Musical Conversations With Richard Abbott
“We don’t write songs, songs write themselves…..we are just the messengers.”
IMRO member Richard Abbott has written a book about songwriting. Richard who is also a music publisher with IMRO has been working freelance in media education and it was this experience that inspired him to write the book.
Richard says “There have been many books written about songwriting but Musical Conversations is different. The books about songwriting are either academic theory manuals or workshop guidebooks detailing the craft and tricks of the trade. I just felt that what was needed was ‘a songwriting book for dummies’ and that’s what I’ve tried to write. The academic and instruction books are very good but they can be confusing because they mix up the creativity with the craft. Also, I have been working with songwriters for many years and the level of ignorance about all things legal is astonishing. So I’ve written a couple of chapters with the key elements the songwriter needs to know about copyright.”
Musical Conversations demystifies songwriting and explains how songs just arrive as if from nowhere. It does this by examining the creative process and telling the stories of how some well known songs just happened. It also contains some pointers on the art of songwriting and demonstrates how the creativity and the craft are quite separate, thereby bringing simple clarity to the whole process. Written in conversational language it examines the creative process and gives good tips on how to get into the right frame of mind to write a song. There are also two chapters dealing with key elements of copyright. This gives the songwriter information on a need to know basis. Musical Conversations is a book for anyone who has never written a song and would like to understand more about the songwriting process. Equally, for the career writer they will have their innermost thoughts confirmed and this will give them more confidence in their writing. In summary, the Music Industry books concentrate on the craft of songwriting and tricks of the trade and not the how to understand and connect with the creative process. Musical Conversations focuses on the spontaneous nature of songwriting and brings a clear simplicity to the whole process of creating a new song.
Musical Conversations is available on Amazon as an e-book and paperback.
