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Jimmy Webb

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Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting Paperback – Illustrated, September 22, 1999

by Jimmy Webb (Author)

4.6 385 ratings

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Webb brings his insider's knowledge, experience, and star power to the ultimate guide for aspiring songwriters. With a combination of anecdotes, meditation, and advice, he breaks down the creative process from beginning to end--from coping with writer's block, to song construction, chords, and even self-promotion. Webb also gives readers a glimpse into the professional music world.

About the Author

A minister's son from Eld City, Oklahoma, Jimmy Webb has been writing songs for over twenty-five years. The only artist to receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration, he is a member of the National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters' Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters' Hall of Fame. According to BMI, his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is the third most-performed song in the last fifty years, with "Up, Up and Away" on the same list in the Top Thirty. Jimmy Webb lives in New York State. For more information, visit Jimmy Webb's official website: www.jimmywebb.com.

Print length

448 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Hachette Books
Publication date

September 22, 1999
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

9.4 x 1.35 x 6.4 inches
ISBN-10

0786884886
ISBN-13

978-0786884889
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hachette Books; Illustrated edition (September 22, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0786884886
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786884889
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.4 x 1.35 x 6.4 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #236,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #75 in Songwriting
- #1,151 in Composer & Musician Biographies

Customer Reviews:
4.6 385 ratings

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Michael Anthony

A Songwriting Seminar You Can Return to Again and Again

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2010

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I first encountered the music of Jimmy Webb as a kid in elementary school. When I first heard MacArthur Park, I was mesmerized -- a haunting, powerful melody with lyrics that grabbed you. As a teenager, I went to Las Vegas and watched Glen Campbell in concert. Glen acknowledged Jimmy as one of the greatest songwriters in American music history, then proceeded to sing By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, and Galveston as only Glen could do. I knew of Glen Campbell before Jimmy Webb because of the popularity of Glen's recordings and great success with Jimmy's music. It was years later that I discovered who had written those great songs sung by Glen. So I was fan of Jimmy Webb's music before I knew he was the artist who composed the music. When I discovered Jimmy had written a book on the craft of songwriting, as an amateur songwriter I had to hear what he had to say. I was glad I did. This book is like having Jimmy Webb in your music room delivering a seminar on the art of songwriting. But because it's a book you can return to it again and again. Webb's technical ability and musical knowledge, as expected, is tremendous and broad. He also presents tidbits of information about popular songs and the stories behind their creation that make for interesting asides on the process of the highly challenging craft of songwriting. These serve to keep the narrative moving and varied, but are also highly instructional in their own right. There are a lot of "I never knew that" moments, especially if you have an extensive song catalog in your mind. When he gets to the technical components though his expertise comes to the fore. His level of instruction rises to the point where I sometimes have to get a music dictionary to understand clearly. But that's okay with me. That's how we learn. His instructional elements range from basic melody composition to detailed and intricate harmonic construction. His commentary on lyric writing is particularly incisive and comprehensive. He is highly literary in his approach to songwriting. As such, he compels you to think about the meaning and sound of every word, and its relation to the song generally. So Jimmy helps you if you are writing music alone, lyrics alone, or both together. In an understated but palpable fashion, Jimmy lets you know that songwriting requires discipline, and courage. It's not a walk in the park by any means -- no pun intended. Along with the Beatles, my two favorite songwriters are Paul Simon and Jimmy Webb. Because of their towering status as American songwriters, the comparison is reasonable. Paul's lyrics and expanse of subject matter are second to none. He is a brilliant poet in his own right, as well as a brilliant musician and composer. But for pure melodic power and for conveying a distinctive musical idea, I have to give the nod to Jimmy Webb. Maybe the only downside of the book is the technical extent that he goes to in describing his subject matter. Also, some of the personal industry experiences appear somewhat drawn out on occasion. Still, these are minor points. If we want to learn from a master we will have to expect to work. And the personal asides often contain helpful information about the music business. Alltold, I highly recommend this book to anyone who aspires to learn the demanding craft of songwriting. In my humble opinion, a songwriter the caliber of Jimmy Webb comes along once every half century, as with Simon, and the prolific Beatles. So it makes sense to hear what he has to say if you are interested in improving as a songwriter. But I still learn more by playing, singing and listening to the music of Jimmy Webb, the Beatles, and Paul Simon.

