Song Maps

A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics

By: Simon Hawkins

Narrated by: Sandra Hawkins

Length: 4 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Whether you're just starting out as a songwriter, you're an experienced songwriter or just looking for a new perspective on the beautiful craft of songwriting, Song Maps - A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics offers fresh insights to help you write your very best lyrics. 

Does any of the following sound familiar? 

• You worry that the lyrics you write just don't deliver their full potential but can't figure out why, even though technically they tick all the right boxes. 
• You have great ideas but your finished lyrics somehow fall short of the emotional impact you wanted and, as a result, your songs get passed over. 
• You have a busy schedule with limited time to write and have wasted too many hours chasing un-writable lyric ideas. 
• You wonder how some professional songwriters always seem to get a particular dynamic in their lyrics, consistently writing songs better than 90% of what you hear on the radio. 
• You are perhaps nervous about going into a pro co-writing session because you fear your ideas aren't worth bringing into the writing room. 
• You know you have so many great titles waiting to be written but haven't found a way of systematically developing them into well-crafted lyrics. 
• After writing an amazing hooky Chorus and a great supporting first Verse, you hit the dreaded wall that is "second verse curse". 

In Song Maps - A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics, I deliver simple, logical, well-defined solutions to these issues and more: I give you seven well-developed professional templates for you to bring your lyrics to life. I also provide you with a tried and tested process for writing lyrics using Song Maps. And I'll reveal the songwriter's secret weapon.

Please note: The audio references supplemental material that is not included with the purchase of this audiobook.

©2016 Simon Hawkins (P)2017 Simon Hawkins

Not for everyone

You might like this book if you're into Christian music.
You might like this book if you're into country music.
You might like this book if you like sappy songs.

I found this book useless. First 4 chapters are about selling you the ideas in the book. The book explains only how to write generic songs, songs that may be respected by your song writing peers (if you're trying to be a generic songwriter). I hated every example of the lyrics provided in this book.

I was hoping for inspiration. I have been writing songs for 35 years. Songs about the gritty side of life, projected through an indie/alternative soundtrack. This book just made me sad about what some people consider to be good songs.

I hated this book. I couldn't finish it. The performance came across as patronising. I got to chapter 12 and then stopped being remotely interested.

This book doesn't work well in audiobook format

No music, just lyrics writing.
Boring narrationZZZ.
Requieres too much focus for an audiobook.
Narrator speaks perfect and polished british English, but her tone is slow and causes to fall asleep. Better for other type of narrations.
If the book is written by a male, I prefer a male voice narrating it. The opposite applies. Just my taste.
Too many Chistian music examples for my taste. and too many country examples... just my taste, but misses many great examples available in many other genres.

Last: tha father example with the two messy boys and dead wife, riding a train after leaving the hospital, IS NOT ORIGINAL! Heard it in other audiobook and read it in another book!

This book requires you to sit down and write while you listen to it. And that's not the purpose of an audiobook.
And the narration is so slow, polished, formal and emotionless, that requires a lot of focus to follow the book and extra focus not to fall asleep.
Avoid if you listen to it while driving.

Half an hour in and still pitching the book

I can't tell you if there's anything worth learning in this book. I gave up after half an hour of "this is what writing in 3-D will do for your songs". I already have the audiobook, I'd really love to have the information rather than a sales pitch for why I should buy the book.

Meandering

"Meandering" is the primary word I think of, while listening to this audiobook.

It begins with a typical "why"-section: why use Song Maps – why follow this advice – here's how it has helped me immensely, and can help you too. Such a section is normal, for most self-help books. But it goes on and on and on. The author still makes his case 20 minutes in, and 30 minutes in, and so on.

Finally he/she gets to the meat of the content. Here, the problem is the opposite: the concepts, steps, and sub-steps are not elaborated sufficiently upon – making it a superficial and confusing listening-experience.

I then logged onto Audible.com to see whether an accompanying PDF had been supplied – possibly making the content more useful. But no. Audible writes this: "The audio references supplemental material that is not included with the purchase of this audiobook."

Bummer. Should have read the description more carefully before purchasing. Will ask for a refund of this book.

The narration isn't my cup of tea (pun intended) either. Although a matter of taste (pun equally intended), it's just a tad too aristocratic, for me to connect with it.

For a much better book a la this one, I recommend The Addiction Formula. It's amazing!

Changed my songwriting process forever

Loved every part of this book. I managed to apply the lessons to my songs right away even before I finished the book. All of the sections in my songs now make sense especially the second verse.

Excellent.

I am very grateful for this book. I have listened through once and had many aha moments. I plan to get the workbook to really dig in and apply these suggestions. It is perfectly written to give you exactly what you need without any fluff. I know this will help transform my songwriting. The reader was great too.

overly Christian

Mind maps are templates for lyric-driven songs. Unfortunately, most of the songs that are used as examples for each of the templates are not rock, pop or blues songs as might be expected but are in fact worship, gospel or contemporary Christian music.

revolutionary writing techniques

Revolutionary writing techniques. Some background-noise in audio. Could be more concise. Minor Issues, would recommend!

Easy to understand

I really like how practical and motivating this book is. It really simplify the process, and give me confidence that I can write like a pro. Also very pleased to have a find a book with many Christian genre examples