How to Write One Song: Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us Back by

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A thoughtful, counterintuitive book about creativity from celebrated songwriter and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.

FORMATHardcover LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

As Jeff Tweedy himself puts it, there are few creative acts more mysterious and magical than writing a song. But what if the goal wasn't so mysterious, and was actually achievable, and possible, for anyone who wants to add more magic and creativity in their life? That's something that anyone will be inspired to do after reading Jeff Tweedy's HOW TO WRITE ONE SONG.Why one song? Because the difference between one song and many songs isn't a cute semantic trick-it's an important distinction that can simplify a notoriously confusing art form. The idea of becoming a capital-S songwriter can seem daunting, but approached as as an isolated, self-contained event, guided by a master practitioner and teacher like Jeff, the mystery and fear subsides, and songwriting becomes an achievable, exciting pursuit.HOW TO WRITE ONE SONG is literally a step-by-step guide through Jeff's songwriting process, beginning with his inspiration (or lack of it, at times) and ending with a complete composition. Throughout it all, Jeff shares his reflections on the importance of finding lyrics in unexpected place, thinking about melody in a completely innovative way, and putting the two together to figure out when you're done.Overall, HOW TO WRITE ONE SONG illustrates the deep sense of wonder that remains at the heart of this curious, yet incredibly and fulfilling, artistic act, and will be the perfect gift for Jeff Tweedy's legions of fans.

Author Biography

As the founding member and leader of the American rock band Wilco, and before that the cofounder of the alt-country band Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy is one of contemporary American music's most accomplished songwriters, musicians, and performers. Since starting Wilco in 1994, Jeff has written original songs for ten Wilco albums as well as collaborations with Billy Bragg, Mavis Staples, and many others. He lives in Chicago with his family.

Review

"[A] guide to rediscovering the joys of creating that we all felt as children … The main premise of Tweedy's latest book is in the title, but many of his points could be applied equally to a variety of creative endeavors: namely, how to stop giving yourself excuses and start just doing the thing."—The New York Times "[How to Write One Song] is one part manual for composing a song, and one part philosophical inquiry into the human desire—the human need—to create. It's also an easy, delightful read."—Esquire.com"[A] generous and thoughtful argument for carving time out for creativity. [Tweedy] attempts to demystify songwriting, offering both encouragement and practical tips that from anyone else might read as self-help. But instead, Tweedy strikes a tone that's more like that of an exuberant friend: You have to try this, man. And you'll want to."—Chicago Tribune"How To Write One Song [is] a smart, funny, relentlessly practical guide to discovering the secret songwriter within."—GQ"Frank, philosophical yet accessible."—People"Jeff Tweedy is the perfect example of the consummate songwriter...Given his decades of success as an artist, the veteran musician has a lot of insight and advice to offer about writing a song. Offering tips and advice along the way, Tweedy guides readers on such things as starting a song and handling writer's block, a dreaded moment for any writer."—Forbes"In this succinct guide, the Wilco (and before that, Uncle Tupelo) frontman walks you through pretty much every question you might have about writing a song of your own. From anxiety that you'll suck—you totally will, at first—to the fear of exposing your inner feelings—accept it, writing songs means getting vulnerable—Tweedy helps you get out of your head and in front of your notebook or voice recorder.  We found ourselves highlighting and adding bookmarks."—Apple (Best Books of October)"In four carefully crafted sections, renowned songwriter, musician, and performer Tweedy explains the mysteries of the 'ephemeral' process of a writing a song, from inspiration to process, suppressing one's annoying ego, and disappearing in the work .... Observing Tweedy's glowingly creative mind at work throughout this seriously fun book is truly illuminating."—Booklist

Promotional

Perfect for gifting during the holidays and beyond, a thoughtful, counterintuitive book about creativity from the celebrated songwriter, leader of the band Wilco, and New York Times bestselling author of LET'S GO (SO WE CAN GET BACK), inspiring others by taking the reader through the process of writing one song.

Review Quote

"In this succinct guide, the Wilco (and before that, Uncle Tupelo) frontman walks you through pretty much every question you might have about writing a song of your own. From anxiety that you'll suck--you totally will, at first--to the fear of exposing your inner feelings--accept it, writing songs means getting vulnerable--Tweedy helps you get out of your head and in front of your notebook or voice recorder. We found ourselves highlighting and adding bookmarks." --Apple (Best Books of October) "In four carefully crafted sections, renowned songwriter, musician, and performer Tweedy explains the mysteries of the 'ephemeral' process of a writing a song, from inspiration to process, suppressing one's annoying ego, and disappearing in the work .... Observing Tweedy's glowingly creative mind at work throughout this seriously fun book is truly illuminating." -- Booklist

Promotional "Headline"

Perfect for gifting during the holidays and beyond, a thoughtful, counterintuitive book about creativity from the celebrated songwriter, leader of the band Wilco, and New York Times bestselling author of LET'S GO (SO WE CAN GET BACK), inspiring others by taking the reader through the process of writing one song.

