5 Books Every Songwriter Must Read!
Summary
TLDRIn this video, professional songwriters Benny and the host discuss five influential books on songwriting and creative practice. They share key takeaways from each, emphasizing the importance of process over outcome, the diversity of songwriting methods, and the power of storytelling in lyrics. Titles include 'Art & Fear,' 'Songwriters on Songwriting,' 'How to Write One Song,' 'Writing Better Lyrics,' and 'Storyworthy,' offering insights from both renowned songwriters and the hosts' personal experiences.
Takeaways
- 📚 **Art & Fear**: Emphasizes the importance of focusing on the process of art making rather than the outcome, catering to ordinary people engaged in creativity outside of academic or institutional settings.
- 🎼 **Songwriters on Songwriting**: Showcases the diverse songwriting processes of influential songwriters, encouraging readers to embrace their unique approach and experiment with different techniques.
- 🤔 **How to Write One Song**: Highlights the value of the songwriting process over divine inspiration, suggesting that songwriters should actively engage in their craft to invite creativity.
- ✍️ **Writing Better Lyrics**: Stresses the significance of deliberate choices in lyric crafting and the concept of 'pro', which links meaning and structure to enhance emotional impact.
- 📖 **Storyworthy**: Explores the art of storytelling in songwriting, focusing on the power of small, relatable moments to connect with audiences.
- 👀 **Importance of Daily Observation**: Suggests that paying attention to daily life provides a wealth of material for songwriting, countering the notion that grand experiences are necessary for compelling songs.
- 🚀 **Empowerment Through Process**: Encourages songwriters to build and sustain a life of creativity, particularly when not embedded in a culture that inherently values art making.
- 🌟 **Permission to Create**: Gives songwriters permission to lean into their own processes and understand that there is no single 'right' way to write songs.
- 🎶 **Lyric Motion and Emotion**: Demonstrates how the motion and structure of lyrics can amplify emotion, advising songwriters to make deliberate choices in their writing.
- 📈 **Homework for Life Exercise**: Promotes a daily reflection exercise that improves both creative work and life by encouraging attention to detail and the collection of small, impactful moments.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video by Benny and KY?
-The main focus of the video is to discuss five influential and impactful books on songwriting and creative practice that have been beneficial to them as songwriters and teachers, and that they often recommend to their students.
Why might some of the books mentioned in the video not show up in a Google search for songwriting books?
-Some of the books might not show up in a Google search because they are not specifically written for songwriters but offer valuable insights and transformative ideas that have been deeply influential on Benny and KY's songwriting journeys.
What is the first book mentioned in the video and what is its main theme?
-The first book mentioned is 'Art & Fear' by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Its main theme is the process of art making, focusing on the perils and rewards of creating art, and how to maintain focus, motivation, discipline, and self-worth in the art-making process.
How does 'Songwriters on Songwriting' by Paul Zollo differ from other songwriting books?
-'Songwriters on Songwriting' is a collection of interviews with influential songwriters, showcasing the diversity of songwriting processes and giving readers permission to lean into their own unique songwriting styles.
What is the key takeaway from 'How to Write One Song' by Jeff Tweedy?
-The key takeaway from 'How to Write One Song' is that the process of songwriting is more rewarding and important than waiting for inspiration, emphasizing the importance of engaging with the process to invite inspiration.
What is the significance of the term 'pro' in 'Writing Better Lyrics' by Pat Pattison?
-In 'Writing Better Lyrics,' the term 'pro' describes the relationship between meaning and structure in lyrics, highlighting how the shape and form of a lyric can have an emotional impact and amplify the emotion when meaning and structure work together.
How does 'Storyworthy' by Matthew Dicks help songwriters find material for their songs?
-'Storyworthy' helps songwriters by teaching them to pay attention to the small moments in life, which are often the most relatable and emotionally impactful, providing a rich source of material for songwriting.
What is the 'homework for life' exercise mentioned in the video and how does it benefit songwriters?
-The 'homework for life' exercise involves reflecting on a single moment from each day that made it different from others. This practice helps songwriters to notice more details, improve their creative work, and potentially enhance their overall life experience by paying closer attention to everyday moments.
