Songwriting For Guitar Podcast

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I’m not in the studio this time. I’m in Stroud, in the Cotswolds, on day two of a songwriting retreat I’m co-hosting with Judy Stakee (former head of A&R at Warner Chappell). Songwriters flew in from Australia, Ireland, the US, and all over the UK, and we’re pushing them to co-write write 6 in five days

In this one I talk about why a long duration doesn’t mean a great song, the co-write skill that has nothing to do with melody or lyrics, and the shift from “what can I deliver” to “how can I pull the best out of the person across the table.”

Watch the Weekly Video Podcast: https://shorturl.at/qmP6f

Join the Next Songwriter Reset Masterclass: https://www.songwritingforguitar.com/songwriterreset

Hire a Coach: https://sfg-accelerator.com/

Get Your 7 Day Trial Of SongFlow AI → https://tinyurl.com/2pmyr82k

I was talking with a songwriter about their co-writes, and the more questions I asked, the more I realized they'd never actually met their co-writer. No Zoom, no room. Just email.

Y'all... that's not co-writing. In this episode I get into why email co-writes have you finishing songs at a snail's pace (if you finish them at all). I talk about what my first 600 co-writes taught me about melody, speed, and getting to quality through quantity. I also explain why the messy, uncomfortable moments in the room are where the gems show up.

Watch the Weekly Video Podcast: https://shorturl.at/qmP6f

Join the Next Songwriter Reset Masterclass: https://www.songwritingforguitar.com/songwriterreset

Hire a Coach: https://sfg-accelerator.com/

Ever feel like you should be further along on guitar by now?

You're not alone. Marin Music's Stuart Lehman-Brown (1M+ subscribers) joins me for his first ever podcast to talk about the messy middle: that stretch where guitar and songwriting get hard, and most people quit.

We get into why Stuart almost gave up, the one sentence from a dad that crushed a kid's love of guitar, why the pros sing gibberish in the studio, the "write 5 more songs" lesson, and the thought that nearly stopped Stuart for good "If it was meant to be, it wouldn't be this hard."

Watch the Weekly Video Podcast: https://shorturl.at/qmP6f

Join the Next Songwriter Reset Masterclass: https://www.songwritingforguitar.com/songwriterreset

Hire a Coach: https://sfg-accelerator.com/

Sync isn't where songs go when they didn't work anywhere else. Geoff Duncan (SFG coach and sync producer) and I get real about what it actually takes: listening to what's getting placed, never pitching a near-miss, and the song that sat for four years before landing Abbott Elementary.

Watch the Weekly Video Podcast: https://shorturl.at/qmP6f

Join the Next Songwriter Reset Masterclass: https://www.songwritingforguitar.com/songwriterreset

Hire a Coach: https://sfg-accelerator.com/

I never got work because I was the best guitarist in the room. I got work because I was a guitarist AND I could do the next thing.

Everyone walking into a co-write says the same two things: lyrics are my strength, or melody is my strength. So how do you create separation? You pair. In this episode I break down the AND — what it is, why most writers never build one, how to find yours without signing up for another forty courses, and the three questions that tell you what yours already is.

Your skill gets you into the room. Your AND is what keeps you in the room.

Watch the Weekly Video Podcast: https://shorturl.at/qmP6f

Join the Next Songwriter Reset Masterclass: https://www.songwritingforguitar.com/songwriterreset

Hire a Coach: https://sfg-accelerator.com/

Apply For The UK Retreat: https://hitmakersretreat.com/

Ever write a song that just doesn't land, and you can't figure out why?

Try the Three Room Test: split your song into lyrics, melody, and chords, and check if each one delivers the same feeling on its own. Nine times out of ten, one room is sending a completely different message than the other two, and that's your real problem, not the mix.

Watch the Weekly Video Podcast: https://shorturl.at/qmP6f

Join the Next Songwriter Reset Masterclass: https://www.songwritingforguitar.com/songwriterreset

Hire a Coach: https://sfg-accelerator.com/

Apply For The UK Retreat: https://hitmakersretreat.com/

Two songwriters, same Zoom feedback session. One showed up in bed and got defensive at every note. The other said thank you before we even started and took notes the whole time. Same feedback, two completely different nights and it's a reminder that a feedback session was never really about the song. It's a snapshot of where you're at as a songwriter.

Mike breaks down both reactions and why your attitude is one of the only things in this business you fully control. If you've ever gotten notes and felt that sting, this one's for you.

Watch the Weekly Video Podcast: https://shorturl.at/qmP6f

Join the Next Songwriter Reset Masterclass: https://www.songwritingforguitar.com/songwriterreset

Hire a Coach: https://sfg-accelerator.com/

Apply For The UK Retreat: https://hitmakersretreat.com/

In this one, Grace and I get into what it's actually like producing in a 96% male industry, the comments that tell her the mix is wrong before anyone's even heard the whole song, and why she leans into being called a "female producer" even though she hates the stigma attached to it.

And we talk about Girls Who Write, the community she built in Nashville that's grown from five friends in an apartment to 60+ women at a time, because the thing most people are actually missing isn't more information. It's knowing they're not the only one figuring it out alone.

Watch the Weekly Video Podcast: https://shorturl.at/qmP6f

Join the Next Songwriter Reset Masterclass: https://www.songwritingforguitar.com/songwriterreset

Hire a Coach: https://sfg-accelerator.com/

Apply For The UK Retreat: https://hitmakersretreat.com/

In this one, CB, SFG Coach/Nashville based Artist, breaks down what artist identity actually is, the songs, the visuals, the way you dress, the genre you're willing to claim out loud.

We get into why so many songwriters dodge the genre question "it's hard to describe my sound" and why that's usually just another way of thinking you're the exception to the rule. Spoiler: you're not, and that's actually good news.

Watch the Weekly Video Podcast: https://shorturl.at/qmP6f

Join the Next Songwriter Reset Masterclass: https://www.songwritingforguitar.com/songwriterreset

Hire a Coach: https://sfg-accelerator.com/

Apply For The UK Retreat: https://hitmakersretreat.com/

Work With Mike: https://sfg-accelerator.com/fall-intensive

Your guitar isn't the problem. How you're recording it is. SFG Coach, Zachary and I get into why so many home demos end up sounding muddy, and it's almost never the playing.

It's proximity, it's reflections you don't even know are happening in your room, it's reaching for a plugin instead of fixing it at the source.

We also get into the "rule of three" for mixes, why relaxing (not tensing up) is actually what makes you sound tighter, and why Suno can't replace the thing you're actually trying to build. If your demos have been sounding thin, flat, or just off, this one's for you.

Watch the Weekly Video Podcast: https://shorturl.at/qmP6f

Join the Next Songwriter Reset Masterclass: https://www.songwritingforguitar.com/songwriterreset

Hire a Coach: https://sfg-accelerator.com/

Apply For The UK Retreat: https://hitmakersretreat.com/

Work With Mike: https://sfg-accelerator.com/fall-intensive