Excerpt from Book

Introduction Songs are mysterious. Where the fuck do they come from? I''ve written tons and tons of songs and STILL the best I can think to say after I finish one I''m happy with is "How''d I do that?" It''s confusing when you can DO something and not know exactly HOW you did it (and then somehow expect to do it again.) I think that''s why so much mysticism gets attached to songwriting when people try to talk about it--you hear things like "I''m just a conduit" and "The universe wanted me to have this song." Whatever you say, man. I''m pretty sure it''s still ME doing the work. Some partnership between my conscious mind and my subconscious gets results, but when things are going right, the distinctions between the two get blurry, and I''m never really sure who''s in charge. So the idea of teaching songwriting feels to me more like teaching someone how to think. Or how to have ideas. Because songs, to me, are much more like individual thoughts than other works of art. They''re hard to hold onto--Air-like and ephemeral. They pass through time. They''re here then gone . . . yet they''re portable, they can linger as a memory and, even crazier, just pop into our minds for no discernible reason. Other art forms, like paintings or books, have physical shapes and permanence, but how many of them can you hum a few bars of? So understandably, I think we all sort of assume songs are more conjured than written. And it makes sense that people are skeptical about the idea that songwriting can be taught. I mean, it''s easy to see how a step-by-step approach might be applied to the "craft" of songwriting--music theory, traditional song shapes, meter--but in my experience, that''s just the architecture. How do you teach someone to write the kind of song that makes someone else want to write a song? A song that you can fall in love with, and song that feels like it''s capable of loving back. Can you teach that? I''m not sure. But I have a feeling that part of the problem is the enormity of teaching someone how to write "songs" plural. Instead, I believe the only way to teach someone to write "songs" would be through teaching them how to give themselves permission to write ONE song. To teach them how to teach themselves--starting with one song. To me, the difference between one song and "songs" is not some cute semantic trick; it''s an important distinction, and it''s more precise about what it is you''re actually doing. No one writes "songs" plural. They write one song, and then another. And it''s also a reminder of what you really want. Or what I think you should REALLY want, which is to disappear--to watch your concept of time evaporate, to live at least once inside a moment where you aren''t "trying" to do anything or be anything anymore. To spend time in a place where you just are. Ok? Ok. That''s all . . . That''s something that doesn''t happen through "songs'' plural. It only happens when you''ve lost yourself in the process of making one song. 1. Why? Or Do You Need a Reason to Write a Song? Why I Write Songs Long before I wrote my first song, I thought of myself as a "songwriter." I would say to people, "Guess what? I''m a songwriter," not "I might like to try my hand at songwriting someday." Just "Yep, I''m a songwriter." It was bonkers! I think I was around seven years old. I was delusional. I was a delusional seven-year-old, and I had stumbled onto some internal TED Talk-level trick of self-actualization. It worked! It turns out that the reason I started writing songs is because I happened to be a songwriter. That, plus the looming sense as I got older that it would only be a matter of time before someone would say, "Boy, I''d love to hear one of your songs!" So I guess I found the desire to NOT be revealed as a complete fraud quite motivating as well. Does that sound like you? Do you like the idea of what it would feel like to be someone who writes songs? Is that your answer to the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Maybe minus the awkward transition from "I''m thinking firefighter . . . maybe cowboy . . . You know, I''d like to be something in the firefighting realm, but I''d also like to be on horseback if possible" to the crazy conviction of "Songwriter! Next question, Grampa!" Maybe your internal dialogue sounds something more like this: "I''d really like to be able to maybe write songs someday?" OK. Let me just settle this right off the bat: You are a songwriter! No doubt about it-and definitely as much as I was before I wrote any songs. Phew. I''m glad we got that out of the way. All right then, thanks for buying the book. Just kidding. Ha! That was hilarious! Sorry. I''m going to come at this from another angle, because I think it''s as close to the core philosophy of this book as I can get, and I believe it''s worth repeating in a way that might be understood from a broader perspective than just songwriting. The truth is that as I got older, the answer to "What do you want to be?" became much more difficult to say out loud. Even though I always had a pretty good idea that I wanted to write poems and songs and play music, I always had a hard time telling people that I wanted to be a poet or a songwriter or an artist. It still feels wrong sometimes to label myself as something so grand in my estimation. Why? Is it false