The Complete Idiot S Guide To The Art Of Songwriting

Now newbie songwriters can learn the craft—and sing their own praises online Beginning songwriters can hit the right note by starting out with the basics in this guide, including: • How to create melodies • How to create many different harmonies • Techniques using deliberate rhythm and stylistic changes • How to enable one's songwriting to grow and evolve • How to deal with songwriter's block • The best places to upload one's work for maximum exposure and opportunities

A comprehensive book for today's amateur musician interested in creating and writing his or her own songs, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Songwriting, Second Edition, is the most complete and up-to-date book available. Beating coverage from other series competition, Oscar-winning (and Grammy and Tony award nominated) author Joel Hirschhorn shares his firsthand knowledge of coming up with ideas, rhyming schemes, hooks, melodies, lyrics, and even titles - everything readers need to create their own hit songs! This new edition features coverage of the music business along with the ins and outs of selling a song including working with publishers, producers, artists, managers, accountants, agents, and even attorneys. Best of all, this newest edition features special chapters on genre songwriting - with all new coverage of Latin music, Rock/Blues, Children's music, writing for television, film, and more.

Write the songs that make the whole world sing. A step-by-step guide to writing music, this book shows musicians how to compose simple chord progressions and melodies, and leads them through more advanced compositional techniques and musical forms. Designed for composers of all types of music, it includes instruction on composing stand-alone melodies, using different scales and modes, themes and variations, orchestration, and composing for film, theater, and videogames. -Perfect complement to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Songwriting -Includes a comprehensive glossary of musical terms, as well as an appendix of various computer-based composition tools -Easy-to-use oversize trim

Instruction and tips for creating arrangements, structuring compositions, and writing for various styles of music.

Proven techniques for songwriting success 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 Learn to: Develop your songwriting skills with tips and techniques from the pros Use social networking sites to get your music out to the public Break into the industry with helpful, how-to instructions

Thirty years after The Beatles split up, the music of Lennon, McCartney, Harrrison and Starkey lives on. What exactly were the magical ingredients of those legendary songs? Why are they still so influential for today's bands? This ground-breaking book sets out to explore The Beatles' songwriting techniques in a clear and readable style. It is aimed not only at musicians but anyone who has ever enjoyed the work of one of the most productive and successful songwriting parterships of the 20th Century. Author Dominic Pedler explores the chord sequences, melodies, harmonies, rhythms and structures of The Beatles' self-penned songs, while challenging readers to enhance their appreciation of the lyrics themselves with reference to the musical context. Throughout the book the printed music and lyrics of The Beatles' songs appear alongside the text, illustrating the author's explanations. The Songwriting Secrets Of The Beatles is an essential addition to Beatles literature - a new and perceptive analysis of both the music and the lyrics written and performed by what Paul McCartney still calls 'a really good, tight little band'.

Learning to play the guitar has never been easier! This book begins with an introduction to different types of guitars and their parts, followed by helpful information on how to choose a guitar. You'll learn how to tune the guitar (supplemented with online audio), how to correctly hold it, how to read tablature, and about basic rhythm. Much of the remainder of the book gives you easy-to-follow instructions on learning chords, and each lesson is followed by a fun practice session and a simple song with which to practice the newly learned chords. In addition to over-the-shoulder color photos showing fingering positions and accompanying two-color chord charts that show exactly what to do, the reader can hear the chords, exercises, and songs performed online--with better visual instruction than can be provided with a DVD.

A history of world music that places musical developments in context to important historical events and examines the evolution of both Western and non-Western music from prehistoric times to the present.