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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4075
Location: Utah | Which books would you recommend for songwriting theory? i.e. books that discuss chord progressions, harmonies, song structure, scales, and arrangements for specific genres. Mostly I would be interested in modern country music and the classic rock styles.
Textbook format is fine. I'm looking for something to read while travelling which can then be applied when I get home. So a DVD course wouldn't work, nor would a book heavy on exercises with an instrument.
This one , How Music Really Works, looks pretty interesting. Are there others you'd recommend?
I'm pretty well schooled on basic music theory, what I'm looking for is more of an applications oriented book.
If you read the latest "Guitar World" magazine, there was an article on playing like BB King, with some of his signature licks and phrases. That's the kind of thing, but much more detailed. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Here is a link to a Amazon.com search for songwriting theory:
Songwriting books
Some of these sound really good! |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | get a rhyming dictionary to go with whatever else you find. |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 4996
Location: Phoenix AZ | I use this.
http://www.rhymer.com |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Hey, that's nice Dave.
Guess I have another book to toss into the next garage sale. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | Hmmm.
Song = Story
Country OR Western song = 4/4, Intro/Verse/Hook/Verse/Chorus/Hook/Verse/Chorus/Hook/Chorus.
So...
Pick a key/find a hook
Verse/ talk about something that broke yer heart/pissed you off/made yer day.
Hook/ play something catchy!
Verse/ repeat yer story for those that tuned in late.
Chorus/ Why are you so dern Mad/Happy/Incarcerated?
Blah blah blah...
I hope this helps. The best book for writing songs is still the Bible, all the plots are there! |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 4832
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | I haven't yet found anything better than Sheila Davis' book The Craft of Lyric Writing. I have found nothing yet than can 'teach' how to write melody....though Tunesmith by Jimmy Webb comes close. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7237
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | My favorite music book Click Here
... sorry, couldn't resist. |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Call up Matt Smith. Talk about it for half an hour.
Listen to all your favorite songe and analize their structure. Do the same for ones you don't like.
F@ck the books. |
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Book recommendations?
