The Fine Art of Songwriting Syllabus
MASTERCLASS
SONG STRUCTURE I
- Three Steps Toward Mastery
- Organic & Mechanic Method
- Song Form Ladder
SONG STRUCTURE II
- Organic Form
- Walking Light
- Frost's Ice-Cube
- Title Placement Creates Form
- Recommended Exercises
SONG STRUCTURE III
- Rhetorical Scheme: Anaphora, Epistrophe, Epanalepsis
- Recommended Exercises
SONG STRUCTURE IV
- AABA Form
- History
- Recommended Exercises
SONG STRUCTURE V
- Verse/Chorus Form
- History
- Form Follows Function
- Opening Verses
- Begin With The Chorus
- Pre-Chorus
- 1/2 Second Verse
- Post-Chorus
- Recommended Exercises
SONG STRUCTURE VI
- Verse/Chorus Form Cont.
- Formal & Informal Approach
- Same Choruses-Same Message
- Re-Visioning The Chorus & The Refrain
- Different Choruses
- Recommended Exercises
SONG STRUCTURE VII
- Writing The Big Chorus
- Delayed Gratification & The Power Of One
- Diatonic Chord (Triad) Function
- "Didn't We Dance" Song Example
SONG STRUCTURE VIII
- Writing The Big Chorus Cont.
- 57-1 Cadence
- 57sus4
- Root-Position 1 Chord Resolution
- "I'll Be Coming Home" Inversions
- Arranging & Production Elements
- Modulation
SONG STRUCTURE IX
- Writing The Big Chorus Cont.
- Weakening The 1 Chord
- Incomplete 1 Chords
- Added Chords
- 1 Chord Inversion
- Weakening The 57
- Recommended Assignment
SONG STRUCTURE X
- Writing The Big Chorus Cont.
- Disclosure Of Meaning
- Big Chorus Melody
- Recommended Exercises
SONG STRUCTURE XI
- The Big Chorus Cont.
- "Breathe" Analysis
- Recommended Exercises
SONG STRUCTURE XII
- The Bridge
- Where To Begin? Where To End?
- As Major Sections
- The Bacharach Bridge-"Make It Easy On Yourself"
- Expectation, Surprise & Inevitability
- Recommended Exercises
SONG STRUCTURE XIII
- The Tag
- Curls Above The Crown
- Necessary and Urgent?
- Restating The Title
- Adding New Information
- As Extended Section
- Recommended Exercises
SONG STRUCTURE XIV
- Unconventional Strucures I
- Self-Similarity
- State Re-Instate
- Country Bridge
SONG STRUCTURE XV
- Unconventional Structures II
- Examples
- Complexity Leads To Simplicity
- Nonce Form
- Recommended Exercises
SONG STRUCTURE XVI
- Emotional-Narrative Line
- Form As Extension Of Content
- Frost's Ice-cube Analogy
- Form Supports Emotion
- I Miss That Man
- Soundtrack To The Scene
SONG STRUCTURE XVII
- Intro, Turnaround, Instrumental, Solo, Outro
- Recommended Exercises
SONG CHARTS
SONG IDEAS & TITLES I
- Objective & Subjective POV
- Two basic types of ideas & titles
- Where do they come from?
- Song Outline
- Hook Book
SONG IDEAS & TITLES II
- Titles of Ambiguity
- Figurative & Literal Meaning
- Titles of Alliteration
- Titles that place us somewhere specific
SONG IDEAS & TITLES III
- Title Tumbling
- Replacing Pronouns
- Using the Opposite
- Emphasizing Each Word in the Title
- The Triggering Town
- Regionalism
- Recommended Exercises
PROCESS I
- Adam's Curse
- Limitations are liberating
- Limitation leads to economy
- What rhymes with Stuff?
- Rhyming other words in the title
- Perfect Framing Rhyme
- Exposition Method
- Recommended Exercises
PROCESS II
- Strongest Points of Contact
- Write with an eye on the next section
- Be an actor
PROCESS III
- Conjunctions
- Expectation, Surprise & Inevitability
- Filling in the Empty Space
- One-Corner Style Painting
PROCESS IV
- Helpful Tips
- Thoughts on Rewriting
- For the Lyricist Only
THE CRAFT OF LYRIC WRITING I
- Expectation, Surprise, & Inevitability
- Prosody defined
- 3 Foundational Principles
- Rhyme
- Similarity of Sound
- 15 Degrees of Vowel Sounds
- Single & Multi-Syllable Words
- Ellipses
- Getting Lost on Purpose
- The Moment You Surprise Yourself
THE CRAFT OF LYRIC WRITING II
- Limitation & Economy
- Review
- Begin With the End in Mind
- Intentional Perfect Rhyme
- No Rhyme
- Suggest the Passage of Time
- Dovetailing
- Synecdoche
- Recommended Exercises
THE CRAFT OF LYRIC WRITING III
- Verisimilitude I (Like the Truth)
- Details You Can Trust
- Particulars Reveal Universals
- Intensifiers
- Details-weaker to stronger
- Details-smaller to larger
- Description-Show Not Tell
- Adding a Vivid Detail
- Too Much Imagery
- Too Many Characters
- Recommended Exercises
THE CRAFT OF LYRIC WRITING IV
- Verisimilitude II
- Literal-vs-Figurative Language
- Functional-vs-Decorative Similes & Metaphors
- Recommended Exercises
- Implied Metaphors