What is the common thread among the books recommended by Benny and KY?
-The common thread among the recommended books is their focus on the process of creation, the importance of engaging with the craft, and the value of paying attention to the small, everyday moments as a source of inspiration for songwriting.
How do the books discussed in the video address the challenges faced by songwriters who are not part of a supportive artistic community?
-The books address the challenges faced by songwriters outside of a supportive community by providing practical advice, exercises, and philosophical insights that help maintain focus, motivation, and a sense of value in the art-making process.
Outlines
📚 Influential Books on Songwriting
Benny and the speaker, both professional songwriters and teachers, discuss five influential books on songwriting that have deeply impacted their craft. They aim to share these books with their students and the broader audience, emphasizing that some of these books may not be commonly found through a simple Google search but are transformative for songwriters. The video promises to provide an overview of these books, their impact, and key concepts that can be immediately useful, though the full benefit comes from reading the books themselves.
🎵 The Art of Songwriting
The first book highlighted is 'Art & Fear' by David Bayles and Ted Orland, which is not specifically for songwriters but for anyone engaged in the art-making process. It speaks to ordinary people making art, focusing on the daily work and challenges of art creation. The book emphasizes maintaining focus, motivation, discipline, and self-worth, especially for those not embedded in an art-supportive culture or institution. A key takeaway is the importance of focusing on the process of art-making rather than just the outcome.
🎤 Songwriters on Songwriting
The second book, 'Songwriters on Songwriting' by Paul Zollo, is a collection of interviews with influential songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and Paul Simon. It showcases the diverse processes and approaches to songwriting, giving readers permission to embrace their unique style. The book provides insights into how different songwriters, like Paul Simon and Jimmy Webb, approach their craft, with some focusing on direction over meaning and others starting with a clear concept.
🎶 How to Write One Song
Jeff Tweedy, the lead singer of Wilco, authored 'How to Write One Song'. This book is a blend of philosophical reflections and practical songwriting advice. Tweedy emphasizes that the process of songwriting is more rewarding and important than relying on inspiration. He encourages songwriters to engage with the process and invite inspiration, rather than waiting for it to strike. The book offers practical exercises and tips to help songwriters develop their craft.
✍️ Writing Better Lyrics
Pat Patterson's 'Writing Better Lyrics' is a comprehensive guide to crafting lyrics, focusing on the relationship between meaning and structure, known as 'pro'. Patterson, a professor at the Berkeley College of Music, provides detailed techniques and exercises to enhance lyric writing. He advocates for making deliberate choices in shaping lyrics and narratives, emphasizing the emotional impact of lyric structure. The book includes exercises like object writing, which trains songwriters to write from a place of abundance and to pay attention to sensory experiences.
📖 Storyworthy: Storytelling in Songwriting
Matthew Dicks' 'Storyworthy' explores the art of storytelling, particularly focusing on the small, relatable moments that make compelling stories. Dicks, a master storyteller and author, provides tools and exercises for developing story ideas. The book challenges the notion that grand experiences are necessary for storytelling, instead highlighting the value of everyday moments. 'Homework for Life', an exercise from the book, encourages daily reflection on unique moments, improving both creative work and life by promoting attentiveness to details.
👋 Conclusion and Call to Action
The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to share their thoughts on the discussed books and to recommend other impactful books for songwriters. The hosts express their enthusiasm for the craft of songwriting and encourage continued learning and growth through reading and engaging with these resources.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Songwriting
💡Creative Practice
💡Art Making
💡Process vs. Outcome
💡Inspiration
💡Lyric Writing
💡Pro (Pronoun)
💡Object Writing
💡Storytelling
💡Homework for Life
Highlights
Benny and the speaker discuss five influential books on songwriting and creative practice.
The books are recommended for songwriters and students, offering unique insights not found in typical songwriting books.
Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland emphasizes the importance of the creative process over the outcome.
The book is for ordinary people making art, focusing on the daily work and toil of art making.
Songwriters on Songwriting by Paul Zollo features interviews with influential songwriters, showcasing diverse songwriting processes.
How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy offers a blend of philosophy and practical songwriting exercises.
Writing Better Lyrics by Pat Pattison teaches the art of crafting lyrics with emotional impact through structure and meaning.
Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks explores the art of storytelling and how to find compelling stories in everyday life.
The concept of 'pro' in songwriting, which is the relationship between meaning and structure, is introduced.
The 'object writing' exercise is highlighted as a way to train songwriters to write from a place of abundance.
Homework for life is an exercise that encourages daily reflection on moments that make each day unique.
The importance of paying attention to small moments for storytelling and songwriting is emphasized.
The 'first, last, best, worst' exercise is mentioned as a tool for generating story ideas.
The 'crash and burn' exercise is another method for uncovering personal stories.
The interview with Matt Dicks provides further insights into the value of daily storytelling exercises.
The overall message is that engaging with the songwriting process is more important than waiting for inspiration.
The books collectively aim to improve not just songwriting but also the songwriter's life through increased awareness and reflection.
Transcripts
as professional songwriters and teachers
of songwriting in universities and
colleges Benny and I have collectively
read probably hundreds of books on
songwriting and creative practice and
what we want to do in this video is
really talk about five of the most
influential transformative and impactful
books that we keep coming back to as
songwriters as well as the books that we
recommend most to our students and some
of these books might surprise you
because if you were to Google
songwriting books some of these aren't
going to show up and yet they have been
deeply influential and transformative
for both KY and I on our songwriting
Journeys so our goal in this video is
really to give you an overview of these
books tell you why they are so impactful
on us and also to give you some of the
key takeaways and Concepts that will
hopefully be helpful right now but of
course the real benefit is going to come
from actually picking up these books and
diving into them yourself number one art
and fear observations on the perils and
rewards of art making this is a book
written by David Bales and Ted orand who
are art makers and art practitioners as
well as art teachers and this is a book
written not specifically for songwriters
but for anyone engaged in the art making
process what I love about the very
introduction of this book is they say
this is a book for ordinary people
making art it's not about Geniuses it's
not about the mozarts of the world it's
about the rest of us who are deeply
entrenched in the daily work and the
daily toil of art making what I love
about this book is it's really written
for people who are looking to build and
sustain a life of creativity and
creative art making and particularly
when those people are not embedded in a
culture or an institution that
inherently values the art making process
so they're talking about people who are
not in college who are not in University
who are simply makers of art out in the
world and the real question they address
in this book is how do you maintain
Focus how do you maintain motivation how
do you maintain discipline and
self-worth and a sense of value as you
continue to build your body of work in
short how how do you keep going when it
gets hard and one of the most important
takeaways in this book is focusing on
the process not the outcome to all
viewers but yourself what matters is the
product the finished artwork to you and
you alone what matters is the process
the experience of shaping that artwork
the viewer's concerns are not your
concerns although it's dangerously easy
to adopt their attitudes their job is
whatever it is to be moved by Art to be
entertained by it to make a killing off
it whatever your job is to learn to work
on your
work book number two songwriters on
songwriting by Paul Zolo what is this
book this book is basically an enormous
tone of interviews between Paul Zolo and
just so many of the most influential
songwriters of the past 50 60 70 years
so there's interviews in here with Bob
Dylan Pete Seager Carol King Joan bers
Paul Simon Janice Ian David burn Tom
Petty Susan Vega Katie Lang Madonna Lou
Reed and what is so compelling about
reading this collection of interviews
with these famous songwriters is just
how many different processes there are
just how many different ways there are
to write songs and this is really kind
of an amazing thing as a songwriter to
read because we all have our own style
and we all have our own way of doing it
when you hear these other songwriters
talk about it some of them have
completely opposite processes and that
in a way gives us permission to really
lean into our own songwriting process to
understand there's not a right or a
wrong way to write songs and it also
gives us some things we can try and
experiment with that have been shown by
these other artists who have worked
there's part of the interview with Paul
Simon where he talks about how he kind
of doesn't Focus too much on the meaning
of a song so he talks about really
trying to express an idea or tell a
story than adding a consecutive thought
and a consecutive thought he talks about
the ways he's more concerned with giving
a song Direction rather than giving
meaning Now by way of complete contrast
the interview with Jimmy Webb talks
about how he really likes to start with
the title he really likes to have a
clear concept a clear direction from the
beginning and everything else really
