Jimmy Webb’s Tunesmith

Familiar Ground?

I bought Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting around ten years ago, and got pretty far into it IIRC, but I never finished it. So, I've started reading it over again. I'm amazed to find that, in the first two chapters, the stuff he talks about doing, how it works, how it doesn't work, what blows it, is exactly the process I go through writing songs.

So I'm wondering, was he spot on, or did I get more from the book the first time around than I realized, or both?

It's a great read if you're interested in the process of songwriting. He's a bit opinionated at times, but he has the credentials to back that up, so I guess I'll give him a pass. 😉 The funny thing is, I'm not terribly familiar with his songs. I know I've heard some of them such as "Up, Up and Away," but I don't know them well enough to really analyze them or anything. I'm sure I haven't heard any of the songs in years.

Posted 2008 04 14 at 10:47 AM

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