Songwriting for Dummies

Book Description

Want to know how to make it as a songwriter? Songwriting For Dummies gives you a chance to learn from the best. Performer, songwriter Jim Peterik is a 35-year veteran in the business and author of dozens of top-40 hits, including “Hold On Loosely,” “Caught Up In You” “Rocking Into the Night,” “High On You,” “I Can’t Hold Back,” “Is This Love,” “Burning Heart,” and “The Search is Over.” Dave Austin is CEO of Transcension Music Group. He’s produced and promoted some of the greatest talent in the industry, including Carlos Santana, Eddie Money, REO Speedwagon, and Queen. And Mary Ellen Bickford has been involved in music and film production for more than two decades.

Whether you’re a first-time songwriter or songwriting vet looking for a fast-track into the recording industry, this friendly, easy-to-follow guide is the source for you. Using well-known tunes as examples, the authors walk you through everything you need to know to:

Choose a musical style
Develop a song idea
Compose high-impact lyrics
Create melodies that are memorable
Use rhyme and rhythm
Understand song from, from blues to jingles
Create a demo and shop it around
Find an agent and publisher
Find and work with collaborators

From assessing your strengths and weaknesses as a songwriter to signing contracts, Songwriting For Dummies covers all the bases. Among other key topics, you’ll explore:

Various song forms, including the AABA form and various ABAB forms
Snagging your listeners with a lyrical, melodic, musical, rhythmic, or sound-effect hook, or a combination of hooks
Concept-driven, story-telling, parody, love and other types of lyrics
Using rhythm, melody, and chords in writing songs
Rock, pop, R&B, hip-hop, and many other song styles
Writing songs for stage, screen and TV
The business end—from putting together a business team to getting a lawyer and an accountant to finding a publisher

Whether you want to know how to compose a love song for that special someone, or you’re looking break into the industry, big-time, Songwriting For Dummies is a gold mine of inspiration and how-to information.

Customer Reviews:

Song Writing for Dummies.......2006-11-10

It's okay for lyric writing, but it is not really what I had hoped for. It's okay, but not the best reference for music students.

A Book Written by Dummies.......2006-11-03

This book should have been entitled how to sell your song writing professionally. This book has little to do with creating or writing music. The title is very misleading and I feel like I just flushed a wad of hard earned money down the toilet. About the only thing useful in this book is some of the information on how to get your music noticed and circulated, which doesn't interest me since I have no ambition to become a professional musician.

Nice book........2006-08-10

If you write any type of music, get this, sit down with pen & pad, and enjoy yourself. There are helpful tips and lessons to keep you absorbed and hungry for more.

Very useful book.......2005-09-26

Interesting, useful, well done. If you are iterested in songwriting this is an indispensable tool; doesn't matter if you know nothing about music theory. Don't miss it.

Smart Book for the Songwriting 'Dummie'.......2004-12-10

I bought this book when a musician friend recommended it to me. As someone who writes lyrics and who doesn't have even the most basic knowledge of musical terminology, I was looking for something that wasn't too technical and something that wouldn't completely confuse me when I tried to read it. This book definitely fit the bill.

Songwriting for Dummies isn't perfect. It could have done without all the self-promotion of Survivor and 38 Special and it could have done with more late '60s, early '70s music. I was disappointed to find that Stevie Nicks was mentioned in connection with "Bootylicious." Plus, the more technical explanations of writing music caused me to skim over a couple of the chapters. But the overall package gave me what I was looking for.

Despite going through a long period when I would start reading a book, put it down and then forget about it, I concentrated on reading this book and finished it in a matter of days. I enjoyed picking it up and reading it and going back over certain chapters again when necessary.

If you want to find a book that covers chord progressions in great detail, this book isn't for you, but if you want something that touches on the basics of lyrics and melodies, plus gives you an example of the kind of artist rights issues many songwriters face, this is a good reference.

