Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting by Jimmy Webb Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting
Book Review: Thank you for the Magic Mirror..I needed one!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book with the intention of probably starting it and getting bored, then tossing it...mainly because I don't read that much (rarely actually). I have always been impressed with Jimmy Webb's songwriting abilities, especially his tunes not known by the majority such as "Adios", as well as dozens of other tunes. I am a songwriter, and I had always thought I was strange when I would say, "that would be a great song title..." in public. People stare at me wondering what I'm thinking when in fact, I am thinking songs, much like J.W. describes in this book. With this book, I discovered that I am in fact a songwriter. I had my doubts prior to reading it, but I now label myself as a songwriter. This book has inspired me to keep doing what I've done for years and it also has provided me with inspiration. The book is anything but boring to songwriters. Those who consider themselves songwriters (who aren't), will find the book too instructional and informative. They will want a quicker fix, a tune from the first page...forget it. If you wonder about your songwriting abilities, or you are just starting to write songs....buy it and find out.Book Review: Enjoyable, Educational and funny!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you write songs - you should have this book. You won't believe the things you'll learn. An eye-opener to the business and reality of the music world! It sits on my coffee table and i always pick it up when I find myself in dangerous or unknown territory upon writing a new song! Mr. Webb knows his stuff and shares it in his modest, funny way!Book Review: best when he gets down to a discussion of craft.
Summary: 3 Stars
Readers, please forgive me for being technical in my opening remarks. I know of no other way to make my point.I first opened to chapter 7, where Webb talks about harmonic movement in accompaniment. It turned out to be, in my opinion, the book's finest hour, or at least the most useful to me for these reasons: 1. He gives CONCRETE EXAMPLES. 2. This is absolutely subjective, but for me (a composer of instrumental music, chiefly jazz, and roughly of Webb's generation and weaned on much of the same music), the most lasting and valuable contribution of that period's better writers (Stevie Wonder, for example) is the ingenious way they found to manipulate simple triad harmony by using pedals and "open" sounding chords (No 3rds, etc. which Webb explains and demonstrates beautifully). It goes without saying that they also wrote good melodies, or they'd have been long forgotten. Analysis of melody construction/components also is first-rate here (Webb deals with treatment of lyrics in depth in in other chapters). Stephen Sondheim has said "art is craft". Webb spells out the mechanics of that craft masterfully. Also to his credit, he dismisses the inference that any formula for good writing can be gleaned from his (or probably any) book. He encourages people to learn those mechanics, but trust their own creative muses. Other well-turned discussions (of his predecessors' work, for example) show a man who has thought long and hard about his craft--and learned much. (A chapter on at least basic arranging---beyond piano voicings---might have been helpful, too, because presentation is half the battle, especially for people trying to sell songs to extremely jaded artists, executives, etc).
Now for the bad news: throughout the book's body, Webb continually digresses, editorializes, and especially seems to want to settle accounts with the (mostly Broadway) scribes of the past, whom he upbraids for their snobbery and rebuff of rock and roll. (In fairness, he goes on in the epilogue to dress down his own generation for their OWN hypocracy and peevish conservatism in rejecting today's young writers.) He grows especially bitter in the epilogue, and his philippics are kind of unbecoming. He is himself opinionated in the extreme, dismissing (for but two of many examples)the chromaticism of late Romantic music and the Schoenberg people (so much for "lightweight" Alban Berg) in a way that frankly doesn't convince me he really listened.
What's wrong with this? Nothing, on its face. It's food for thought,and at times great fun. But Webb, of all people, should know not to break his own first rule of composing, one which doesn't quite make the leap of faith from songwriting to book writing: make a promise in the first "bar", then deliver on it. Unless I got some bad drugs in the '60s and flashbacks are causing hallucinations, on the cover the subtitle is "Inside the art of songwriting". Webb also states more than once his purpose: to help the amateur songwriter, and I would never doubt his sincerity. But how these long winded polemics help aspiring songwriters, who after all are impressionable and more in need of bricks than brickbats, learn their craft is beyond me. Such raw and subjective ruminations belong---would be great---in an autobiography or a "rant", NOT this book where they end up a distracting sideshow.(I don't mean music business advice, which he also gives, along with his work habits/routines, both to good effect.)
