Hit Song Checklist

Photo by DieselDemon

I've said before about how fundamentally important it is that you have world-class songs.

To that end, I'm always trying to dig up great songwriting tips.

This post is a classic - 10 absolute rock-solid things to look at each and every time that you write a song.

How do you bring a new set of ears to a song that you’ve just spent a week writing and recording and listening to over and over again? That’s trickier, and admittedly, it’s never quite as effective as getting an outsider’s view. But sometimes it helps to have a framework for listening– a way to force yourself to observe the big picture that matters to a casual listener or an industry A&R person, rather than the fine details that become the focus when you’re writing and producing. For this, I offer one suggestion– try this one out on your latest masterpiece. Admittedly, you might not agree with all of my suggestions or standards. But if you’re in the music business and listen to demos everyday, you start to develop a pretty clear picture of what’s important in a song and where most songs tend to go wrong. With allowances then for a certain subjectivity and gut instinct that is part of the process, I offer you:

Read the 10 point song checklist here.