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Mike, Phil, and Neel

How we became the songwriters that we are

by Neel Modi

This week it was just the family, as hosts Mike, Neel, and Phil each posed a question to reveal how they became the songwriters they are today, and give out songwriting tips in the process.

We talked about:

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Songwriting tips podcast

Songwriting tips: Don’ts to not do as much and Do’s to do more often

by Phil Emery

We talk about the songwriting do’s and don’ts as well as:

  • The 2nd Annual Songwriting Challenge
  • The Annual Holiday Gift Guide
  • Songwriting Dos and Don’ts on Discmakers
  • DO: Write a cool opening line
  • DON’T: Make your chorus melody too much like your verse melody
  • DO: Write interesting titles
  • DON’T: Be afraid to rewrite
  • DO: Polish your chorus
  • DO: Simplify

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Neel, Phil, and Mike

How about that Eddie Van Halen, and more

by Neel Modi

This week we were saddened by the passing away of guitar icon Eddie Van Halen. We talked about his amazing talent and some more stuff.

We talked about:

  • Mandolin Orange cover version of Bob Dylan’s Boots of Spanish Leather, and songs with two different points of view (thanks to Jeff from Michigan for the email)
  • Did Eddie Van Halen invent the two-handed tapping technique for electric guitar?

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Neel, Mike, and Phil

The Best Songs Have Only 3 chords

by Michael Proudfoot

This week on SongTalk we look at a simple songwriting technique that may be more complicated than you think – songs with one chord progression.

That’s right, no guest this week just the SongTalk team – Phil, Neel and Mike – talking about the ways songs with just one series of chords repeated over and over have become huge hits.…

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Neel, Michael, Ritah, Matthew, Phil, and Micah

Favourite Movie Soundtracks!

by Michael Proudfoot

This week SongTalk welcomed our pal Matthew Reid to our studio to talk about movie soundtracks.

We chose our favourites and talked about why they made the cut and what were the runners up.

 

We talked about:

  • what are the criteria of soundtracks – are they a collection of songs from other sources, are they custom music made specifically for the film project or is there a grey area in between?

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