Introducing 'The Art of Songwriting': a New Kind of Songwriting Book

'The Art of Songwriting', The Song Foundry's much-anticipated songwriting book, was released worldwide this morning. The book, authored by songwriter Ed Bell, covers the broad range of creative and life skills songwriters need to succeed in 2017: not just how to use things like rhyme, melody and structure, but how to be creative, how to collaborate, how to learn new things and - most of all - how to be an artist.

The book was born out of Ed Bell's experiences as a young writer in London and later New York. "You know," he says, "when I was just starting out I read songwriting books that focus on the craft of lyric writing, or how to start a songwriting workshop, or how the music industry works, aimed at students or enthusiasts or young professionals or whatever. But I wanted to write a book for *all* songwriters, about the thing that unites all of us - that we're artists.

"I wanted to talk about what it means to be a real-life artist in a world that's messy and unpredictable and always challenging you in new ways."

"Traditional songwriting books are about learning rules and doing exercises," he adds, "but in the real world songwriting is about so much more than that. It's about thinking for yourself, it's about being proactive and resilient, and it's about doing things your way.

"They're a different kind of skills, and honestly, mastering them has taken me the best part of a decade. But I couldn't write anything I do today without them - including 'The Art of Songwriting'. And if I've done a good job, maybe now you can master those skills too."

'The Art of Songwriting: How to Create, Think and Live Like a Songwriter' is available in paperback on Amazon in the US, UK and mainland Europe, and at bookstores worldwide. It is also available as an eBook direct from The Song Foundry, and on Kindle, Nook and Kobo.

Ed Bell is a songwriter and educator who has worked on writing projects in London, New York and Shanghai, China. He created The Song Foundry in 2014.

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