Melody in Songwriting

Ranking second on our list is "Melody in SongWriting" written by Jack Perricone, considered by many as a crucial and helpful guide to melodies in songwriting. Similar to a lot of other books on our list, this one is rightfully legit since it was published by Berklee and even used frequently in most of their classes!

According to Melody in Songwriting, the melody is among the most important elements in songwriting, yet, for some reason, many people neglect its role. That's why the book was written to give it all the attention that it deserves, proving that writing melody is a talent that could be learned. With its proven techniques and tools, readers can learn to craft catchy and interesting melodies, as well as why melodic rhythms influence rhymes, how harmony progresses, and the dynamic connections between harmony and melody.

So cool, right? Still, be aware that the book's content is a bit "heady" - meaning it's much less intuitive than regular lessons in songwriting. Instead, we can view it as a technical tutorial. In other terms, if you want a book with colorful words and a hilarious tone, you will not find them here in this book, since it's pretty dry. Skimming doesn't work if you truly wish to learn any important thing from it, so make sure to read every page carefully! Sometimes, reading a sentence twice is necessary, too.

Author: Jack Perricone

Year of Release: 2000

Ratings: 4.5 stars (from 186 reviews)