Creating music is a lot of fun! It’s also a continous learning process. Music theory and musicianship skills allow you a greater understanding of your music; a natural flow to your creative thoughts. Music teachers & schools will help you gain the skills you want. Songwriters offer tips about the songwriting process. The creative process in music is an exciting learning adventure! This posting (The Creative Process 01) is the first in a series. What follows is a list of books you might find useful. The list is deliberately random to keep it fun!

• Beethoven and the Creative Process | by Barry Cooper
• Beethoven: Studies in the Creative Processes | by Lewis Lockwood
• The Muse that Sings: Composers Speak about the Creative Process | by Ann McCutchan
• Songwriting: And the Creative Process : Suggestions and Starting Points for Songwriters | by Steve Gillette
• Controlling Creative Processes In Music
• In Their Own Words: Songwriters Talk About the Creative Process | by Bill DeMain
• Encyclopedia of Rhythms: Instrumental Forms of Harmony : A Massive Collection of Rhythm Patterns | by Joseph Schillinger
• Chopin’s Work: His Inspirations and Creative Process in the Light of the Sources
• Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure: Tools and Techniques for Writing Better Lyrics | by Pat Pattison
• Mahler at Work: Aspects of the Creative Process | by Colin Matthews
• Practical Approach to the Study of Form in Music | by Peter Spencer
• Sonata Forms | by Charles Rosen
• Ear Training: Volume I Scale Forms through Six Basic Tetrachords | by Elvo S. D’Amante
• Anthology of Musical Forms | by Leon Stein
• Musical Form and Musical Performance | by Edward T. Cone
• The Listening Experience: Elements, Forms, and Styles in Music | by James P. O’Brien
• The Technique of Canon | by Hugo Norden
• Creative Chord Shapes: Guitarist’s Guide to Open-String Chord Forms
• Da Capo Best Music Writing 2002: The Year’s Finest Writing on Rock, Pop, Jazz, Country, & More | by Jonathan Lethem
• The forms of music | by Donald Francis Tovey
• Form and Content in Commercial Music | by Christopher P. Gordon
• Larger Forms Of Musical Composition | by Percy Goetschius
• The structure of music;: An outline for students | by R. O Morris
• Music of the Twentieth Century: Style & Structure | by Bryan R. Simms
• Jazz Guitar Structures | by Andrew Green
• All About Chords: A Comprehensive Approach to Understanding Contemporary Chordal Structures and Progressions | by Elvo D’Amante
• The Structure of Music: A Listener’s Guide : A Study of Music in Terms of Melody and Counterpoint | by Robert Erickson
• Ear Training, Capturing the Basic Chord Qualities: A Comprehensive Approach to the Systematic Study of Melodic and Harmonic Structures in Music | by Elvo S. D’Amante
• The Structure of Atonal Music | by Allen Forte
• Music of Yes: Structure and Vision in Progressive Rock | by Bill Martin
• African Polyphony and Polyrhythm: Musical Structure and Methodology | by Simha Arom
• Structure and Analysis of the Modern Improvised Line | by D. Zinn
• Writing Jazz | by Nicholas Evans
• The Analysis and Cognition of Basic Melodic Structures | by Eugene Narmour
• The Rhythmic Structure of Music | by Grosvenor Cooper
• Creating Melodies: A Songwriter’s Guide to Understanding, Writing and Polishing Melodies | by Dick Weissman
• Harmonic foundation for jazz & popular music: The Amadiean creed, a unique method for creating chord voicings and harmonizing a melody : text and workbook for individual or class instruction | by Jimmy Amadie
• Inside Classic Rock Tracks: Songwriting and Recording Secrets of 100+ Great Songs | by Rikky Rooksby
• Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature | by Carol Kimball
• Musical Improv Comedy: Creating Songs in the Moment | by Michael Pollock
• Composing Music: A New Approach | by William Russo
• The Craft of Lyric Writing | by Sheila Davis
• Songwriting for Dummies | by Jim Peterik
• How to Write Songs on Guitar: A Guitar-Playing and Songwriting Course | by Rikky Rooksby
• Songwriters on Songwriting | by Paul Zollo
• Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs (Berklee Guide) | by Jack Perricone
• Successful Lyric Writing: A Step-By-Step Course & Workbook | by Sheila Davis
