Have Your Way

An essential guide for all songwriters and Beatles fans, this book explores John Lennon's songwriting genius with a guided tour through 25 of his Beatles-era hits. Author John Stevens explains Lennon's intuitive talent from a technical point of view, through the lens of songwriting's three basic elements: melody, harmony and lyric. He shows how Lennon fashioned songs that were at once politically and socially relevant during the '60s, yet remain ageless and timeless today. Features in-depth musical analysis of: A Hard Day's Night • Ticket to Ride • Norwegian Wood • Strawberry Fields Forever • Come Together • and more. John Stevens is a songwriting professor at Berklee College of Music. For more than 20 years, he has taught The Music of John Lennon, one of the most popular courses in the Berklee curriculum. You've got the Beatles' records and the John Lennon records; now with this book, you can have the Owner's Manual. This will tell you how the songs are built and how they work. Good stuff. - Marshall Crenshaw, Singer/Songwriter

22 of this Christian superstar's biggest hits, including: Angels • Doubly Good To You • El Shaddai • Find A Way • Tennessee Christmas • and more.

The capo is one of the most useful devices ever invented for guitarists. Whether you're a capo novice or a pro looking for new ideas, this book will have you clamping your way to guitar heaven in no time! It covers: choosing your capo, with a listing of the benefits and drawback of all the most popular brands; essential capo effects; capos and tunings; advanced techniques; and much more. Fully illustrated with over 100 photos and diagrams, the book also includes a CD with 64 tracks demonstrating the cool sounds you can make with a capo.

Teaching Music with Passion is a one-of-a-kind, collective masterpiece of thoughts, ideas and suggestions about the noble profession of music education. Both inspirational and instructional, it will surely change the way you teach (and think) about music. Filled with personal experiences, anecdotes and wonderful quotations, this book is an easy-to-read, essential treasure! One of the most 'real' writings I have read during my 35 years in music education. - Mel Clayton, President, MENC: The National Association for Music Education

For many years, musicians in Nashville have used a system of numbers, rather than standard musical notation, in playing and singing and at recording sessions. Neil Matthews, Jr., one of the original members of Elvis Presley's back-up vocal quartet The Jordanaires, invented the system and also wrote this book, which teaches the whole system and also includes quotes, stories and photos of country and pop stars.

Making Music Make Money will educate songwriters and aspiring music business entrepreneurs in the basics of becoming an effective independent music publisher. Eric Beall, creative director for Zomba Music Publishing, covers everything you need to know to get published, including: the role of a music publisher; copyright - how to get one, use one, and make money from one; building a business plan; identifying which songs to sell and to whom; and much more.

For unsigned musicians, it is vital to long-term success to sign a contract with a record label. However, preparing your music, targeting a label, and getting your demo into the hands of someone who will listen is challenging, if you don't know where to start. Getting Signed!, by record industry veteran George Howard, guides you through the maze of today's music industry, and will help you move your demo to the top of the stack. Even if you are not yet ready for a record deal, it will help you assemble a team that will make sure your music gets heard by as many people as possible. The next time an aspiring recording artist comes to us for advice, we'll advise them to read this book first. George Howard really knows what he's talking about. - Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth, members of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club