Melodic Memory melody memory music and brain songwriting Apr 15, 2024

This month we're talking all about melody - how to create them, how to craft them, how to connect them to lyrics - and how melody can affect us in more ways than we might know.

To that end, I've been thinking a lot about how melody plays a role in my memories. Like how I remember, vividly,...

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3 Fun Ways to use DAWS in the Classroom daw production songwriting songwriting education Mar 13, 2024

I can still remember the first time I recorded music on a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). I was in college and had recently purchased a Mac. I had written a handful of children's songs and wanted to make a CD for the parents of a program I ran. 

I could record songs on my computer...

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The Hard Co-Write collaboration cowriting songwriting songwriting education songwriting for music educators working together Feb 13, 2024

Co-writing can be a really fun and engaging way to expand skills, get to know more people and expand your collaborative network, but it can also be really hard. Especially when you get into a situation when you feel you're not being heard. I find this happens a lot more frequently when...

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Holiday Blues holiday songs songwriting songwriting education winter songs Dec 05, 2023

I just did an interview where I was asked why so many people dislike holiday music. In preparation for the chat, I sat down and thought about this and found some interesting anecdotes that I'd like to share.

There are a few things I came up with - some relating to emotions and others relating to...

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Why Lyrics are Both Easy and Hard crafting lyrics lyric craft lyric writing songwriting songwriting education songwriting prompts writing lyrics Oct 14, 2023

 

For whatever reason, lyrics seem to be both the easiest way into songwriting as well as the most challenging. Easy because they access language that we already have - no need for harmonic or melodic vocabulary - but hard because there just isn't a lot of real estate to say everything you...

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Tell Me Why mission purpose songwriting songwriting education songwriting for music educators teaching Sep 17, 2023

I can't read those three words without thinking of I want it that way by the Backstreet Boys. At songwriting for M.E. this month, we've been focusing our energies on this simple phrase: "Tell. Me. Why." 

In a world full of "whats," "hows," and "whens," it can be easy to forget our...

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