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Do you love music?

So you would like to write a song

Maybe you think you could write better songs than I do. Well, go for it. It will help a lot if you know what you're doing before you start. I thought the first song I wrote was pretty good until I learned something about the craft and found I had to revise it extensively. Songwriting is about one half talent and one half craftsmanship. Even if you have the talent, if you don't know the craft you will make mistakes that will instantly brand your work as amateurish. If you don't want to be so branded then you must learn the craft. Studying these books should take you a great distance along the path from amateur to professional.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Songwriting But Didn't Know Who to Ask by Cliffie Stone This is the book you should start with. It gives an overview of the music industry covering such topics as copyrights, royalties, publishing and recording your songs. It's far from being complete but it's an excellent view of the big picture.

Writing Better Lyrics by Pat Pattison Here is the introductory course in lyric writing. Pat starts at the very beginning and explains everything. He also assigns exercises at the end of each chapter. When there is no teacher to crack the whip it is often tempting to let them go. If you are really serious about wanting to write song lyrics DO THESE EXERCISES! Don't just read the book -- study it hard. It will do you a lot of good.

Now we come to the books by Sheila Davis. She is a highly experienced songwriter and teacher. Some people are good at one or the other. She is good at both. If you STUDY STUDY STUDY these two books you will have passed a course that can only be surpassed by taking a class with a live teacher. The first book is

The Craft of Lyric Writing
by
Sheila Davis

This book is Songwriting 320. It has 316 pages (excluding the appendix) and is jammed with good useful information. It requires intensive study rather than a quick read through.

I didn't include a picture of this book because I have lost the dust jacket and the front cover is extremely dull.

The Songwriters Idea Book by Sheila Davis This is Songwriting 450. I refer to this book regularly. Any time I find myself bereft of ideas I look through this book. So far I have not failed to find a good idea.

Visit your local bookstore or an on-line bookseller.

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This page last updated November 4, 2007.

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