Song Talk Radio with Bruce, Neel & Phil | Songwrit

We chatted with Montreal-based artist Avril Jensen about writing an abstract song from personal experience. Download the lyrics to Dog (everybody learns) to follow along. We talked about: Songwriting Challenge 2026: Write a Traditional Country Song Writing musically interesting melodies that are still catchy Writing the lyrics based on personal experience with actual dogs, but maybe it’s also a metaphor for a toxic relationship 80s French Canadian band The Box Does music theory get in your way of keeping things simple? … Read the rest

Mike and Barbera Borok of New Middle Class joined us to talk about writing a pop song with a super crazy bridge. Download the lyrics to Television Sky to follow along. We talked about: How Angine de Poitrine use Microtonality Our songwriting challenge to write a traditional country song How the bridge can be the emotional high point of your song How a song takes on a life of its own as you’re writing it Working a song until it’s better than “good enough” Writing for a different singing voice than your own About New Middle Class Mike Borok is a singer-songwriter from New York’s Hudson Valley.… Read the rest

Toronto artist Robert Ball joined us to talk about writing a smooth soul-drenched song with a theatrical musical in mind. Download the lyrics to I Want a Man to follow along. We talked about: Neel’s engagement with Suno from the Toronto Library’s Innovator in Residence series. … Read the rest

Our songwriting challenge for 2026 is to write a traditional country song. To help us launch this challenge, we were joined by singer-songwriter and music educator Blair Packham. Thanks Blair! We talked about: Phil has an issue with Everybody Knows by Leonard Cohen, and The Famous Blue Raincoat album Why mathematics and literature have more in common than you may think | Ideas | On Demand | CBC Listen Challenging the Tyranny of 440 hz Typical characteristics of a traditional country song: Simple “campfire” chords Stories about the past or regret (unlike pop songs, which are primarily concerned with “now”) Lyrics are the most important thing A story with a specific time and place A strong, central idea There’s no guessing as to what the song is “really about” They don’t usually have a bridge I Can’t Help it if I’m Still in Love With You by Hank Williams – download the lyrics to follow along a verse-refrain structure how country was considered “old-timey” in 1951 when this song came out simple, relatable story and a 3-chord song Mama Tried by Merle Haggard – download the lyrics to follow along Merle Haggard was considered an “outlaw” in the 1960s Nashville establishment How this sounds more modern than Hank Williams A more detailed story in a 4-chord song It’s not necessarily autobiographical Stay tuned to the podcast and our dedicated webpage for this challenge to get the date for submitting YOUR traditional country song to the challenge and have it featured on the podcast.… Read the rest

Maclayne joined us to talk about writing songs from concepts and her song There You Are. Download the lyrics and chords to follow along. We were treated to a rare live performance by Maclayne! We talked about: Writing lyrics or music first The value of deadlines to get songs done Revisiting a hook a year later to complete the song with producer James Bryan Ecstatic Dancing in Guatemala Writing with specific details but still open to listeners seeing themselves in the lyric Growing as an independent artist in the face of commercial music About Maclayne Maclayne is a Calgary and Toronto-based independent singer-songwriter whose music is as hooky and quirky as it is sincere and moving.… Read the rest

Grammy-winning They Might Be Giants’ John Flansburgh joined us to talk about songwriting from listening and intuitions. Download the lyrics to Outside Brain to follow along. We talked about: Modal writing when you don’t know what modal writing is, and our Songwriting Challenge 2023: Write in a Mode Tension between conventions and breaking the rules Songwriting as a very plastic medium where the variations are endless Using terms like “gold dust” and “kicker” to identify elements or sections of songs  How learning the I-vi-IV-V became the key to start writing songs  How John and John typically bring completed songs to each other, but work at editing for a long time until it’s right Starting songwriting by failing at cover songs  John says, rhyming is overrated and bridges are overrated About They Might be Giants They Might Be Giants treat the entire history of popular music as a trampoline rather than a rulebook.… Read the rest

Hamilton-based singer-songwriter Garrett Lajoie talked about taking on February Album Writing Month for the last ten years and how that experience has shaped his approach to songwriting. Download the lyrics to Window Shopping to follow along. We talked about: Collaborating on a love song with Alex Whorms An Instrument For Every Child | Hamilton Music Collective This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession: Levitin, Daniel J.: … Read the rest

Delyn Grey returned to the show for the third time to talk about her new release My Mind is a Riot and her upcoming album Delynquent. Download the lyrics to follow along. We talked about: How AI Will Fail Like The Music Industry Delyn’s previous appearance on the show How working in a minor key and having crunchy guitars is dark enough Sometimes stepping away from a song and getting perspective can be better Make sure the song wins no matter what or how finished you think you might be Engaging in songwriting challenges to grow your creativity – and our Songwriting Challenge 2023: Write in a Mode About Delyn Grey My Head is a Riot was released in February and is the first song off of Delyn’s twelve-song 2026 project, “Delynquent,” written, recorded, and produced in her garage with her dad.… Read the rest

Canadian country artist Amanda Keeles joined us to talk about her latest album and starting a song based on a beat she found on her digital piano. Download the lyrics to Leads Me to You to follow along. Check out Amanda’s earlier appearance on the show.… Read the rest

