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Inside Songwriting: Getting To The Heart Of Creativity [Paperback]

Jason Blume (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)


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Book Description

April 1, 2003
His songs have been recorded by an incredibly diverse range of artists, including Britney Spears and both the Backstreet Boys and the Oak Ridge Boys. And when he’s not writing music for chart-topping artists, he writes best-sellers. Jason Blume, author of the best-selling 6 Steps to Songwriting Success, returns with a book that has been called the musician’s version of Natalie Goldberg’s million-selling Writing Down the Bones.


Inside Songwriting presents both inspirational stories of the author’s long, and sometimes difficult, climb to the top, as well as practical advice, valuable tools, and instructive activities that no accomplished or aspiring songwriter, singer, or musician should be without. It provides a richly detailed, no-holds-barred account of the author’s personal experiences (trying to make a go of it in the topsy-turvy music world), and offers inspiration and practical instructions on the techniques and raw artistry required to put a song together.


Far from being a traditional “how-to,” each of the 60 short chapters in this book uses attention-grabbing anecdotes to relay valuable insights and important lessons. But Inside Songwriting also offers much more; it provides a rare look at the business of songwriting from “both sides of the desk,” and offers aspiring songwriters what they need most—encouragement, comfort, and hope.


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jason Blume is a staff writer for Zomba Music. He has written songs for the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, as well as John Berry’s Top 5 country single, “Change my Mind” and Steve Azar’s country hit “I Never Stopped Lovin’ You.” He also developed and teaches the BMI Nashville Songwriters Workshop. He lives in Nashville, TN.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Watson-Guptill (April 1, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0823083616
  • ISBN-13: 978-0823083619
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,292,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (6)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars An autobiography shamelessly marketed as a creative guide!, February 26, 2005
This review is from: Inside Songwriting: Getting To The Heart Of Creativity (Paperback)
Be warned: this is not a guide to sparking your creativity as a songwriter and has nothing (and I mean NOTHING) at all in common with "Writing Down The Bones"! The writer and/or publisher should be ashamed of themselves for marketing it as such. This is nothing more than the autobiography of Jason Blume and how he became a successful (though not particularly creative) songwriter. While it might contain some useful tips for anyone who wants to move to Nashville and write songs, it has nothing to do with "getting to the heart of creativity". It only has to do with getting to the heart of the record industry. That's would be fine if that's what it was being sold as but it's not. The chapters consist almost entirely of his stories about himself and then you get the barest excuse for an "exercise" after some (not all) of them.

He almost lost me right at the beginning, with his chapter entitled "Why Is There So Much Crap On The Radio?". He says he can count on being asked this question at every seminar he attends but never actually addresses why people feel that way. He takes the coward's way out by sidestepping the entire issue and instead discusses why songs get RECORDED, not how they get ON THE RADIO. Note to Jason: these are two entirely different subjects! As such, of course there's no mention of the sad conglomeration of the radio industry, payola, corporate music directors and play-it-safe playlists that are squeezed down to almost nothing and don't vary from one city to the next, anywhere in the country. In other words, while he's telling you your goal is to get your songs on the radio, he doesn't tell you that you have almost no chance in hell of ever doing so because of the nature of the business as it exists today. It bothers me when people who have so many years in the industry are dishonest by omission like this. The truth is that things have changed dramatically for the worse over the past 10 or 15 years and Jason Blume is pretending to be oblivious to it in order not to bite the hand that feeds him.

I also find him to be condescending and insulting to songwriters who don't simply want to regurgitate whatever the current flavor of the month is. Anyone who has any artistic integrity is disregarded by the author as someone who will end up playing his/her songs for nobody but "friends and family". This is someone who claims to know something about "the heart of creativity"? He says he didn't find success until he discovered that he had to write to formula in order to get anywhere. It's unfortunate that this is what things have come to.

I have to admit that I only made it through 2/3 of this book, so take my review for what it's worth. I had gotten bored by his life story by that point and it was obvious that there wasn't going to be any real discussion of creativity in this book. Don't waste your time or your money with this one.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Getting to the heart of wining is more like it!, January 12, 2004
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This review is from: Inside Songwriting: Getting To The Heart Of Creativity (Paperback)
I bought Mr. Blume's first book, "6 Steps To Successful Songwriting" and absolutely loved it!! So when I saw this book in the bookstore one day, I didn't hesitate to pick it up. I don't know what Mr. Blume's intentions were when he wrote this book, but it came across to me as nothing more than a b***h session on the problems he encountered before becoming a successful songwriter. Unlike his first book, this one had very few (if any) examples and advice on songwriting. If you're looking for a book that's basically a diary of a songwriter, then this is a great book. If you're looking for a book on how to write songs or hoping for a great follow-up to his first book, don't waste your money.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing to do with "The Heart of Creativity", December 27, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Inside Songwriting: Getting To The Heart Of Creativity (Paperback)
This book is a bunch of brief essays regarding how to sell your songs, organize your songwriting ideas, pick collaborators. It has virtually nothing to do with writing good songs itself. I got this as a present, and feel sad that a friend spent his money on this...
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
I spent more than eleven years dreaming of becoming a successful songwriter and doing everything in my power to make that dream come true. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
cowriting session, independent plugger, music business professionals, songwriter organizations, uptempo songs, pitching songs, reversion clause, successful songwriter, lyric ideas, songwriting skills, other songwriters, demo session, professional songwriter, developing writers, successful songs, performance royalties, song ideas
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Britney Spears, Los Angeles, Backstreet Boys, Change My Mind, Oak Ridge Boys, Songwriting Success, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Diane Warren, Exercise Take, Jason Blume, The Comprehensive Guide, Broadcast Music International, Reaction Songs, The Edge of Love, Tina Turner, Collin Raye, Hope You Dance, Jim Vellutato, John Berry, Melissa Manchester, Mike Sebastian, Oak Ridge Buys, Alanis Morissette
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