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Old 02-27-2018, 09:47 AM
Bob from Brooklyn Bob from Brooklyn is offline
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Default Songwriters: What do you read?

I've seen many comments from songwriters who say they get inspired by reading a lot. My reading tends to be non-fiction & biographies which I don't really think informs my songwriting much.

Anybody have a genre or author that they find inspiring?
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Old 02-27-2018, 09:52 AM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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I don't write many songs with words, but I always find Kurt Vonnegut's work to be imaginative and inspiring.

I also like reading non-fiction...I think there's a wealth of good fodder in there for songs, if you read "off the beaten path" history stuff...
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Old 02-27-2018, 10:35 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont View Post
I don't write many songs with words, but I always find Kurt Vonnegut's work to be imaginative and inspiring.

I also like reading non-fiction...I think there's a wealth of good fodder in there for songs, if you read "off the beaten path" history stuff...
With you on Vonnegut , but you don't write many songs with words ....? Are there any other kind?
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Old 02-27-2018, 11:23 AM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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You're right, SM, I write tunes
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Old 02-27-2018, 02:18 PM
jaymarsch jaymarsch is offline
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I get inspired by reading memoirs and biographies. Other lives in different times and the resilience of humanity always inspires me.

Best,
Jayne
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Old 02-27-2018, 03:08 PM
DukeX DukeX is offline
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Try reading some poetry. It is full of rhythmical patterns, sound devices such as rhyme, alliteration, assonance, and consonance, and of course imagery, metaphor, and tension.

Poetry, as song writing, also uses compression of statement (saying a lot in a few words).

Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, and T.S. Eliot are three of my contemporary favorites, but there are so many great ones.

Frost: Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening, After Apple Picking

Plath: Cut

Eliot: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Can you read these poems and not be inspired in some way?
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Old 02-27-2018, 03:16 PM
Bob from Brooklyn Bob from Brooklyn is offline
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I'll have to give poetry another shot.

The last time I tried I could've sworn there was a 6'8" nun standing over me.
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Old 02-27-2018, 03:25 PM
DukeX DukeX is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob View Post
I'll have to give poetry another shot.

The last time I tried I could've sworn there was a 6'8" nun standing over me.

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.


I think Robert left the 6'8" nun back at the barn.

This poem may seem simple (a Frost trademark), but there is much going on here, both poetically and thematically.
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Old 02-27-2018, 03:57 PM
Bob from Brooklyn Bob from Brooklyn is offline
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Very cool. I can see how that would be inspiring.
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Old 02-27-2018, 04:18 PM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DukeX View Post
Try reading some poetry. It is full of rhythmical patterns, sound devices such as rhyme, alliteration, assonance, and consonance, and of course imagery, metaphor, and tension.

Poetry, as song writing, also uses compression of statement (saying a lot in a few words).

Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, and T.S. Eliot are three of my contemporary favorites, but there are so many great ones.

Frost: Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening, After Apple Picking

Plath: Cut

Eliot: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Can you read these poems and not be inspired in some way?
Good point well made.
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  #11  
Old 02-27-2018, 04:39 PM
RedJoker RedJoker is offline
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I also dig in to what I like about songs I like. Is it the music? The clever lyrics? How it makes me feel? What is the rhyme scheme? Line lengths? Etc..
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Old 02-27-2018, 05:58 PM
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Mr. Jelly Mr. Jelly is offline
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If I am reading for writing lyrics I try to get fiction books that have to do with the subject of the song I am writing. I would do this for things like outlook, what person I'm writing in and language that might not be how I normally use it.

Like right now I am writing one about a flood. I have seen my share of floods and high water. So I am looking for descriptive language about rushing flooding high water. It's usually the middle verses that I have to work the most on. That's when I really have to figure out where I'm going with it plus keep the tone of the song consistent. While also tickling the listeners ear with language to keep them engaged. The last verse can get difficult also if I haven't figured out the point yet as I always like to wrap it up with the last verse.
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Old 02-27-2018, 06:03 PM
rmoretti49 rmoretti49 is offline
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Leonard Cohen has been widely admired as a songwriter, perhaps especially in his later years. The fact that he was also an award-winning poet must certainly have influenced his songwriting. Though many people like to cite Bob Dylan as a poet (Nobel Prize!), I actually think Cohen's songs and poetry are more accessible.

I simply mean to underscore what has been said by others in this thread about poetry. Perhaps the advantage of reading poetry is not simply its inspirational quality. Maybe it can also help us to see the world as a poet does, and describe it similarly.
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Old 02-27-2018, 07:41 PM
Pitar Pitar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob View Post
I've seen many comments from songwriters who say they get inspired by reading a lot. My reading tends to be non-fiction & biographies which I don't really think informs my songwriting much.

Anybody have a genre or author that they find inspiring?
No. I prefer to think reading for influence exposes the inner muse to an invasive element that devours it rather than nurtures it. If anything it distracts from its more honest and organic development. Same holds especially true for published music.

Periods of inspiration visit unannounced, leave in the same manner and never apply for residency. It's a succession of these visits that inform us about our individual creativity. Knowing that, I've learned to look for it within rather than from without. You have to surrender yourself to your own muse before it begins to respect you.
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Old 02-27-2018, 10:24 PM
rmoretti49 rmoretti49 is offline
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Originally Posted by Pitar View Post
No. I prefer to think reading for influence exposes the inner muse to an invasive element that devours it rather than nurtures it. If anything it distracts from its more honest and organic development. Same holds especially true for published music.

Periods of inspiration visit unannounced, leave in the same manner and never apply for residency. It's a succession of these visits that inform us about our individual creativity. Knowing that, I've learned to look for it within rather than from without. You have to surrender yourself to your own muse before it begins to respect you.
Well, I have to say that I have a lot of respect for this position.
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