Six Steps to Songwriting Success: The Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Marketing Hit Songs [Hardcover]

Jason Blume (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0823084124 | ISBN-13: 978-0823084128 | Edition: Rev Exp

Drawing on his experience as a hit-making songwriter and song writing instructor, Jason Blume presents an easy to understand, step-by-step approach to mastering those key elements consistently found in hit songs. Incorporating inspiring anecdotes, effective exercises, and common sense checklists for self-evaluation, 6 Steps to Songwriting Success provides a concise analysis of the six steps essential to song writing success - developing successful song structures, writing effective lyrics, composing memorable melodies, producing successful demos, taking care of business, and developing persistence. Exercises for practicing and honing these skills, advice from more than 50 industry professionals, and checklists to objectively assess one's strengths and weaknesses are included. This updated edition reflects industry changes such as the advent of MP3s, the increase in music sampling, and the fact that CDs have replaced cassettes as the industry standard for presenting material. 6 Steps to Songwriting Success contains everything songwriters need to know about the creative and business aspects of writing successful songs

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

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: Billboard Books; Rev Exp edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823084124
• ISBN-13: 978-0823084128
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,007,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delivers what it promises!, February 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: 6 Steps to Songwriting Success: The Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Marketing Hit Songs (Hardcover)

Although writing music is actually too ephemeral to break down scientifically, Jason Blume is generous in sharing what has worked and NOT worked for him - and he sets a good example for aspiring professional songwriters. I especially appreciated that HALF the book is about the BUSINESS of songwriting - what's necessary to get songs recorded and released - the networking and just plain LUCK that go into "the deal"! I remember Jason's early songs from his first years in LA, and he HAS come a long way and is living proof that his methods work!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good advice on writing better lyrics but not much else....., July 23, 2005

By 

James Xabregas "JamesX" (Townsville, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Six Steps to Songwriting Success: The Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Marketing Hit Songs (Hardcover)

I bought this book coming from the point of view of an aspiring musician trying to write my own songs. Some people might complain that the author's best work includes album filler on a Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys record. Well, unfortunately The Neptune's are too busy writing hits songs to find the time to write a book telling us how they do it, so Jason Blume is the best we're going to get.

Jokes aside, this book has really good advice on song structure and writing better lyrics. It contains a lot of information that can help you turn an average song into a really good one. Cynics might suggest that this book is all about writing generic radio play, but Jason Blume's advice is really about writing effective lyrics. The only real reason for buying this book should be the information on lyric writing. It also contains a detailed explanation of how the music industry operates, which is useful but, the rest of the book is fairly poor.

Where this book fails is in it's explanation on writing better music. It contains a whole section on melody that essentially boils down to general tips on varying the melody, and contains almost no musical theory. By his own admission, Jason Blume is not really strong on musical theory, and it shows (he completely ignores chords - kind of a big deal!). If you want a good book on writing better melodies try "Melody: How to Write Great Tunes" by Rick Rooksby (ISBN: 0879308192) as it actually explains the musical theory behind writing melodies in great detail.

This book also contains a fairly long section on recording demos that is fairly poor. The book ends with chapter aimed at motivating you to keep trying until you make your big break.

In summation, there are probably less then 100 pages of useful information in this book, and all of it focuses on song structure and lyric writing. The rest of this book is covered in much more useful detail elsewhere. If you want to improve the structure and lyrics of your songs this book is definitely worth the price, otherwise I would pass.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A complete A to Z guide!, December 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 6 Steps to Songwriting Success: The Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Marketing Hit Songs (Hardcover)

This book is THE most comprehensive book for anyone who writes or wants to understand how the music industry works. Blume fills the book with personal insights and strong examples from industry greats. A successful writer himself, this book is full of proven step by step approaches for you to follow concerning any aspect of a writer's career in the music industry.

Highly reccommended!