Composing Digital Music For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback))

Average customer rating:

Composing Digital Music For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback))
Russell Dean Vines
Manufacturer: For Dummies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Composing Digital Music For Dummies simplifies the process of composing music and allows the reader to develop insight into how music is written and arranged. It also aids readers in mastering the fundamentals of composition and helps them publish their creations via the internet.

The Companion CD contains a demo version of the fastest-growing and most accessible digital composition software, templates to get the reader started, and audio tracks for all musical examples.

Book Description

Breathless explores early sound recording and the literature that both foreshadowed its invention and was contemporaneous with its early years, revealing the broad influence of this new technology at the very origins of Modernism. Through close readings of works by Edgar Allan Poe, Stephane Mallarme, Charles Cros, Paul Valery, Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Jules Verne, and Antonin Artaud, Allen S. Weiss shows how sound recording's uncanny confluence of human and machine would transform our expectations of mourning and melancholia, transfiguring our intimate relation to death. Interdisciplinary, the book bridges poetry and literature, theology and metaphysics. As Breathless shows, the symbolic and practical roles of poetry and technology were transformed as new forms of nostalgia and eroticism arose.

Average customer rating:

Excellent ways to play the slots

Great Book For Banking Slots!

Not Much New Info

Robbing the One-Armed Bandits (2nd Edition): An Encyclopedic Guide to Finding and Exploiting Advantageous Slot Machines
Charles W. Lund
Manufacturer: Rge Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gambling | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Slot Machine Answer Book, 2nd Edition: How They Work, How They've Changed and How to Overcome the House Advantage

Secrets of Modern Slot Playing

Break the One-Armed Bandits!

The Slot Expert's Guide to Playing Slots

ASIN: 0910575134

Customer Reviews:

Excellent ways to play the slots.......2004-08-19

I used this book to select and play slot machines. The detailed listing of many machines covers much of what you'll find at least in LV in banking-style machines and how to play them successfully. In my short playing time, I did come out ahead.

Unfortunately, this book is out-of-print, but it can still be found. Of course, I'm looking forward to a revised edition.

For more slot info, see The Slot Machine Answer Book by John Grochowski which covers a wider range of machines in less detail. It is written as questions and answers, which will either intrigue or annoy you.

Or read the classic, Break the One-Armed Bandits! by Frank Scoblete. It's a chatty discussion of slot machine history, insider secrets and stories. There is a tell-all interview with "Mr. Handle," the anonymous slot machine manager of a major Las Vegas casino. Overall, the book's main value lies in its sensible methods for finding loose slots. (On a one-day trip -- I know not that's statistically significant -- the book was right on the money.)

Great Book For Banking Slots!.......2003-11-26

Packed with great information on "banking" slots. If these are the type of slots you play this book is excellent. Packed full of detailed information about each slot and playing strategy. Helps you make the most of your money and win! Helped me win recently in Atlantic City!

Not Much New Info.......2000-10-02

I was disappointed that there was little new information from his last book. Most of the additional machines he listed were clearly not played much by him and he did not include information that I felt was reliable. Using the methods in his last book, I had some good luck, but some of his advice on certain machines clearly did not work and he did not make adjustments based on what the casinos have done. Unfortunately, the opportunity to profit from banking machines has nearly gone away and perhaps these books are part of the reason.

Robbing the One-Armed Bandits: Finding and Exploiting Advantageous Slot Machines

Average customer rating:

Lund is one of the rare authors who does not sell snake oil
NOT UP TO PAR!
"BANKING" IT IN!
"BANKING" IT IN!
You can actually win at slots

Robbing the One-Armed Bandits: Finding and Exploiting Advantageous Slot Machines
Charles W. Lund
Manufacturer: RGE Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 091057510X

Customer Reviews:

Lund is one of the rare authors who does not sell snake oil.......2000-10-12

Most people play slot machines for "entertainment". If that's you, you will not appreciate Lund's insights. To play the way Lund suggests is often not enjoyable. It involves stalking machines and their players waiting for them to leave machines in disadvantageous states, then pouncing on them before other similer-minded players do. But I can't emphasize this enough...it is THE ONLY way to beat slot machines in the long run. All the other books will tell you is how to lose less and have a more enjoyable experience with occasional wins. Lund only considers a certain type of slot (Bankable) because they are the only machines that can be beat. If your goal is to find a way to WIN, Lund's books are your best chance.

