8 songwriting mistakes beginners often make, and how to fix them

There are probably as many ways to approach songwriting as there are songwriters.

But beginner songwriters are often only equipped with a handful of tools that results in them producing songs that are subpar at best.

We must all start somewhere, so that’s not the issue. Our skills develop with practice.

But you can increase the quality of your songs significantly if you avoid common mistakes.

Here are eight songwriting mistakes beginners often make and how to avoid them.

Click to read more ...

8 Ways To Improve Your Songwriting This Year

Songwriting is a beautiful mode of self-expression. It’s a way of giving voice to unspoken thoughts and emotions.

There are so many ways to say the same thing. So many topics and ideas you can write about.

But how do you write better songs?

Improving as a songwriter will require that you put some effort into it. If that doesn’t scare you off, then here are some concrete ways to improve your songwriting this year.

Click to read more ...

How To Build Confidence As A Beginner Singer

Are you just getting started as a singer? Great!

What many beginners or wannabes have in common is that they’re a little unsure of themselves. They’re often self-conscious of their voice.

This comes across in their performance. And, for better or for worse, it can even negatively impact how they’re coming across.

If there’s one quality that makes a singer stand out, it’s confidence. If they sing with confidence, even if their technique isn’t perfect, the audience will often respond favorably.

But how does a singer improve their confidence? That’s what we’re going to look at here.

Click to read more ...

9 Music Marketing Strategies That No Longer Work In 2020

Once you get the hang of it, marketing can be a lot of fun.

After all, marketing is tied directly the results you want as a musician – ticket sales, streams, merch sales, contest votes and so on.

But there are marketing strategies that don’t work, especially now that search engines and social media platforms have had time to evolve and adapt their algorithms.

So, we need to ensure we’re going about this the right way. Here are nine music marketing strategies that no longer work in 2020.

Click to read more ...

6 Mistake Beginner Guitarists Often Make (& How To Avoid Them)

As a beginner guitarist, you probably don’t know all the ins and outs of playing the guitar.

Mistakes will be made. That’s not a problem.

Where it becomes a problem is when you don’t learn from your mistakes and figure out what to do instead.

So, here are six mistakes beginner guitarist often make and how to avoid them.

Click to read more ...

How To Write A Song, 5 Unconventional Tips

Today we’re going to look at how to write a song. This won’t be your typical guide on songwriting though, there are already plenty of those floating around the internet.

Instead, I’m going to give you some unconventional songwriting tips that will help get you out of that beginner stage. Some of these ideas might sound bizarre initially, but give them a chance and I promise you your songwriting will benefit.

Click to read more ...

6 Music Business Skills All Guitarists Need To Know

For the most part, the music business skills guitarists need to build aren’t that different from skills other musicians should be equipping themselves with. Communication and networking skills. Marketing, image and branding. Punctuality and professionalism. Money and time management.

However, there are also some obscure or counterintuitive skills that guitarists should take the time to develop, like the ability to teach, write, or speak.

Have I piqued your interest? Then let’s delve in. here are six music business skills all guitarists need to know.

Click to read more ...

How To Get Gigs That Make You Money!

As many will agree, getting and performing gigs are an important part of most musician’s music careers. Aside from giving fans the opportunity to meet you in person, live shows can be a good source of additional revenue from your music.

That said, not all gigs have the same earning potential as each other. Some gig types have a few revenue sources you can tap into, while others tend to be hard to make money from. So today I’ll give examples of which gigs you should and shouldn’t get booked for if your main aim is to make money from them.

P.S. This guide doesn’t look specifically at how to get gigs, but more at which ones you should be aiming for if you want to make money. I’ve written a guide detailing the steps to get gigs, so if you’re after the actual process, you’ll want to check that out as well.

Some gigs are better for making money than others, so choose wisely - Tweet This

Click to read more ...

Youtube For Musicians: The Advanced Guide!

The internet is full of basic advice on how to market your music with Youtube. That said, if you want to really step your game up and start reaching more of your target audience, there are only a few advanced guides that will let you know how to do that. This is one of them! So have a look for 3 ‘not often talked about’ tips that will have you using Youtube much more effectively!

Click to read more ...

6 Big New Years Resolutions For Musicians

2014 is with us. And while there’s a good chance you’ve already made non-music related new years resolutions, have you made any related to your music? If not, today we’re going to fix that!

After my well received 2013 post (still useful today), below are 6 resolutions you can ‘borrow’ to help get your music career on track this year. Feel free to use as many or as few of them as you please. All I ask is that any you do decide to go with, stick with them for the duration.

Challenge yourself to do a few of them, but don’t pick so many that you can’t carry them all out. Ready to get going? Well here they are:

Click to read more ...

Earning From Your Music Part 2 - Recording Christmas & Holiday Based Songs

This is part two of my series on how to make more money from your music career. If you missed it, you can see part one here. That looks at the different ways in which you can earn money from gigging.

Today though, I want to look quickly at the power of recordings songs for holiday events such as Christmas, Thanksgiving and the like.

Click to read more ...

How To Write A Song If You're Aiming For The Charts!

If you’ve been making music for a while by now, you probably already know how to write a song. If not, you’ll want to check this beginners guide to songwriting before you go any further.

Now I’ve a question for you: Does the kind of songs you’ve been writing match the aims you have for your music career?

Click to read more ...

How To Make Money With Music Part 1: Gigging

Hello all, and welcome to Part 1 of what I hope will be a ongoing series on how to better make money in your music career. Whether you want to earn a full time income from your music or you simply want to make enough to cover recording or equipment costs, this series should go a way in helping you achieve that.

Today I’m going to look particularly at how you can make money from gigging. I often see musicians leaving money on the table from their gigging efforts, either through shyness, or simply because they didn’t know how best to monetize their performances. With that in mind, here are some of the main ways you should be making money from each gig.

Click to read more ...

How To Promote Your Music - The Ultimate Guide

Hello again, my Music Think Tankers. Today I’m going to look at 6 HUGE things you can do to better promote your music.

Now before you roll your eyes and think I’m going to tell you to “create a Facebook account and promote through social media” or to “get your music in as many places as possible,” listen up. This guide is going to be full of actionable content and advice that won’t be found in every post on the subject that simply rehashes information the writer has heard and not tried out themselves.

Click to read more ...