The Essential Secrets of Songwriting
Gary Ewer, BMus
©2005 Pantomime Music Publications

This book is one of the most comprehensive e-books in songwriting you can buy. Get your copy today.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

• The Desire to be Creative – It’s Human… It’s You
• When Good Songs Go Bad
• Listen!

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION TO WRITING MUSIC

• What’s Good Music?
• What Makes Good Form?
• What Makes a Good Melody?
• What Makes Good Harmony?
• What Makes a Good Lyric?
• What Makes a Good Hook?
• Is There a Composer in Me?
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• What Do You Need to be a Songwriter?
• Let’s Get Started!
• Make a Demo Recording – Yes, already!
• Chapter 1 SUMMARY

CHAPTER 2- YOUR MUSIC FROM THE INSIDE

• Learn From the Greats
• The Success of Great Writers
• Form
• How Important is Form?
• Good Form Means Good Design
• Good Form Can’t be Accidental
• Song Components Defined
• GETTING TO KNOW YOUR SONG
• Chapter 2 SUMMARY

CHAPTER 3- DESIGNING A SONG

• The Blueprint
• The Contrast Principle of Composition
• Macro Forms
• Energy – the Forgotten Formal Element
• Micro Forms
• Micro Versus Macro
• Chapter 3 SUMMARY

CHAPTER 4- HARMONY

• The Chord Muddle
• Chord Progressions – A Mystery No Longer
• I. Chord Basics
• The Basic Triads of Any Major Key
• II. How One Chord Moves to Another Chord
• The V-I Progression
• Why Some Progressions Work While Others Don’t
• Making Good Two-Chord Progressions
• When Progressions Sound Muddled
• WHAT ABOUT MINOR KEYS?
• III. Integrating Balance When Building a Longer Progression
• Building Progressions
• Incorporating Balance
• Harmonic Rhythm
• IV. Expanding Your Chord Vocabulary
• i. Adding a 7th to a V-Chord
• ii. Modal Mixtures
• iii. Secondary Dominant Chords
• iv. Suspensions
• v. Inversions
• KEY CHANGES
• Don’t Go Changin’… Without a Reason
• i. Half-step-upward modulation
• ii. Miscellaneous Modulation (more than a whole tone)
• Chapter 4 SUMMARY

CHAPTER 5-MELODY AND LYRIC

• Melodic Energy
• How “Yesterday” Works
• Don’t Write Counterintuitively
• What is Falsetto and Tessitura?
• Writing Good Melodies
• Getting Notes in the Right Place
• Verse-Chorus Text Design
• Song Sample
• Shaping a Melody
• Creating a Melody by Layering Ideas
• Let’s Write a Song
• OTHER WAYS TO COMPOSE
• The Text-First Method
• The Rhythm/Beat-First Method
• MORE ABOUT LYRICS
• Too Many Words
• A Good Lyric Isn’t Necessarily Deep
• Balancing Lyrics and Melody
• The Balance of “Hotel California”
• Dealing with Unremarkable Lyrics
• THE BRIDGE
• Chapter 5 SUMMARY

CHAPTER 6- THE HOOK

• A Good Hook
• Hook and Motif
• Musical Lubricant
• The Hook as a Basis for Your Song
• The Myth of the Hook
• Recognizing a Hook
• Chapter 6 SUMMARY

CHAPTER 7- INSPIRATION

• The Role of Inspiration
• Misunderstanding Inspiration
• The Steps to Honing Your Songwriting Craft
• Chapter 7 SUMMARY

CHAPTER 8- THE WORLD BEYOND COMPOSING – NOW WHAT?

• The Most Important Principle of All
• And now… what?
• Getting Your Song Ready… A Brief Tutorial
• Copyright
• Publishing
• Mechanical Rights
• Performing Rights Organizations

In Conclusion

Index
 

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This book is one of the most comprehensive e-books in songwriting you can buy.  Get your copy today.