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Lyrist 101
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Focused on songwriting, lyric writing, melody, song structure, critiques and basic song development theory.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'song analysis'
Bad Simile in Reba\'s "Consider Me Gone"? (Pt. 2)
Don't get me wrong. I think Reba McEntire is one of the best. My issue is with the song. While it's OK, i.e., not too bad, it falls short of good. The biggest problem - the simile is an unrelenting stinker that ends up permeating th...
Bad Simile in Reba\'s "Consider Me Gone"? (Pt. 1)
To clarify - this isn't really Reba's poor simile. Because she's a great vocalist and song interpreter, she's able to make the simile sound reasonable, so as a listener, we give it a pass. But that doesn't mean it's a well written simile. ...
Drinking Songs (Part 2)
In this post, we'll look at two songs with similar themes, but very different executions: "I Drink" written and recorded by Mary Gautier (Blake Shelton also recorded this song, but I prefer her version), and "Nobody Drinks Alone," written by written...
Drinking Songs (Part 1)
A great exercise is to pick a topic, find some examples, and look at not only the similarities, but the differences created using songwriting techniques.At a recent NSAI meeting in Orlando, the topic was "Songs Using Communication Devices." The arra...
Setting a Strong Scene
One of the most important elements of a song is setting the scene. The scene can either be a physical place, or a point-in-time, but as a listener, I should be able to describe it in some way.For example, if a song takes place during a single hour o...
First Lines: One of the Keys to a Great Song
The first line is probably one of the most important things you'll write when creating a song. It has to grab the attention of the person listening - not reading - listening. So, you have about 5 seconds to get the audience for your song to make a de...
Songs & Poetry: Cross the Great Divide! (Part 1)
At the last NSAI meeting I attended, the lesson we discussed was lyric writing and finding an original angle. One of the examples given by Sara Light in the materials she provides to NSAI was a song called "Dance With My Father," written by Richard M...
Song Analysis: Adele's "Chasing Pavements"
A recent comment on the blog got me thinking (yes - it takes prodding). The comment was downplaying the songwriter's lyrics, mentioning they sounded as if they were written by a 17 year-old, because, well, they were.I know when I was 17 I felt most o...
