Good Books on Song Writing

[badrail]

Good Evening,
I want to pass along some info about a book I purchased recently at Barnes & Nobel called "Songwriting, and the Creative Process" by Steve Gillette. I'm about half way through it and have found a wealth of info that is helping me understand what I am doing. I have not started the other 2 books I bought at the same time ("The Everything Songwriting Book" and "Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure") but they are next. Anybody serious about this needs these 3 books and there are probably more out there that can shed some light as well. Enjoy!

Wes
Bad Rail

[AndyR]

Good call, Wes.

I have some good books at home, I can't remember their titles, but none of yours sound familiar to me.

I'll try and remember to check it out and post the titles in this thread.

[henwrench]

What!! Next thing, somebody'll write a book about how to do a poo properly.... god knows (and the Mrs knows), I need one!!

     Personally, I find books about 'the creative process' etc to be as mad as any religous books. 

                                                         henwrench

[Greeny]

I doubt that Lennon & MacCartney ever read books on how to write a song, lol.

Like all 'self help' books, no doubt it will work for some people. Or maybe just make them more inclined to actually do something constructive and help themselves in the process.

For me, I'd just recommend a strong dose of Burt Baccarach, Brian Wilson and The Beatles. Take a few of those twice a day and come back and see me in the morning, lol.

[ODH]

Personally, I find books about 'the creative process' etc to be as mad as any religous books.  

                                                        henwrench

Me too

I thought the whole point about creativity is that it comes from the subconcious, the id.  You can't learn creativity from a book.  Having said that, all good artists need to be masters of their craft, which is the stuff that can be taught.  The creativity comes in what you do with it.

I'm still suspicious...

[cuthbert]

For me, I'd just recommend a strong dose of Burt Baccarach, Brian Wilson and The Beatles. Take a few of those twice a day and come back and see me in the morning, lol.

Amen to that.

Also agree with henwrench and Nick - the good stuff just seems to happen, and I've found that no amount of books ever really helped with it. I just wish it happened more for me... 

[FuzzFace]

I wouldn't mind injecting a bit of theory into my process..

I just realized that I basically use the same rhyme scheme from one song to the next.  Not sure how I fell into that habit.  But there are probably all kinds of pitfalls that a bit of structured learning can help one to avoid.

[Oldrottenhead]

i have no idea where my stuff comes from but i do try not to keep to a fixed method and try different approaches. i might investigate these books to see if they can offer new insights. but if the muse doesnt visit nothing will come to me.

one surefire way of summoning the muse is getting new kit.

[Saijinn Maas]

I actually don't think learning the "ins and outs" of certain methods takes anything away from creativity. But it is similar to somebody wanting to write a novel. If their general writing ability is pretty poor, it will show in something like a full-sized novel. There is nothing wrong with learning about methods in regards to structure, rhyming types, or how to convey certain things using these methods. If the person is creative in the first place, it will only fuel that further.

This is the same argument I've heard in regards to whether or not one should learn music theory. I've put it off for many years as something that is not necessary in the creative process. But the more I've learned, the more territory I've explored. I think this has only helped me.

When it comes to these books, I don't think of them as "the key" to better writing. Because of that, I think it is important to get more than one book, or look online for more than one method. This can only fuel your creative process and take you places you may not have ever thought of. But that is determined more by the individual rather than the book itself.

[Saijinn Maas]

Incidentally, I have found this to be really helpful. The book actually takes you through exercises so tht you are using your own feelings, thoughts, etc to create. Just picked it up last week, but it has brought up some interesting stuff.