Louis Anthony deLise

The Professional Songwriter

The Professional Songwriter is a textbook aimed at writers who are dedicated to being successful as a songwriter. It is essential reading for anyone in that position, although it might have been better divided into two books, one about music theory and one about the music business. This is due to the difficulty involved in absorbing the amount of information packed into the music theory section, presented first. This section is not for beginners, although they may get some benefit from it. For people with basic knowledge already, however, Mr. deLise provides a great opportunity to review or dig deeper into subjects like chord structure, rhythm, and harmony, with many exercises and examples from famous songs and songwriters from Stephen Foster to Lennon and McCartney and beyond.

After the music theory lessons, the reader comes to an extremely useful section on the music business. This is the part that can make the difference between songwriting as a profession or not being able to make a living at it. deLise provides sound advice and many resources for recording and publishing to establishing copyrights and more. He gives much advice about building a team, marketing, and unexpected ways to use your songs to create an income. This book overflows with resources for the songwriter. It would be worth acquiring for the lists alone.

The Professional Songwriter will be a priceless treasure for any dedicated songwriter who wants to launch a songwriting career the right way and avoid the pitfalls that await any uninformed creative. There is never a guarantee that any song will succeed, but this book could tip the odds in your favor considerably.