Unfortunately, slot machines change quickly, making some of the information in the book obsolete. Also, Lund assumes that you are playing these games in a competitive location like LV, where payouts are good. To win in less competitive venues like Indian casinos and the midwest, you may have to be more particular than Lund is.

NOT UP TO PAR!.......2000-06-01

This book does not give the reader much of an advantage to rob the one arm bandits, unless a sledge hammer is taken to the casino. Lund does not outline any kind of a money management technique which is often implemented by most casino gambling authors. He concentrates on slot machines that are unpopular compared to the overall selection in most casinos. Most importantly he outlines strategies that try to put the player ahead by a pocket full of coins, rather than the jackpots that all slot players strive toward. Searching aimlessly for machines that offer a few more units in a bonus payout as Lund advises, will not allow a player any advantage over another in the long run. Although Lund does provide some safety tips to all players when feasting on slot machines, a strategy to break the one arm bandits is nonexistent in this book.

"BANKING" IT IN!.......2000-03-08

I've just arrived to the casino and the palms Of my hands are slightly moist with anticipation. Which machine do I choose tonight. Hmmm? All games require a strategy, a game plan. Without one the chances of losing are great. When I purchased this book I was plesantly surprised. I don't gamble often but Robbing the One Armed Bandits was informative, easy to understand, and generally interesting. There are many slot machines out there to play but the question is which one, where, and when will it pay out?Although the book concentrates on Banking slots, the methodology in choosing a winning machine is well thought out. Like any game having knowledge is to your advantage. This book helps you to learn a strategy, which increases your chances of winning. If you are interested in learning a comprehensive method to win against Banking Slot machines then this book is definently the one to get. Since reading this book I am not as bewildered when I enter the casino. I feel armed and ready. I'm Banking it In!

"BANKING" IT IN!.......2000-03-08

You can actually win at slots.......1999-11-10

The truth is that you can only win at the slots dictated byMr. Lund. There are no other strategies for non-banking slot machines because they are unbeatable. Lund actually gives the player at certain types of slot machines if you play by the rules given. Apparently having to "think about it" is too much for the reviewer below me, but personally I am excited at the opportuntiy to play slots that can be beaten.

On the negative side, Lund doesn't do a great job of explaining his methods, and although I know that his analysis of machines accurately predicts the ones that can be beaten, he needs to do more research to get a greater exactitude. The good news is that he frequently publishes a supplement to this book in order to keep it up to date.

Average customer rating:

More Than I Expected!

Excel Annoyances

A New Format for Hints & Tips

stomp the Paperclip

Well organized set of useful hints and pointers

Excel Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things about Your Favorite Spreadsheet (Annoyances)
Curtis Frye
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Excel | Applications | Microsoft | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
General | Business | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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Annoyances | Series | O'Reilly | By Publisher | Books
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Word Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Favorite Word Processor (Annoyances)

Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Favorite Presentation Program (Annoyances)

Fixing Access Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Favorite Database (Annoyances)

Excel the Missing Manual (Missing Manual)

Escape From Excel Hell: Fixing Problems in Excel 2003, 2002 and 2000 (Mr. Spreadsheet's Bookshelf)

