Inspiration for Great Songwriting: for pop, rock & roll, jazz, blues, broadway, and country songwriters

By Tommy Gordon

You are a songwriter, and you need to unlock those great songs inside of you

Yes, this book is designed entirely to share those secrets that will inspire you to write that great song that’s you know you can! And once the creativity really starts flowing, we'll create great habits and write even more, each and every day. Get down to writing the music and the lyrics you know that you can because “writer’s block” is a fantasy. You just need inspiration…

The Magic of Lyrics & Music

This book discusses creativity with the lyrics, creativity with the music, and creativity with the forms of your songs, with a number of actionable suggestions and creative exercises to get the juices flowing. There's also a brief discussion about good habits for songwriters to be more productive (or eventually become a professional), and a list of resource organizations and websites from performing rights to promotion.

If you want to develop as a songwriter, possibly even with the goal of going pro, then these are topics you need to think about:

The Songwriter's Process
Creativity with Form
Creativity with Lyrics
Creativity with Music
Professional?
Rights, Royalties, and Piracy
Pro Songwriter Habits
Songwriter Resource Page
and more...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fretboard Media Group
• Release date: Jan 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507064962

Book preview

Introduction

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Songwriters : Do you want to know how you can permanently improve your songwriting habits and abilities in only a few minutes per day? Do you want to know how to develop tools to inspire an infinite number of new tunes, never having writer's block again? Do you want to know what makes most great songs sound so perfect? Do you want to know why you must simplify the craft of songwriting to succeed? Do you want to know where to look online to find the best resources for a career in music, as a successful songwriter, even with the dreams of going pro some day? Do you want to know what great hit songs can teach you about creating better songs of your own?

There is no other way to say it: fantastic songs impact the lives of real people all over the world every single day. People's lives are changed by songs.

I can think of songs right now that helped change the way I reflect on life, death, love, chasing my dreams, and so much more...

Crowds of screaming fans at live concerts all around the world show us that songs with an intensely personal message are universal.

When a stadium full of people sings along with the lyrics of a song that was written by a single individual, a songwriting team, or a whole band — it's a magical feeling for all. The musicians are transformed, the audience is transformed, and the energy and message of that song connect everyone in the venue!

Even if it's not a stadium-sized audience, hopefully, you have experienced that feeling at least once!

When you watch video interviews with great recording artists and songwriters, and they talk about the complete rush of 25,000 people singing along with their hit song -- or the power of hearing their new song on the radio for the first time -- it's quite amazing.

But we don't write songs for fame and glory. (But sure, if you're chasing that dream — this book is for you as well.)

We write songs because of our need to express our inherent creativity.

We have ideas, and we want them to be heard!

We write songs because it's fun, challenging, and rewarding -- and just like a painter, sculptor, poet, filmmaker, or architect -- it feels great when we get it right. When we know that we've found the perfect chords, have the right words, crafted the best ending, or a great bridge -- it's an incredible feeling.

We know the songs are good when we play them for others, and they have an emotional reaction.

But what happens if you want to write your songs -- the songs you know are inside of you -- and want that feeling of accomplishment from writing your latest tune, but you get sort of stuck. Or maybe you're sick of playing cover tunes, and you know that you have a