Thoughts on books.
Manifesting #creative summer vibes for grownups.
Every summer since 2020, I’ve taught songwriting and creative methods to graduate students.
One of my favorite things to do is make book recommendations (fitting, I know, for running a publishing company). There is nothing better than finding the perfect book for someone. I’d like to think of myself as a librarian for creative practice, cataloging methods, and inspiration in my brain to give to others as needed.
Since summer is a time when many of us have space for more thinking and tapping into our own creativity, I thought I’d use this week’s Substack to share some of my favorite books on songwriting and creativity.
There are many music teachers that subscribe to this newsletter (I see you!), and even if you don’t teach music to kids, maybe this will be your #summerofsongwriting :).
These are listed in the order of my stack, not the order of how much I love each one.
This Is What it Sounds Like: This is my latest read, and I’m obsessed. Neuroscience meets amazing stories about music preference and production. Have a music streaming app open while you read this one—you’re going to want to dig into every song that is mentioned!
Songwriting for Music Educators: I wrote this book, so I’m biased, BUT I can truly say that the reason this book is so great is because of my co-author Kat Reinhert. There are so many practical strategies for songwriting in here and it begins with a whole chapter dedicated to your creative identity. Plus, my brother-in-law designed it and he’s pretty awesome as both a songwriter and designer.
Action-Based Approaches in Popular Music Education: Our company released this book a few years ago, and the chapters are so practical and span a range of topics. The “wise listener” chapter on songwriting is a must-read.
Switched on Pop: Love this book as much as I love the podcast. Dive into how pop music works, nerd out, and keep your streaming app open for the ultimate music experience.
Activating Diverse Musical Creativities: This is dense but one that I keep coming back to. Bennett’s chapter on understanding a song separate from a recorded track has helped me immensely in how I teach songwriting.
How to Write One Song: Spoiler alert! Jeff Tweedy will not teach you how to actually write a song. He does, however, give some fun prompts, stories, and anecdotes about his life as an artist. It’s a small, inspiring read, and any Wilco fan will love it.
The Artist’s Way: I went through this six-week program with a group of friends in 2020, and it’s changed the way I view my work as an artist. It’s also what prompted me to start my annual “song a day” challenge and incorporate a daily “morning pages” routine. Buy this book. Form a group to work through it this summer. See what happens!
Writing Better Lyrics: Yes, yes, yes! So many exercises and ways of thinking about lyric writing. I come to this again and again when I’m creatively stuck or need to level up my lyric writing (which is pretty much always).
Music, Lyrics, and Life: Mike Errico has such a wonderful way of describing the creative process.
Intention: This book changed the way that I taught creativity. It changed the way that I created rubrics and led feedback sessions. I recommend this to every K-12 teacher I work with.
What about you? What are some other books on songwriting and creativity that I should have on my stack?
Inspiration
🎧 I’ve been playing some new albums on repeat- Lucius, Samantha Crain, and Tune Yards.
🎧 I showed Norris these drumeo videos and now we’re all obsessed with watching drummers make up parts to famous songs.
Creative
🌟 This week I’m demoing four songs for my solo EP to send to my guitarist and friend who is adding harp (!!) to some of the tracks. Our goal is to have everything tracked by mid-June so they can be mixed and mastered by the end of July.
🌟 Novel updates: still waiting. There’s so much waiting!
Thanks for subscribing and reading. I hope you get to tap into your creativity.
Connect with my work elsewhere:
🎧 listen to my podcast with Kimberly McGlonn
💻 order my children’s book, Rosie Rocks!
📚 visit my fair-pay publishing company, F-flat Books.
🎤 get songwriting support through Songwriting for M.E.
Can’t wait for your album!!!!