A new songwriting guide has been launched to fill an important gapfor parents of 11-16 year olds who want to nurture their child’s creativity.
While many of today’s most successful songwriters — including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran, Lorde and Olivia Rodrigo — began writing songs seriously between the ages of 10 and 16, most existing songwriting books for young people are still aimed at 8–10‑year‑olds and treat songwriting as a light, classroom craft project.
The few books currently available for older beginners tend to swing in the opposite direction, offering dense, adult‑level explanations and heavy music‑theory content that young creators can find overwhelming.
The Young Person’s Easy Guide to Songwriting, written by music‑industry veteran Brian Oliver, is the first book specifically designed to meet the needs of motivated young songwriters aged 11–16, a group that has long been underserved.
This simple, breakthrough resource takes songwriting seriously enough for teens who want to write real songs, yet keeps everything clear, friendly and accessible — with no music theory required.
The book teaches young creators how to craft melodies, rhythms, lyrics, hooks, verses, choruses, bridges and full song structures using simple, confidence‑building steps.
Brian Oliver brings more than 30 years of professional experience as a music publisher, songwriter, musician and consultant. He is also the author of several five‑star rated songwriting books, including Surprising Rhyming, How [Not] to Write a Hit Song! and How [Not] to Write Great Lyrics!.
In The Young Person’s Easy Guide to Songwriting, Oliver combines professional insight with a warm, encouraging tone that helps young people:
—Develop creativity, imagination and problem‑solving.
—Express emotions in healthy, meaningful ways.
—Build confidence by finishing real songs.
—Strengthen language, memory and pattern‑recognition skills.
—Learn from examples of famous songwriters who started young.
The book includes practical worksheets, checklists and easy‑to‑follow activities that turn songwriting into an exciting, achievable skill for beginners, young musicians, creative writers, and any child who loves music.
Brian Oliver believes every young person deserves a chance to discover their voice, their creativity, and their confidence through songwriting.
He said: “So many of today’s most successful songwriters began writing songs seriously between the ages of 10 and 16, yet almost no books exist for young people of this age-group who want to take their songwriting to that next level. Books currently available tend to be either too young or too advanced. I wrote The Young Person’s Easy Guide to Songwriting to finally give young creators a clear, friendly, step‑by‑step way to write real songs — without feeling overwhelmed.”
He added: “As a music publisher, I always enjoyed working with young, beginning songwriters. But I often found that, while they had promising ideas for melodies and lyrics, the structure of their songs was very weak. That’s why this book puts a special emphasis on teaching song structure in a simple and accessible way.”
Inspiring and confidence‑building, The Young Person’s Easy Guide to Songwriting is the first songwriting book truly designed for today’s young creators — and the perfect resource for parents who want to nurture their child’s creativity and emotional growth.
The Young Person’s Easy Guide to Songwriting is available from Amazon in paperback and ebook form in the United States,UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and across Europe.
It is also available as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle store in the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia, and across Europe—as well as Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
“SURPRISING RHYMING” – The Alternative Rhyming Dictionary for Songwriters and Poets – is available from Amazon as a US paperback, a UK paperback, and across Europe. It is also available as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle store in the United States, the UK and Europe.
“How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics! – 40 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Lyrics For Your Songs” is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Book Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
Taylor Swift – who has just been recognized as one of the “30 Greatest Living American Songwriters” by the New York Times – has revealed why the bridge plays such an important role in her songwriting. It’s because her bridges are intentionally created to be the emotional high point in her songs – the powerful moment where the story shifts, the feelings intensify, and the true message of the song finally breaks through.
Taylor Swift’s bridges are widely recognized as some of the strongest and most defining elements of her music, and they often contain her most memorable lyric lines. Taylor herself describes the bridge as the moment where her storytelling, emotional honesty, and musical tension all collide.
“I love writing a bridge,” she says. “I love trying to take a song to a higher level in the bridge. It’s where you can really shift gears.”
Many songwriters use the bridge as a device for adding extra contrast to a song and giving listeners a temporary release from the heavily repeated phrases in the verse, chorus and hook. Taylor Swift tends to use the bridge to create a dramatic shift in narrative, tone, or tempo. It’s the point where the story deepens or turns. In ‘Love Story’, for example, the bridge slows down and introduces doubt before flipping into a joyful resolution.