• The Craft and Business of Songwriting (2nd Edition) | by John Braheny
• Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting | by Jimmy Webb
• The Songwriting Sourcebook: How to Turn Chords Into Great Songs | by Rikky Rooksby
• The Songwriters Idea Book: 40 Strategies to Excite Your Imagination, Help You Design Distinctive Songs, and Keep Your Creative Flow | by Sheila Davis
• How to Write Songs on Keyboards: A Complete Course to Help You Write Better Songs | by Rikky Rooksby
• The Songwriter’s Workshop: Harmony | by Jimmy Kachulis
• Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure: Tools and Techniques for Writing Better Lyrics | by Pat Pattison
• Tori Amos: Piece by Piece | by Tori Amos
• Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure: Tools and Techniques for Writing Better Lyrics | by Pat Pattison
• Writing Music For Hit Songs, Second Edition | by Jai Josefs
• 88 Songwriting Wrongs & How to Right Them: Concrete Ways to Improve Your Songwriting and Make Your Songs More Marketable | by Pete Luboff
• And Then I Wrote: The Songwriter Speaks
• Off The Record: Songwriters on Songwriting
• Chord Progressions for Songwriters | by Richard J. Scott
• Inspiration for Songwriters: Tips and Tricks to Unlocking the Muse | by Stan Swanson
• Making music: The guide to writing, performing & recording | by George Martin
• The Musician’s Guide to Reading and Writing Music | by Dave Stewart
• Melody: How to Write Great Tunes | by Rikky Rooksby
• Roy Orbison: Invention Of An Alternative Rock Masculinity | by Peter Lehman
• Inside Songwriting: Getting to the Heart of Creativity | by Jason Blume
• Confronting Silence | by Toru Takemitsu
• Money Chords: A Songwriter’s Sourcebook of Popular Chord Progressions | by Richard J. Scot
• Instant Songwriting With the Piano | by Charles Segal
• Inside Songwriting: Getting to the Heart of Creativity | by Jason Blume
• 500 Songwriting Ideas | by Aschmann Lis
• Lead Sheet Bible: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Lead Sheets and Chord Charts
• The Complete Singer-Songwriter: A Troubadour’s Guide to Writing, Performing, Recording and Business | by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
• The Songwriter’s Handbook | by Tom T. Hall
• The Composer’s Handbook: A Do-It-Yourself Approach Combining “Tricks of the Trade” and Other Techniques
• Songwriting: A Complete Guide to the Craft | by Stephen Citron
• Songwriting: And the Creative Process : Suggestions and Starting Points for Songwriters | by Steve Gillette
• Songwriting Made Easy | by Russell Robinson
• Creating Melodies: A Songwriter’s Guide to Understanding, Writing and Polishing Melodies | by Dick Weissman
• The Secrets of Songwriting: Leading Songwriters Reveal How to Find Inspiration and Success | by Susan Tucker
• The Blues Lyric Formula | by Michael Taft
• The Songwriter’s Hook Book | by Jon Batson
• Musical Composition in the Twentieth Century | by Arnold Whittall
• Everything You Wanted to Know about Songwriting | by Cliffie Stone
• Melody and Harmony in Contemporary Songwriting | by Ricigliano
• Songwriting For Beginners | by Miriam Davidson
• The art of songwriting | by Maury Deutsch
• The Billboard Book of Songwriting | by Peter Pickow
• Master Class in Songwriting with Molly-Ann Leikin | by Molly-Ann Leikin
• Songwriting: A Structured Approach | by Robert Alan Berger
• Songwriters Playground: Innovative Exercises in Creative Songwriting | by Barbara L. Jordan
• The Songwriter’s Workshop
• Write Songs from Scratch | by Christopher Norton
• How To Play By Ear : A Guide to Chords and Progressions for Musicians, Songwriters and Composers | by Jack Hatfield
• Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles | by Dominic Pedler
• Basic Music Theory: How to Read, Write, and Understand Written Music | by Jonathan Harnum
• 101 songwriting and composing techniques | by Jack Wheaton
• Basic techniques of songwriting country style | by Ramsey Kearney
• How to write songs: The songwriting process | by Oscar Riddel
• Songwriting for Beginners an Easy Beginning Method | by Miriam & Heartwood, Kiya Davidson
• More Songwriting and Composing Techniques: Making Something Out of Nothing | by Peter L. Alexander
