Links : On songwriting

 

VIDEO

1. Hit songwriter Michael Anderson on songwriting

2. BBC introducing musicians’ masterclass 2011

3. Songwriting Workshop I with Larry Dvoskin

4. Ralph Murphy Lecture – How to be Successful at Songwriting

 

MAILING LISTS / BLOGS

Robin Frederick
(sign up for the mailing list via “join my email list”)

Gary Ewer (Blog)

Nicolas Tozier (song written.)

 

BOOKS

I must have 25 to 30 books on songwriting, maybe more, in my collection. They all have some merit, but some I keep going back to, not just for information, but also for inspiration.

Here are a few I highly recommend:

1. Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling by Andrea Stolpe, 2007  ISBN: 0876390874 (covers techniques like destination writing, and balancing internal/external)

2. The Billboard Guide to Writing and Producing Songs that Sell by Eric Beall, 2009  ISBN: 0-8230-9954-7 (offers principles, but also goes into the logic behind them)

3. Successful Lyric Writing: A Step-by-Step Course & Workbook by Sheila Davis, 1988  ISBN: 0-89879-283-5 (or one of her other books)

4. The Frustrated Songwriter’s Handbook: A Radical Guide to Cutting Loose, Overcoming Blocks, & Writing the Best Songs of Your Life by Karl Coryat & Nicholas Dobson, 2006  ISBN: 0-87930-879-6 (a “mad” book – with loads of exercises to get you kick started, and get you out of a rut and onto another track)

5. 101 Songwriting Wrongs and How to Right Them: How to Craft and Sell Your Songs by Pat and Pete Luboff, 2007    ISBN: 1-58297-480-2

6. Songwriting and the Guitar  Acoustic Guitar Guides, String Letter Publishing, 2000    ISBN: 1-890490-28-8 (articles about songwriters and about various aspects of songwriting on the guitar)

7. How to Write Songs on Guitar: A Guitar-Playing and Songwriting Course by Rikky Rooksby  ISBN: 0-87930-611-4 (Rikky Rooksby is very prolific and has also written books on arranging, melody, chords, writing songs on piano, as well as books on individual artists, but this one is my favourite. It’s chock-a-block full of useful and inspiring material, including “Recommended albums for songwriters” which opened me to a whole world of musical excellence: Jeff Buckley’s “Grace”, “The Band” by The Band, etc. etc.)

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