Mark Condon - Song Writing Made Easy: Guide To Writing, Testing and Marketing Your Music

Mark Condon Music, Inc.

Copyright 2012 by Mark Condon

ISBN: 9781623095277

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For information address Mark Condon Music, Inc. Rights Department 1626 W. Audubon Blvd, Lancaster, Ohio 43130

First Edition July, 2012

To Carol, my wife and very best friend:

I knew that I would make it as a songwriter many years ago because you believed in me and pushed me. I am where I am today because of you and God! Thank you, Babe, for giving me the inspiration and the courage to make it in an area where the odds were stacked against me. With you, the odds became doable!

To Miquel, Jared, Bryce and Chase:

I want to thank you for the countless hours that you all endured me banging on the piano while you were trying to sleep, study or watch a movie. Also, I want to thank you for all of the days that I was out on the road away from home. I am blessed more than I could ever imagine because you all are in my life. Oh and thank you for listening to almost every song that I have ever written to see if you liked it.

By the way where would Graceful Closure be without me giving you all the free advice in this book? By the age of 20 and 15 you guys had already released two EPs using many of these principles. Proud of you guys! Arent you glad I am your dad?

Mark has written wisdom and keys to successful writing that every songwriter should read. Regardless of your level of expertise or experience, I am confident the application of these principles will make you a better writer. Sharpening the gifts God has given us should be a priority for us all!

Trent Cory Worship Leader / Songwriter / Artist

Song Writing Made Easy, is a must have resource from a writer who has delivered countless songs for the church. Ive had the privilege of working with Mark over the years and Im always impressed with his ability to capture a timeless melody and a meaningful lyric in a song that is both inspired and well-crafted!

Chris Springer Sr. Director of A&R/Artist Development / Integrity Music, Inc. (1993-2011)

For those of you wanting to write a song or hoping to strengthen your writing skills, this book by Mark Condon is packed full of helpful instructions. Id encourage you to get your copy today.

Regi Stone President of Discover Worship / Worship Leader / Songwriter

Marks keen ability to craft songs for choirs, worship teams and Christian artists has taken his songs all around the world. Drawing from those years of experience, Mark offers practical and insightful advice about songwriting that will help anyone on his or her journey to becoming a better songwriter. Aspiring and seasoned writers who desire to cultivate and grow their gift of songwriting will be inspired, motivated and blessed by this book.

Twila LaBar Owner of McKim Creek Media / Producer / Songwriter

I have worked with numerous song writers for well over twenty years. Mark Condon is one of the most prolific and committed to the Church Ive ever known! Everyone who reads Song Writing Made Easy is privy to an invaluable collection of insights and practical tips from one of the truly great craftsmen and worship leaders of the present age.

Craig AdamsCreative/Publishing Director, LifeWay Worship

Mark Condon has taken much of the mystery out of the creative process of songwriting. This book will not only serve you well in the fundamental tools of songwriting, but will also guide you with needful insights in the art of sharing your songs with the rest of us. Song Writing Made Easy is a must read for everyone who has ever felt the music on the inside, but wasnt sure exactly how to Let it out! or Get it out!

Tim Pedigo Songwriter / Artist / Instructor at Indiana Bible College

Rarely do you ever hear of a person, family, business or career just accidentally succeeding. It is almost always a direct result of a lot of hard work, persistence, diligence and many people coaching that person to the place that they have arrived in life. There is really no such thing as a self-made millionaire or a self-made person. Anyone you see who is highly successful is there only because many people believed and bought into his vision along the way.

I have been blessed more than I deserve by the many people, churches, music publishers, record labels, friends and even people I will never meet who have purchased and used my music to help me live a life about which I once only dreamed.

I also want to say thank you to all of my peers who have read this book and helped to make sure that I represented this wonderful craft of songwriting properly. You will see their names under their personal comments about this book. I encourage you to go and check out their music and see why their opinions mean so much to me.

I would be remiss if I did not say thank you to my parents who invested, starting at the age of 6 into my first guitar. Even when money was not readily available they kept sowing into my future. I wonder what I would have become had they not invested in the true purpose of my life and that is to Wrap Worship Around The World.

I want to say a huge thank you to J.Daniel Smith, my Dove Award Winning producer and friend for many years, who took my songs and ugly demos from the rough and made them into shiny diamonds for the world to hear. J. Dan believed in my songs long before any publisher or record label. Again, where would I be without people believing in me?

I want to say a huge thank you to Carol Condon and Carrie Geiger for editing this book for me and making me look smarter than I am. You would have been most confused had they not stepped in and saved all of us.

Ive worked with song writers now for many yearsactually for decades! As an arranger, orchestrator and producer Ive been privileged to walk closely with them in the creative process and have been fascinated to see their ability to put into lyrical and melodic settings the things we all wish we could say. Thats why I see them as a gift from God.

Great song writers hand the rest of us the tools by which we can effectively and powerfully communicate our own expressions of love, adoration and worship unto Jesus. It truly is a gift, and a magnificent one at thatone for which I am extremely grateful. Song writers help us explore the depth and width of our emotions, scanning the full range, even taking us to the brink of our vulnerabilities.

I knew all these things about song writers due to my many years of experience with them, and then I met Mark Condon. Mark truly exhibits all the above-mentioned qualities, but for me he took it to a new place. There is something distinctive about the effervescence of his spirit and the buoyancy of his heart that, when coupled with his song writing skills, simply produces nothing short of abundant joy. His passion for Jesus is evident in every note he writes and inasmuch he lifts us to a higher place. Now that, my friend, is a gift. Speaking of friend, Im more than delighted to call Mark my friend.

Dove Award Winning Producer, Orchestrator and Arranger, J. Daniel Smith

I am ecstatic that you have chosen this book to be one of your many sources to grow and develop your craft of writing. Whether you are just starting or are a dabbler, my hope is that by the time you are finished reading this book you will be inspired out of your ever-livin mind to