You drink and fight, then you're bringing it home. 😢

First step in being successful at anything you do.. You gotta show up. I'm guilty though., I show up for work week after week but sometimes at night I know I should be in the studio and I just don't feel like it. Definitely have to do better..

Thank you this is great ❤

Back in the day, in the 60s/70s, there definitely were folks who were drinking and writing. I spoke with one of the old timers, decades ago, and he told me that the writers of "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" were alcoholics who passed because of it. They were drinking and writing, according to him. But today is a different day, I believe. We have to be accountable and predictable. No more rockstar shenanigans like throwing things off the 5th floor of the Hyatt or showing up 3 hours late for a session.

Oh come on, you can't tease that penny whistle playing video and not follow through on it!!!! I remember when Just a Swingin' came out - and I thought "this is the dumbest song I've ever heard and I like it" ;-)

Great video!! I have written with people where I always wondered how they were so good at making their lyrics HIT and this describes that super well. I’m reading a book by Jimmy Kachulis right now and he talks about another way to create a pay off on the hook is to put a cadence under it and use a different progression under your setup line. Think ‘time after time’ by Cyndi lauper as an example. Thought that went along with what you’re talking about here too. Great stuff guys

Cool to hear those references to current pop songs! JP Saxe is a great lyricist

P.s. My songs are better. 1- NasCar "Speed" definitely a #1 Billboard Hit. 2- "Feels like the first time" a definite "Duet" Billboard hit. 3- "Jesus By The Hand" Mabee not a top ten, but definitely a great song. 4- "North Dakota" another definite hit.

The National’s “First Two Pages of Frankenstein” album title is a reference to the technique of opening a book or magazine and looking for words that inspire. Jeff Tweedy talks about that technique as well. Good stuff.

Jack was talking about kids singing other words to "Peaceful Easy Feeling". We used to sing "Amazing Grace How Sweet the Sound" to the tune at Christian summer camps. I really love the song whatever words they use!

Thanks guys ❤

I'm binge listening today while on the road. I always heard if you want to be successful then watch successful people and do the things they do. So.. that's why I'm here. Appreciate the wealth of knowledge you guys share here. Hope you both have an awesome new year filled with one hit after another. BTW.. no comments were made while driving 🙂.

Harlan Sanders was in his 70s when he started KFC. Up to that point he'd pretty much failed at all he ever did. World keeps moving.. May as well keep trying .

Also Remember John Prine: "Dear Abby" (reading a newspaper in Paris)

Nice tips. The painting/photograph idea is a very good. Remember the Classical composer Mussogorsky: "Pictures at an Exhibition."

Hi Clay and Marty - Love these videos!! I’ve been binge watching. 😄 I’ve been seeing a lot about writing hit Country songs, but our genre is more Americana with a Country flavor. Everything you’re talking about is good no matter what genre you’re writing in, I just wondered if you had anything to share about Americana or Americana writers that have been successful or tips on what they are looking for. Chris Stapleton, for example, was all in on Americana before making it big. Thanks so much guys.

This is my favorite new channel. I started getting back into music during the pandemic and got my brothers to do an album I had in my head since about 1990. The album is “Front Row Seats to the End of the World.” It is a semi-funny look at our world in that time. Since then, I have just gotten into writing. Love this.

Love you guys!

Hey hey Clay, Your "Lone Wolf Ballcap" goes well with your Elvis Jacket, lol !

Damb pot heads....lol. Seriously, your channel has helped me immensely to not over think during the writing process. Have a happy new year! Thanks.

OK, guys. I just subscribed a few days ago, and I love the information that I get from your podcast. I just want to give you a different slant on AI songs. Long story short is that I had never tried to write a song, but I did make up a few while patrolling in Viet Nam (stop). Decades pass, and when I got on Facebook, I would occasionally post a poem that I had written, mostly religious, and traditional/historic "cowboy" poems. Not too long ago, someone commented that one of my poems would make a great song. Consequently, my daughter-in-law found a friend who wrote music. She put us together, and I was amazed. Not long after, I heard of AI productions, and using my poems as lyrics, I was able to utilize the generated singers and instrumentals to bring my poems (song lyrics) to life. The point I'm trying to make is that there are people out here who might have talent for lyric writing, but not singing or melody making. For them, AI offers a channel for their lyrical creativity. BELIEVE ME, I don't think that AI will ever take over the world, or the music industry, but it's just another tool. Who knows someone like me (probably better) might team up with you some day. Have a great week!

Wow. An artist is lucky to get to work with you guys! What service!

A fun way to come up with melodies is to take a random non-musical sentence and try to sing it over and over. And then of course you change the words later.

John Anderson is absolutely awesome. On my top 5 list. I didn't know that about that song though. Funny..😊

Marty, I would love to hear your thoughts on how country music can be evolved to sound less formulaic, or how Christian music could evolve to appeal musically to a larger audience

Great suggestions! There’s so many ways to get creative when you start to think about it. I’ve also looked back and taken phrases from my old song lyrics. I found some great titles and inspiration . Great video. 👍

Guys, it would be cool to see you rewrite AI written songs (lyrics) and of course there are ai generated songs as well. But these are complicated.

