Product Description

Webb brings his insiders knowledge, experience, and star power to the ultimate guide for aspiring songwriters. With a combination of anecdotes, meditation, and advice, he breaks down the creative process from beginning to endfrom coping with writers block, to song construction, chords, and even self-promotion. Webb also gives readers a glimpse into the professional music world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89864 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-22
• Released on: 1999-09-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The only artist to receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics and orchestration, Webb has written many of the most memorable songs performed by the Fifth Dimension ("Up, Up and Away"), Donna Summer ("MacArthur Park") and Amy Grant ("If These Walls Could Speak"), among others. Here he seeks to impart the tools of the trade to songwriters "who may be attempting the delicate transition from amateur to professional." Covering technical matters from basic chord theory and rhyme schemes to the protocol of pitching songs, Webb draws on a trove of personal anecdotes from a career spanning more than two decades. In addition to salient comments on today's music scene, Webb cites numerous examples from the past and includes sections on writing for the stage and film. Of greatest value, perhaps, are the exercises suggested for developing song ideas, which will help anyone stumbling through a period of writer's block. While Webb's fans will revel in the behind-the-scenes details of his career and a candid view of his artistic process, others may wish that the asides, finger pointing (at arrogant co-writers) and Webb's own pet peeves (e.g., no-talent spouses who insist on songwriting credits on their partner's records) had been left out. And Webb's nuts-and-bolts approach somehow undercuts every songwriter's need for that spark of absolute inspiration. For those interested in the latter, Songwriters on Songwriting: The Expanded Version (Da Capo, 1997), a collection of interviews between editor Paul Zollo and a variety of songwriters, including Webb, is the ticket.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Great look inside the mind of a great songwriter!
I picked up this book on a recomendation. And it was well worth it! Very well done! A good look into the life and talent of a songwriter!

Rich

Tunesmith is pure inspiration for songwriters!
I have been a professional songwriter and producer for many years, but this book gave me so much inspiration it made it all feel fresh and new again. Of course Jimmy Webb's track record as a successful songwriter gives him plenty of credibility as an authority, but that is no guarantee he can write a book. Well, he certainly can! It is very well written, entertaining, informative, and gives us a real insight into his processes and motivations, as well as useful tidbits on how others who practice our craft work their magic. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in any way in the creative processes as they may apply to any creative endeavor.

Serious book for serious songwriters
One of the reviews cited on the back cover calls the book a master class in songwriting. It is. But it is not for the musically illiterate--gotta know them little dots on the staff before you crack this book.

Webb goes deep into the structures and grammar of musical creation, phrasing, cadence, theme, motif, etc. etc. And his discussion of the blending of lyrics and music is profound and fascinating. But light reading, it ain't. If you are a play-by-ear musician who often says "I don't read enough music to hurt my playing," accompanied by self-deprecating aw-shucks grin, don't even think about buying this book.