ASIN: 0596007280
Release Date: 2004-12-01

Book Description

It's the solution to almost all of your electronic organization needs. Need to present a detailed expense report? Try an Excel spreadsheet. Keeping track of a complicated budget? Excel to the rescue. Want to keep tabs on your office football pool? You guessed it. Thanks to its incredible versatility and power, Excel has emerged as more than just a mainstream program; it's now one of the most used applications on the planet. Everyone from run-of-the-mill PC users to leading financial analysts count on Excel to make sense of overflowing data. And to keep up with the overwhelming user demand, three different versions of Excel have hit the market since the debut of Excel 97: Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. Naturally, each version offers a new slate of next-generation upgrades--and, of course, operating bugs! At last, Excel users have some relief: Excel Annoyances emerged from the suggestions of numerous Excel users who've struggled with these irritating bugs over the years. Written in the popular Annoyances format, this latest O'Reilly helper addresses all of the quirks, bugs, inconsistencies, and hidden features found in each of the four versions. Chances are if someone, somewhere, found a certain step confusing, then it's addressed in Excel Annoyances. Author Curtis D. Frye breaks down the cavalcade of information into several tip-of-the-finger categories such as Entering Data, Formatting, Charting, Printing, and more. If you're one of the millions of people who use Excel, you're sure to find a goldmine of helpful nuggets that you can use to fix the program's most annoying traits. In the end, Excel Annoyances will help you to truly maximize Excel's seemingly limitless potential.

Customer Reviews:

More Than I Expected!.......2007-01-31

I'm always looking for more ways to use Excel - and I hoped this book would help me solve some of the glitches I've come across. But - it's better than that. It offers problems I've never even encountered - and what fun to try and duplicate them! There are so many little tricks that just aren't covered in the usual classes & seminars. Definitely worth having on the shelf - nearby, so you can grab it quickly!

Excel Annoyances.......2005-05-24

Excel Annoyances ...

This book is made for those who have had one or more vexing problems with Excel. If that's you, the answer can probably be found here and lots more besides.

Curtis Frye is an established author, including several books on Excel. He has the book divided into chapters that deal with several categories of problems: Entering Data, Formatting, Formulas, Manipulating Data, Charts, Exchanging Data, Printing, and Customization.

His solutions vary from basic training on how to use a feature, to how to tweak things "just so." Each Annoyance is the result of someone's problem with an aspect of Excel. Since many people do not upgrade to the latest version of Excel when it's available, the book covers solutions from Excel 97 through the current Excel 2003.

One of the most interesting things I learned was the existence of a function that translated numbers into Roman numerals! I never knew this existed. That's not to say I would ever have any use for such a function, but it was interesting playing around with it. If you want to try it out, type a number in one cell and in another, type this formula: = roman(cell), where "cell" is the location of the number you typed. You'll see the result in roman numbers, as advertised. Slick! Someone once threatened to file his income tax return using roman numbers, just to make things hard for IRS, and this is a way it could be done. IRS would probably object.

Screen shots are used liberally in the book. These may simply be a shot of a worksheet but often a related dialog box is also shown. Occasionally a text box includes extra information that may be of importance for a subject.

One extra feature include in the book is reference to some time-wasters, also known as games. Each is an Excel version and is free to download. There's Pac Man, Arkanoid, BlackJack, Rubik's Cube, Tetris and more.

There are occasional answers using Visual Basic, but for the most part, the answers simply use the settings that are already in Excel. Most users never tap the full potential of Excel, and I'm no exception. I feel I am an expert, but I certainly learned a lot by reading this book and you will too, if you use Excel at all.

A New Format for Hints & Tips.......2005-03-21

At last, a computer book written, as I now think they all should be, by a professional comedian. This book is not written for the absolute beginner, but by someone who has used Excel enough to have a couple of annoying problems that they would like to have fixed.

The first Annoyance is "Kill Clippy." This was one of the most hated "innovations" in history. Even Microsoft eventually had the sense to turn him off in Excel 2002. But if you're running an older version, or if someone else using you're computer turns him on, here's how to get rid of him permanently. And for a joke he offers you a web site on "clippycide." That's what a computer book should be.

