A Topliner’s Approach to Songwriting

Bryant Powell is a topliner based out of Phoenix, Arizona, who has been songwriting with Hooktheory for years. We had a great conversation with him, discussing his creative process and passion for accessibility in music production.

Here are some of our favorite takeaways from our conversation.

What is a Topliner?

Bryant’s job as a topliner means he sings on EDM tracks for artists worldwide. It’s a fascinating niche because there are far more producers than singers in the space.

Yet, being a topliner comes with the unique challenge of building a solid catalog of song options through songwriting. After all, the more options you have, the more likely you are to sign with a producer.

According to Bryant, quickly accessing inspiration and getting ideas down before they’re lost is a major contributor to finding success as a topliner.

Songwriting at Scale With Hooktheory

For creatives like Bryant, who need large volumes of musical output, it’s essential to find tools that support the creative process. In Bryant’s case, Hookpad has become the ultimate tool to lean on.

Hookpad allows creatives to:

• Capture fleeting musical concepts
• Generate new ideas instantly
• Easily access inspiration
• Quickly iterate on chord progressions and melodies (without the obtrusive complexities of a DAW)

Bryant emphasizes that without opening his DAW or getting any instruments out, he can always channel his creativity through Hookpad. His ability to be creative and efficient helps distinguish him within his industry and ensures he can continue creating great music at scale.

Train Your Creative Muscle

Bryant shares that in the depths of quarantine, he set himself a 100-day songwriting challenge.

His goals with the 100-day songwriting were to learn more about his instrument as a vocalist and improve his skills using the DAW as a storytelling mechanism.

Most days during the challenge, Bryant utilized Hookpad. His process of kick-starting a song in Hookpad included picking a random key and BPM and trying out ideas within the browser.

Once he was happy with the song’s foundation, he would export his composition to MIDI and start fine-tuning in Logic. We were inspired by Bryant’s creativity and seamless process using Hookpad and his DAW.

Accessible Tools in Music Production

Bryant is truly passionate about teaching producers how to find accessible tools. This passion shows in his work online, where he builds community with producers and songwriters and shares details about his growth as an artist.

He shares that Hookpad is an accessible tool with use cases for producers of all levels. For as little as $7.99/month, you can:

• Quickly write chord progressions
• Create melodies that complement your chords with built-in music theory
• Enter smart chord palettes, chord suggestions, and chord progressions with one click
• Work with dozens of professionally tuned bands, instruments, and rhythms
• Create scores, lead sheets, and guitar tabs with a single click
• Export to MIDI to import into every major DAW

Unlock Your Creativity With Hooktheory

Bryant has diligently explored new ways to harness creativity as a topliner and songwriter. We’re excited that Hooktheory has been an instrumental part in his journey. His story underscores the possibilities with discipline, innovative thinking, and a passion for creating outstanding music.

Why not explore Hooktheory’s free resources today? Start learning music theory, find songwriting inspiration, and begin your songwriting journey!

Keep Up With Bryant

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