Springs from the Nexus point of that
title and one of the real joys of
reading this book is that Paul Zolo
himself is a songwriter he's not just an
interviewer and so when he's asking
these questions of these famous
songwriters he's asking it through the
lens of someone who really gets the
technical craft of song writing it's
hard to think of someone else who has
had more experience or has done more of
this kind of work cuz he's written this
one he's written the second volume he is
the guy who has spent more time
researching songwriting processes than
anyone else and because he has spoken to
so many songwriters his capacity to
synthesize and comment on the
songwriting process is really unique
despite the impact of songwriters such
as Dylan and Lennon and McCartney who
forever expanded the potential of the
popular song the song form itself was
never exploded and replaced Dylan The
Beatles Simon and the rest showed great
respect for the song and within its
narrow confines created Miracles and it
is in that accomplishment creating
something Eternal and unlimited within a
restricted form that the full and true
phenomenon of the song is realized
number three how to write one song by
Jeff Tweety Jeff Tweety is the lead
singer and songwriter for the alt Rock
genre defying band Wilco and they are
generally adored by their fans for their
unconventional approach to songwriting
and music making some artists and
songwriters are
incredible at what they do but not very
skilled at actually talking about or
communicating about the nuances of The
Craft itself one of the joyful things
about Jeff Tweety is not only is he an
incredible songwriter but he's so
thoughtful and so able to communicate at
the nuances and detail and philosophy
behind the craft and process itself and
he's someone who cares deeply about
helping people write songs that's what
comes through more than anything else in
this book ultimately this book is a
beautiful blend of philosophy
Reflections on the creative process and
some very practical songwriting
exercises and tips there are so many
wonderful takeaways from this book but
if there's one really overarching theme
that threads its way through the whole
book it's really the idea that the
process of songwriting is much more
rewarding and important than inspiration
when I say something like inspiration is
overrated it's not because I think you
don't ever need to be inspired what I'm
trying to tell you and what I still tell
myself frequently is that inspiration is
rarely the first step when it does come
out of the blue it's glorious but it's
much more in your own hands than the
divine inspiration type beliefs we all
tend to have about inspiration
most of the time inspiration has to be
invited and maybe one of the reasons we
love this book so much is because after
writing songs for more than 20 years
this idea resonates more and more with
us that you really have to engage with
the process and invite inspiration to
join the party it's not just going to
happen on its own number
four writing better lyrics by Pat
Patterson let me start by saying that if
you were to Google songwriting books
will come up this has been the number
one selling songwriting book on Amazon
for I don't know 15 or 20 years so Pat
Patterson is a professor at the Berkeley
College of Music he teaches poetry he
also teaches lyric writing he was my
teacher and then my mentor and then my
friend and my colleague so I am well
familiar with this material and the
person behind it when I first
encountered Pat's work it was in a
two-day workshop and I read this book
after that two-day workshop what changed
my life was the fact that he went went
into so much detail and took so much
care when crafting lyrics and he really
was the first person who showed us that
you could make all of these deliberate
choices around how you shaped your
lyrics how you shaped your narrative
here was someone who really cared deeply
about not just what you were saying but
how you were saying it and that is
really I think the gift that Pat has
given the world of songwriters and if I
were to summarize the key takeaway word
that encapsulates Pat's Concepts it's
really the concept of pro and pro is
this term that describes that it
describes the relationship of meaning
and structure and really one of the most
extraordinary things that Pat
demonstrates through really practical
examples is how the shape and form and
structure of your lyric actually has an
emotional impact on what you're trying
to convey and that when the meaning and
the structure are actually working
together that amplifies the emotion one
of the the best ways to give your lyric
extra punch is to understand how to make
your lyric move and how to make that
motion support what you're saying how to
create Pro sometimes you may
accidentally trip onto this sort of
writing unaware of the choices you're
making but if you tune into your lyrics
motion consistently you'll not only
write and rewrite your songs more
effectively but more important you won't
rely on Lucky accidents or divine
inspiration to drop those good bits into
your lap before we move on it's
important to know that this book is
jam-packed with practical exercises and
tips one of the most powerful of these
exercises and something that we talk
about a lot in our other videos is the
object writing exercise object writing
or what I often call sense writing is
really a 10-minute timed writing
exercise and you can find out a lot more
detail about it by clicking there so I
