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Click here to buy Composing Music from Amazon now. -- Composing Music: A New Approach -- A reader writes: "I'm a musician and songwriter with a degree and many years' experience. But when I took on a project to create an opera with a playwright friend I found that my theory was rusty -- and I was also venturing into types of composition I'd never done before. I wanted a good solid book that would help me review my long-ago theory classes and layout a framework that would help me structure my composition.
The book's been a very pleasant surprise. It's quite intermediate in level. If you're not comfortable with a lot of theory basics, it would be a hard place to start."
[Editor note: If you'd like an easy-to-understand and thorough introduction to music theory, you may want to order What Makes Music Work. ]
"Similarly, experienced composers looking for inspiration for new directions probably won't find it here (or not enough to make it worthwhile). However, especially for composers with some experience, the book is an valuable way to brush up on theory, begin to apply that theory to examples and exercises and try some new approaches to writing. If that's the type of book you're looking for, I heartily recommend this title. "
-- Another reviewer says: "By its very nature, a book like this can only touch on some areas. So you will probably want to supplement it with some other material if, for example, you want a bit more detail on counterpoint. Still, it manages to cover a huge amount of ground, with the most detail where it counts most - developing and harmonising melodies, and a very good section on writing music to lyrics (ie songwriting). One last point - a lot of theory and composition books miss the mark with contemporary musicians because they approach the subject from the purely "classical" angle of cadence and resolution. This book is soundly classical in its approach to harmonisation and melodic development, but uses the comfortable pop/jazz approach to chord progressions, so it shouldn't lose any reader. Highly recommended!"
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