Thursday, May 28, 2026

Songwriting sins

 A continuation from these lyrical sins. I'll continue to update this list as I discover more. First recognized, for the most part, in of my own writing...

  • The bVII chord.
  • Unresolved sus chords and add 2 chords.
  • Playing the riff twice, then singing over it.
  • Using Latin grooves or an oom-pah beat to signify It's A Comedy Song.
  • Complex piano riffs that fill virtually every beat, just because you can play them.
  • emPHAsis on the wrong syLLAble, particularly repeated mis-emphasis.
  • The same groove, song after song after song after song...
  • Ending a phrase with a short modulation so we "don't get bored of the key".
  • Whatever possessed Billy Joel to write "State of Grace". I mean, christ.

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