won't go into detail here but really the
transformative thing about this exercise
is it gives songwriters something to do
in 5 to 10 minutes on any day it really
trains you to write from a place of
abundance not to feel like when you sit
down to write a lyric that you have to
get every word right when you do sensor
writing or object writing it allows you
and trains you to just create a lot of
material much of which is gold for your
lyric writing it also trains you to
think and look at the world like a
songwriter it trains you to become
attuned to your sensory experience and I
think one of the gifts of this exercise
and the philosophy underneath it is
really the idea that the most
universally relatable songs and lyrics
are the ones that lean in to your
particular and idiosyncratic experience
and perspective of the world and sense
writing or object writing is one of
these exercises that develops the muscle
to actually perceive and express your
experiences and number five storyworthy
by Matthew dicks
Matthew dicks is the author of multiple
best-selling novels he's also a live
Storyteller and has probably won the
most moth grand slams and story slams of
anyone anywhere he is just an absolute
Master of the craft of Storytelling and
the key question that Matt is really
addressing in This Book story Worthy is
really that it's really asking what are
the stories from our lives that are
worth telling and the answer to that
question is really our lives are full of
stories worth telling it's not actually
a lack of interesting or exciting things
happening in your life it's really about
how to pay attention to the things that
happen every day and turning those
things into interesting and compelling
stories tiny moments are the moments
that connect with people that touch
people's hearts this is not to say that
the big moments can't make a great story
but it turns out even these big stories
need to be more about the little moments
than the big
ones so two things happen when you read
this book firstly you get a deep
exploration of what story really means
Matt takes us deep into the structures
of stories what makes for a compelling
story what's really going on when you
break down the most commonly told
stories and the second thing that
happens is he really gives us a lot of
tools and exercises for developing lots
of ideas if if you do what Matt says in
this book if you follow the exercises as
we've been trying to do over the last
few months you will have an endless
supply of original ideas you'll have
notebooks full of things that you can
turn into your own material there are
three exercises in this book that Matt
describes they are first last best worst
crash and burn but the one we really
want to talk about is homework for life
you can check out Matt's Ted talk in a
link below where he goes through
homework for life but what we really
found amazing about it is when you do it
it reveals to you this almost
counterintuitive truth about
storytelling and that is that whilst
we're often looking for the grand or
epic Story the truth is the small
moments in life the ones that we note
down daily the the things that almost
feel mundane those are the gold those
are the bits that when you collect them
and reflect on them and review them at
the end of the week or the month they
become the things that you really find
most important that you want to talk
about and those are the things you end
up turning into songs because those are
the things that connect with people the
small things are what we can relate to
they're the human things not the big
Grand epic things that are unrelatable I
think a great way to think about that is
that a lot of songwriters think that you
have to have experienced some massive
heartbreak to write a song about
heartbreak but what homework for life
kind of teaches you is the amount of
heart that exists in the small moments
you don't need to have experienced
trauma or catastrophe to actually
experience heartbreak and actually
tapping into those moments and our
experience and sensitivity to that stuff
every every day is really the work of
the songwriter so if you're a songwriter
who feels like your life is too boring
to write about or there's nothing
exciting going on do homework for life
for a month then you'll change your mind
I have one more thing to say about
homework for life okay because we love
it we love it which is this homework for
life which in essence is simply asking
you to spend two or 3 minutes every day
reflecting on a single moment from your
day that made today different to any
other day when you do that reflection it
has a compounding effect rather than
just kind of like swanning through the
day and not paying attention you start
paying attention to the details of every
day and Matt makes the point in the book
that when you notice more things when
you pay attention not only does your
creative work get better but life gets
better he really promotes this exercise
as something that will improve your life
not just improve your creative process
we were lucky enough to actually
interview Matt a couple of months ago
and you can check out that interview in
its full form right here so those are
five books that have had a huge impact
on us as songwriters let us know in the
comments if you've read any of these and
how you felt about them and also let us
know in the comments if there are other
books that have had an impact on you as
some writers happy writing guys
bye
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