Taylor says the bridge section is where she moves from describing events to confronting what they mean. In “All Too Well,” for example, the bridge abandons the detailed storytelling of the verses and erupts into raw emotional clarity, revealing the emotional truth that the verses were building toward.
“You start painting a picture in the verse,” she recently told the New York Times, “and you can get to the heart of it at the chorus. But the bridge is where you can zoom back and you see what this entire painting was supposed to be. The bridge is where you step back and you feel everything that this piece of art was supposed to make you feel.”
Taylor has also explained that she and Jack Antonoff intentionally craft what she calls “rant bridges” – sections that feel like a stream of consciousness, where emotion spills out rapidly and unfiltered, blending metaphor, confession, and urgency. For example, songs like ‘Cruel Summer’, ‘Out of the Woods” and “Is It Over Now?’ use this technique to explode the song wide open at exactly the right moment.
It is also available as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle store in the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia, and across Europe—as well as Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
“SURPRISING RHYMING” – The Alternative Rhyming Dictionary for Songwriters and Poets – is available from Amazon as a US paperback, a UK paperback, and across Europe. It is also available as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle store in the United States, the UK and Europe.
“How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics! – 40 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Lyrics For Your Songs” is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Book Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
A new revised and expanded Second Edition of “How (Not) To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” is now available from Amazon as a paperback and eBook in all territories, and also from leading eBook retailers such as Apple Books, Kobo and Barnes & Noble.
The latest version of the book takes a close look at the essential elements consistently found in the structure, melodies, and lyrics of today’s hit songs.
The book’s author, Brian Oliver—an experienced music publisher, songwriter, and music consultant—says: “The music industry has been going through major changes in recent years, largely driven by the dominance of the music streaming companies. Streaming is now impacting the way songs are being written and recorded. It’s changing the whole methodology of songwriting.”
He adds: “This revised and expanded Second Edition examines how these changes are affecting the key elements found in all hit songs today.”
The new book highlights the most common errors made when these essential components are built into a song—so that new writers can try to avoid such mistakes in their own songs.
As Oliver explains: “Most writers have, at some stage, had to endure the hurt and disappointment of having songs rejected by music publishers or record companies—and ended up asking themselves: ‘Could I have done more to make my songs better?’. This book aims to help writers recognise any weaknesses in their songs, so that they can re-work them, make them stronger, and hopefully achieve the breakthrough they’re seeking.”
The new edition points out that the way in which the leading streaming platforms’ algorithms focus on individual songs means the music business is effectively a ‘singles market’ again.
As a result, there are now even greater opportunities for new writers who are capable of crafting potential hit songs with memorable melodies and lyrics. But competition is intense. So, it’s more important than ever for beginning songwriters to make sure their songs stand out from the crowd by avoiding the traps and pitfalls that inexperienced songwriters often fall into.
Written in an easy, non-technical style, the book identifies many frequent causes of songwriting problems—from common mistakes in basic song structure … to having the wrong mental attitude and an unsatisfactory songwriting environment. From getting the blend of core ingredients wrong … to flawed choices when it comes to titles, melodies, lyrics, hooks, choruses, intros, bridges, pre-choruses, post-choruses—and even the song demo itself.
The book warns that aspiring songwriters’ chances of success could be hampered if they fail to spend enough time polishing their songs and eradicating weaknesses in their songwriting.
Oliver says: “That’s why this book sets out to help new writers develop their own unique writing style while avoiding fundamental errors at each key stage in the song development process.”
“How (Not) To Write A Hit Song! – 101 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success” [Second Edition] includes important tips on fixing and strengthening songs—along with a detailed checklist of 101 common mistakes that writers can measure their own songs against … no matter how ‘finished’ they think their songs are.
The book is now available from Amazon as a paperback and eBook in all territories, and also from leading eBook retailers such as Apple Books, Kobo and Barnes & Noble.