Max Tojicic joined us to talk about writing songs by intersecting interesting chords with personal experiences to write his songs. Download the lyrics to Lavender Bouquet to follow along. We talked about: Upcoming free Live Looping workshops with Jacob Moon: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/179GNpQieV/ … Read the rest

Geneviève Racette talks about taking a personal experience and writing it into an accessible pop song. Download the lyrics to Common Denominator to follow along. We talked about: Writing from personal experience but making your song open to others Capturing an idea as soon as you can, even if it occurs in your sleep or in the shower Using the bridge as a way to redirect the narrative What’s up with long, wordy choruses in modern pop songs? … Read the rest

Singer-songwriter Mark Ippolito talked about his experience with February Album Writing Month (FAWM), challenging himself to write a full album of songs in 28 days. Check out his album on Bandcamp. We talked about: William Shatner to Record a Heavy Metal Album Featuring Covers of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden Our Song Talk Meetup The wonderfully supportive community of songwriters at the FAWM website The diversity of genres, instrumentalists, and approaches at FAWM Opportunities for collaborations between lyricists and musicians The organizers propose weekly challenges to prompt individual songs (e.g. … Read the rest

Pop singer-songwriter Emma K talks about rearranging parts of her song to create a clearly structured pop song inspired by Billie Jean. Download the lyrics to follow along. We talked about: Rearranging sections of your song, and ending with the pre-chorus Using the same chords in sections of your songs, and still making them distinct Working with Matte Black Records Toronto to polish off the song Using dance as a songwriting tool, and the interplay between the artforms Songs that have declarative chouses, or not – see our episode How to use Declarative Choruses in your songs … Read the rest

Singer-songwriter Ursula Hegge joined us to talk about the process behind writing her song I‘ve been writing lots lately. Download the lyrics to follow along. We talked about: Suno, AI Music, and the Bad Future Writing a song that sounds natural but really went through many versions Finding interesting chord progressions on the guitar by accident Using melodic variations in each chorus Recording older songs Why (or why not) you might want to record to a click About Ursula Hegge Ursula Hegge is a singer-songwriter from Toronto who has been writing songs for almost 15 years.… Read the rest

Saska Limmila joined us all the way from Helsinki, Finland, to talk about his medieval-style folk song Suspended, for his band Ravio Jackson. Download the lyrics and chords to follow along. We talked about: Taking inspiration from a years-ago spiritual experience, through a poem, and into a finished song How Saska wrote a poem in Finnish several years ago, and translated it into English for the song Having a 3-verse and coda structure with a blooming, intense ending Writing songs with parts for his bandmates in mind, but that also work for a solo singer-songwriter show About Ravio Jackson Raivo Jackson is a versatile Americana band hailing from Helsinki, Finland.… Read the rest

Our longtime friend of the Song Talk Meetup, Paul Gallagher, joined us to talk about everything he learning getting his latest EP out on streaming services, community radio, and other digital services. Download the extensive and handy documents Paul provided for this episode: 10 Key DIY Release Takeaways DIY Release Detailed Breakdown We talked about: Getting all your ducks in order before releasing music, including written agreements with your co-writers Capturing a wider breadth of places for your music, beyond typical digital distribution services Registering with SOCAN for both reproduction and performance royalties – see this video about the new live music performance royalties and our episode about registration with Allister Bradley The importance of preparing and submitting metadata to various platforms Make sure your final master recordings are the best they can be How IRSC codes are the unique identifiers for your songs and are needed (and free) for tracking your songs on streaming services Paul also submitted individually to a ton community radio stations, or you can also use the !earshot … Read the rest

Happy new year to all our listeners and supporters! For our first episode of 2026, we had Alex Whorms back on the show to talk about her latest collaboration with Garrett Lajoie and Gavin McLeod. Download the lyrics to Let You Down to follow along.… Read the rest

For our final episode of 2025, we reminisced over the past year, and talked about Neel’s ongoing exploration of his songwriting challenge song. We talked about: Some of our favourite episode from 2025 Sync Songwriting with Chris SD Songwriting Tips (mostly) for Beginners Songwriting through writer’s block with Dexter Sloan Breaking the rules with intention with Zoe Thiessen Heather Feather: Children’s songs with a message Mistakes that “amateur” songwriters make 5 tips that will make your band sound better today Neel’s further exploration of his songwriting challenge song Neel plays with a polymeter for his songwriting challenge answer Suno’s interpretation of the lyric using the AI prompt “Create an epic orchestral gothic rock song similar to Evanescence using this chord and lyric sheet.” … Read the rest

Canadian singer-songwriter Kaleb Hikele joined us for the third time to talk about writing and producing the first single from his upcoming album in 2026. Download the lyrics for Slowly to follow along. We talked about: Using a simple drone-like chord progression in the verse, and adding more movement of chord changes in the refrain Using metaphors to tell a love song How Kaleb decided to not use a capo for this song Getting inspired by a Beatles riff when producing Embracing the gear in the recording studio to inspire different directions for the arrangement and production Is it a good idea to demo your songs at home before getting into a pro studio? … Read the rest

For this special episode, Neel shared his answer to the songwriting challenge from Song Studio to write a song based on the word “shadow.” Download the lyrics and chords to Silence, absence, stillness to follow along. We talked about: Replies from our listeners to their featured songs on our songwriting challenge to write a song in an odd time signature Use Newsletters spam test by mail-tester.com … Read the rest