The 12 Best Songwriting Books You Need to Read in 2023

To become a master songwriter, you must learn the science and the art behind your craft.

Whether you want to learn about the technical aspects of songwriting or the philosophy behind writing a great song, here’s our list of songwriting books you need to read this year.

1. Writing Better Lyrics

If you want to write songs that connect with your audience emotionally, you must read Writing Better Lyrics by Pat Pattison.

In Writing Better Lyrics, Pattison explores many aspects of lyric writing while combining his expert knowledge with useful songwriting tips to help you remain inspired and prolific.

This book is essential for your songwriting mentorship as it lays out practices and techniques for writing powerful lyrics that keep your audience engaged and begging for more.

If you want to take your songwriting from good to great, invest in your music career and get the book for yourself.

2. Songwriting Without Boundaries

If you want to become a better songwriter but are having trouble committing to daily songwriting practice and staying disciplined, read this book.

Songwriting Without Boundaries is full of exciting little lessons and writing prompts to help you practice regularly and become a more vivid and metaphorical writer.

This book is an absolute must for anyone wanting to expand their imagination, sharpen their storytelling skills, and find their voice as a songwriter.

3. Popular Lyric Writing

For a comprehensive look at songwriting check out Popular Lyric Writing by Andrea Stolpe.

Award-winning hit songwriter and educator Andrea breaks down the commercial songwriting process into understandable, practical lessons you can apply today.

You’ll learn everything you need to know about writing commercial songs that connect deeply with an audience and sell.

4. Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure

This book contains invaluable information on lyric structures, timing, and placement.

It also comes with powerful songwriting exercises and examples of famous songs for study to help you improve your skill and keep you sharp.

Whether you are a complete novice or a seasoned pro, Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure will help you write more effectively and gain a better understanding of your craft.

5. Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming

Rhyme is one of the most crucial areas of lyric writing, and Essential Guide to Rhyming covers pretty much everything you need to develop solid skills in this area.

This book aims to teach you how to find better rhymes and use them effectively within the context of songwriting.

6. Beginning Songwriting

Begining Songwriting is a very practical book with lots of hands-on exercises to help you sharpen your skills and develop your technique.

This book will give you a solid foundation in basic concepts of pop songwriting.

You’ll learn about song construction, melodic and harmonic development, writing memorable lyrics, creativity techniques, and more!

7. The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory

The Song Machine will change the way you listen to music.

This book explains in great detail what it takes for a song to grab your ear and become addictive.

To illustrate his point, author John Seabrook provides an in-depth analysis of contagious hits from the early 90s and their omnipresence in today’s charts.

He also features novel songwriting techniques and the extraordinary stories of hit artists like Britney Spears, Rihana, and more!

8. The Craft of Songwriting: Music, Meaning, & Emotion

The Craft of Songwriting is a very insightful book that breaks down the process hit songwriters use.

Here you’ll find incredible tools and techniques for effective melody, harmony, and lyric writing.

Scarlet Keys dives deep into the anatomy and form behind many great songs and uses relevant examples that show the song’s overall impact.

9. The Billboard Guide to Writing and Producing Songs That Sell

Want to know how a song becomes a hit?

If you want to climb the charts and succeed in today’s ultra-competitive music industry, you’ll benefit from reading this book.

The Billboard Guide to Writing and Producing Songs That Sell provides you with all the knowledge you need to win in the music industry as a songwriter.

From knowledge about the record business to interviews with successful writers, producers, and executives from the world of pop, hip-hop, country, and other contemporary genres…

This guide will provide you with a proven approach to constructing songs that open doors, create careers, and connect to listeners worldwide.

10. Switched on Pop

Switched on Pop is a book based on the eponymous podcast that has been hailed by NPR, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly for its witty and accessible analysis of Top 40 hits.

This book covers the essential musical concepts behind two decades of chart-topping hit songs and gives you the tools to interpret modern soundtracks.

Each chapter dives deep into different songs and artists, revealing powerful musical insights such as the function of single melodic motifs, metric manipulation, harmonic ambiguity, and more!

If you want to learn about the musical qualities that send songs into the pop stratosphere, do yourself a favor and read this book.

11. The Addiction Formula

The Addiction Formula is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn how to use psychological triggers to captivate and hook an audience.

With over 317 techniques and 331 examples, Friedemann Findeisen’s addiction formula makes writing pop, rock, RnB, and hip-hop easier and more fun than ever.

If you always wanted to know how to write songs that stick out and speak to a large audience, this is the book for you.

12. Moonwalk by Michael Jackson

Ok. This isn’t really a songwriting book per se, but it is a valuable resource to have around.

Michael Jackson is one of the greatest minds in the songwriting world, and his book Moonwalk is worth paying attention to.

If you want to know what it takes to become a master, chart-topping songwriter who crafts and delivers songs of real emotional depth, get this book and read between the lines.

This post was all about songwriting books.

Comment below if you’d like to recommend other songwriting books for a budding songwriter.