TuneSmith is ideal for songwriters, some of whom may be singer/songwriters, who wish to work with lyrics and sometimes experiment with guitar chords as well.I have long believed that singers become better interpreters of a song if they understand how that song is put together.
That means studying the lyrics just as text, ideas, rhetoric, rhyme, metaphor, form, unfolding of character and narrative, message, and so on. Lyricists draw on a history of a language, its social context, literary heritage and forms (high brow and low brow), and singers enrich their understanding if they study these things too. This also has many components, rhythm, pitch variation, harmony, musical texture, architecture, motivic development – and there is a history of musical styles, forms and assoiciations that composers draw on. And beyond that, the singer also needs to develop a deep appreciation of the relationship between words and music. The articles and book summaries I have put together on this website under the category of Songwriting are an important part of a singer’s learning. The book noted here – Jimmy Webb’s Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting (Hyperion 1999) – is a really useful part of that literature.
My notes are a mixture of summary, quotations, and (in square brackets) my personal responses. The book is packed with really useful advice about songwriting technique, and the songwriting business, from a seasoned professional.
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