my lyrics - What is wrong with my lyrics - Is Lyric writing hard? Then this is the episode for you! Let's talk about how to write better lyrics with 3 simple principles.

►► Download the 10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Guide here: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ In this video, we're talking about 3 principles for writing better melodies. We'll talk through how to write a melody utilizing 3 core principles to get the best songwriting results. Writing melodies can be simple. Writing GOOD melodies is not so easy. That's why we need to talk about principles that will help us write better melodies. Melody is almost certainly the most important part of any song, so we need to make sure we write a great melody! If you've ever wondered: - How to get better at writing melodies - How to write an interesting melody - How to write a melody - How to write a good melody - How to get better at melody writing Then this is the episode for you! Let's talk about how to write better melodies by talking about 3 principles for writing better melodies.

►► Download the 4 Pillars of Music Theory For Songwriters Guide here: http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/ In this episode, we're talking about 3 principles for writing better chord progressions. Chord progressions are often a part of the songwriting process that people are confused by, so they just keep using the same 5 overused chord progressions. Let's remove some of the confusion and talk about 3 principles you can apply to your chord progressions so that they go from forgettable to exactly what you want them to be. If you've ever wondered: - How can I write better chord progressions - How to make chord progressions - How chord progressions work - The music theory of chord progressions   This is the episode for you!

Check out Reagan's Mixing Checklist Here: https://www.orpheusaudioacademy.com/mixingchecklist In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we're having our first guest: Reagan Ramm of Orpheus Audio Academy. We're talking about how we all CAN produce pro-sounding music from the comfort of our homes using budget equipment. Knowledge is what is standing in the way of making great sounding recordings, not expensive gear or even our recording location (with its lack of sound treatment and all!). So let's talk about how to produce pro quality music at home with Reagan Ramm of Orpheus Audio Academy!

►► Download the 6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist here: https://songwritertheory.com/lyricchecklist/ In this episode of the Songwriter Theory Podcast, we talk about what I think is the single best way to write songs. Talking about how to write songs the best way is always going to be a bit loaded as we all have our preferences, but this is the method I've found to be the most effective way to reduce the friction towards writing great songs consistently. So, let's talk about how to write songs the best way!

6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist: https://www.songwritertheory.com/lyricchecklist/ Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks about how to keep your lyrics on topic.

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ Music Theory Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/ Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph continues the conversation about some of the inherent difficulties of songwriting and how to best deal with them.

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ Music Theory Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/ Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks about some of the inherent difficulties of songwriting and how to best deal with them.

Your $250 Home Recording Studio Free Guide Link: https://www.songwritertheory.com/studio Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks through 3 stories to explain why you owe it to yourself and others to record your music.

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks about 10 different lies we tell ourselves that stop us from making music.

6-Step Lyric Writing Checklist: https://www.songwritertheory.com/lyricchecklist/ Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks about 3 powerful literary concepts that help us to all write better lyrics.

Music Theory Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/musictheoryguide/ Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks about the primary ways to figure out all the notes in any major or minor key.

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks about the benefits of (and what to actually look for in) a song tendencies audit.

10 Ways To Start Writing A Song Free Guide Link: http://songwritertheory.com/freeguide/ Love the content and want to support Songwriter Theory? Feel free to buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/josephvadala Joseph talks about 5 different components to give your song a bit of an alternate song structure. Subtle enough that it doesn't seem too overwrought, but also significant enough to make a difference.