The Young Musician's Guide to Songwriting : How to Create Music and Lyrics

Why not write your own songs?

You’ve learned the basics and rehearsed other musicians’ pieces—now you want to try your own hand at writing. But it can be hard to get started…and sometimes even harder to know when to stop. The Young Musician’s Guide to Songwriting is an ideal resource, designed specifically for guiding the young musician through the songwriting process—from idea generation to completed song.

It is also a refreshing tool for music teachers, private instructors, and parents of musicians, who have a young artist in need of some rails to guide them down the songwriting tracks.

Whether you’re a beginning or advanced musician, author and musician Lisa Donovan Lukas compiles her years of experience teaching and working in the music industry to provide exercises that help the songwriter get started quickly; lessons on structure, lyrics, melody, harmony, and rhythm; and perhaps most importantly—the discovery and development of a good song idea.

So grab your instrument (and maybe your teacher), and crack open this book to unlock the gates to your own musical journey.

Lisa Donovan Lukas has worked as a songwriter, composer, pianist, vocalist, film and television music copyist/proofreader, and music teacher. Years of her music students' cumulative interest in writing and composing original material inspired her to create a guide to songwriting, specifically for young artists.
Lukas earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the USC Thornton School of Music and has worked in the music industry ever since. Her songs have appeared in film and television, and her piano sheet music is exclusively distributed with Piano Pronto Publishing - Composers Community. Lukas's accolades include MTAC's prestigious Composers Today awards and numerous ASCAP Plus honors, including Popular Division and Concert Division awards.
Lukas is a member of the Music Teachers National Association and the Music Teachers' Association of California. She remains passionate about passing on the magical craft of songwriting to future generations.