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What is a Bridge in songwriting?

By alexander Posted on September 13, 2021 Posted in Lyric writing No Comments Tagged with bridge, song structure

I looked up on the web ‘Bridge’ in songwriting, and was disappointed at the lack of good material on this. Much of what I found described – often in vague terms – what it might be musically. There seems to …

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Song Assessment & Feedback Exercise (SAFE)

By alexander Posted on April 7, 2019 Posted in Songwriting groups

A 5-step process for songwriter learning groups Songwriters can often work without much idea of how to develop song ideas, complete songs, or write better songs. They may not have many ideas on how to identify in a song what …

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Songwriting group etiquette, ground rules & ethos

By alexander Posted on April 7, 2019 Posted in Songwriting groups

For group meetings, it is good to agree some ground rules so that songwriters can feel confident to experiment, and share ideas, questions and their material in meetings. It is also useful to have values that can inspire our songwriting …

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Songwriting group meeting format

By alexander Posted on April 7, 2019 Posted in Songwriting groups

A songwriting group should be fun, educational, and a space for mutual support and trust. It’s worth experimenting with different formats to find what works well for you. Nothing has to be set in stone. If the group feels ready …

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Writing better lyrics (notes on Pattison’s book)

By alexander Posted on March 1, 2018 Posted in Books, Lyric writing 3 Comments

This blog entry is a set of notes that I made on the book: Pattison, Pat (2009) Writing better lyrics: the essential guide to powerful songwriting, Writers Digest Books, Cincinnati. I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, …

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If You Want To Write (notes on Ueland’s book)

By alexander Posted on November 16, 2017 Posted in Books, Creativity & Craftsmanship 1 Comment

Brenda Ueland (1891-1985) was a journalist, editor, freelance writer and teacher of writing. She seems to have been a highly creative, generous-hearted, free spirit. Amongst her accomplishments, she was knighted by the King of Norway, and set an international swimming …

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The Escaped Lyric (Radio 4 series)

By alexander Posted on October 29, 2016 Posted in Documentaries, Lyric writing No Comments

5 episodes of 11 minutes each – www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b082bk15/episodes/guide From teenage alienation to middle-aged loss and regret, lyrics from popular music can escape their song to become an anthem of our youth or a lifeline through loss and solitude. Nick Berkeley …

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Melody 01: Melody writing made simple(r)

By alexander Posted on October 13, 2016 Posted in Music writing / Composing No Comments

7:15-9:30pm, Wednesday 26 October 2016 Sign up here. In these sessions, we’re rotating a number of core topics on songwriting. This is our first on writing melody. We’ll look at: the musical properties and potential of different scales, intervals and …

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Finding A ‘Big Idea’ To Focus Your Song

By alexander Posted on October 8, 2016 Posted in Lyric writing No Comments Tagged with big idea, chorus, titles

Starting in August 2016, about once a month, I have been leading an evening workshop for Oxford Songwriters Meetup. We are gradually working through some of the main topics in my Oxford Songwriting Syllabus. The meeting on 25 Sept 2016 …

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Analysis of ‘And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda’ (Eric Bogle)

By alexander Posted on October 8, 2016 Posted in Song Analysis 5 Comments

Analysing other people’s songs can teach us a lot This is the second song analysis to be posted on this blog. As I said I have said elsewhere, a song does not have to be good, or one we like, …

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Alexander Massey BA PGCE MA MSc
E: alexander at oxfordsongwriting dot com

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Recent Posts

  • What is a Bridge in songwriting?
  • Song Assessment & Feedback Exercise (SAFE)
  • Songwriting group etiquette, ground rules & ethos
  • Songwriting group meeting format
  • Writing better lyrics (notes on Pattison’s book)
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