
Songwriting For Dummies
Description
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This friendly, hands-on guide tackles the new face of the recording industry, guiding you through the shift from traditional sales to downloads and mobile music, as well as how you can harness social media networks to get your music "out there." You get basic songwriting concepts, insider tips and advice, and inspiration for writing -- and selling -- meaningful, timeless songs.
* Songwriting 101 -- get a grip on everything you need to know to write a song, from learning to listen to your "inner voice" to creating a "mood" and everything in between
* Jaunt around the genres -- discover the variety of musical genres and find your fit, whether it's rock, pop, R&B, gospel, country, or more
* Let the lyrics out -- master the art of writing lyrics, from finding your own voice to penning the actual words to using hooks, verses, choruses, and bridges
* Make beautiful music -- find your rhythm, make melodies, and use chords to put the finishing touches on your song
* Work the Web -- harness online marketing and social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and others to get your music heard by a whole new audience
Open the book and find:
* What you need to know before you write a single note
* Tips on finding inspiration
* Ways to use poetic devices in lyrics
* Computer and Web-based shortcuts and technologies to streamline songwriting
* A look at famous songwriting collaborators
* Writing for stage, screen, and television
* How to make a demo to get your song heard
* Advice on how to make money from your music
P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you're probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Songwriting For Dummies (9780470615140). The book you see here shouldn't be considered a new or updated product. But if you're in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We're always writing about new topics!
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Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- About This Book
- Foolish Assumptions
- How This Book Is Organized
- Part 1: So You Want to Be a Songwriter
- Part 2: Unleashing the Lyricist in You
- Part 3: Creating Memorable Music
- Part 4: Cooperation, Collaboration, and Community
- Part 5: Getting Down to Business
- Part 6: The Part of Tens
- Icons Used in This Book
- Where to Go from Here
- Beyond the Book
- Part 1 So You Want to Be a Songwriter
- Chapter 1 Capturing That Solid-Gold Nugget
- Ground Zero - Before You Write a Single Note
- Is formal music training a must?
- Being prepared when inspiration strikes
- Finding you own inner voice and expression
- Creating the mood
- Drip, Drip, Drop: The Six-Step Process
- Pay Attention: Stop, Look, and Listen
- Finding the inspiration zone
- Coming up with concepts for songs
- Setting your antennae to listen for lyrics
- Making up music "dummy" style
- On-the-Go Tools of the Trade for Recording and Organizing
- Using a digital recording device
- Jotting down ideas in a notebook
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 2 Looking at the Genres: From Country to Rock and Everything in Between
- Creating Your Own Style: The Singer-Songwriter
- Looking for Mainstream Success: Commercial Appeal
- Rock
- Pop
- R&B, urban, hip-hop, and rap
- Country
- Seeking a Road Less Travelled: Other Notable Genres
- Christian
- Gospel
- Blues and folk
- Jazz
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 3 Working It Out: Getting Your Song into Shape
- Talking Shop about Song Form
- Dealing with Verses
- The single-verse form
- The two-verse form
- The "Standard" Form
- Learning about the standard form
- Taking the standard form further
- The Verse-Chorus Form
- The verse-chorus form using a pre-chorus
- The verse-chorus form using a bridge
- The verse-chorus form using both a pre-chorus and a bridge
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Part 2 Unleashing the Lyricist in You
- Chapter 4 Snagging Your Listeners with a Hook
- Stocking Your Tackle Box with Hooks
- The melodic hook
- The lyrical hook
- The musical hook
- The rhythmic hook
- The sound-effect hook
- The use of different types of hooks in one song
- Having the Right Mindset When Working with Hooks
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 5 Making an Impact with Lyrics
- Getting to Know the Different Lyric Types
- Concept-driven lyrics
- Storytelling Lyrics
- Love song lyrics
- Lyrics that make a statement
- Novelty and humorous lyrics
- Parody lyrics
- Inspirational lyrics
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 6 Finding Your Voice in the Lyrics
- Writing a Great Lyric
- Starting with a title
- Starting with an idea or concept
- Telling a story
- Using a melody that suggests a lyric
- Finding the Format for Your Lyrics
- Verse lyrics
- Pre-chorus lyrics
- Chorus lyrics
- Bridge lyrics
- Moving Beyond Format to Sound
- Paying attention to the rhythm of the words
- Paying attention to the sounds of words within a lyric
- Noticing a lyric's point of view
- Getting some perspective
- Tuning in to the lyric's tone and style
- Using Poetic Devices in Lyrics
- Using repetition
- Examining poetic devices
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 7 Using Rhymes in Your Songs
- Identifying the Rhyme
- Getting the basics of rhyme structure
- Starting with the alternate line method
- Looking at other basic rhyming patterns
- Trying out trickier forms of rhyme
- Adding internal rhyme
- Using Other Rhyming Techniques in Your Song
- Working with perfect rhymes
- Getting it close with near rhymes
- Working backwards with rhyme
- Changing pronunciations to help rhyme
- Rhyming across verses
- To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme?
