The Craft and Business of Songwriting: A Practical Guide to Creating and Marketing Artistically and Commercially Successful Songs

by John Braheny

1582974667|9781582974668. Craft and Business of Songwriting 3rd Edition (Craft & Business of Songwriting) published in the year 2007 was published by F&W Media. Incorporated. View 4689 more books by F&W Media. Incorporated. The author of this book is John Braheny . ed page displaying collection of John Drury books here. This is the Paperback version of the title "Craft and Business of Songwriting 3rd Edition (Craft & Business of Songwriting) ". Craft and Business of Songwriting 3rd Edition (Craft & Business of Songwriting) is currently Available with us.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference, Writing

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[DW · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating is for the first half of this book. I got the 1988 version from the library and the second half is about sending cassette tapes to record companies because it was written two decades before YouTube.

I found the first half of the book to be full of practical, eye-opening insight. For instance, songs on the radio have to be simple and universal, unlike songs on an album which a buyer will pore over. I tend to write obscure lyrics and needed to be told that lyrics are not poetry. I've also had more experience with classical composition, which I didn't realize was so different than pop songwriting (pop has no development, just hit them over the head with the idea and get out).

I liked the section that explained how to use specific, dynamic images to capture and hold the listener's imagination.

The chapter on collaboration was helpful for me to understand the mindset of collaboration ("I'm working with this person to make a better song"). I tend to want to do everything myself but as my projects become more ambitious I am realizing that solo endeavors are inherently limited.

Sadly, I didn't recognize the vast majority of the songs he cites as examples. That's probably because I was a toddler when the book was written ...

My goal for my songs is simply to entertain mostly myself, and family and friends second, so I'm not worried about copyright or monetization. But I might try to hunt down a more up-to-date edition of this book just to learn about the process.

In conclusion, I know my songs are going to be better as a result of reading this book.

[One fun fact I learned is that songs in musicals always use exact rhymes, while other songs often use close rhyme. I've been listening closely to musical songs now, and they do indeed use exact rhymes. I'd never noticed.]

[Paige Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent book that covers all aspects of the craft and business. My only wish is that there was a newer version as the third edition from 2006 is now really dated on some of the technical stuff. Still a great resource for any songwriter though!

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read the first section of this book on the craft of songwriting. I was not interested in reading the second section of this book (on the business of songwriting) mainly because I read the 1988 edition of this book. Surely the business of songwriting has changed a lot since then. As someone who has written songs off and on since the late 1990s, I found this book helpful in many respects. Braheny quickly identifies the common mistakes that songwriters make and suggests ways to correct those problems.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the songwriting books I've read, this is the most comprehensive--and also the one I would recommend most highly. It was the textbook for the songwriting class I took at BYU. Excellent!!!

(If you don't need the credit, save your money and make the book a part of you!) Of course, just hanging-out with other like-minded people is half the fun of taking the class.... that and performing at the end of the semester. :)

It covers everything!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covered creative and business side of songwriting, and was actually updated to reflect the current state of the music business. This was more interesting than the semester I spent in a recording studio production class.

[Ojo Taylor]

Use it in my Songwriting class.