Customer Reviews

Complete Idiot's Guide to Songwriting

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This, in spite of the title, is not a book about writing songs. It's a book about being a songwriter, about the music industry as it applies to songwriting. If you're not familiar with the writing of songs but would like to learn the basics for fun if not profit, look elsewhere. Where else, I can't tell you. Certainly one would learn more from studying a songbook of hit songs.

Not to say there isn't some helpful stuff in the book. There's a chapter on rhyme that couldn't hurt the aspiring songwriter. But most of the information is about how to break into the business with a smash hit, how to avoid the pitfalls you'll encounter on your upward journey to the big time. The instructions on playing the lottery are simpler and free. Same odds.

I bought this excellent book after my therapist encouraged me to explore my creative side after my wife left me and I lost my job. I may be "quite frankly an insupportable liability to the business" and an "utterly lamentable" bedfellow, but thanks to Citron's tremendous guide I'm tapping a rich vein of material and banging out some fine blues numbers. Soon I plan on getting involved in a whisky-fuelled knife fight in a flop-house in Mississippi for messing with someone's woman.

I have played guitar for a few years and thought that writing/singing songs would be fun. So I popped into the bookstore and got this. I thought it would be about songwriting. It's mostly not. Much padding, like long lists of titles, that help get the authors point across. Eg: "Use colors in your titles" Pink Cadillac, Red Red Wine, Blue Monday etc etc etc. In columns to fill space.

In short, most of the book is a pep talk, about how you, the reader, "have what it takes", if you change your outlook on life. Watch movies, read books etc all while trying to see the songwriting angle. This is sad, I'd think.

All i wanted was the craft side of it. The "structural rules", verse chorus verse, nuts and bolts. And some analysis of great songs. None here. Just boring namedropping, and "I'm a successful songwriter, who keeps an eye on other songs". He quotes some truely awful songs/artists, which is also off putting.

Avoid.

I dont want to write a commercial mega-smash for radio, sung by a plastic pop star. I want to write campfire ditties. This book discusses some obvious little "cheats" (which is how they feel), to get your songs to appeal to the masses.

To be honest, anyone who truely has the right stuff to be a mega-writer, probably won't need a book. (let alone one with the label IDIOT on the cover)

Rubbish

After reading "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Songwriting" I wanted to pick up a pen or go to a piano and write. The author, Joel Hirschhorn, made me feel I could compose a hit. He also has great chapters on record production, as well as helpful lists on who to contact when you want to sell your songs.

I'm a songwriter, and I was lucky enough to stumble onto a really helpful, educational book. Not only does it tell how to write a song in detail, it offers tremendous tips on how to sell it. I've been recommending this to all my friends. Best of all, it's written by a pro who succeeded himself, so I feel the information is tryly reliable!

I've been reading and studying a number of different books on songwriting. I got ideas from reading this book, but there isn't enough "meat" to get me real excited. It doesn't take long to read it. If you really want to learn the art and craft of writing music or lyrics, this is a poor book.

This book does not get too deep. For example, the author lists 100 chord progressions used in popular songs. However, the chord progressions are listed independently, without the songs. Also, the progressions are given in all different keys, without roman numerals or Nashville Numbers to show the relationships between chords.

You could probably find some nuggets in this book to give you ideas, but it would not be worth your time. The book is written from the narrow perspective of a person who writes songs for others commercially. Throughout this book, the author encourages you to examine the hits songs on the charts now. This would be fine, execept for the fact that most hits songs are commercially supported [...] that will not stand the test of time.

He also mentions throughout the book that he co-wrote the grammy-nominated song, "The morning After". Well, I gave it a listen. I nearly threw myself of my second story balcony- I'm lucky I thouht about the life I have ahead of me, and was able to see beyond the flood of cliches. Check out the first 6 chapters of "How Music Really Works" free oline.

I don't usually write reviews on books, however, "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Songwriting" is exceptionally well written, making it easy and enjoyable reading.

It's very informative, as well as being funny and you don't feel as though you are being lectured to, as is the case with other books that have been written on this subject.

It is obvious that the writer is extremely knowledgeable about his craft. With his credentials, which include his experiences in New York's Brill Building, Broadway and Hollywood, along with the hits he has written for such popular and diverse artists such as Elvis Presley, Maureen McGovern and many others.

I feel perfectly comfortable in recommending this book to family and friends.

So you know how to come up with a song, and you're no idiot - but you're confused by the challenges of rhyming, steady logical beats, and all the elements which translate lyric to music. It's time for the updated second edition of Joel Hirschhorn's Idiot's Guide To Songwriting: a 'bible' to developing lyrics and melodies which go together. From analyzing the elements of a song to understanding dynamic lyric elements and writing for specific musical genres, this comes packed with hints and helpful insights.

Many of us have dreamt about writing a hit song, right? How many actually have? Yip, I too, have tried my hand at penning song lyrics but found out that there's much more to it than writing a few rhyming lines. Two-time Oscar winner ("The Morning After" from The Poseidon Adventure and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno) Joel Hirschhorn, gives us the necessary tools to write a song correctly. He emphasizes the need to think visually, to find ideas, become a storyteller, and "how to analyze hit songs and song titles to see what works and why". One's emotions are a huge well of inspiration if we learn to write about them. This book is divided into five parts and covers all aspects from collecting song titles to hooks and from country to the stage and movie songs. He also covers working as a collaborator and about royalties and payment and copyright. Throughout this book you'll find references to some great songwriter or other as well as hints and tips, which I found very interesting. There's a comprehensive glossary and appendix which is extremely helpful, with names and addresses of record companies, publishers, and competitions. The best news is that you don't have to be musically inclined to write songs. It helps but is not a requirement!