Songwriting for Everyone

This year "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X broke the record to become the longest consecutive No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. At just 2:37 seconds, the catchy song has a lot more going on than the casual listener may realize. In this episode, Joe highlights songwriting techniques leveraged in "Old Town Road," including: Chord Cycles, Pedal Tones, Borrowed and Added Note...

In this episode Joe discusses the use of secondary dominant chords, applying Dominant 7th Chords to the I, II, III, IV and VI Chords to add color, dissonance and pull. Songwriting examples include works from The Beatles, David Bowie, Peter Frampton, and Elton John.

In this episode Joe shows how the interplay of Chord and Non-Chord Tones are used to create varying degrees of color and tension vs. calm. The Chord to Non-Chord Tone relationships and techniques discussed include: Passing Tones, Appoggiatura, Suspensions, Anticipation, Auxiliary Tones, Chromatic Passing Tones, and Delayed Resolution of Non-Chord Tones. 

In this episode, Joe discusses how suspended chords and added note chords are formed, and how they are used by songwriters to add varying degrees of color and direction. Examples include: - Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven, where before the final sections Jimmy Page uses both Suspended 2nd and Suspended 4th chords, plus Added Note Chords - Jimi Hendrix's use of Added Note Chords

In this episode Joe breaks down the song "Mercy" by Shawn Mendes, in order to look at the craft that went into creating this work, and to use it as an example for understanding the techniques and architecture used in modern songwriting. "Mercy" includes many unique features, including some that are hidden beneath the surface. To hear the original song: https://www.youtube.com/w...

In this episode Joe looks at the songwriting technique of rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers in their song "Under The Bridge." He looks at the process of songwriting that goes into developing a true classic, breaking down the song to analyze its distinct parts. To hear the original song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwlogyj7nFE

In this episode Joe looks at the songwriting technique of hit group Steely Dan in their song "Reelin' In The Years." He looks at the song architecture, analyzes the two distinct styles used in the song, and discusses specific song elements.

In this episode we move beyond Major chord progressions, adding color to our song by introducing the Minor 7th and Dominant 7th chords.

In this episode Joe shows how the 1,848 Alternative C Chords in his book, "Guitar Chords for the 21st Century" can be used to give you creative freedom in your songwriting, as your compositions immediately break free from the classic chords and progressions which are used so heavily by songwriters, giving you a fresh and innovative sound. Check out the book here https://amzn.to/2HA19vl M...

In this episode Joe shows how to use the II Chord in songwriting, incorporating it into your chord progressions. He also introduces the concept of a Diminished Chord. 

In this episode Joe shows how to use the III Chord in songwriting, incorporating it into your chord progressions.

In our last podcast we covered how to create songs with three chords, like the Blues. In this episode we will add in the sixth (VI) chord in the key to create a four-chord progression.

In this episode, Joe shows how chords and progressions are used to build songs, using 3-chord songs and blues progressions as examples.

In this episode we complete our song with all elements included: Backing Track, Intro, Verse, Pre-Chorus ,Chorus ,Bridge, and Outro.

In this episode we continue working on "The Bridge" for our song, moving on to the section known as "The Outro."

In this episode we discuss the musical section called "The Bridge" - its history and formation. For songwriter examples Joe uses songs by Rihanna and Billy Joel.

In this episode we'll review our song components so far - the Introduction, 1st Verse, Pre-Chorus and Chorus. Then we'll move on to adding the 2nd verse as we build towards the completion of our song.

In this episode, we work on developing the pre-chorus for our song. Joe uses examples including Stay by Rihanna, and three songs by Ed Sheeran: Perfect , Photograph and Thinking Out Loud

In this episode we work on the chorus for our song. For examples of chorus development, Joe uses songs from Rihanna and Ed Sheeran.

In this episode we will add our fourth musical phrase, and work on the first verse for your song.  Songwriting examples that Joe references in this episode include Prince's "1999" (pop/rock/dance) Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff" (reggae), Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" (pop/rock) and Bryan Adams "Everything I Do, I Do for You" (pop/rock)...

In this episode we continue building our song by adding a third musical phrase. Joe discusses how this is done in songs by Steely Dan and Santana.

In our second episode, we take our musical phrase from the 1st lesson/episode, and add a second phrase, building towards our first song.

In our first episode, we start writing a song by learning about musical phrases, the building blocks of songs.