- Looking at songs with little rhyme
- Bringing it all together
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Part 3 Creating Memorable Music
- Chapter 8 Feel the Rhythm, Feel the Ride
- Looking at the Rhythm of Words
- Accented and unaccented syllables
- Syllable length
- Looking at the Meter of Music
- Placing beats in a bar
- Applying notes to common time
- Putting Rhythm and Meter to Use in Your Songs
- Songwriting with Syncopation
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 9 Making Melody Magic
- Exploring the Basics of Melodies in Music
- Knowing the power and emotion of a melody
- Understanding the basics of a melody
- Finding your melody
- Making a Song More Memorable
- Finding a melody that fits the mood
- Finding a melody to fit the genre
- Finding the right melody for each section of the song
- Evaluating your melody magic
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 10 Using Chords in Songwriting
- Using Chords to Write Songs
- Getting started with chords
- Moving forward with chords
- Choosing Your Style of Chordal Instruments
- Picking the guitar
- Pecking at the keyboard
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 11 The Cheating Side of Town: Shortcuts and Cool Technologies
- Creating Songs Quicker, Better, Easier
- Doing stuff quicker with gadgets
- Becoming the expert . . . instantly
- More tools for making life simpler
- Discovering Songwriting Software
- Need rhyming software?
- Other software and tracking tools
- Recording in Your Own Home Studio
- Creating commercial-sounding recordings
- Finding the deals and techies
- Old School vs. Home Schooled
- Instrument playing: 101
- Is it live or is it Memorex?
- Virtual song recordings
- Part 4 Cooperation, Collaboration, and Community
- Chapter 12 Bringing Talent Together: Collaboration and Networking
- Finding Your Strengths and Weaknesses
- Seeking the Chemistry of Collaborative Songwriting
- Making sure you're in harmony with your team
- Finding strength in numbers
- Collaborating with a band or an artist
- Collaborating with a script
- Collaborating with yourself
- Dividing Up the Credits
- The Nashville method
- The honor system
- The Spinal Tap system
- Looking at Famous Songwriting Collaborations
- John Lennon and Paul McCartney
- Burt Bacharach and Hal David
- Bernie Taupin and Elton John
- Networking for Songwriters
- Hanging Out at Writers' Nights
- Joining Songwriting Organizations
- Attending Seminars, Workshops, Conferences, and Symposiums
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 13 Online Marketing and Social Networking for Songwriters
- Playing Internet Roulette
- Creating your own website
- Taking advantage of other people's sites
- Locating resource, advice, and information sites
- Finding Friends and Building Your Social Networking Community
- All-in-one social media networks
- Specialty social media networks
- Social network sites for indie artists
- Online downloading music sites
- Mobile device networking
- Putting "Social Skills" into Networking
- Connecting to your fan base and others
- Expanding your reach worldwide
- Chapter 14 Writing for the Stage, Screen, Television, and More
- Songwriting for Film
- Understanding the role of the music supervisor
- Getting to the music supervisors
- Understanding the creative side of songwriting for films
- Songwriting for Television
- Knowing what songs work well in television
- Recognizing the exposure value of television
- Getting to television music supervisors
- Songwriting for Commercials
- Writing jingles from scratch
- Getting your songs placed in commercials
- Songwriting for Video Games
- Songwriting for Musicals
- Submitting your songs for musicals
- Understanding the creative side of songwriting for musicals
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 15 Getting Your Songs Heard: Making the Demo
- Evaluating Your Options
- Creating a "work tape" demo first
- Defining the production components
- Deciding what purpose the demo serves
- Knowing the competition
- Paying Attention to Details
- Picking your format
- Choosing the number and length of songs
- Keeping it simple
- Picking the Players
- Deciding whether to use musicians or machines
- Deciding who is going to sing
- Making an Arrangement
- Creating a chart
- Using an arranger
- Recording the Demo
- Deciding where to record
- Paying for the demo
- Packaging the Demo
- Including contact information
- Requesting permission to send a demo
- Making a lyric sheet
- Sending that Baby Out!
