Six Tips to Get You Organized acousitc guitar electric guitar free tips guitar coach holiday how to become organize managing a schedule music city music goals music mindset nashville songwriter organization songwriting guitarist successful musician ways to stay organized Jan 10, 2022

It’s the holiday season which means either you’re the busiest you’ve been all year, or you’re forgetting to do some things you need to do.

For me, it’s the busiest I’ve been all year because amongst writing to last minute briefs, scheduled co-writes, and my...

Continue Reading...
The Realness of Your "Why" acousitc guitar acoustic guitar groove active listening beginner guitar lesson benefits of music better songs creative thinking daw effective practice electric guitar frustrated mental health music city nashville songwriter songwriter truth on writing hits writing hit singles Jan 06, 2022

Today, my “why” became more meaningful and specific. Every year it gets clearer because of creative thinking, action and reflection and I want your why to be as loud as a battlecry. 

I’ll explain.

As I record music for a potential TV show placement in my home studio, I find...

Continue Reading...
Songwriting For Guitar: Creating Impactful guitars acousitc guitar easy guitar layering electric guitar home studio recording huge guitars impactful guitars record guitar recording guitar recording guitar fo beginners recording secrets song arrangement song production song structure Oct 04, 2021

When setting out to produce and record a track, either for an indie artist, music library cue, or sync brief,  I always have a go-to move that gives my guitars an ability to be exactly how I want to hear them. 

So you know from the beginning, I don’t go into crazy technical stuff,...

Continue Reading...
Home Recording: Singer Songwriter acousitc guitar best practice chords in a song daw demo easy guitar layering easy guitar tip free advice great home recordings guitarcoach home recording home studio guitars home studio tips how to make a demo how to make your first guitar arrangement learn recording recording guitar recording tips singer songwriter song development songwriter record tips on home recording writing songs on guitar Sep 27, 2021

You’re sitting at home, with just your voice and your guitar writing a song. You have the lyrics and the chords down, and it feels like you have something good! You jump to record it in your phone or in your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), but it just doesn’t sound AT ALL what...

Continue Reading...
Wake Up, You’re Dreaming! Time to Reach Some Goals acousitc guitar best practice burnout covid dreams vs. goals easy guitar tip electric guitar focus free advice goal setting guitar dreams guitar goals for beginners guitar goals for intermediate players how to get signed mental health music dreams setting goals for learning guitar smart guitar goals songwriting for guitar songwriting goals songwriting success toxic thinking truth on writing hits writers block Sep 15, 2021

I went on a Facebook Live the other day, and I was talking about dreams versus goals. It hit me how many people never move past the dream phase. Honestly, it made me a little sad, because I know it’s possible for you to move past it, and I’m tired of seeing people give up after...

Continue Reading...
Networking: It's Not Out of Your Reach! connect with other musicians how to network music indsutry advice music indsutry networking events networking for musicians networking tips scared to network as a musician what is networking in music Sep 13, 2021

Networking - it’s not out of your reach

Imagine you’re hungry- starving- so you look in the fridge, you look in the cupboard and there’s no food. I mean that’s inconvenient, but you wouldn’t say, “oh well, I'm just gonna starve to death”. No! {shakes...

Continue Reading...
Why do some artists get signed - Hear it from legendary publisher, Judy Stakee famous publishers get a record deal how do i find a publisher for my music? how to become a music publisher how to find a music publisher how to get signed is it easy to get signed? judy stakee mike meiers podcast music publisher vs. record label music publishing 101 publisher warner chappell music who gets a record deal? Sep 06, 2021

Judy Stakee is a legendary music publisher, songwriting mentor, author, and speaker. Former Sr. VP of Creative at Warner Chappell Music, she’s responsible for signing and developing many of today’s most acclaimed artists and songwriters (Sheryl Crow, Katy Perry, Joy Williams, Jewel)....

Continue Reading...
What Makes a Good Songwriter? A legendary songwriter tells her story bonnie baker famous songwriter free songwriting tips how to become a multi-platinum songwriter how to write good songs podcast songwriter songwriting lesson songwriting success songwriting tips write good songs Aug 30, 2021

For two years Bonnie J. Baker was figuring out songwriting again after making multi-platinum hits! She’s had amazing singles cut with so many artists, that I could use this entire platform just to talk about that.  We talk about how she got started, and a period of time, later in life,...

Continue Reading...
To the DEATH of guitar properness! basic guitar chords beginner guitar lesson easy guitar chord practice routine guitar chord variations guitar chords for beginners guitar cords how to play a chord right how to play a guitar chord pdf proper chord proper guitar hand position Aug 23, 2021

I was in a coaching session the other day, and we were going through chords in a student’s song. I was strumming along with one of theirs that was released on Spotify and they stopped me and said, “Oh I really like what you’re doing there”. Honestly it was nothing too...

Continue Reading...
Active Listening for the Unconvinced active listening american songwriter magazine guitar guitar coach listen listening songwriter songwriting why active listening is important? Aug 10, 2021

You might have heard me talk about active listening because I'm a huge advocate for it as a songwriting guitar  coach. But why is this so important? What are the benefits? Do you really need to do this consistently? 

If you’re thinking, “active listening doesn’t really...

Continue Reading...
The Golden Corral Practicer focus guitar guitar lesson guitarcoach how can i focus? how to practice mikemeiers practice practicing songwriter songwriting guitarist songwritingforguitar stayfocused Aug 10, 2021

82% of people who are looking for guitar advice tell me they have trouble concentrating while practicing. They just can’t focus! 

Well, have you ever been to The Golden Corral? It’s a buffet where you can have whatever you want…. mash potatoes lasagna, shrimp, mexican......

Continue Reading...
Just got an angry comment and I’m so happy! better songs growth mindset hit formula hit song formual how hard is it to write a hit song how to make a hit song how to practice guitar mindset networking practice toxic thinking truth on writing hits writing hit singles Mar 30, 2021

When I write blogs/vlogs and do Facebook/instagram ADs 99% of responses are thoughtful and engaging.

What about the 1%?

Well sometimes the responses are either creepy, weird or like this…

 

Now why single out this passive aggressive “comment” for this blog?

Because...

Continue Reading...
 
Tips On Writing & Arranging Guitar Parts acousitc guitar arranging guitar parts arranging guitars daw electric guitar electric guitar parts free songwriting tips great home recordings guitar hooks guitar production home studio guitars home studio tips how to arrange a pop song how to make your first guitar arrangement logic picking patterns quick tips for arranging guitar tips on how to write songs writing guitar parts Dec 13, 2020

Over the past few weeks I've received a few questions from my Insider Members on arranging guitars for demos.

I posted this video in the group but I wanted to share it with you too. Now is the best time to dig your heals in and prep your skills for 2021! 

If you find this video helpful and...

Continue Reading...
3 Reasons Why Songwriting Is Like The Great British Baking Show baking bread free songwriting tips great british bake off great british baking show guitar production music confidence music indsutry advice music metaphors soggy bottoms song production songwriters Dec 03, 2020
Maybe you’re hooked on the Great British Baking Show like me. This show has a talented batch of amateur bakers that face off in a 10-week competition, whipping up their best bakes in the hopes of being named the U.K.'s winner.
 
The more I watch this, the more I realize it's just like...
Continue Reading...