This goes on to nearly every aspect of working with Excel. Chapter 9 starts out:

Excel's basic functions haven't changed in years. Of course, Microsoft has to addd new stuff to give you a reason to upgrade to the latest version. In Excel 2003, that reason was support for XML."

XML is supposed to make it easy to transfer data from one program to another. Of course there are XML annoyances, one is that the XML that Access produces isn't necessarily readable by Excel. Oh Boy!

stomp the Paperclip.......2005-01-28

Ok, Excel is the dominant spreadsheet. No question of that. But it has some surprising "features" which this book calls annoyances. It gives a multitude of them, with fixes for all. (Another O'Reilly series might call these fixes hacks.)

Logically enough, the book starts off with those difficulties that can be met when inputting data. Many of you will applaud that the leading annoyance is the Paperclip, on which much verbal ire has no doubt been expended. So Frye forthrightly shows how to terminate this pesky little bugger.

Later sections talk about formatting, formulae, charting, printing and so on. The chapters essentially follow the main functional structures of Excel. Some features might not be obvious to you; depending on your expertise. But chances are that for the average Excel user, you'll get some good advice from Frye.

Well organized set of useful hints and pointers.......2005-01-15

This is a well organized and written set of useful hints and pointers for Excel. They range from solutions to difficult data analysis issues, to tips about graphing, pivot tables, and importing data from various formats, notably XML.

The book is organized into chapters around central Excel themes; editing, formulas, formatting, charting, etc. Each chapter has a set of annoyances with a description and a solution. These annoyances are sometimes bugs, and sometimes just difficult issues that reasonably advanced users will run into where the help is either insufficient or poorly written. The fixes are generally fairly short and contained within the bounds of Excel, though the book does point to external sites and software where appropriate.

Definitely a must have for the power Excel user.

Microsoft Excel 2002 Formulas (With CD-ROM)

Average customer rating:

Excellent Book!!
A great reference for your desktop
This book has saved me hundreds of hours
You Think You Know Excel...?
KEEP THIS BOOK

Microsoft Excel 2002 Formulas (With CD-ROM)
John Walkenbach
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 076454800X

Book Description

Excel 2002 Formulas covers every aspect of formulas, including some unusual uses -- such as chart series and conditional formatting specifications. This book answers virtually all formula-related questions posed in Excel newsgroups on the Internet. Plus, it contains a coupon for Walkenbach's Professional Power Utility Pak.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book!!.......2006-09-07

This is one of the best Excel books that I have read so far. It is formatted in a way that can be used as a tutorial or reference. The CD is full of useful sheets that can be used for many applications. I will be buying a second copy to keep as a backup because I know I will be opening this one quite often.

A great reference for your desktop.......2006-02-20

I use Excel on a daily basis as part of my job and have an educational background in spreadsheet modeling. I have purchased a number of books searching for a one-stop desktop reference for the intermediate to advanced Excel user, and this is the best I've found! I frequently use it for help with nested array formulas, which are complicated (with a lot hard to remember rules) and powerful. The title is easy to understand and suitable for anyone has even a cursury understanding of Excel. I would highly recommend it - it is the only Excel reference you'll ever need.

This book has saved me hundreds of hours.......2005-03-26

I rarely write reviews but I have to for this book and author. The book (along with the author's website) has saved me literally hours of researching and creating formulas of my own. I feel bad having to steal formulas from him but oh well, I just don't have time to come up with them by myself. I will certainly purchase more books from John Walkenbach.

You Think You Know Excel...?.......2004-06-07

Whether you're an amature or an experienced Excel user this book is full of tips and tricks for all levels of users. This book will open your eyes to the world of formula writing. You'll quickly learn how to create dynamic formulas that will impress everyone around you. Truly a magnificent book with lot's of real world examples.

KEEP THIS BOOK.......2004-03-31

This book is full of details and the CD that comes with this is EXTREMELY helpful>>> buy two and keep one handy at work and school.

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