A musical composer, guitar rocker, and lyric opera singer team up to write this sensational book on songwriting. This book includes everything you want to know about the core competencies of songwriting, elements of music, and lyrics. Features include writing song lyrics, crafting musical compositions, musical styles, getting a contract, sustaining a career, publishers and agents, recording, and even how to survive in the music industry.No matter what music genre you desire---blues,...

What’s the secret to writing a hit song? It’s as simple as 1-2-3-4-5-6! Innovative, practical, and inspiring, Six Steps to Songwriting Success presents a surefire step-by-step approach to mastering the elements consistently found in hit songs. Author Jason Blume, a songwriter with the rare distinction of having had songs on the Country, Pop, and R&B charts simultaneously, has packed this book with such key aids as the three-step lyric writing technique used by the pros; lyric, mel...

Packed with literally hundreds of hints, tips, and inside information only a working writer would know, The Art of Writing Great Lyrics demonstrates proven, no-fail methods for everything from communicating through song, defining styles, and collaborating with a partner to studying the market, making a great demo, and getting started on a career. Full of creative exercises, writing do's and don'ts, and a handy A to Z checklist for reviewing new songs, The Art of Writing Great Lyrics provid...

About the BookAchieving "hit writer" status has always been a formidable goal for any songwriter. Never more so however than in the 21st century. Catching the ear of the monumentally distracted, fragmented listener has never been more difficult. Getting their attention, inviting them in to your song and keeping them there for long enough for your song to become "their song" requires more than being just a "good" songwriter. Murphy's Laws of Songwriting "The Book" arms the songwrite...

The Billboard Guide to Writing and Producing Songs that Sell unveils the secrets to climbing the charts and reaching success in today’s ultracompetitive music industry. Eric Beall supplies his firsthand knowledge of today’s record business, as well as interviews with successful writers, producers, and executives from the worlds of pop, hip-hop, country, adult contemporary, and R&B. The result: a proven approach to constructing songs that open doors, create careers, and communicate...

Be the Best “Ukulele Entertainer” You Can Be! Could your playing, singing or onstage banter use a little fine-tuning? All string instrument performers will benefit from this practical, informative book. Going far beyond other ukulele publications, this helpful guide shows the aspiring ukulele star of any age how to: • Put strings on a ukulele, correctly • Play three styles of triplet strum • Know where to look when you sing • Tackle nerves and stage fright • Start and run a ukulele club • ...

From the only artist ever to win Grammy Awards for music, lyrics & orchestration, "perhaps the finest book about songwriting of our time" ( Musician )."An eminently readable master class in songwriting—one that will thrill aspiring composers and lyricists, yet still interest the general reader." — Albany Times UnionJimmy Webb has given the American songbook more hits, in m...

“In this book I hope to reach a new audience with the positive message of America’s greatest music, to show how great musicians demonstrate on the bandstand a mutual respect and trust that can alter your outlook on the world and enrich every aspect of your life–from individual creativity and personal relationships to conducting business and understanding what it means to be American in the most modern sense.”–Wynton MarsalisIn this beautiful book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning ...

In To a Young Jazz Musician, the renowned jazz musician and Pulitzer Prize—winning composer Wynton Marsalis gives us an invaluable guide to making good music–and to leading a good life.Writing from the road “between the bus ride, the sound check, and the gig,”Marsalis passes on wisdom gained from experience, addressed to a young musician coming up–and to any of us at any stage of life. He writes that having humility is a way to continue to grow, to listen, and to le...

The only book that shows how the Blues Scales (Major and Minor) are used to create jazz solos. Designed to help beginners quickly learn how to create meaningful solos without having to first master all the scales and chords of a tune. Great transcriptions of solo phrases by Miles Davis, Dave Sanborn, Dizzy Gillespie, etc. showing how the Blues Scales are used. The accompanying CD has the author and his NY rhythm section demonstrating each exercise, and also great as a jazz play-along! Endo...

A landmark in jazz studies, Thinking in Jazz reveals as never before how musicians, both individually and collectively, learn to improvise. Chronicling leading musicians from their first encounters with jazz to the development of a unique improvisatory voice, Paul Berliner documents the lifetime of preparation that lies behind the skilled improviser's every idea.The product of more than fifteen years of immersion in the jazz world, Thinking in Jazz combines partici...

**An Economist Best Book of the YearAn acclaimed music scholar presents an accessible introduction to the art of listening to jazz.“Mr. Gioia could not have done a better job. Through him, jazz might even find new devotees.” ―Economist**In How to Listen to Jazz, award-winning music scholar Ted Gioia presents a lively introduction to one of America's premier art forms. He tells us what to listen for in a performance and includes a guide to ...