[MelodyMaker]

Hey everyone!
Wow, there are so many amazing lyricists in here! I'm pretty new to songwriting/lyric writing and was wondering if anyone out there would know of any great books that would help me progress in my songwriting career? I'm a huge fan of Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, and Carrie Underwood if that helps? Just need a book that would help me have a broader understanding of songwriting and creating hit songs. If you come across anything let me know, and I'll do the same! 

Thanks!
-Melody

[S.T.C]

Hmmm, do you think all the great songwriters read a book to make their music?

[The Corsair]

Do you think those artists are great songwriters?

[Picker]

Wow, nice answers, I guess the only craft or skill that doesn't require practice and education is songwriting.  I guess you're either born with it or not.

Ignore these Melody.  I would recomend Pat Pattison. He is a proffersor of lyric writing at Berkeley University, the music college.  His book is more about to practicing creative writing, so it puts you to work instead of reading.  He has two books, but I can't remember the names of them just Google his name you'll find his website and a whole bunch of information there, and links to his books.  Look up object writing to get started.

Ah, here are the names of his books. I would recommend the songwriting without boundaries but they are both good.

Songwriting without boundaries
Rating better lyrics second edition

[S.T.C]

Wow, nice answers, I guess the only craft or skill that doesn't require practice and education is songwriting.  I guess you're either born with it or not.

Ignore these Melody.  I would recomend Pat Pattison. He is a proffersor of lyric writing at Berkeley University, the music college.  His book is more about to practicing creative writing, so it puts you to work instead of reading.  He has two books, but I can't remember the names of them just Google his name you'll find his website and a whole bunch of information there, and links to his books.  Look up object writing to get started.

Ah, here are the names of his books. I would recommend the songwriting without boundaries but they are both good.

Songwriting without boundaries
Rating better lyrics second edition

Ignore?..is song-writing(lyrics) like learning how to fix car engines ....i don`t think so,,,if you need to study something just buy some good song books,,and get into the minds of people like BOB DYLAN or PAUL SIMON..or whoever you admire...

Surely a book is like telling you how to paint,,,fine until you get paint on and canvass ,,then yikes,this is tricky.

BUT... i guess theres no harm in reading a book,,i never have,but maybe theres good advice to be gleaned.

[Jack Simmons]

Just need a book that would help me have a broader understanding of songwriting and creating hit songs.

do you want to write hit songs or do you want to write good songs?

[Picker]

Ignore?..is song-writing(lyrics) like learning how to fix car engines ....i don`t think so,,,if you need to study something just buy some good song books,,and get into the minds of people like BOB DYLAN or PAUL SIMON..or whoever you admire...

Surely a book is like telling you how to paint,,,fine until you get paint on and canvass ,,then yikes,this is tricky.

BUT... i guess theres no harm in reading a book,,i never have,but maybe theres good advice to be gleaned.
[/quote]

So if I understand you correctly, all of your learnings and experience writing lyrics is non-transferable?  I disagree with this aproach and I'm surprised you would even view this area where people are looking for knowledge transfer.  Education is a part of human existence, even in the arts. Wouldn't any artist love 5 minutes or 5 pages of Van Gough talking about how he gets his inspiration, how many he threw away to get a good one, or why he chose a particular shade of red over another.  There is much to be learned in a book, there is no shame in it, even for songwriters. IMHO.

[The Corsair]

It is very much possible as a songwriter to give advice but you can't teach someone how to have the 'knack' (or talent or whatever) of songwriting in the same way you can't teach someone how to paint a masterpiece (but you can give the painter advice). Any book claiming it will teach you to write a song will not truly teach you anything you couldn't learn from listening to a song.

If someone wants to write like Taylor Swift and the like (which is not exactly the highest of aims) and needs to be taught then I say it is doubtful they will ever know. Now, if MelodyMaker already writes lyrics and is wanting to imitate the style of those artists then perhaps they can work their way toward that but they will not need to study anything other than the lyrics of those they wish to imitate. If MelodyMaker has barely written lyrics before (or hasn't ever) then there is really nothing that can be taught they cannot learn on their own.

Also, she's been active for around 3 minutes.

[Dutchbeat]

a reading tip could be the books of Rikky Rooksby

for everyone 

[S.T.C]

Even in my relatively short time on here, i`ve seen quite a few who come on ,,ask these sort of questions then disappear....i don`t really know what i could teach someone..except listen to a lot of music,a lot of different music....write a lot..write a lot of rubbish,,and then hope it starts coming good....a book will give you technical advise ..but like i said originally..what famous songwriter ever used a book.

Try writing poetry first!

[Dutchbeat]

and since this is in the lyrics section
the title is:

"Lyrics. Writing better words for your songs"

from Rikky Rooksby

i can recommend it,

but can it improve the writing, did it improve my writing? probably not, i still make the same Dunglish (Dutch- English) lyrics, but it was a nice read for me

[MelodyMaker]

Wow! I didn't expect so many responses! I guess everyone learns in different ways...Including myself. I prefer a good book - not only does it help me relax, I actually feel like I can focus more. Anyway, this weekend I actually went out and ended up getting "How to Write a Hit Song" by Mollie Anne Leikin - ever heard? It seems to really grasp exactly what I was looking for. I'm going to read on some more and if I come across any valuable info then I'll be sure to spread the word.

I've written before, just have been told that my writing can use some polishing, and am forever looking to bring it to the next level. 

Keep up the responses! I really appreciate all the help I can get!

[The Corsair]

I've written before, just have been told that my writing can use some polishing, and am forever looking to bring it to the next level. 

if it's polishing then books will likely help even less. 'Polishing' also happens to be where you'll start to develop your own style. If you polish up your work based on what you've read in a book then you'll just end up writing in someone else's style. The easiest way to fix up your work is to keep writing more. Let yourself learn from the things you hear, let yourself take ideas from them, but never actively mimic them.

If you post lyrics here (which is what this board is for) then I daresay the members will be a lot more help than a book. Books are written to sell copies, reviews are written to help people.

[Schedule9]

I dont know about any books. I always just wrote what I felt, dreamed, wanted, lost, etc. Once you acknowledge these things, the rest is easy. Write what you want to say. Thats it