modesty? I doubt it. My ego seems sturdy enough these days to tolerate some aggrandizement. I think the disconnect is more related to the idea of "being" anything when it''s the "doing" that''s most rewarding. Being something isn''t real in the same way that doing something can be real. Everyone has a different idea of a "songwriter." We all picture that differently. Your "songwriter" wears a beret, doesn''t she? I knew it! If you can pull off a beret, you can definitely write songs. Anyway, my "songwriter" doesn''t wear a beret or really think of himself as a songwriter at all unless he''s writing a song. That''s another main reason I wanted the focus on ONE song to be reflected in the title of this book. When you''re in the act of creating, when you''re actually focused on that one song, and that focus is allowing you to disappear (which we''ve already established is ideal and to be desired), there isn''t anyone else''s image of who you are to compete with. In fact, even the image you have of yourself can take a breather. So You Want to Be a Star? It''s soul-crushing, at any job, to aspire to BE something versus being driven by what you want to DO. Do you want to be a "star"? Don''t bother. You''re going to lose. Even if you make it, you''ll lose. Because you''re never going to be exactly what you''re picturing. But what do you want to do? You want to play music in front of people? You can do that. You want to see if you can get better at playing in front of a larger group of people? You might be able to do that. I can even see someone deciding that they''re going to create an outrageous persona and experiment with new musical forms. And that might end up making them a rock star, but I doubt the title is anywhere near as satisfying as the creation part. Maybe it''s a clichZ, but you have to focus on verbs over nouns-what you want to do, not what you want to be. Keep things simple. You want to be heard-listened to. We all do. So as stupid as it sounds, that only means you have to make a sound. Many songwriters have aspired to be Bob Dylan, including me. And is that an overambitious desire? Both yes and no. Did I truly want to BE Bob Dylan? No. I wanted to do what Bob Dylan does, and on the most basic level there was nothing stopping me from doing what Bob Dylan does. That doesn''t mean I can play the guitar or sing the same way or write songs the same way or as good. It just means that I make a sound. I write a song and I sing it. At the very least, I hear myself. If you''re coming to me for inspiration because you want to sound like me or "be" me . . . well, I''m flattered. But you''ll be surprised how good it feels to hear yourself sing your own song. Will One Song Be Enough? For some reason I feel the need to clearly explain how I distinguish between an "aspiration" and an "accomplishment." To me, "aspiration" is a word that is reserved for your loftiest goals, your dreams. I think "to aspire" is to aim for something just out of reach or something far away temporally-your end goal, maybe? It''s more related to the idea of how you want your work to be acknowledged. An "achievement" can mean sort of the same thing, I suppose, but I would argue that an "achievement" is something clearly defined and attainable. I think aspirations are great! And I think you should dream big. It''s hard to do something you can''t envision, so close your eyes and picture something wonderful every chance you get. But for now, let''s just take a look at what you''re trying to accomplish. Are you trying to create a body of work? Or could one song be enough? Just to see what it feels like to have your own song to sing? Because one song is all it takes to make a connection. And in my opinion, connection is the loftiest of all aspirations. To my way of thinking, there isn''t much else of any value going on in any song or work of art. At the core of any creative act is an impulse to make manifest our powerful desire to connect-with others, with ourselves, with the sacred, with God? We all want to feel less alone, and I believe that a song being sung is one of the clearest views we ever have to witness how humans reach out for warmth with our art. I''m sure you''ve felt that as a listener, too. That warmth works both ways. We look for it in the art we choose-in the music we listen to. But how

Description for Sales People

A step-by-step guide to song-writing and creativity by co-founder of alt-country band Wilco. Tweedy walks the reader through his innovative song-writing process, from start to finish. He draws an important distinction between writing just one song and many, which helps simplify things. Illustrates the deep sense of wonder behind the process of creating a song, and the joy of making music.

Details ISBN0593183525 Author Jeff Tweedy Pages 176 Language English ISBN-10 0593183525 ISBN-13 9780593183526 Format Hardcover Short Title How to Write One Song Subtitle Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us Back Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2020-10-13 NZ Release Date 2020-10-13 US Release Date 2020-10-13 UK Release Date 2020-10-13 Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc Year 2020 Publication Date 2020-10-13 Imprint Dutton / Signet DEWEY 782.4213 Audience General We've got this

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