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Contents:

Hello

First up: Editor's Note from the laptop of Robert Curtis,
your songwriter in residence at Songwriting Software Plus.

Followed by Items:

1. Crafting Your Craft
2. This Month's Notable Quote
3. Songwriting Software Plus Software Superstars

Editor's Note:

In this issue it's time to revisit songwriting education - the books, the courses, the schools and so forth that are all suited to making you a better songwriter both craft -wise and career-wise.

There are some new additions since this same themed article was put out last year and perhaps you pursued some of those opportunities. In any case it's certainly considered always a good idea to review and renew as well as to start anew on areas you're unfamiliar with.

Also, our regular tipster column by Evyn Charles is taking a break for now - we'll have a new column started soon. I hope you found his tips helpful throughout last year.

There are many ways to learn from many avenues so read on and write on :-)

Item 1

Crafting Your Craft

If you live in major metropolitan area or a "music" city then you may likely have access to extension courses and college courses and the like that offer music education of some sort and even courses in songwriting.

Whether in such a local or not there are also plenty of books and programs online including full fledged and prestigious colleges that offer their courses online so no matter where you live they're only a computer screen away.

We'll start off looking at a nice assortment of books available about the craft and business of songwriting and work our way into courses and programs.

Books On Songwriting

You can get a fairly full education in songwriting simply be reading the myriad books available on the topic of songwriting and if you're budget is tight you can get a lot of education for your money this way.

A couple of great starter books to consider would be Pete and Pat Luboff's 88 Songwriter Wrongs And How To Write Them and John Braheny's The Craft And Business Of Songwriting.

And to get very detailed treatments on lyric writing consider the works of highly regarded masters in this area - Sheila Davis and Pat Pattison.

For a deeper look at the musical side of hit songwriting check out Jai Josefs and his book Writing Music For Hit Songs. Jai's text is the definitive text on the musical side of pop songwriting and is used as a principal text in many music schools for pop songwriting.

If you play guitar - also consider How to Write Songs on Guitar (1st edition), by Rikky Rooksby.

And newly released for keyboard players is Rikky Rooksby's How To Write Songs on Keyboard.

The most extensive collection of songwriting and music related books are likely to be found at MusicBooksPlus.com.

Also of course you will find a lot of titles on major book sites like Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com and to really save see what's available at your local library.

Songwriting Schools and Courses

If you're into formal learning then any of the available schools or online songwriting courses can be a great way to go.

Firstly consider your own local adult schools and colleges for courses as often at least in metropolitan areas there are songwriters who put on courses in various aspects of writing and promoting songs. And indeed colleges will often offer more formal mini-courses and even full length courses for college credit.

Probably the most recognized and prestigious music school that offers a songwriting track would be Boston's Berklee College of Music where you can attend directly and now even conveniently online with the same esteemed faculty.

Newer online schools have been evolving too and a great example of this can be found at SongU.com run by some successful Nashville songwriters.

These plentiful resources can handily start the beginner, hone the novice and refresh the experienced.

Remember too you can do online searches for "songwriting courses" and "songwriting critique services" and the like to find even more resources to help you learn and grow your songwriting.

End of Item

For Inspiration And Thought On Your Path To More Songwriting Success:

"A big shot is a little shot that kept shooting."
-- Unknown Author

Songwriting Software Plus Software Superstars:

Lyric Writing (Windows and Macs):

Lyricist - the premiere indispensable and affordable lyric and lead sheet music writing program.

Performing Songwriter Magazine said this about Lyricist - "...what it does, it does well." March/April 2004

Click here for all the benefits Lyricist gives your songwriting and enjoy the Songwriting Software Plus discount - save $5.00. Or try it FREE for 30 days. CD or download.

MasterWriter - the most comprehensive program for writing lyrics with a recorder for melodies and preprogrammed grooves.

Used by hit songwriters Gwen Stefani, Rob Thomas, Jimmy Webb, Kenny Loggins, Trent Reznor, Clint Black, Jeffrey Steele, and many more. Windows and Mac compatible.

Click here to read more about MasterWriter and save big with Songwriting Software Plus. Or try it FREE for 30 days. CD or download.

Music Writing (for Windows):

Play Music - the easiest music notation program around.

Music Recording (for Windows):

Music Recording (for Windows)

Mixcraft - easy recording software.

Information & Credits

Songwriting Software Express is published monthly by Songwriting Software Plus: Robert Curtis, Editor.

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