Brenda Ueland (1891-1985) was a journalist, editor, freelance writer and teacher of writing. She seems to have been a highly creative, generous-hearted, free spirit. Amongst her accomplishments, she was knighted by the King of Norway, and set an international swimming …
Is it possible to be original in songwriting? There is that famous verse in the Bible: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) All …
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, …
Tunesmith: inside the art of songwriting (notes on Webb’s book) Read more »
One of the most important ways that any songwriter learns to write songs is by writing songsI. That may be stating the obvious, but it’s surprising how often I’ve met a songwriter (or aspiring songwriter) where the conversation goes something like …
Sammy Cahn (1913-1993) was a lyricist (who, like Oscar Hammerstein, preferred to call himself a lyrist) who collaborated successfully with the composers Saul Chaplin, James van Heusen and Jule Styne. He was nominated for 26 Oscars, and won four, for ‘Three Coins …
Singers, songwriters, lyricists and composers all have something to learn from one of the great lyricists, Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960). He collaborated on a huge number of well known musicals, winning 8 Tony Wards and 2 Oscars along the way. …