Don’t forget that this book is called Popular Lyric Writing—view its contents through that lens and keep in mind that there are many, many other approaches to songwriting. However, I think Stolpe’s methods are useful enough to be interesting to anyone, not just commercial writers.
A Unique Contribution to Songwriting Literature
Stolpe begins by teaching us to freewrite, so that we learn to generate raw, unedited material for songs. Her approach is to write within the focus of a keyword, which can represent a place, a person, or a moment in time. Pat Pattison includes a more comprehensive chapter on sense-based freewriting in his book Writing Better Lyrics, but Stolpe contributes some points not found there.
She then builds upon this foundation in an entirely fresh and exciting direction: by breaking your own raw material down into lists of phrases, images, and ideas, you’ll form a kind of palette from which to draw when filling in lines and searching for rhymes.
All these processes are fairly technical–this book is full of procedural cogs and gears. But if you take the time to plug in your own content to try Stolpe’s methods for yourself, you’ll find that they’re just more conscious, effective versions of the very complex processes that we usually try to carry out within our own heads when writing.
So is this book for you?
I anticipate that some may react to this book as being “formulaic” and artificial.
It isn’t.
Her methods may be prescriptive at times, but they’re based on accurate observation of what’s already been going on in songs for a long time out there in the musical wild. Stolpe’s explanation of already-existing formulae is a great starting point for intelligently altering songs and experimenting.
Because the content is so technical in nature, I think it’s important to balance that by actually trying the principles out for yourself–and to listening to your favorite artists to see whether Stolpe’s ideas apply to the songs you love most.
Some of Stolpe’s stories and metaphors fail to illuminate and instead confuse her points. Although her writing can be a little messy and unclear at times, the important ideas all shine through. I finished the book several days ago, and find that I’m getting more and more out of it as the information settles in.
I don’t think I’d recommend this book to beginners, but intermediate and advanced songwriters will find it provocative. If you’re still getting your feet, I’d recommend reading at least some of John Braheny’s Craft and Business of Songwriting or a similar overview first.
Related Articles
- A Berklee Professor’s Fifteen-Minute Method for Creating More Natural Rhymes
- Try Index Cards for Non-Linear Songwriting
- Sensory Songwriting: How to Write Lyrics that Capture Your Listener’s Imagination
- The Seductive Dangers of Moleskines
- Book Review: The Elements of Music
External Links
—
Nicholas Tozier is an independent singer, songwriter, private music instructor, blogger, and instructor at Ampersand Academy of Dance & the Performing arts centered in Gardiner, Maine. His first album, A Game with Shifting Mirrors, is slated for self-release in Fall 2010.
Cool review. Are you posting it on Amazon too?
Not a bad idea. I certainly will—I think it’s a five-star book on the merits of its colossally awesome, original ideas.