- Objective Correlatives
- Recommended Exercises
- Understatement
- Hyperbole
THE CRAFT OF LYRIC WRITING V
- Verisimilitude III
- Tone
- Rhyme Type
- Missetting
- Recommended Exercises
- Dive Deeper
THE CRAFT OF LYRIC WRITING VI
- Verisimilitude IV
- Sound & Sense
- Onomatopoeia
THE CRAFT OF LYRIC WRITING VII
- Final Tips
- Write the Title
- Opening Lines
- Contrasting a Great line with a Mediocre Line
- Say it Again, Only Different
- Unintended Ambiguities
- (POV) Pull It Personal
- Happy Accidents
THE CRAFT OF MELODY WRITING
- Lyric as Limitation
- Principles of Effective Melody Writing
- Intentional Melody Writing
- Harmony-Driven Melody Writing
- Rhythm is Revolution
- Unnatural Phrase Length
- (Rule) of Two's
- Melodic Rhythmic Prosody
- Changing Meter
- Melodic Rhythmic Rhyme
- Bookended Melody
GUITAR METHOD & MUSIC THEORY
-
Intro
- 5 Keys & Capo
- AGD Diatonic Root-Position Triads
- Wheels
- 5 Keys & Capo Quiz
- AGD Diatonic Root-Position Triads Quiz
- AGD Diatonic Triads 1st Inversion
-
Wheels
- AGD Diatonic Triads 2nd Inversion
- Wheels
-
AGD Diatonic Triads 1st Inversion Quiz
- AGD Diatonic Triads 2nd Inversion Quiz
-
Wheels-Diatonic Triads Root-Position, 1st & 2nd Inversion
- Diatonic Chord (Triads) Function
- Resolution Tendencies to 1 Chord
-
Baseball Diamond Analogy
- Principles Of Deep Practice
-
Left Hand Technique
-
AGD b7 Chords (145)
- Diatonic Chord (Triads) Function Quiz
-
Wheels-AGD b7 Chords 145
- AGD b7 Chords (145) 1st & 2nd Inversion
- Wheels
-
Deep Practice-Right Hand Technique
- AGD Diatonic M7 & m7 Chords
- Wheels
- Wheels-NNS: Diatonic Triads, Inversions, 17, 47, 57, Inversions, 1M7, 4M7, 2-7, 3-7, 6-7
-
Wheels-(AGD-above)
- add9, sus4
- Wheels
- 16, 46, 2-6
-
Wheels
- Diminished Triads
- Diminished Seventh Chords
-
Wheels
-
Chord Substitution by Function
- 5 Keys & Capo (EC)
-
Wheels
- Diatonic Triads 1st & 2nd Inversion (E)
- Diatonic Triads 1st & 2nd Inversion (C)
- Wheels-Diatonic Triads Root Position, 1st & 2nd Inversion (E)
-
Wheels-Diatonic Triads Root Position, 1st & 2nd Inversion (C)
- (EC) New Diatonic b7 chords
- (EC) Root Position, 1st & 2nd Inversion Quiz
- (EC) Diatonic b7 Chord Wheels
- Diatonic b7 Chords 1st & 2nd Inversion
-
Diatonic b7 Chords 1st & 2nd Inversion Wheels
- (E) (New) Diatonic M7, m7 chords
- (C) (New) Diatonic M7, m7 chords
- Wheels (EC) (New) Diatonic M7, m7 chords
-
(EC) (New) 1add9, 4add9
- (C) (New) 1sus4, 17sus4
-
(E) (New) 5sus4, 57sus4
- Wheels (EC) (NEW) 1add9, 4add9, 1sus4, 17sus4, 5sus4, 57sus4
- (EC) (New) 16, 46, 2-6
-
Wheels (New) (EC) 16, 46, 2-6
- (EC) 07 Chords Ascending & Descending
-
Wheels (EC) 07 Chords Ascending & Descending
- Non-Diatonic 7th Chords
- Non-Diatonic 7th Chords (AGDEC) 1
- Non-Diatonic 7th Chords (AGDEC) 2
-
Wheels-Non-Diatonic 7th Chords (AGDEC)
- "Split Chords" (AGD)
- Wheels
-
"Split Chords" (EC)
- Modulation I
- 57-1 Cadence
- Pivot Chord
- Non-Diatonic Modulation (27, 37, 67, 77)
-
Chord Progression Examples
- Modulation II
- Modulation Map
-
Song Examples
- Modulation III
-
Song Examples
- Modulation IV
- Song Examples
SONG BREAKDOWN
- Same Old New Year
- Opposites As A Rhetorical Scheme
- Second Wind
- Sound & Sense
- Rhythmic Prosody
- Functional-vs-Decorative Metaphor
- Harmonic Prosody
- In My Town
- Description Is Revelation
- Closer To Home
- Figurative & Literal Meanings
- Objective Correlatives
- Particulars Reveal Universals
- The Last Best Place
- Refrain
- Bernie Taupin
- Too Many Pockets
- The Pareto Principle
- Always Everywhere Lyric
- Let It Rain
- The Story
- Video Link
- Eadd9 Chord
- I Remember Loving You
- Modified AABA Form
- Originality Within Convention
- Where Do You Start?
- She Must Be Beautiful
- Mary, Christmas
- The Art of the Comma
- The Art of the Pause
- Crazy Girl
- Understatement
STEVE'S PEEVE'S
- Writing in the Classic American Songbook Style
- Career Advice from a Samurai
- Writing Fast
- Chord Inversions Make for Interesting Bass Lines
- Creating an Empty Space
- Expectation, Surprise & Inevitability
- The Emotional-Narrative Line
- BMI? ASCAP? SESAC?
- Paying to Cowrite
- That Mysterious Second Wind Chord
- Deep Practice & Right Hand Technique
- Chords as Adjectives
- Don't Let the Truth Get in the Way of a Good Song
- Learning Other People's Songs
- If It's Not Hell Yeah! It's No!
- Teaching Songwriting