Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting

Rating:
Summary: Thank you for the Magic Mirror..I needed one!
Review: I bought this book with the intention of probably starting it and getting bored, then tossing it...mainly because I don't read that much (rarely actually). I have always been impressed with Jimmy Webb's songwriting abilities, especially his tunes not known by the majority such as "Adios", as well as dozens of other tunes. I am a songwriter, and I had always thought I was strange when I would say, "that would be a great song title..." in public. People stare at me wondering what I'm thinking when in fact, I am thinking songs, much like J.W. describes in this book. With this book, I discovered that I am in fact a songwriter. I had my doubts prior to reading it, but I now label myself as a songwriter. This book has inspired me to keep doing what I've done for years and it also has provided me with inspiration. The book is anything but boring to songwriters. Those who consider themselves songwriters (who aren't), will find the book too instructional and informative. They will want a quicker fix, a tune from the first page...forget it. If you wonder about your songwriting abilities, or you are just starting to write songs....buy it and find out.

Rating:
Summary: Some truth from the heart of a real songwriter
Review: I felt at home almost immediately with the author's style. He talked about the songwriting art in such a way that I felt like sitting next to him while he was working. He explains his own feelings, his own reasoning with the song while creating it. He also gives away a number of "secrets" - tips that you can remeber to improve your own effeciency. It gave me courage to continue when I realised that it IS in fact HARD WORK to become a good songwriter - all my own sweat is not wasted! Jimmy does not only have excellent knowledge and skill - he also has practical experience and a track record. You may take him seriously when he explains the technical detail about creating a song and the different approaches that can be followed. I found myself often going back in the text and I use the book as a reference all the time. This is an invaluable book of knowledge for any songwriter!

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive but stuffy
Review: I found the material on lyrics and music analysis dry and uninvolving - Webb's construction/deconstruction of the song PROBLEM CHILD is pedantic, and the laundry lists of song types and industry personages are unnecessary and redundant - but we can cut him some slack because he's trying very hard to cover a lot of ground. The most enjoyable part of the book for me was the last two chapters, which quote a lot of OTHER famous songwriters as they travel the road from fame to obsolesence/obscurity (along with Mr. Webb!) THIS material is engaging and worthwhile, as it humanizes the songwriter persona.

Rating:
Summary: Best Book on Songwriting I've Read
Review: I have about ten books on the subject, and no other book I've read comes close in terms of actual, practical skills necessary to develop songs. Other books go into sources of inspiration, interview famous songwriters and their perspectives, and different processes, but this is the only one that consistently gives detailed information about many facets of the song development process.

For example, a lot of songwriters, especially those who aren't formally trained (which is most of them in the popular genres), come up with melody and lyrics first. How do you develop that into a complete song? Most other books simply mention that it can be done, but he actually goes into what first choices you have for accompanying chords, and policies about passing tones, and the strategy of either changing chords or notes in the melody to dress a song up.

If you read only one book about songwriting and song development, I think this is the best choice.

Rating:
Summary: Shows the dedication of a true songwriter
Review: I'm not a fan of Jimmy Webb and came to know him through Paul Zollo's book Songwriters on Songwriting. As a beginning songwriter (but longtime musician) I found a lot of great things in this book. This means I have no reverence for Jimmy Webb & am reading this as a simple student of songwriting. I'm about halfway through with it right now.

Jimmy Webb's dedication to his craft is obvious, and it comes through the pages. The increadible amounts of work that go into writing a song are tracked momenty by moment in this book. Just about every step to songwriting, all of the options are in these pages. From various "tricks" of chord substitution to which rhyming dictionaries he likes and why - it's all here. His approach to songwriting is that of a master craftsman, and he doesn't hold back in his lessons.

One odd thing. As a musician I was able to follow through as he introduced different elements - inverted chords, 7th chords, etc. The novice, however might have difficulty. He introduces each piece individually, but then makes logical leaps that I still don't quite get. Specific examples escape me, but he'll take great pains to describe something simple and a paragraph later give you an example that incorporates something he hasn't yet introduced to you. He'll go on about how to construct a triad, and then jump PAST 7th chords. I was able to follow it, but I've been playing music for 10 years.

I also disagree (but this is personal preference) with his chord substitution ideas: just find any chord with one note in common. Maybe he brings it all together in a later chapter, but he should let the reader know that he's wandered into the land of Chordal Compositions (compositions with no particular key) and away from the diataonic world that dominates Western music. Then again, maybe I'm just an old stick in the mud who Likes Diatonic composition. :)

These two points aside, this book still rates 5 stars. I've learned SO much from this book that it's earned a permenant spot on my bookshelf. I thank Jimmy Web for giving this gift to the world.

Somewhat more pedestrian, but also reccomended is "Writing Music for Hit Songs." It may pay to go through that book before getting into this book. It may help fill in some of the gaps I mention above. It's a straightforward good book.

