The Songwriter's Workshop: Harmony (Berklee Press) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book, along with its companion by the same author, Songwriter's Workshop: Melody, comprise a solid, straightforward course in writing songs along the lines of what I'd (reluctantly) call "classic rock and pop" of the 60's through the 80's. The harmonic vocabulary covered in this volume is comparable to what most guitar-oriented songwriters
used then and continue to: open position chords with descending bass lines, major triads with thirds and fifths in the bass, etc. It may be a sign of the times at Berklee or, more
likely, just the author's orientation but you won't find jazz/show tune techniques here nor Steely Dan changes so if that's more your cup of joe, I'd recommend Jack Perricone's "Melody in Songwriting" which makes a great followup to this series.

But otherwise, there's little prior knowledge assumed (other than an interest in and listening experience to a wide range of songs) and much to be learned.

Kachulis's approach is to build up song structures by having you focus on individual elements: groove, chord color, modal chord progressions over small sections building to contrasts
over larger forms. Always refering to an example song or to the accompanying recording the approach is logical, and it should work for those requiring different levels of handholding and validation. You can imitate the examples closely or just
glean from the principles, going your own way.

And let's face it: Many of the points about song structure are just as applicable whether your composing German Lieder, folk ballads, cabaret torch songs or a neo-prog synth-drenched epic.

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Product Description:
Spark your imagination with hundreds of creative songwriting techniques! This hands-on guide provides lessons on how to write innovative harmonies, based on popular songwriting courses at Berklee College of Music.

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