UPDATE (Songwriting books still available)

This blog has been discontinued.

'From Wanna-Be to Living Dreams' may still be purchased here. 'Top 10 Songwriting Mistakes and Correcting Them' is now only made available as a bonus when purchasing From Wanna-Be to Living Dreams.

Measuring a Hit & A Closer Look: 'Take Me There'

This weeks #1 country song contains two unusual occurrences. A title “preview” and a change in the rhyme pattern in the second verse.

See my markup and comments.

Measuring a Hit & A Closer Look: 'More Than A Memory'

In the early nineties when Garth Brooks was on fire, I received a couple of phone calls from him (as did several publishers on Music Row) when he was beginning the search for material for new projects.

One of those conversations sticks in my mind. As we talked a few minutes about what he was looking for in a song, his bottom-line was, “Keith, bring me the songs that knock you out.”

There’s been much talk over Garth’s business savvy and how much he’s put that college marketing degree to work during his career. No matter your opinion, you’ve got to give credit to an artist that in the end asks you to bring material that you find personally appealing.

I never landed a cut on any Garth projects, but I did gain respect for him during those conversations.

So is his #1 on this comeback a “knock-out” song? You be the judge.

As usual, here’s my markup of the lyric


* Each week I measure the #1 song of the week in “Measuring a Hit” for you to readily see common threads in today’s biggest hits. A posting called “A Closer Look” follows in a few days that brings a few craft issues of the song to your attention.

Blackburn honored for work in "Congressional Songwriters Caucus"

Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) was honored by The Recording Academy along with musical pioneer Quincy Jones and Sen. Ted Kennedy during this evening's "Grammys on the Hill" event at the Willard Hotel in downtown Washington, DC.

Blackburn, the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Songwriter's Caucus, was recognized with the Grammys on the Hill Award for her work on issues including intellectual property rights protection and changes to the law governing taxation of a songwriter's catalog sales.

According to a press release from Blackburn's office, songwriters were disadvantaged by the tax code before the change, which required them to pay income tax when selling their life’s work. The sale is now considered as a capital gain, classified in line with other intellectual property creations.

Blackburn issued a statement saying that she was "deeply honored" by the "Grammys on the Hill" tribute.

"The creative community is our nation's second largest exporter of goods and services, and Tennessee's 7th district has arguably the world's largest population of songwriters. We must respect their constitutional right to protect their intellectual property, ensure that their work is respected as private property, and to make sure these rights are not violated."

A Closer Look: 'These Are My People'

Let’s look closer at the #1 country song from last week. The song uses inside rhyme, specificity, recurrence, and good prosody.

See my markup of this lyric and the notes on prosody.

Measuring a Hit:'These Are My People'

Before years end we’ll begin looking at the common threads found in the hit songs we’ve looked at. We’ll compare them to modern historical hits so you can easily see what top songwriters already know when it comes to songwriting for mass public ‘consumption’.

Here’s this week’s ‘measurement’.


          These Are My People
          Dave Berg/Rivers Rutherford

          time signature:                         4/4
          intro length:                              :10
          time to chorus:                         :58
          time to title:                              :58
          # title appearances:                6
          general subject:                       everyday people
          viewpoint:                                 1st
          form:                                          V-V-C-V-C-B-inst-C
          style written:                            story
          rhyme (predominant):        single & double perfect
          length:                                         3:25
          tempo:                                         mid


** Each week I measure the #1 song of the week in “Measuring a Hit” for you to readily see common threads in the songwriting of today's biggest hits (hint: we’ll find many!). A post titled “A Closer Look” follows in a few days which brings a few songwriting craft issues of the song to your attention.


Tomorrow we’ll take a closer look at this song.

YouTube signs royalties deal with U.K. songwriters

YouTube has reached an agreement with British performing rights organization MCPS-PRS Alliance, to pay for use of songs the organization represents.