For some time now, I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a songwriting ebook. I’ve previously written my little free ebook, Worksheets for the Songwriting Guitarist, and I’ve started a few other projects only to lose heart.
This time I’m serious, I’m going to write an ebook on songwriting. I’ll make it available online, and maybe go all Radiohead and give people the option of paying what they want for it (including free).
The problem? I can’t decide what it should be about. So, I’m going let you know my options, and ask you to use the comments to give me your thoughts.
Which of these would you want to read?
1. Songwriting rules (and how to break them)
A slightly tongue-in-cheek stab at recieved songwriting wisdom, this book would show you exactly how NOT to write a three and a half minute, hook laden song with simple chords, and heartfelt lyrics that oozes commercial viability.
Instead, it will argue that doing the exact opposite will make you a better and more satisfied songwriter.
2. Improvisation – A Guide for the Songwriter
This book will provide hands-on practical advice, tips and prompts to help you use improvisation in your songwriting. Chapters will include:
- How to expand your musical pallette
- How to structure whole band jam sessions
- Visual and structural prompts
- Improv strategies and starting points
- Eno-isms – Whacky improv ideas
- Using recording technology to capture the moment
3. 100 Ways to Start a song
Nice and simple, 100 pages, each page illustrating a starting point for a song, including, but not limited too:
Melody:
- Starting with a leap
- Starting with a step
- Starting with an ascending shape
Rhythm:
- Starting with a groove
- Starting with a rhythmic cell
Harmony:
- Starting from a scale
- Starting from a chord progression
What do you reckon?
1, 2 or 3 which would you prefer to read?
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I think the first one is best, but what I would really like is a book that combined words and sounds. In other words, don’t just tell me how something sounds, let me hear it!
I get it, I could go pick up my guitar and try whatever a book is recommending, but far better would be to just click a link and hear the musical thought being expressed. Also, real world examples are always so great. It’s one thing to say something works or doesn’t , it’s another to show. I suppose copyright would get in the way of doing this with commercial music in any sort of embedded form, but a link to iTunes to hear a sample would still be better than nothing. Besides, you could always just play the sounds you want to discuss, right?
Anyway, another book on what makes a hit a hit ain’t what’s needed. Rather, now that it’s so easy to create multimedia, it’s high time for a book on songwriting that contains SONGS.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for your comment. You’re right, audio clips would be a must. You’re right about the copyright issue, but as I’ve no intention of describing how to write a ‘commercial hit’ I could either play my own examples or seek out some kindly indie artists who wouldn’t mind my using their songs as examples.
Idea 1 basically came about when I looked at the songwriting books out there and found myself wanting to scream ‘No, No, No!’ – they all seem to be country music centred, commerically driven, write-by-numbers affairs, and that’s not what I want to read.
I like both option 1 and option 2. It would be difficult to pick between them. I really like both ideas. I’m not real keen on ‘conventional’ hit song theory either. I also really enjoy improvisation, but have not yet bridged the gap between improvisation and songwriting. I guess I would vote for #2 as it sounds interesting.
Thanks for your comment Al, that makes it (with twitter votes as well) equal votes for all three ideas. So much for market research!
But it’s early days, so not to worry.
I’ve toyed with the ‘Improv for Songwriters’ idea for a while – most of my best songwriting comes when I’m just noodling around and improvising. So if I can help spread some good ideas about improvising and how to apply them to songwriting, that should help people out with their songwriting.
That’s my basic thinking, anyway.
#1 sounds like the most fun.
Though I’m wondering what lyrics should be if not heartfelt.
Well, David Bowie wrote plenty that were literally meaningless, lots of good songs have words that are actually meaningless. Plenty have lyrics that are barely more than a decorative la-la-la to go along with a good melody.
Lyrics don’t need to be heartfelt for a song to be good, and heartfelt personal lyrics can sometimes even distract. Alanis Morrissette had some heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics that were almost cringeworthy.
So, heartfelt can be good, but it isn’t always.
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Tom,
There is one question regarding songwriting that I have never heard anyone cover, and that is how to separate the emotion from the message you are trying to write about. What I mean is that sometimes, when it is a subject that is very emotionally charged to the writer, sometimes those very emotions are what ends causing writer’s block and just frustrates the write that much more. I know everyone has little tricks to try and “free up the dam” in order to let the inspiration flow. But what tricks do you use when you are trying to write about something where the emotions are so powerful that you tend to lose the path of your inspiration? For instance; How did Clapton control his emotions enough to allow the inspiration for “Layla” to be written? How do you keep those emotions from flooding your senses and drowning your inspiration? I agree that you don’t always need emotions that strong to make a song terific, but when they are that strong, What do you do?
Hi Hank, thanks for your question. One thing I’ve found helps here is time.
There’s one song I wrote a long time back that was inspired by the break-up of a relationship. The original was frankly terrible – self-indulgent, over emotional. I can remember literally being in floods of tears as I sang the chorus to myself for the first time.
In short, it wasn’t the sort of thing I would ever want made public.
However, I’m really glad that I wrote down all those words and made the rough notebook recordings that I did. It was personally very helpful to get all of that out, and it also meant that a long while after, when I’d calmed down, i could go back and edit what I had into a working song.
So in answer to your question, I find that getting out everything in the red heat of emotion, not censoring yourself, writing down and/or recording whatever you’ve got is the way to go. Then you need to wait, back-off, let the emotions cool. I suppose if the emotion itself is causing writer’s block, again the thing to do is wait. Cool down and it’ll come. At least, that’s worked for me. Anyone else have any advice?
Tom