Alfred's Teach Yourself Songwriting: Everything You Need to Know to Start Writing Songs Now!

by Horne, Greg

• ISBN13: 9780739036044
• ISBN10: 0739036041
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-07-01
• Publisher: Alfred Pub Co

Summary

This book is packed with useful tips on how to harness creativity in both lyric writing and music composition and is sure to inspire any aspiring songwriter!

Table of Contents

About the Author	p. 4
Introduction	p. 5
The Basics of Music	p. 6
Standard Music Notation-Pitch	p. 6
Standard Music Notation-Rhythm	p. 7
Scales and Keys	p. 8
Intervals	p. 9
Write a Song!	p. 10
Get Some Tools	p. 10
Write a Song	p. 12
Tips for Fleshing Out Your Lyrics	p. 14
Make Some Music	p. 15
Starting Over Again	p. 19
The Way of the Writer (Your Creative Process)	p. 20
The Art of Art	p. 20
Energy at Play	p. 20
The Importance of Free Writing	p. 23
Songwriting Vs. Arranging	p. 24
How (and Why) to Separate Songwriting from Arranging	p. 24
The Hook	p. 26
What is a Hook?	p. 26
A Fishy Story about You and Your Listener	p. 26
How Do I Know If I've Got a Hook?	p. 27
Lyrics	p. 28
Economy of Expression	p. 28
"Punching Up" Your Language	p. 29
Imagery	p. 30
Abstraction	p. 32
A Matter of Preference and Balance	p. 32
Playing with the Sounds of Words	p. 34
Lyrical Rhythm	p. 36
Meter (or, Put Your Best Foot Forward)	p. 38
Rhyme	p. 40
Melody	p. 42
Melody is a Song's Memory	p. 42
The Role of the Tonal Center	p. 42
A Basic Approach to Tonality	p. 43
Melody Starters	p. 44
Using Phrases to Construct Melodies	p. 46
How Longer Phrases Work	p. 48
Sequences	p. 49
Making a Melody from Lyrics	p. 50
Space is Your (Listener's) Friend!	p. 51
Rhythmic Variety	p. 52
Hang on Every Word	p. 52
More Components of Melody	p. 54
Making Lyrics from a Melody	p. 56
Writing Better Melodies: A List of Checkpoints	p. 57
Harmony	p. 58
What's In a Chord?	p. 58
Tonality Strikes Again	p. 59
How Melody Notes Become Chord Tones	p. 60
Diatonic Harmony	p. 62
Beyond Diatonic Harmony	p. 68
Form	p. 70
Repeating Verse Form: A-A-A	p. 70
Shady Grove	p. 70
Repeating Verse Form with Refrain	p. 71
Repeating Verse Form with Lyrical Chorus	p. 71
Blues Forms	p. 72
Dirty Water Drinkin' Blues	p. 72
Standard Pop Song Form: A-A-B-A	p. 74
The Rules of the Road	p. 75
The Verse/Chorus Form	p. 76
Connectors and Extenders	p. 78
I Just Tried	p. 82
The Process	p. 84
From Start to Finish	p. 84
Song Starters	p. 86
Cowriting	p. 90
Copyright, Publishing and "The Business"	p. 92
How Can I Make Money from My Songs?	p. 93
Writing Money and Publishing Money	p. 93
Resources	p. 94
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.