Fundamentals of Songwriting is a comprehensive, hands-on guide to a songwriter's craft. It's an ideal resource for a self-taught songwriter ready to broaden their lyrical palette, a frustrated songwriter looking to reignite their creative spark, or a novice songwriter searching for a guide on how to finally put pen to paper.
The book focuses squarely on****craft - the teachable and learnable techniques that make songs unforgettable. Each of the book's twenty-one chapters includes technique-rich instruction, real-world examples, and generous****exercise sets, all designed to help songwriters master essential concepts and deepen their own writing abilities. Inside the book, you'll find:
- studies of fivefundamentalsong forms
- a list of 30 ways to start writing a song
- five special chapters that guide the student through writing five songs in specific forms
- inspiration-oriented analyses of lyrical devices (similes/metaphors, rhyme, repeated sounds and structure, poetic language, "show, don't tell")
- accessible discussions of musical techniques with real-world examples (understanding harmony, setting text, writing a singable melody, phrasing)
- QR-code links to a webpage for each chapter with recordings of each example in the text and sample answers to exercise sets
The book is rich with examples drawn from well-known songs spanning genres such as pop, rock, folk, R&B, hip-hop, and musical theater. Artists cited include The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, Paul Simon, Otis Redding, Cole Porter, Bruno Mars, Fiona Apple, Lady Gaga, Stephen Sondheim, John Mayer, Irving Berlin, Alicia Keys, Chappell Roan, Patsy Cline, Ed Sheeran, Drake, Hozier, Carole King, The Killers, Joni Mitchell, Nirvana, Billy Joel, Frank Ocean, Bruce Springsteen, Sufjan Stevens, and many more.