I feel guilty coming down so hard on elements of a book still so valuable, but that first chapter I read promised so much. I find it ironic that someone who so successfully reads and speaks to his public (and is his own best editor in his imaginative and well-constructed songs) could so succumb to self-indulgence and come dangerously close to being saboteur of his own best intentions. But this is merely my opinion. And I still recommend "Tunesmith".
Book Review: Shows the dedication of a true songwriter
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not a fan of Jimmy Webb and came to know him through Paul Zollo's book Songwriters on Songwriting. As a beginning songwriter (but longtime musician) I found a lot of great things in this book. This means I have no reverence for Jimmy Webb & am reading this as a simple student of songwriting. I'm about halfway through with it right now.Jimmy Webb's dedication to his craft is obvious, and it comes through the pages. The increadible amounts of work that go into writing a song are tracked momenty by moment in this book. Just about every step to songwriting, all of the options are in these pages. From various "tricks" of chord substitution to which rhyming dictionaries he likes and why - it's all here. His approach to songwriting is that of a master craftsman, and he doesn't hold back in his lessons.
One odd thing. As a musician I was able to follow through as he introduced different elements - inverted chords, 7th chords, etc. The novice, however might have difficulty. He introduces each piece individually, but then makes logical leaps that I still don't quite get. Specific examples escape me, but he'll take great pains to describe something simple and a paragraph later give you an example that incorporates something he hasn't yet introduced to you. He'll go on about how to construct a triad, and then jump PAST 7th chords. I was able to follow it, but I've been playing music for 10 years.
I also disagree (but this is personal preference) with his chord substitution ideas: just find any chord with one note in common. Maybe he brings it all together in a later chapter, but he should let the reader know that he's wandered into the land of Chordal Compositions (compositions with no particular key) and away from the diataonic world that dominates Western music. Then again, maybe I'm just an old stick in the mud who Likes Diatonic composition. :)
These two points aside, this book still rates 5 stars. I've learned SO much from this book that it's earned a permenant spot on my bookshelf. I thank Jimmy Web for giving this gift to the world.
Somewhat more pedestrian, but also reccomended is "Writing Music for Hit Songs." It may pay to go through that book before getting into this book. It may help fill in some of the gaps I mention above. It's a straightforward good book.
Write me at fourstrings@mailandnews.com with comments or questions. I'm ALWAYS interested in talking music with anyone - experts, beginners... anyone.
Book Review: Tunesmith - for Songwriters AND the curious
Summary: 5 Stars
For those currently seeking to expand their knowledge of the skill of songwriting I couldn't go past recommending "Tunesmith - Inside the Art of Songwriting" by Jimmy Webb of Macarthur Park, Galveston, The Highwayman etc fame.Published in 1998 it's both comprehensive, and contemporary yet written in a warm, friendly style. It's comprehensive in it's explanation of . inspiration and how to cultivate it . the process of writing a song . the structure of songs in their many conventional forms (and some not) . the vexing topic of rhyme (To rhyme and how to rhyme, that is the question as even non-rhyme can be considered a deliberate rhyming act.) . the development of melody and musical literacy (This section is great for those at all levels of musical experience as it starts from the basics but goes way beyond for those who need/want it.) . the business of music (how to promote and market your songs, how to win friends and influence influential people in the music business in the age of computers and the internet) . the commercial realities for a songwriter . keeping the faith in yourself It's contemporary nature is particularly important in a dynamic and diversified industry.
You feel real empathy here and a sense of being treated as an equal. Jimmy makes no bones about the fact that it's a precarious and at times disheartening business. Any illusions you may have about quick and sustained success through songwriting before reading this, are dispelled. You realise that even someone of Jimmy Webb's skill and stature has had a hard go of it - with a golden period, a long drought, a brief encore and a smattering of hits and misses since, but he admits he wouldn't change it for anything. And couldn't help it anyway. So it's a hard reality, but I believe that accepting it can help sustain you for the long haul.
If you don't have commercial aspirations then treat it as a terrific book about making your songwriting more informed, flexible and, believe it or not, spontaneous.
What got me the most though was Jimmy's passion for the art. You feel it on every page. He evokes the feeling I occasionally get, sharing my songs with other writers, that we're part of a unique brotherhood/sisterhood that tries to give voice to the human spirit - in a fairly succinct and melodious fashion.