The Songwriters Idea Book: 40 Strategies to Excite Your Imagination, Help You Design Distinctive Songs, and Keep Your Creative Flow

by Sheila Davis

This book reveals the inherent relationship between personality type, brain function and writing style. Includes 40 proven songwriting strategies - guaranteed to spark songwriters' imaginations. 240 pages. 6x9.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Poetry, Writing

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[David Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that you have to take with a grain of salt. Yes, there are 40 song idea starters. Try this rhyme scheme. Try using this imagery. 40 tips like this. My biggest problem with this book is not its fault. The author quotes a lot of left brain/right brain techniques that have been proven to be not true. The book was written at a time when the left brain-right brain theory was all the rage. The theory has been disproven so the entire concept that the book is based on is false. So ignore that part of the book and just go for the tips. The tips can be helpful. This isn't the way I write songs so it wasn't helpful to me but the different approaches are interesting and if you do get stuck, then these ideas will get you unstuck and back to writing and isn't that what the whole thing is about.

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about literary devices from poetry and short fiction as it has been adapted into songwriting. Its certainly given labels to many things you see in lyrics time and time again. When you can name the technique, its much easier to use it in a thoughtful way and to be able to choose among the best options for a lyric.

As another review pointed out, all the left/right brain and myers-briggs personality type stuff is disproven hogwash. I think there may be some general truths when the author identifies different writing styles despite the pseudoscience used to justify it. Those sections should be skimmed over for a general reflection on your own writing style.

NOTE: this book deals only with lyrics.

[Dave Iliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good stuff but not an easy read

Lots of great technique and song examples but written in a way that you have to read a lot of parts two or three times to figure out what she's saying. If someone edited this it was done in their sleep.

[Tonya Jakubowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheila Davis is the go-to for songwriting.

[Jacob Mccalabb]

i liked it so much

[Virginia F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. A songwriter’s best friend when stuck in writer’s block. Thank you, Sheila Davis!

[Anna]

Got this in Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Hoping to capture some of the amazing inspiration I felt in that truly great music city.