I did the "write the stupidest song you can" and everyone loves it. Now I am sorry. 😢😂😂😂

Startin’ my day off right! 😂 great video, thanks!

Thanks for the fun, helpful ideas. Great to see the new hat too; might be a song idea there. I like to see what word options my iphone comes up with when I start typing a phrase in; that's not using Ai is it? The first 4 words are mine, then the phone offered the rest: "The hat makes the whole world smile".

The 'Mozart effect' lasts about 12 minutes so I take advantage of this often.....really opens up something I can't explain. ❤

Back with the “10 tips” again 😂 Surely you guys are more creative than that?

Rob Thomas from MatchboxTwenty did a title collage song about the 80s. It's called Timeless, from his Clip Tooth Smile album. It has many titles from famous 80s (pop)songs woven into the lyrics.

Great ideas!

As a songwriter and an artist, I, mistakenly, thought that I had to be as good as someone on the radio to present myself as a performer/writer. What I realized, years into it, is that that’s what the journey is about; getting up to that point. Learning as you go and getting closer and closer until someone sees enough to believe in and feels you’re worth helping/signing/taking you on as a songwriter. In other words, don’t think you have to be perfect to pitch. Just keep perfecting til you get there while you network, pitch whatever.

All this is great advice but I've started to realize that at a personal level, most people are much more accepting of songs that aren't "hits" as long as there's an emotional connection to them (maybe their dad used to play it), a catchy phrase/melody or being exposed to it for long enough. I think that all this criteria that you guys talk about is in order to get your song to be promoted by record labels or to be used by a well-known artist and to get that, the bar is way up there. I've found that the more direct contact you have with your audience, the more likely it is that they will listen to your songs, even those songs that wouldn't pass the record label criteria. I guess there's different paths in songwriting and the toughest one is the one you're preparing us for but I wouldn't like others to get discouraged just because a label won't like their music, maybe it sucks, maybe it doesn't and they just need to find the right audience.

Do you guys have any advice for song writers that are aspiring to write song to fulfill our artistic aspirations? Not songs that fill the great corporate music industry monetary yearnings.

I wonder why music executives don't ever find songs on KZbin written by unknowns and ask them to use their songs, somehow - i mean if a song is good and they can hear that it has potential, why not reach out to that writer/artist and ask if they would like to get that song refinished by pros. When i hear, I Can't Live (If Living Is Without You) by Badfinger and then listen to the Harry Nilsson version it's no wonder Badfinger's version didn't become a worldwide hit. That is a perfect example of what i am talking about. NIlsson's version is a better version. Surely professionally written songs must exist on KZbin that haven't been discovered simply because the artist is a total nobody. There must be tons of potential hit songs out there just needing professional retouching.

Clay, I studied with Mark Simos at Berklee. I consider Mark to be the best songwriting teacher I ever had. I’ve watched a lot of songwriting videos on KZbin. Yours is the only one that delivers the kind of insight and real value that Mark provided. Kudos and thank you.

As you guys know, a song is a 3 minute movie, basically. How boring would the movie be if they show the conclusion in the first 5 minutes of the film and then said it over and over for 2 hours?

Start with the truth…sounds like good advice in general. Lol

The drum beat, and the 3 couplet pattern, seems like 3/4 time. I like the up and down of the melody

Lots of good information in this video

"When the rain wash- ez you clean, you'll know, you'll know . Still works !!

RE: Torrential Rain. Wouldn't that song fit more in the Americana genre?

Hollow songs might be being done too much in Nashville. Blue Collar Hollow by Jerry Foster & Bill Rice (years ago) and Karree J Phillips has Honky Tonk Hollow. Great songs. Not sure we need more about hollows?

At university I showed up unannounced to the office of one of the most famous professors there. He wasn't in, but I talked to a secretary an expressed how I'd read all his research and was very keen to work with him, and had some topics that might possibly be of interest to him. The Secretary smiled and was very honest and said "there's no way that's ever going to happen". But then, she connected me to another professor who is in the same field and recommended me to him. He ended up being the best mentor I've ever had in my life.

on the subject of Summer. One time somebody was talking about Summer Squash and I replied Summer Squash some are not and it got a laugh so I wouldn't make the whole song that but it could be a cool line to through in

Thanks for sharing your experience. How would you rate a song written and performed in a language you don't know? (not in English, French or Spanish). Half of your points are about lyrics, but will all of that become unimportant when you hear a song you'll rock out to? Let's suppose after translating the lyrics, you will understand its pointless. But by that time it is already sitting in your head? will this song end up on the radio then? just because it does not justify most of your requirements for lyrics.

Hey, I purchased your book mastering melody writing, in the book it says it's interactive and go to your website as it's a companion to the book. I went there and can't find the resources related tu the book, any link would help please.