Songwriting HACK for when you're STUCK

In this video I share with you some tips I wish I'd had when I started writing songs – I'd have been spared A LOT of frustration! Try them when you've started a song but don't know where to go from there. BUT YOU CAN ALSO use them to check whether the various sections of a finished song are melodically balanced in relation to one another. I hope you find them useful!

00:00 Intro
01:04 Inspiration
04:04 Study your own work!
04:59 Where does your melody begin?
05:28 What note values have you mainly used?
06:41 Rhythmic character
07:09 Phrase lengths
07:30 Repetition
07:58 What kind of motion have you used?
08:36 What's the range/register?
08:57 Triad notes vs non-triad notes
09:44 But what about harmony?

Get in touch if you have any questions!

I'm Elisabeth Kaplan, songwriter, film composer, singer, educator, and creator of The Canapé Principle®.

[ElisabethKaplan]

This is the knowhow I needed to finally start finishing songs that I was actually happy with! 😁I hope these tips are helpful to you as well!

[danielfrancoismalherbe]

i don't believe in writer's block, i show up every day to make something with my time and i 100% endorse your insights here, it works to just get going without overthinking it at all

[NoahHornberger]

watch out for the other side of the process: when you start with a great little idea and continue to overwork it into something else less than satisfying. In order to remedy this I save a new version of my files for every editorial decision so I can always go back once I realize that I was overworking the idea. Sometimes you do have to go too far to realize that what you did at first held up on its own. And I think the lesson from doing this overworking many times is to go for the essence not the biggest production. Looking back at old music I made I hear only what is there and I enjoy it, not all the things I thought we missing.

[johnmirabile]

AWESOME, KEEP MAKING THESE VIDEOS, THE DISEASE OF WRITERS BLOCK HAS BEEN RUNNING WILD AROUND HERE LOL TY ELIZABETH DARLING...

[peaceful_activities]

wow this video makes me feel seen :) this was fr helpful for me as a beginner !! thank you for this 👍👍

[dererfolgreichemusiker]

What a great Video! And then u even mention Max Martin, ma man? I love it! Keep up the good work :-) Like & Abo sind da ^^ 🔥

[ineskatrin_music]

Sehr guter Tipp, ich neige dazu zuviel chords einzubauen, bevor die melodie steht... danke