Found this to be a thoughtful piece about this aspect of the business of music from today's NY Times blog page:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/20 ... writer/?hp
Songwriting 101
- Jack of All Parades
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Songwriting 101
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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Re: Songwriting 101
Interesting. And that vignette of a student asking her whether he can make a living doing it is quaintly touching. Surprising to find such naivete coming from a generation that has been systematically betrayed in every conceivable way.
As a longstanding amateur songwriter myself, I'm always fascinated to learn how other peoples' songs come to be. (This is one reason why Ian MacDonald's Revolution in the Head is an absolutely canonical piece of pop criticism for me, taking us inside The Beatles' songs like nothing else has done). Yet I confess to a certain skepticism about "songwriting classes." I rather dread the scenario whereby the magic becomes broken down into formulae; and I tend to dislike the bias toward the technical that often characterizes professional musicianship. Probably irrational impulses on my part.
As a longstanding amateur songwriter myself, I'm always fascinated to learn how other peoples' songs come to be. (This is one reason why Ian MacDonald's Revolution in the Head is an absolutely canonical piece of pop criticism for me, taking us inside The Beatles' songs like nothing else has done). Yet I confess to a certain skepticism about "songwriting classes." I rather dread the scenario whereby the magic becomes broken down into formulae; and I tend to dislike the bias toward the technical that often characterizes professional musicianship. Probably irrational impulses on my part.
When man has destroyed what he thinks he owns
I hope no living thing cries over his bones
I hope no living thing cries over his bones