Rating: 
Summary: fascinating but flawed journey into the world of songwriting
Review: Jimmy Webb is one of the greatest songwriters in the history of pop music. He does his fans a great honor here by inviting them to sit beside him on the piano bench as he talks about the creative process. Because I am not a professional musician, however, I found that I really enjoyed about two-thirds of this book. Those are the parts of the book that deal with the world of a songwriter, how he gets inspiration for his songs, Webb's own career and his dealings with some of the major figures of pop music. I found myself skimming over long, extremely detailed passages about the intricacies of writing melodies and lyrics. I felt some of this material belongs in a textbook for music students. This may be an unfair criticism on my part, criticizing something because I didn't understand it. But as a reader, that's how I felt. I also would have like to learn a lot more about Jim's personal life, his family, etc.
Rating: 
Summary: Well written but narrow view
Review: Ok so the guy's had some hits, but does that entitle him to classify some rhymes as "Wrong" and others as "Mistakes"? There's quite a bit of contradiction when he lays down what he believes are correct rhymes then gives a Goffin/King song as an example of Master songwriting on the next page that is full of the very "mistakes" he claims make songs amateurish. The rhymes he would like to see (ie true rhymes like cat, mat, sat etc) are precisely the ones I try to avoid in my own songs as they sound over used and too neat. I prefer (like many songwriters!)half rhymes and words that sound similiar. OK so I haven't sold as many records but I doubt that this is why... Having said all that, the book is very well written and he does have alot of very helpful stuff to impart. I suppose it was just his blanket right/wrong approach that annoyed me as this is the sort of attitude that makes any artform stand still and stagnate.
Rating:
Summary: best when he gets down to a discussion of craft.
Review: Readers, please forgive me for being technical in my opening remarks. I know of no other way to make my point.
I first opened to chapter 7, where Webb talks about harmonic movement in accompaniment. It turned out to be, in my opinion, the book's finest hour, or at least the most useful to me for these reasons: 1. He gives CONCRETE EXAMPLES. 2. This is absolutely subjective, but for me (a composer of instrumental music, chiefly jazz, and roughly of Webb's generation and weaned on much of the same music), the most lasting and valuable contribution of that period's better writers (Stevie Wonder, for example) is the ingenious way they found to manipulate simple triad harmony by using pedals and "open" sounding chords (No 3rds, etc. which Webb explains and demonstrates beautifully). It goes without saying that they also wrote good melodies, or they'd have been long forgotten. Analysis of melody construction/components also is first-rate here (Webb deals with treatment of lyrics in depth in in other chapters). Stephen Sondheim has said "art is craft". Webb spells out the mechanics of that craft masterfully. Also to his credit, he dismisses the inference that any formula for good writing can be gleaned from his (or probably any) book. He encourages people to learn those mechanics, but trust their own creative muses. Other well-turned discussions (of his predecessors' work, for example) show a man who has thought long and hard about his craft--and learned much. (A chapter on at least basic arranging---beyond piano voicings---might have been helpful, too, because presentation is half the battle, especially for people trying to sell songs to extremely jaded artists, executives, etc).Now for the bad news: throughout the book's body, Webb continually digresses, editorializes, and especially seems to want to settle accounts with the (mostly Broadway) scribes of the past, whom he upbraids for their snobbery and rebuff of rock and roll. (In fairness, he goes on in the epilogue to dress down his own generation for their OWN hypocracy and peevish conservatism in rejecting today's young writers.) He grows especially bitter in the epilogue, and his philippics are kind of unbecoming. He is himself opinionated in the extreme, dismissing (for but two of many examples)the chromaticism of late Romantic music and the Schoenberg people (so much for "lightweight" Alban Berg) in a way that frankly doesn't convince me he really listened. What's wrong with this? Nothing, on its face. It's food for thought,and at times great fun. But Webb, of all people, should know not to break his own first rule of composing, one which doesn't quite make the leap of faith from songwriting to book writing: make a promise in the first "bar", then deliver on it. Unless I got some bad drugs in the '60s and flashbacks are causing hallucinations, on the cover the subtitle is "Inside the art of songwriting". Webb also states more than once his purpose: to help the amateur songwriter, and I would never doubt his sincerity. But how these long winded polemics help aspiring songwriters, who after all are impressionable and more in need of bricks than brickbats, learn their craft is beyond me. Such raw and subjective ruminations belong---would be great---in an autobiography or a "rant", NOT this book where they end up a distracting sideshow.(I don't mean music business advice, which he also gives, along with his work habits/routines, both to good effect.) I feel guilty coming down so hard on elements of a book still so valuable, but that first chapter I read promised so much. I find it ironic that someone who so successfully reads and speaks to his public (and is his own best editor in his imaginative and well-constructed songs) could so succumb to self-indulgence and come dangerously close to being saboteur of his own best intentions. But this is merely my opinion. And I still recommend "Tunesmith".
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and helpful
Review: Songwriting is similar to painting in that some people will like what you create, and others will hate it. There's a lot of subjectivity in music, and Jimmy Webb's music strikes me as being a touch "cheesy". However, that does NOT diminish the usefulness of this book, as you will learn some interesting and different ways of going about constructing melodies, lyrics, chord progressions and song structures. It can be hard reading sometimes (particularly the chord substitution section, which is excellent though), but it finishes up with light, anecdotal stuff that's very easy on the brain. Make sure you understand basic theory first, and it's a great idea to read it with a piano / keyboard close at hand, to listen to the concepts for yourself. You'll definitely learn things you can immediately apply to your own work, and for the better. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and helpful
Review: Songwriting is similar to painting in that some people will like what you create, and others will hate it. There's a lot of subjectivity in music, and Jimmy Webb's music strikes me as being a touch "cheesy". However, that does NOT diminish the usefulness of this book, as you will learn some interesting and different ways of going about constructing melodies, lyrics, chord progressions and song structures. It can be hard reading sometimes (particularly the chord substitution section, which is excellent though), but it finishes up with light, anecdotal stuff that's very easy on the brain. Make sure you understand basic theory first, and it's a great idea to read it with a piano / keyboard close at hand, to listen to the concepts for yourself. You'll definitely learn things you can immediately apply to your own work, and for the better. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: It's OK
Review: The book has a tendency to meander aimlessly. It's like listening to an old-timer ramble on about something and then stop and start rambling about something else because he says something that reminds him of something else and then he moves on to another ... well... you get the picture. There's a mixture of good ideas and bad myths in this book. It could have been a lot better.
Rating:
Summary: It's OK
Review: The book has a tendency to meander aimlessly. It's like listening to an old-timer ramble on about something and then stop and start rambling about something else because he says something that reminds him of something else and then he moves on to another ... well... you get the picture. There's a mixture of good ideas and bad myths in this book. It could have been a lot better.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: Theory about songwriting inside this book is the deepest I have found. Even the language of the writer is good, it is hard for non english spoken people because of the extensive use of non common words.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible journey
Review: This book is a wonderful exploration for anyone who considers the possibility of writing, not only songs, but prose or poetry. Webb proves himself to be a master of the written word in book form, and for that we are very grateful. Take Tunesmith away somewhere quiet for the weekend and come back on Monday with a whole new attitude. I did.
Rating:
Summary: a great book
Review: This is a great book,written by one of the greatest songwriters of the last 4 decades.Anyone contemplating a career in songwriting should read this book.Jimmy is one of the best.
|
