I have decided to return to concentrating most of my efforts on my first love in writing: songwriting.

Therefore, I have created FanStory's most unique and newest club that I call Lyrics Make The Song.

All FanStorians are cordially invited to join this club.

Some of the features of this club as I am designing it include:

-members receiving helpful tips on songwriting

-members being able to display their lyrics and songs

-challenging members to write specific types of lyrics

-members being able to share songwriting insights with other like-minded members

-members being kept well informed of my very popular Lyrics Make The Song Contest. But, be aware, historically, this contest fills up all 18 available slots very quickly.

There will be so much more to this club as well including the small sampling of the types of articles I will be writing for the club. This is an excerpt from my first article for the club. I call it:

Catch The Ear Of The Listener

A song hook is a way to grab the listener's attention and make the tune memorable. One often used method of creating an unforgettable hook is to write a melodic or rhythmic chorus. These types of hooks often include the title of the song. The hook should also be obvious, catchy, and clear.

Other successful types of hooks include the rhythm hook that creates the beat upon which the song is constructed. The steps to establishing a rhythm hook are:

-start by keeping a beat

-use various instruments

-keep the hook short, usually four to eight attention-grabbing beats

-use a short chord progression, typically one or two chords that sound great together. Something like C-Eb, C-Fm7, or C-Bb

-create a bass line that smoothly connects the end of the line back to the beginning. This should be a catchy rhythm, and preferably not the same rhythm as other instruments playing the hook

Another type of hook is known as an intro hook. This is first heard in the introduction of the song and repeated over and over again, before dropping out. To create an intro hook:

-improvise a four to eight beats-long melody with a catchy and strong rhythm

-mainly focus on pentatonic scales such as C major. It is recommended to use G, E, D, and A for this particular scale

-create three chord progressions to accompany the hook. These should serve the chorus, verses, and bridge progressions

-allow the hook to appear and disappear as the song progresses

So, once again, welcome to Lyrics Make The Song, FanStory's newest, and most unique, club.