“HOW [NOT] TO WRITE SONGS IN THE STREAMING AGE – 40 MISTAKES TO AVOID IF YOU WANT TO GET MORE STREAMS” - This book shows how the dominance of music streaming is having a profound impact on songwriting and the structure of songs. Songs that connect in the streaming world are no longer the same as songs that work on traditional media, like radio. Successful streaming now requires a different type of song. This means songwriters who want more plays on streaming platforms need to rethink their songwriting approach in order to meet the specific needs of streaming audiences. This book aims to provide a better understanding of the new building blocks of song structure in the streaming age. It examines essential elements found in the construction, melodies and lyrics of the biggest streaming hits – and highlights the most common errors made when these key components are built into a song. To help new songwriters avoid such mistakes in their own songs, the book provides 40 insightful tips and a comprehensive Checklist for creating more streaming-friendly songs. The book is now available from Amazon as a paperback and eBook, and also from leading eBook retailers like Apple Books, Kobo and Barnes & Noble.
‘HOW (NOT) TO WRITE A HIT SONG! – 101 COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID IF YOU WANT SONGWRITING SUCCESS’
With a 5-star rating at Amazon, this revised and expanded Second Edition of “How [Not] To Write A Hit Song!” takes a close look at the essential elements consistently found in the structure, melodies, and lyrics of hit songs today.
The music industry has been going through major changes in recent years, largely driven by the dominance of the music streaming companies. Streaming is now impacting the way songs are being written and recorded. And it’s changing the whole methodology of songwriting. This expanded Second Edition examines how these changes are affecting the key elements found in all hit songs. The book highlights the most common errors made when these essential components are built into a song—so that new writers can try to avoid such mistakes in their own songs.
Most writers have had to endure the disappointment of having their songs rejected, and ended up asking: “Could I have done more to make my songs better?”. “How [Not] To Write A Hit Song!” aims to help writers recognize weaknesses in their songs, so they can re-work them, make them stronger, and hopefully achieve the breakthrough they’re striving for.
The book includes a detailed checklist of 101 common mistakes that writers can measure their own songs against.
“HOW (NOT) TO WRITE GREAT LYRICS! 40 COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN WRITING LYRICS FOR YOUR SONGS”
The 40 most common lyric writing mistakes are exposed in this new book by experienced music publisher and music consultant Brian Oliver.
Written in an easy, non-technical style, the book identifies the most frequent causes of lyric writing problems and aims to help aspiring songwriters steer clear of the many traps that they can easily fall into when writing lyrics for their songs.
“How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics!” gives new writers a wide range of valuable advice – from how to prevent common errors in the basic construction of their song lyrics … through to the perils of making bad choices when it comes to titles, opening lines, lyrical hooks, verb selection, clichés, rhyming patterns, and many other issues.
The book includes a comprehensive checklist of more than 100 potential hazards that writers can measure their own lyrics against.
“SURPRISING RHYMING FOR SONGWRITERS AND POETS -THE ALTERNATIVE RHYMING DICTIONARY”
With more new songs being written than ever before, songwriters are finding it harder to sound original and craft rhymes that have not already been used. “SURPRISING RHYMING” is a new kind of rhyming dictionary that aims to make it easier for writers to avoid clichés and create rhymes people may not have heard before.
Based on an in-depth study of the ingenious rhymes used by some of the world’s greatest songwriters and lyricists, this book offers an astonishing array of thousands of alternative rhyme options. It contains rhyme types much broader than those found in traditional rhyming dictionaries which tend to stick to ‘perfect’ rhymes. Instead, it focuses on ‘imperfect’ rhymes that are less predictable than ‘pure’ rhymes—and are therefore more likely to surprise an audience. The book also includes many new words that have been added to standard dictionaries in recent years.
With 624 pages, the book is laid out clearly to make it quick and easy to find the perfect word to achieve a memorable rhyme. There are separate sections for one-, two- and three-syllable rhymes, along with many useful tips on rhyming.
“SURPRISING RHYMING” is available from Amazon as a paperback and an eBook. It’s also available as an eBook from Apple’s iTunes Store, Barnes & Noble and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
“SURPRISING RHYMING” – The Alternative Rhyming Dictionary for Songwriters and Poets – is available from Amazon as a US paperback, a UK paperback, and across Europe. It is also available as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle store in the United States, the UK and Europe.
“How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics! – 40 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Lyrics For Your Songs” is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Book Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, and Rakuten’s KoboBooks.
SONGWRITING: THE HIT FORMULA 