songcraft

English

WOTD – 1 October 2017

Alternative forms

song-craft (dated)

Etymology

Andrej Guček (born 1963), a singer-songwriter from Slovenia

From song +‎ -craft, sometimes after Old English sangcræft (“singing, poetry; music”).

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɒŋkɹɑːft/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɔŋkɹæft/, /sɑŋ-/
Audio (AU) (file)
Hyphenation: song‧craft

Noun

songcraft (uncountable)

(music) The practice or skill of crafting or composing songs.
- 1846, Thomas Wright, “Essay III. The Chansons de Geste, or Historical Romances of the Middle Ages”, in Essays on Subjects Connected with the Literature, Popular Superstitions, and History of England in the Middle Ages. [...] In Two Volumes, volume I, London: John Russell Smith, 4, Old Compton Street, Soho Square, OCLC 420495777, page 94:
  The purpose of the anecdote is to show the bold recklessness of the warrior, who could amuse himself with his song-craft in the very face of the enemy.
- 1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, OCLC 316566484, pages 8–9:
  Pause by some neglected graveyard, / For a while to muse, and ponder / On a half-effaced inscription, / Written with little skill of song-craft, / Homely phrases, but each letter / Full of hope, and yet of heart-break, / Full of all the tender pathos / Of the Here and Hereafter;— / Stay and read this rude inscription, / Read this Song of Hiawatha!
- 1998, Dean Budnick, “Mother Hips”, in Jam Bands: North America’s Hottest Live Groups: Plus How to Tape and Trade Their Shows, Toronto, Ont.: ECW Press, →ISBN, page 176:
  [The] Mother Hips was the first band in the 1990s to emerge from the Chico, California, music scene and introduce itself to the wider world. […] During this era, many area venues frequently invoked a "no original material" policy, but the exemplary song craft and swelling fan base of Mother Hips led many bars and clubs to abandon that edict.
- 2012 July 14, Scott Tobias, “Weird Al’s UHF is uneven, but that just made it ahead of its time”, in The A.V. Club‎, archived from the original on 28 November 2013:
  A child weaned on Police Academy sequels or, say, the appalling robot pimp in 1984's The Ice Pirates could have no trouble giggling at song parodies like "Eat It" or "I Lost On Jeopardy," but might come to appreciate, however unconsciously, ["Weird Al"] Yankovic's songcraft or the peculiar places his lyrics could go.