Product Description
This updated edition of John Braheny's classic book is essential reading for anyone contemplating a career as a professional songwriter. He shares the insider secrets that help songwriters make their work competitive in an overcrowded marketplace. Readers will learn how to: Develop a "songwriter's consciousness" in picking out original ideas; Overcome barriers in the creative process; Discover what subjects work best for them, from novelty to message songs; Know what their audience wants; Focus on one idea when writing lyrics, ensuring the greatest impact; Handle the business of demos and contracts; Readers will also find anecdotes, exercises and examples from dozens of successful songwriters.
From the Author
There are no rules for writing successful songsThrough the first couple of years of critiquing and auditioning songs for the L.A. Songwriters Showcase, my partner, Len Chandler, and I looked for rules that would work, even most of the time. What I found in studying successful songs was that, instead of rules, there are several basic principles that detetermine how songs communicate effectively to listeners in a radio medium. In understanding the principles, your creativity is free to mix and match techniques, structures and inventive dynamics without having to adhere to hard and fast rules. You'll have greater freedom to create your own unique approach. I've always wanted to know WHY something does or doesn't work. This is the information I wanted to pass along in this book.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.