How to Write a Hit Song and Sell It

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2 Replies to “How to Write a Hit Song and Sell It”

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

Some interesting ideas, July 23, 2009

Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) –

This review is from: How to Write a Hit Song and Sell It (Paperback)

This book is a collection of advice for aspiring songwriters. Boyce had a number of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including “Last Train to Clarksville” and various songs for the Monkees. In this book, Boyce includes advice on finding material for songs, suggested ways to bring a song to completion, tips for collaborating, stories about his own song writing adventures, editing suggestions, and information about how to make money through writing songs. The book includes numerous black and white photos of Boyce, sheet music for several Boyce songs, and sample royalty statements. At the back of the book are lists of record companies and music publishers.

Although Boyce certainly was a successful songwriter, this book alone doesn’t contain all the keys to the craft. The main strength of this book is in building the reader’s confidence that anyone can write a song. In the foreword, Powers describes how he read an earlier version of the book and wound up collaborating with Boyce on several hit songs even though he had never written music before. Boyce’s advice can help readers get started, get over the initial I-can’t-write-music attitude. He describes how to go from an idea to a title, to writing some lyrics. But then he stops short before delving into the nuts and bolts of coming up with a melody or chord progression. He discusses the importance of editing, but skips some of the essential characteristics of hit songs. His description of the music business and how to make money by writing songs is quite informative, but much of the information is now dated, and even his approach of marketing songs directly to music companies just isn’t how things are done these days. Nevertheless, aspiring songwriters may find some useful ideas in this book.

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