Deciding what chords you'd like to use in a song is like cooking. (Choosing chords is probably a bit simpler, there are a lot of variables in cooking. With chords, there are only a few choices and then some variations on those choices. With Chord Flow, I mainly focus on the meat and potatoes of … Continue reading Adding Spice with 7th Chords

It's been a mess of a week but in a good way.  I started offering ❤️Song Work❤️ sessions on the Let There Be Song Union (that's my Patreon). These are co-working sessions to dive in and edit songs we've written. We join the link, do a quick check-in and settle, then hit mute and go! … Continue reading Let There Be Song Union

Melodically, Alison, by Elvis Costello, is a beautiful song. These days I’m not so sure about the narrator. I think misogynistic and controlling are the words I'm looking for. A little gas-light-y too. That said, it’s one of Elvis Costello’s best-known songs with good reason, and it's worth taking a look at.  Alison is written … Continue reading My Aim is True

It’s hard to describe what it was like the first time I remember hearing California Dreamin’. I was in the car with my sister and her boyfriend. She was moving to college. A mix tape he’d made for her was playing. It was a sunny day. I was a newly minted teenager and was getting … Continue reading California Dreamin’ in Summertime

Songwriting master Jonathan Byrd started publishing videos as “The Song Coach” a few months ago. The videos are always informative and well put together. This past week he released a video called Songwriting Hits with Major II Chords. His almost offhanded mention of “Dock of the Bay” caught my attention.  Let’s talk about both the … Continue reading Otis Redding and the Major II