Songwriter's Selling Your Songs, #3: Vocal Textbook

This textbook approaches songwriting as a learnable craft rather than mysterious inspiration. Weissman grounds his instruction in practical technique, giving singers concrete tools to analyze what makes songs work and to develop their own material with intention.

Working through this textbook feels like sitting down with an experienced songwriter who thinks clearly about how melodies are built. The 36-page format keeps focus tight and prevents overwhelming detail, making each concept digestible and immediately applicable.

This textbook serves singers who want to understand songwriting craft and develop skills in composing their own material. It works equally well for solo vocalists, ensemble members seeking creative outlets, and music students who need structure in approaching original composition.

• Record yourself singing your own compositions at different tempos to hear where phrasing feels natural and where it strains.
• Study the relationship between your vocal range and the melodic shapes you're writing; let your instrument's strengths inform your writing, not fight against it.
• Listen to vocal performances of songs you admire with the specific goal of identifying how melody, lyrics, and phrasing work together to convey emotion.

Incorporate this into a vocal elective or songwriting workshop for singers ready to move beyond interpretation into creation. It pairs well with opportunities for students to perform or present original songs developed during or after working through the material.

• Melodic construction and phrasing
• Lyric-melody relationship and prosody
• Song structure and form analysis
• Vocal range awareness applied to composition
• Critical listening for songwriting technique