11 people found this helpful

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Mark D Burgh

Inside the Head of Jimmy Webb - Genius

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2003

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Warning: People who want to learn basic songwriting should go elsewhere.
****************************************************************
From 1965 to 1970 or so Jimmy Webb was inescapable. You watched the Carole Burnett show, and there were the 5th Dimension singing "Up, Up and Away." Turn on the radio, and Richard Harris' cake melted in the rain. Glen Campbell rode the Witchia line, drove through Phoenix, and ruminated about Galveston. Those incandescent melodies entered my childhood and have stayed with me.
Hard rock drove this more upbeat music from the airwaves, but Jimmy Webb's legacy remains in the catalog of fine songs he wrote at a precocious age. Now his book gives us some insight into the mind who might arguably be called the last great songwriter of the 20th century.
Many people coming to this book will eagerly open it, hoping to extract the secret than made Jimmy Webb into a wealthy man, and they will come away dissappointed and frustrated. This is not a book about how to write a song, so much as it is a repository of the mind of Jimmy Webb. True, Jimmy writes about how he composes a lyric, and how he creates a chord progression. His discussion of prosody is excellent, too. But there is more here that simple technical discussion of song writing.
This book a cultural history of the American song up to the end of the 1960's. Jimmy Webb gives us stories, his own history, his background, and discussions of songs from the beginning of the modern era to the present. For some like me, who has a deep interest in American Cultural history, this book is a gem.
Musican theoriticans might have a fit when Jimmy Webb starts giving his version of Secondary Dominants and other chord substutions, but again, when they've written "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" I'll listen to them.
Other reviewers say that it would be better to have some knowledge of music theory before you read this book, and I agree with that. When Jimmy starts on about 7th chords No 3 with a minor 2nd in the bass, you might start stratching your head if you don't know what he's talking about. Have a keyboard around so you can play the examples.
This book is like taking a master class from a professional, not a seminar by a music teacher who never's sold one song, let alone had hit after hit, gold records, Grammies. Jimmy Webb is an authentic American genius - he and Brian Wilson on the west coast - Dylan on the East - who blew the roof off of the stilted 32 bar song and the 12 bar blues.
Tunesmith is about songwriting, not about how to write a song. If you have to ask the difference, you'll never know.

77 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Vince

Excellent book.

Reviewed in Canada on December 3, 2022

Verified Purchase

Excellent book. Thank you.

Simon Pierre

A Perfect demonstration of divine gift in music and composition

Reviewed in France on July 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

Never quiet
Always believe in your destiny

Jimmy Weeb is precious exemple of perseverance in the Talent he reveived from God, to bring on earth heavenly melodies

Yvette Staelens

Genius by a genius...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2022

Verified Purchase

One of the world's greatest songwriters writes about songwriting and so I expected a lot. And I got it. Written in an intimate style, it feels as if he's taking you by the hand and showing you the way to write, compose and learn the craft. Lots on the pitfalls and traps and ultimately a superb read.

One person found this helpful

rainer elmer

very happy and I am pleased about shrinkwrapping in plastic to ...

Reviewed in Australia on February 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

very happy and I am pleased about shrinkwrapping in plastic to protect it from the rain if the parcel should get wet.

Nicholas Ronai

Expert advice on how to write a song

Reviewed in Germany on April 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Better known for his excellence as a songwriter, Jimmy Webb also writes extremely well about his craft. This book is not only informative but also very easy and interesting to read. He does become quite technical with the musical examples but he does his best to explain what he means and, if you have access to a piano, it rapidly becomes quite clear. I especially found the suggestions about lyric writing very useful. There is also some very handy advice about copyright and how to interest an artist in recording your song.

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