How To Write Songs Like Bruce Springsteen....

TelePaul

I got the following book for Christmas:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bruce-Springsteen-Greats-Songwriting-Secrets/dp/0879308362/ref=sr_1_7/026-6049919-7781213?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174949103&sr=1-7

Now I'd ask you al to reserve judgement; I'm not completely inept at music, and I'm not looking for a magical means to an end. What I do know about musicianship has been the culmination of about 6 hard years of practice!

But this book really is excellent. Whether you like Bruce or not, it deals with essential theory in a very simple way. It starts with two chord songs and builds up, three chord songs, the 12 bar form, turnarounds, augmented chords, resolution, discord and tension etc etc.

The intersting thing is, after reading about this, song structures became far easier to recognise. I knew the basic elements of this awhile back; ending on the root chord will achieve a sense of fulfillment, for example. But bridges became easier to anticipate in songs and the way in which lyrics interract with music seemed to make more sense.

Anyways, I don't usually attach much faith to these instructional methods of learning music or guitar. I don't think there is a substitute for hard practice. But once you can identify the components of a song, the structure and the chord sequences, it becomes far easier to write a song yourself.

My .02

SolMate

I agree that there's more to songwriting than meets the eye. But it's very much a case of using thetheoretical knowledge judiciously i.e. not every song needs all the elements, but you'll often come across cases where, say, a verse and chorus song is getting a bit tedious and someone points out that a good bridge or even an instrumental break is just what it needs to keep the interest going. And there are lots of other examples where, if you are familiar with the techniques, you can remove the deficiencies in a song or can transform a pedestrian song into something special.

There are lots of songwriting resources on the web too for those interested in honing their craft. Lots of interesting free articles on songwriting can be read here http://www.irenejackson.com/tips.html Irene also runs songwriting message boards - the members are international but mostly American and there's a bit of a bias to American country songs.

Gerry

TelePaul

SolMate wrote:

you can remove the deficiencies in a song or can transform a pedestrian song into something special.

That's an excellent point! It's such a good feeling when you swap one chord or progression for another and it all just clicks.