To get you started we’re looking at some chords in the guitar-friendly key of A. You’ve probably heard of a I-IV-V (one-four-five) progression - it’s a common blues chord sequence and its name tells ...

We’ve charted quite a few Americana and country songs in this column, but here’s something a little different: a chart for a “power ballad.” If you’re ready for something a little more challenging, ...

Outsiders might think heavy metal is all big scary riffs and songs about Satan and darkness and whatnot, but those in the know understand that some of music's biggest, soppiest, most spectacularly ...

If you’ve been around for a hot minute, you’re probably all too familiar with at least a few of the following four greatest rock ballads of all time. However, younger fans of rock music may not be ...

One of the big hit songs of 1984 was Sister Christian by San Francisco rock band Night Ranger. But that success came after a run of bad luck that would have finished off a lesser band. When these guys ...

J.S. Gornael has a BA in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis in Poetry and an MFA in Fiction. He has taken workshops in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction (though mostly the second). Half-cinephile ...