Melody in Songwriting
Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs
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2.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Melody is a subject too often neglected in the teaching of music. This unique resource gives melody that attention it deserves, and proves that melody writing is a skill that can be learned. Through proven tool and techniques, you will learn to write interesting melodies, how melodic rhythm influences rhyme, what makes harmony progress, and the many dynamic relationships between melody and harmony. This clear and comprehensive approach to songwriting unlocks the secrets of popular songs, revealing what really makes them work. Examples of great songs by such notable songwriters as Lennon and McCartney, Diane Warren, Robert Palmer, and more, provide a close-up illustration of the songwriting techniques employed by these masters of the industry. This is the book used in Songwriting classes at Berklee College of Music. The exercises provided make it a wonderful self-teaching manual and a great addition to any general theory course of any level. Use the tools presented in this book to help fine-tune your craft and start writing hits]
Customer Reviews
You could do worse , or better
The book starts out great with an interesting discussion on fundamentals, harmonics, stable/unstable tones, etc. it then takes a detour to rhythm, then returns to tone , then to phrasing , then to minor music , then a long and winding chunk of the book is devoted to phrasing , then somehow we arrive at song forms and then, wait, why are song form definitions taught AFTER song forms are discussed in detail?? And why are there no examples to help students differentiate between an, e.g., a refrain and chorus? And why does harmony and harmonic progression appear 10 chapters AFTER tone stability and harmonics are taught ??
In general the book winds all over the place and lacks a methodical approach to learning the craft in a progressive manner, which is bizarre considering its in the Berklee College of Music label . it SHOULD have been broken up intelligibly into the main parts of songwriting : sound, structure, rhythm, etc . and kept them independent of each other and offered loads of examples, but alas it does not . it's a bit of a let down :(
All that said , chapter 13 on is all about harmonizing , chords , etc. pretty good stuff overall , but again, should have been discussed and tied in with the discussion about melody at the beginning. It also drives me NUTS how he will say "the long and winding road" is a great example of xxxxxxx," then show a completely DIFFERENT example in notation?! why not show the notation for "long and winding road" which is a song we KNOW?? we want to see how all this theory sounds in songs we know !
Newer students will be lost. I recommend intermediate to advanced musicians only for this book . it's very technical and not intuitive at all
Be well friends . God's Blessings to you and yours