Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure from a Songwriting Veteran (Songwriting Guides)

This is such a good songwriting book. I'm a songwriter for the last 13 years, and a new high school English teacher, yet this book has been schooling me! Here are some positives and my difficult.Positives: It is a workbook, so you learn by practicing. I follow a lot of the rules naturally after years of practice, but he has brought to light new ideas such as matching stress, how to add emphasis, how to make a song pick up faster, etc. It is all relevant to not only lyric writing but poetry. And it isn't simple stuff. He artfully breaks down the complex into much more manageable chunks.Difficulties: My biggest hangup is that the book doesn't include a way to check any of your work, so although I did it and learned a lot, I may have done it incorrectly (in particular the more difficult section of syllable stress). You also need the internet in addition to the book. There are parts, such as in the syllable stress, where he gives great info, but you need the internet to completely understand what it's saying. However, the book is a good starting point and place to practice it.Bottom line is that I

I learned much more than I thought was possible to learn. Great, clear explanations yet very in-depth. Book provides plenty of appropriate exercises which are good for beginner or advanced. My skills grew practically with every page of the book. Note: DO the exercises! They are difficult at first but you really build creative muscle and feel like you understand lyric writing inside out. Also, the examples are mainstream yet interesting and not at all cheezy. Some books with cheezy examples really make it a chore to learn. This book has smart cool examples. In summary, awesome. So far the best of about 8 songwriting books I own.

Well written! Takes some work to get a few of the ideas, but very through. I had to set boundaries or I'd be up every night until 2:30am writting and rewriting lyric.

Just finished the book. I didn’t do the exercises, instead choosing to notate, in outline form, his instructions in as simple & direct a way as possible. It sticks easier that way for me, and it will be a breeze to refresh myself on the material should I forget down the road. By the end, he’s explaining step-by-step how to write and improve song elements (like hooks, verses, chorus) using the tools he teaches, like rhythm (stress and non-stress syllables), rhyme schemes, and phrase lengths. It’s not hard but can be confusing in the beginning, especially if you’re skipping through parts of or full lessons, or just confused.Anyway, I read it because I’ve written hundreds of tunes but suck at lyrics; and although I didn’t consider form and structure my biggest issues, I’d already purchased two other Pattison books and decided to get this one as a starting point. It certainly gave me some good ideas as to how to find inspiration through the structural process, and how to make my ideas more interesting and exciting.The reason I’m knocking off a star, and it’s not the author’s fault per se, is that the Kindle edition is a little clunky to read. Definitely not a deal-breaker if you only want the Kindle version, but more a slight annoyance. Actually, it’s half a star for the Kindle copy and half because of REO Speedwagon. :^)

Bought all 4 of Pat's books and have been slowly working through them. I will probably work through them more than once. Lots of info, examples, guides and some exercises. I was very happy with them and felt like they were well worth the price. I've been very inspired after working through some of the info and putting it into practice.

This book is just like Meat Loaf's last big hit. It's a great song, but it was even better the first time I heard.it. It's a repeat, seemingly word for word,from one of his earlier books, You know like when Snicker's, Hershey's etc. resize and repackage the same product for the holidays, oh neat.He's a great writer on songwriting, but don't buy it if you have a previous work of his, it's simply in a different package.

Love it

Writing has always given me peace. A year ago I was unhappy with myself as a writer. I needed help, I needed to love the process of writing again. This book not only met my expectations but set me on a path of learning to write I know will last a lifetime. I have every book Pat Pattison has available on Amazon and I can't believe this book is only $10. If you're reading this, you're searching for something. Buy this book today and get ready for the adventures of writing.

This book is the equivalent to song writing of Syd Field's "Screen Writers Woorkbook". It describes with examples how rhythm and rhyme create pace and structure. It's a fast read with lots of examples and some exercises. As you progress (quickly) through the material there are examples of paradigms and their function on song and lyric structure.One suggestion: buy the paperback, not the Kindle. This is a large format book that doesn't translate well into Kindle. Either way this book is a bargain.

Me parecieron sugerentes sus propuestas pero no he podido ponerlas en práctica , me resisto a pensar de esa manera. Lo intentaré más tarde

Good

Five stars for this company/seller (Wordery). Always a speedy delivery and items in perfect order. I can't recommend them enough!!As far as the book is concerned; I was glued to the content of this book- so much so, that one day as I was reading it on a bus home from work I almost missed my bus stop- which is very unusual for the usually conscious and aware person that I think I am. It has good information about lyric/poetic elements such as: number of phrases, length of each phrase, rhythm of each phrase and rhyme (of course, all of these 'master headwords' are broken down into sub-categories). For example: the Rhythm chapter breaks down into: syllables, patterns, rhythm, paradigms 1, 2, and 3, structural pentad, deceptive closure and unexpected closure. Beyond the chapters on the elements there are chapters on Form & Song Forms, which mean, putting/using all the elements together. I think Pat uses a simple but super cool metaphor to explain a way of looking at each element and how then to use/"throw" them all at once. There are practical exercises to be done in each chapter to help you practise and better understand and apply the information - especially when it comes to your own writing. It's not the be all and end all of books on the subject (but what book is? I don't know), but it is very helpful to read and it's even better to study.

Comme d'habitude Berklee Press édite des ouvrages de qualité pour l'enseignement de la musique. Pat Pattison, dans cet ouvrage-ci, explique avec beaucoup de patience ( parfois même un peu trop, on voudrait parfois qu'il accélère un peu dans les concepts) les clés pour comprendre la "musicalité" d'un texte...