Write me at [e-mail] with comments or questions. I'm ALWAYS interested in talking music with anyone - experts, beginners... anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, Educational and funny!
Review: If you write songs - you should have this book. You won't believe the things you'll learn. An eye-opener to the business and reality of the music world! It sits on my coffee table and i always pick it up when I find myself in dangerous or unknown territory upon writing a new song! Mr. Webb knows his stuff and shares it in his modest, funny way!

Rating:
Summary: TUNESMITH: INSIDE THE ART OF SONGWRITING
Review: It's an event when Jimmy Webb, the songwriter who epitomized both the romance and the innovation that characterized the songcrafting of the sixties and seventies ("By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," "MacArthur Park," "Up, Up, and Away," etc.) turns his attention to writing a book about the songmaking process. Not only a great songwriter, Webb in his heyday was also admired as the possessor of a bright youthful intellect and a zany, happy sense of humor. The bulk of his hit-laden song catalog was completed by age twenty-five or so, at which time Webb mostly disappeared. For those insiders and fans who have been paying close attention, Webb has added to that catalog in more recent years, contributing such underpublicized gems as "If These Walls Could Speak" (Amy Grant, et al, early eighties) and "California Coast" (Linda Ronstadt, about 1990), a song that also helped celebrate the comeback of Brian Wilson, who created delicious and plaintive Beach-Boys-style background vocals for the cut. In TUNESMITH, we're allowed to be there as Jimmy Webb explains which writers and which songs he has admired, and we watch in fascination as Webb dissects a few of these personal favorites to lay bare the structure and the art within. Jimmy Webb is said to have spent four full years creating TUNESMITH, and his love for the craft is obvious as you turn the pages and absorb the insights being shared. A tip for researchers: Paul Zollo did an excellent retrospective interview with Webb after the songwriter had been silent for at least a decade. The original interview can be found in the annals of SongTalk, the journal of the National Academy of Songwriters, or much more easily in Zollo's excellent book of reprints, SONG- WRITERS ON SONGWRITING. And finally, a trivia question for Webb fans: on which pop album can a version of Jimmy Webb's very first song, "There's Someone Else," written as a teenager in Oklahoma, be found? Answer: Art Garfunkel's "Watermark."

Rating:
Summary: TUNESMITH: INSIDE THE ART OF SONGWRITING
Review: It's an event when Jimmy Webb, the songwriter who epitomized both the romance and the innovation that characterized the songcrafting of the sixties and seventies ("By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," "MacArthur Park," "Up, Up, and Away," etc.) turns his attention to writing a book about the songmaking process. Not only a great songwriter, Webb in his heyday was also admired as the possessor of a bright youthful intellect and a zany, happy sense of humor. The bulk of his hit-laden song catalog was completed by age twenty-five or so, at which time Webb mostly disappeared. For those insiders and fans who have been paying close attention, Webb has added to that catalog in more recent years, contributing such underpublicized gems as "If These Walls Could Speak" (Amy Grant, et al, early eighties) and "California Coast" (Linda Ronstadt, about 1990), a song that also helped celebrate the comeback of Brian Wilson, who created delicious and plaintive Beach-Boys-style background vocals for the cut. In TUNESMITH, we're allowed to be there as Jimmy Webb explains which writers and which songs he has admired, and we watch in fascination as Webb dissects a few of these personal favorites to lay bare the structure and the art within. Jimmy Webb is said to have spent four full years creating TUNESMITH, and his love for the craft is obvious as you turn the pages and absorb the insights being shared. A tip for researchers: Paul Zollo did an excellent retrospective interview with Webb after the songwriter had been silent for at least a decade. The original interview can be found in the annals of SongTalk, the journal of the National Academy of Songwriters, or much more easily in Zollo's excellent book of reprints, SONG- WRITERS ON SONGWRITING. And finally, a trivia question for Webb fans: on which pop album can a version of Jimmy Webb's very first song, "There's Someone Else," written as a teenager in Oklahoma, be found? Answer: Art Garfunkel's "Watermark."

Rating:
Summary: Reading this book is like studying with the finest master!
Review: Jim Webb is one of our true American treasures in the world of pop music. How lucky we are as songwriters to get the opportunity to get inside his heart and mind as he moves through the process of writing a song. Particularly interesting is Webb's take on lyrics......why he would or wouldn't use certain rhymes, for example. He addresses every part of the process, from formulating ideas to coming up with the best hook to the form of the song and on to writing the lyrics, melody and chord progression. He talks about some of the best written songs in pop music, disecting them and using them as examples. There is such an amazing amount of useful information in this book, it requires multiple readings to fully grasp it all. All in all, reading this book is like going to school and studying with the very finest master there is in the field of songwriting!

Rating:
Summary: Songwriters resource.
Review: Jimmy Web talks about the music business and his career but he also gives plenty of valuable songwriting tips. I especially liked the sections on matching words to music and chord substitutions. He also comments that the popular music of today doesn't swing or rock, it pulses. Very insightful. I recommend this book to composers and songwriters.