How to Write a Hit Song: The Complete Guide to Writing and Marketing Chart Topping Lyrics & Music (Paperback)

by Molly-Ann Leikin (Author) "Some of you write words and music..." (more)
Key Phrases: dictionary game, hit songwriter, little red schoolhouse, Kenny Rogers, Los Angeles, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
How to Write a Hit Song is the only complete guide to composing lyrics and music - and getting your songs on the air. It covers everything aspiring songwriters must know to be successful, from creating memorable lyrics, composing the melody, and crafting song structure to collaborating, finding a publisher, and recording a song. This revised edition includes a new section on marketing your music on the Internet.

"Interested in songwriting? Here is a book written with verve, dash and humor that will tell you what you need to know. Bravo!"

- Will Jennings, Academy Award-winning songwriter for "My Heart Will Go On" and "Up Where We Belong" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation; 4th edition (September 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881888818
• ISBN-13: 978-0881888812
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,861,067 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a book that promises much but doesn't deliver, October 16, 1999

By	Laurence French (Kenilworth Warwickshire UK) - See all my reviews

Molly-Ann Leikin is without doubt a skilled songwriter, but her book 'How to Write a Hit Song' barely begins to convey the complexities of this particular art form. Written with typical American hyperbole and Californian eccentricity, I found the book more and more annoying and irrelevant as I went through it. Sure there are some good ideas and some nifty tips, but when only eight pages are devoted to lyrics and four pages to rhymes without any explanation or examples of the different types of rhymes songwriters employ, one has to wonder if she is interested in communicating her knowledge to others. I was hoping for a book packed full of examples of song lyrics - only two appear in the whole book! How can budding lyricists/composers be expected to progress in their chosen art form if copious examples of excellence from others are missing? Her chapter on making time to write seemed to be written from the perspective of one at the top of her profession, with its attendant lifestyle. Frankly, knowing that she spent an entire flight locked in the aircraft toilet so she could write in peace, or that a friend of hers parks by the Queen Mary to do his composing is of little practical use to me. The one section I was hoping would be useful was on marketing and publishing one's work. Again, a disappointment as everything seemed to revolve around Power Phoning, Power Packages and Power Lunches. Well, it might work in the good ol' USA, but we do things differently here. Ever heard of agents? Sorry Miss Leikin! If you want a really good book on writing songs read 'The Song Writers Idea Book' by Sheila Davis. That will tell you just about everything you want to know.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How To Write A Hit Song, April 13, 2003

By	"jacaranda110" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Write a Hit Song: The Complete Guide to Writing and Marketing Chart-Topping Lyrics and Music (Paperback)

I've been writing songs for twenty-two years with the usual confusion and heartbreak. But THIS book pulled it all together for me. I just got three big cuts and I owe it all to Molly Leiken's "How To Write A Hit Song."
Bravo.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How To Write A Hit Song is a fantastic book, January 11, 2005

By	Samuel Hardy "Sam" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Write a Hit Song: The Complete Guide to Writing and Marketing Chart-Topping Lyrics and Music (Paperback)

It felt like Mollie was talking just to me. What a good coach. Improved my melodies immediately. Now we're talking. I listened to the whole course three times while stuck on the Long Island Expressway. Now I'm a staffwriter with several cuts. Still stuck on the Long Island Expressway, but at least now I'm paid to do what I love." I found this completely inspiring."