The Essential Secrets of Songwriting

Because you are a human being reading this book, one fact can be stated right away – YOU CAN WRITE MUSIC, no matter who you are. This is something we’ve known about the human race for some time now: the ability to be creative is already there, ready to be tapped, shaped, honed and used. You can be a songwriter.

You want to be able not only to write songs, but also to do it well. There are lots of songwriters out there, but the vast majority, probably at least 99%, are not achieving any significant commercial success. That shouldn’t really surprise us; in the arts, most people are working at an amateur level. I am a great supporter of amateur involvement in music, but it is frustrating to me when I see very talented people who are stuck in the amateur world. There are some really fine musicians out there, trying to make it, trying to unlock the secrets of how to move forward in the music business. And they are being thwarted by circumstances within and without of their sphere of influence. I wonder if I just described you?

Amateur songwriters tend to look at the entire business of songwriting as a single-dimensional activity. It’s as if they say, “I want to be able to write commercially successful songs that I can sell to professional singers,” as if it’s all just one big process. The songwriting business is actually a multidimensional world, involving two major areas: creating and marketing. The marketing end of the business will not happen unless you have created a good song. Creating a good song is where the process comes to a grinding halt for most people. THIS BOOK IS GOING TO HELP YOU.