- Getting your demo to the right people
- Following up
- Part 5 Getting Down to Business
- Chapter 16 Creating Goals and Meeting Deadlines
- Creating Goals
- Getting set to write for the first time
- Venturing out with your songs
- Setting goals as a pro
- Meeting Deadlines
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Chapter 17 Ka-Ching: How Your Song Makes Money
- Forecasting Financials
- Sources of income
- Splittin' up the pie
- Joining a Performing Rights Organization
- ASCAP
- BMI
- SESAC
- Knowing What Happens When Your Songs Hit the Streets
- Mechanical royalties
- The compulsory license
- Synchronization royalties
- Using Digital Distribution to Your Advantage
- Music sharing sites and services
- MobileTones and ringtones
- Using Your Songs to Sell Products
- Making Money in the Movies
- Having Video Games Pay to Play
- Chapter 18 Introducing the Business Players
- Putting Together Your Winning Team
- First Things First: Getting an Attorney on Your Side
- Seeing what a good music attorney can do for you
- Hiring your music attorney
- Weighing Your Publishing Options
- Co-publishing deals
- Being your own publisher
- Working with administration deals
- Dealing with foreign sub-publishing
- Considering an Independent Song Plugger
- Putting a song plugger to work
- Considering the advantages of a song plugger
- Using a Manager or an Agent
- Do I need a manager?
- What does an agent do for a songwriter?
- You're in the Money: Hiring an Accountant or a Business Manager
- Knowing what a good music accountant or business manager can do for you
- Hiring a music accountant or business manager
- Chapter 19 Looking at the Legal End: Dealing with Paperwork
- Legal Deals: Creating Win-Win Contracts
- Understanding different kinds of contracts
- Knowing when to put the pen to the paper
- Finding resources in a hurry
- Protecting Your Songs with Copyrights
- Rounding up the right forms
- Filling out Form PA
- Using the copyright notice
- Filling in the Blanks and Being Organized
- Using a prospects-and-contacts form
- Creating a song-history tracking sheet
- Keeping track of your copyright registrations
- Part 6 The Part of Tens
- Chapter 20 Ten Songs You Should Know
- "Hey Jude"
- "Bohemian Rhapsody"
- "What's Going On"
- "Yesterday"
- "God Only Knows"
- "Imagine"
- "Satisfaction"
- "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
- "Like a Rolling Stone"
- "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
- Chapter 21 Ten Common Song-Related Contracts You Should Know
- Single-Song Agreement
- Exclusive Songwriting Agreement (ESA)
- Copyright Assignment
- Co-Publishing Agreement
- Administration Agreement
- Sub-Publishing Agreement
- Performing Rights Society Affiliation Agreement
- Mechanical License
- Synchronization License
- Digital Licenses
- Index
- EULA
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