• A course in professional songwriting | by Bill Springer
• Modern Jazz Voicings: Arranging for Small and Medium Ensembles Modern Jazz Voicings: Arranging for Small and Medium Ensembles | by Ted Pease
• Bass Lines in Minutes – An Easy Method for Creating Bass Lines | by Kris Berg
• The art of improvisation: Creating real-time music through jazz improvisation | by Bob Taylor
• Creating Music: A New Approach to Piano Improvisation | by Elly Wilke
• Studying Rhythm (3rd Edition) | by Anne C. Hall
• Rhythm Riffs: Over 200 Riffs in All Styles Hal Leonard Guitar Method | by Greg Koch
• Note Grouping
• Melodic Rhythms for Guitar by William Leavitt
• Rhythm & Meter Patterns by Gary Chaffee
• Egyptian Rhythm: The Heavenly Melodies | by Moustafa Gadalla
• Unlocking the Groove: Rhythm, Meter, and Musical Design in Electronic Dance Music | by Mark J. Butler
• Harmonic Rhythm: Analysis and Interpretation | by Joseph P. Swain
• Thesaurus Of Scales And Melodic Patterns (Text) | by Nicolas Slonimsky
• Scale Patterns | by Don Latarski
• Creating Music: A New Approach to Piano Improvisation | by Elly Wilke
• Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach | by Garrison Fewell
• Melodic Studies & Compositions for Guitar: A Reading Workout for Serious Musicians | by Fred Hamilton
• The Melodic Bass Library | by Jimmy Haslip
• Melodic Improvising For Guitar Developing Motivic Ideas Through Chord Changes | by Bruce Saunders
• Bebop Licks for Guitar: A Dictionary of Melodic Ideas for Improvisation | by Les Wise
• Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony
• Modern Chord Progressions | by Ted Greene
• Contemporary Chord Khancepts | by Steve Khan
• The Songwriting Sourcebook: How to Turn Chords Into Great Songs | by Rikky Rooksby
• Chord Chemistry | by Ted Greene
• Piano Chords & Progressions:: The Secret Backdoor to Exciting Piano Playing! | by Duane Shinn
• Jazz Piano Chords | by Misha Stefanuk
• Chord Master: How to Choose and Play the Right Guitar Chords | by Rikky Rooksby
• Harmony and Voice Leading | by Edward Aldwell
• Voice Leading for Guitar: Moving Through the Changes | by John Thomas
• Melodic Improvising  |  by Andy Middleton
• Jazz Piano – The Blues & Melodic Improvisation  |  by Herb Drury
• Pianists Guide to Blues, Jazz, and Melodic Improvisations  |  by Herb Drury
• Style and Idea: Selected Writings  |  by Arnold Schoenberg
• The Songwriters Idea Book: 40 Strategies to Excite Your Imagination,    Help You Design Distinctive Songs, and Keep Your Creative Flow  |  by Sheila Davis
• 1,000 Keyboard Ideas  |  by Ronald Herder
• Essential Computers: Composing Music on Your PC  |  by Robert Beattie
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Composition  |  by Michael Miller
• The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self  |  by William Westney
• Simple Composition  |  by Charles Wuorinen
• The Craft of Musical Composition: Theoretical Part – Book 1  |  by Paul  Hindemith
• Compositional Process of J.S. Bach  |  by Robert L. Marshall
• Techniques of the Contemporary Composer  |  by David Cope
• The Computer Music Tutorial  |  by Curtis Roads
• Sonata Forms  |  by Charles Rosen
• Creative Music Composition: The Young Composer’s Voice  |  by  Margaret Lucy Wilkins
• Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming: A Step-by-Step Guide to  Better Rhyming and Lyrics  |  by Pat Pattison
• Melody: How to Write Great Tunes  |  by Rikky Rooksby
• Composition in Retrospect  |  by John Cage
• Tonal Pitch Space  |  by Fred Lerdahl
• The Thematic Process in Music  |  by Rudolph Richard Reti
• Fugal Composition: A Guide to the Study of Bach’s ‘48′  |  by Joseph  Groocock
• Anatomy of Melody: Exploring the Single Line of Song  |  by Alice  Parker
• Creative Music Making  |  by William L. Cahn
• How to Write a Melody  |  by Alexander Borisoff
• Learning to Compose  |  by John Howard
• Computer Composer’s Toolbox  |  by Phil Winsor
• Tones into words;: Musical compositions as subjects of poetry  |  by Calvin S Brown
• The Guitarist’s Guide to Composing and Improvising  |  by Jon Damian
• Basic Atonal Theory  |  by John Rahn
• Interpretation for Flute: How to Shape a Melodic Line
• Structure and Analysis of the Modern Improvised Line  |  by D. Zinn