Songwriting Success: How to Write Songs for Fun and (Maybe) Profit (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Songwriting requires so many music and word skills that beginners often feel overwhelmed..." (more)
Key Phrases: scale tone triads, song contracts, music marketplace, Track Six, Bob Dylan, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

So you want to write songs? Join the club!

Everyone dreams of being a successful songwriter. In every city and town, down the block in every neighborhood, someone is taking a guitar in hand and dreaming of a career as a songwriter. While many will not become world famous (or even locally well-known) through their songwriting, there's no reason why they-and you-can't enjoy writing their own songs. For creative challenges, life-long learning, and just plain fun, nothing beats writing (and singing and playing) your own songs.

Assuming no musical knowledge, Songwriting Success breaks down the craft of melody and lyric writing into easily digested lessons that anyone can follow. This book shows the beginning songwriter how to integrate the craft's many skills into a seamless artistic and commercial whole.
Lydon also has recorded a special CD taking the budding songwriter who can't read music (or prefers to learn by listening) step-by-step through the writing of a song-from initial idea through crafting melodic hooks and catchy choruses to creating a final "demo" version for marketing the song. This invaluable learning aid sets apart Songwriting Success from the competing titles that don't feature an audio component. Also includes 25 musical examples.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; Pap/Com edition (May 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415969298
• ISBN-13: 978-0415969291
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,300,582 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an Amazing Book!, December 17, 2007

By	Christopher Burbridge (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am surprised this book has not gotten any reviews yet, but, I guess there are a lot of songwriting books out there. This is an amazing book. The author goes through various aspects of the craft of songwriting, not assuming you're going to know any of them. I have mostly been skipping the music sections, because I already know a lot about that.

But the lyric writing sections are great. He talks about creating a persona, an "I" that you use in performance, and how the "I" you create in your song must be at the same time genuine, but also a specific character that might not even look like you; how the feelings in the song need to reach out to the listener, so they can identify with what you are saying; how every song needs to revolve around a core idea, whether that is contained in the title, or not.

I don't believe I know how to do this book justice in this review, but it is a wonderful book. His advice about songwriting is so well distilled, so clear, and makes so much sense! I love this book.