The Songwriter's Workshop: Harmony

Learn how harmony can help you express your songwriting ideas—using chords and chord structures the way that professional songwriters do.

The Songwriter's Workshop series is a new approach to writing hit songs designed for songwriters at all levels, from beginners to professional songwriters who are looking for new ideas to spice up their work. Each book in the series presents a set of tools for writing songs, with practical practice exercises.

The Songwriter's Workshop: Harmony teaches the fundamental harmony techniques used in today's hit songs, together with easy-to-follow exercises so you can immediately apply these tools to your own songs. Quit wrestling with writer's block, and learn to make the songwriting process easy, fun, and intuitive.

Learn how to:

• Incorporate "power progressions"—the most common and effective chord progressions, which have been used in countless hits, into your own songs
• Explore colors of chords and keys, so that you can use them to express the emotion of the lyrics
• Understand the states of being harmonically "home" and "away from home," and use them to maximize your songs' emotional impact
• Adapt and embellish chords and progressions to enrich your palette of colors
• Vary your harmonies and progressions to generate many new creative possibilities
• Practice the musical applications of harmonic constructs such as cadences and modulations
• Write memorable choruses and verses that work together as complete songs

The included play-along CD provides a perfect accompaniment to help you practice your songs.

About the Author

Jimmy Kachulis teaches songwriting and lyric writing at Berklee College of Music. His students' works have earned Grammy nominations, and have been recorded by a vast range of artists on major and independent labels. An accomplished composer, arranger, and conductor, his compositions have been featured on scores from The Sopranos to Touched by an Angel.

BUZZ

" The tools in this book are essential to any tunesmith and should be studied in great detail. This book will shine a new light on those who aspire to write great songs. Raw talent, tenacity and a strong belief in yourself can only be strengthened by the lessons taught here."

-Robert Lee Castleman, Grammy Award winning songwriter for Allison Krauss, Alan Jackson, and others

"This simple, straight-forward, and extremely helpful book explains and analyzes harmony, a musical topic that is anything but simple and straight-forward. Once again, Jimmy Kachulis has provided songwriters of all levels with effective and productive tools to express themselves."

-Phil Galdston, Grammy-nominated songwriter for Celine Dion and Vanessa Williams

"The Songwriter's Workshop: Harmony" is a supernova in a universe of penlights. Through simple and inspiring techniques, Jimmy Kachulis teaches both the tinkering songster and seasoned artisan how to revolutionize their songwriting."

-Shane Adams, Producer, Songwriting guru, CEO of Songwriter Records

Sample Lessons on Berklee Shares

Samples from this title are available on Berkleeshares.com, where you can download free music lessons and share them with your friends.

• Writing a Chorus (PDF lesson)
  
• Pentatonic Scale for Songwriters  (PDF lesson)
  

Also by Jimmy Kachulis

The Songwriter's Workshop: Melody

Berklee In the Pocket: Essential Songwriter