A long time ago, I’d set my alarm clock for 1:30 in the morning, (sometimes two alarm clocks), and peeled my body out of bed to load delivery vans for UPS. As packages were conveyed down the line for me to load into the trucks, folks sorting the boxes listened to WZLX, “Boston’s Classic Rocker.” … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Plucked Strings

This week, we're back to checking out the 500 Greatest Songs of all time, (at least according to Rolling Stone Magazine). “Miss You” by The Rolling Stones is #498.  On paper this song could be booooooring. It basically two chords evenly balanced that repeat for four minutes, (with the exception of an eight bar bridge). Instead it’s … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Mars Rising

No matter how achingly beautiful an arrangement or harmony is, a chord is still just a chord. Whether it’s the Beatles sticking your heart with a melody like a pin cushion or Hendrix making your teeth sweat during guitar solo the chords supporting the song, at root, are the same.  A few days ago, while … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Never Sad Enough

The basis of pretty much all music is the major scale, (or the Do Re Mi scale as I tend to call it).How well do you know it? Sorry, I don’t mean to put you on the spot. I think one of the best things we can do as songwriters and musicians is to get to … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Buckets of Stars

I love checking out what has worked for other songwriters, and seeing what I might learn from them, so I found myself looking at Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of all time.   500 is a lot of songs and a lot of chord changes to investigate. (Not to mention a lot of lyrics, rhythms, … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: The Middle of a Lake