Advice on good books?

[lou80]

An Excellent book to get inspired is....Songwriters on Songwriting by Paul ZolloIt's filled of interviews with todays top songwriters and what inspires them to write.Get it, you'll love it!!! Take CareLouise

[Mark Kaufman]

+1 on Songwriters on Songwriting. I stumbled upon that at the library and figured it would be good for a few glances...wow, these were GREAT interviews that really got into the nuts and bolts of how these songwriters worked, with many great insights on the songs themselves and the processes they went through. Usually this sort of book is sort of fluffy, but this one shined some light.

[ciskokidd]

I want to jump on the Jimmy Webb bandwagon and say that "Tunesmith" is a gem of a songwriting book. It took me a while to warm up to it (I owned it for three years before I cracked it open), but the advice is straight from the lips of one of the greatest american songwriters. On the fiction side I just finished a fabulous book by Tristan Egolf that was sent to me as a present. The title is "Lord of the Barnyard". Cisco

[bc]

My dog-eared signed copy of TuneSmith lays right were I can clutch it like Linus' blanket. Am certain Galveston would not get forwarded these days, but it is still the Holy Grail of songs. JW is opinionated, a bit odd, and at odds with many his contemporaries. They oft covet his genius while simultaneously hating him for it. There was a night at Tootsies, throwing back Jose Reserve when I almost let him take my left ear. "Your's first Mr. Webb! I should have listened to you all along. See you in Brownsville, you know where."In fact, as Bilbo once said, (paraphrased) just before he winked out, "I think I finish my book." Goodbye all. bc

[stansongman]

There's a great writing book that is old, and a quick read, but changed my whole approach to writing:If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland and Andrei CodrescuFor songwriting books...."Tunesmith" by Jimmy Webb is great."The Craft of Lyric Writing" by Sheila Davis is the lyric writing bible, in my book."88 Songwriting Wrongs and How To Right Them" by Pat&Pete Luboff.Pat Pattison's songwriting books (Berklee Press)"Melody in Songwriting" by Pat Pattison (Berklee Press)These have all been really helpful to me.Enjoy!-s-

[edteja]

Thought I'd mention that "88 Songwriting Wrongs and How To Right Them" by Pat&Pete Luboff is now "101 Songwriting Wrongs" and published by Writer's Digest Books. It just came out. You can read my review of it in the next www.Musesmuse.com newsletter.

[stansongman]

I made a typo on my earlier posting. "Melody in Songwriting" is written by Jack Perricone, not Pat Pattison. Jack chairs the songwriting department at Berklee.

[Mark Kaufman]

This thread prompted me to pick up Jimmy Webb's "Tunesmith" at the library. I am absolutely blown away...and only in the second chapter. What a great read.

[happyron]

Writing Music For Hit Songs by Jai Josefs as well as his CD and CD ROM. Most of what I've learned came from this book and private lessons with him. I love it.

[tedsingingfox]

Glad to hear it, as Jai is coming to Taos in March for one of his workshops.