I was recently watching a Youtube seminar by a guy called Ralph Murphy. Who? Well, most of you will never have heard of him, but he was a songwriter of over 50 years, has toured the world as a performer, writer and teacher. He was a Vice-President within ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and […]
Following on from my last post on songwriting, I wanted to share another more songwriting tips that have really hit home over the summer: “Write about anything, whether nothing or nonsense” …Say what? Writer’s block? When I got to a certain stage in my songwriting, I always wrote about something. It always had meaning, no
Write more songs, write better songs, and write songs faster As a singer, musician and songwriter, I want to write better songs. I also want to write more songs, and write songs faster. So much so that it pains me when I can’t finish a song… because I’m still not happy with the way the
So, how many of you play guitar? Whether you play guitar or have ever seen a guitarist play, you will likely have come across something called a ‘capo’. What this nifty gadget does is make it possible to shift songs from one key to another, without having to change what the fingers would be doing.
As a full-time vocal coach, I take singing pretty seriously. At my Nottingham vocal coaching studio I have a huge range of microphones for myself and clients. But I need to have a reliable workhorse microphone to hand whenever I need one – enter the Rode M1. If you’re looking to pick one up, here’s
The last few weeks I’ve been listening to lots of Stevie Wonder – he is an absolute monster songwriter and vocalist. This one is particularly excellent. In particular, check out the epic key changes and effortless pure high notes towards the end. The man is unbelievable. I should also point out that he is a
What are your favourite lyrics? Now, despite loving singing and songs, and as well as having a near photographic memory, I do find it difficult to pick apart lyrics for an entire song in a first listen – finding favourite lyrics can be tough. So when a lyric really sticks in my mind on first listen
Another 500 words or less blog post, this time on five great male vocalists. Now, this is not meant to be a definitive list, and I reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow, but as of right this second, here are five great male vocalists I think you should have a listen to in
