Customer Reviews

Inside Songwriting: Getting To The Heart Of Creativity

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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.

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.

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...

This book is not an insightful look at the creative process, as the title misleadingly suggests. It is more an autobiographical account of the author's personal songwriting experiences..."getting to the heart of MY creativity" would have been a more accurate subtitle. This author clearly loves to talk about himself, and presumptuously considers his personal retellings a path "to the heart of creativity."

I enjoyed reading Blume's newest songwriting book. It's not a "how-to" like his first one, but it's filled with lessons about the music business. The chapters about staff writing, getting publishing deals, and other behind-the-scene looks at the business side of the music business are invaluable, as are the creative exercises included throughout.

But maybe the best thing about this book is that it's so real and honest. It's message is to write from your heart, and that success is possible - and also, that success is not necessarily measured by Billboard chart positions and money in the bank. Bottom line: I'll read this book again and use the goal-setting exercises over and over to keep myself focused on what I need to accomplish. I recommend it for every songwriter and for anyone interested in what's involved before you hear your song on the radio.

I LOVED this book - spent the whole weekend reading and kept getting ideas for new songs as I read. Very inspiring and encouraging. But you need to know that although it includes exercises and lessons this is not a "How To" book. It explores issues of opening yourself up to your fullest creativity, overcoming writers' block, rewriting, and it tells what it's really like to work as a professional songwriter. The chapters about how to get a staff writing deal, finding your identity as an artist, finding a market for your songs, and what to do if your songs are "better than the crap on the radio" were things I really needed to know.

I found the book to be very honest and thought provoking. Loved reading about the author's personal experiences and learned much about how to deal with similar situations. The goal setting exercises are helping me to overcome my own roadblocks to success better than anything else I've found.

If you need to learn how to structure and craft a song read 6 Steps to Songwriting Success. It's the best songwriting book available for that. But if you're looking for inspiration and lessons that go beneath the surface you'll love this book. The book's message is to be who you are and that you can be successful by writing songs that really come from your heart.

I bought this book in the hopes that the author would have suggestions for creative blocks, specific to writing songs. I have read and used Writing Down the Bones and The Artists' Way as a means to combat writing blocks. Blume's book was really misleading and it is not like Writing Down the Bones. It misses the mark when it comes to being a creative guide for writing songs.
There are some useful tips about organizing songs and work material. A few good exercises on setting goals, but I did not find his writing exercises very original or inspiring.
If anything, the book only confirmed that I was going in the right direction, but I was hoping for a more creative guide. I suggest The Artists' Way, over this book, for anyone who is trying to unblock their creativity when it comes to writing new lyrics and searching for new ideas.
Also, he defends writing songs for Brittney Spears and The Backstreet Boys.....not in good taste, nor do I think those songs are the height of creative genius.

This book is a shameless plug for his other book,which he mentions and footnotes to every other page, as well as his workshops, and CDs. It is not a book about how to write songs, it is a book about a person you've never heard of who writes songs, many of which you've never heard. Truly a waste of time.

While this book is certainly entertaining, a how-to book it isn't. I purchased this 166 page pep talk in the belief that
it would provide insights into the craft of songwriting. Instead, page after disjointed page, regail the reader with tales of the song that made it or the song that almost made it.
Not how or why, the song did or did not succede.

If I wanted a pep talk, I would play my songs for my friends and family.

Don't waste your money on this "book"

Jason Blume's book about songwriting was very helpful about six months into learning about music and songwriting. The chapter about "Finding Great Ideas" really help me when I had a writer's block