Songwriting

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

Spis treści:

Master chord theory ... in minutes! The Chord Wheel is a revolutionary device that puts the most essential and practical applications of chord theory into your hands. This tool will help you: Improvise and Solo - Talk about chops! Comprehend key structure like never before; Transpose Keys - Instantly transpose any progression into each and every key; Compose Your Own Music - Watch your songwriting blossom! No music reading is necessary. 'This is the kind of device that players of any instrument can use to enhance their musical understanding. Chord and key relationships are inseparable, and learning these relationships is a must in becoming a successful musician.' - Alan Remington, Orange Coast College Music Dept.

This handy guide provides everything you need to know to go pro, including information about personal managers, music attorneys, business managers and booking agents, record companies, A&R, publishing, songwriting, demo tapes and press kits, self-promotion, and much more. A must for all musicians!

This book has a very specific purpose: to help songwriters find better rhymes and use them more effectively. Rhyme is one of the most crucial areas of lyrics writing, and this guide will provide all of the technical information necessary to develop your skills completely. The exercises and worksheets help experienced writers take a fresh look at their techniques, and prevent novices from developing bad habits. Use this book to start writing better than ever before!