Recently I’ve been approaching songwriting from a “melody first” perspective. This time I want to start with the lyrics then find the music that compliments the words.
Author Archives: Dan Loch
Weekly Exercise (10/7/20-10/13/20)
So far, the write 5 melodies exercise has been one of the most helpful for me… so lets do it again!
Weekly Exercise (9/30/20-10/6/20)
Sorry this one is late! It’s been a crazy week. This week we’re going to explore contrasts. Use any form you want but write one song of lament and one song of celebration.
Song of the Month: God of Heaven
Can you believe its already October? Or maybe you can’t believe its only October. Somehow this year has been both the longest and the shortest I’ve ever gone through. Despite all of that, one silver lining is that 2020 has been my best year of songwriting so far, both in terms of quantity and quality.Continue reading “Song of the Month: God of Heaven”
Weekly Exercise (9/23/20-9/29/20)
It’s hard to believe that September is coming to a close and we’re already onto our third Weekly Songwriting Exercise. Last week I had great results and I can’t wait to share a new song with you! Hopefully this week’s exercise yields similar results. This week we are sticking with the idea of writing aContinue reading “Weekly Exercise (9/23/20-9/29/20)”
Weekly Exercise (9/16/20-9/22/20)
One of the most daunting parts of songwriting is finding where to start. When I sit down to write a song there’s an entire world of possibilities. With almost an unlimited number of rhythms, melodies, and harmonies for me to choose from, I find myself stuck with choice paralysis (its similar to trying to pickContinue reading “Weekly Exercise (9/16/20-9/22/20)”
Weekly Exercise (9/9/20-9/15/20)
If I want to get better at something then I have to do it. I can watch countless youtube videos, read all the books, and listen to motivational speakers all day but if I never put pen to paper (or cursor to Finale) then I’m not going to grow as a songwriter. This new seriesContinue reading “Weekly Exercise (9/9/20-9/15/20)”
Song of the Month: On That Day
This is one of my earlier songs but I find it to be encouraging today. It holds in contrast two truths. First, this world is broken. Second, there is a better day that is yet to come. The question is, what will we trust in while we wait for that day? Verse 2 points meContinue reading “Song of the Month: On That Day”
Writing Songs That Point to Christ
In addition to writing new songs this past month I have also revisited some older ones. I have to say, it’s amazing that I ever thought those recordings were worth putting up. For the meantime they’ll stay up there but I am looking forward to replacing them. One such song that I have revisited isContinue reading “Writing Songs That Point to Christ”
Writing Songs That Lament (And thoughts on Psalm 22)
To prepare for writing this article, I went back and read through the entire book of Psalms. Okay, I skimmed through the book of Psalms. Still, I went through all 150 Psalms and made note of how many were either laments or, in some way, a cry of distress. About 52 out of 150 PsalmsContinue reading “Writing Songs That Lament (And thoughts on Psalm 22)”