Music Composition For Dummies

Contents

• Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3
• Part 1 : Basics and Rhythm 5
• Chapter 1 : Thinking Like a Composer 7 Limitations as Freedom 7 Composing as an Extension of Listening 8 Rules as Inspiration 9 You as Your Own Teacher 10 Know what your options are 10 Know the rules 10 Pick up more instruments 10 Understand when to put s
• Chapter 2 : Tools of the Trade 13 Composing with Pencil and Paper or a Tablet 13 Performance Skills 14 Composition Software 15 Finale 16 Sibelius 16 Logic Pro X 17 Cubase 17 Ableton 17 Pro Tools 18 A Pair of Moderately Well-Trained Ears 18 Knowledge of Mu
• Chapter 3 : Musical Scrapbooks: Writing on Paper and Screen 21 Writing It Down 22 Using Software 22 Computer versus Paper and Pencil 23 File Management 24
• Chapter 4 : Rhythm and Mood 27 Sculpting Time into Music 28 The Feel of Different Rhythms 28 Speed Bumps and Rhythmic Phrases 31 Mixing It Up: Back Phrasing, Front Phrasing, and Syncopation 33 Back phrasing 33 Front phrasing 33 Syncopation 34 Finding Your
• Part 2 : Melody and Development 39
• Chapter 5 : Finding Melodies Where You Least Expect Them 41 What is a Musical Framework? 42 Finding Melody in Language 42 Let's Eat(,) Grandma! 44 Finding Melody in the World Around You 45 Helping Your Muse Help You 47 Finding Melody in Your Instrument 49
• Chapter 6 : Scales and Modes, Moods and Melodies 53 Major and Minor Modes and the Circle of Fifths 54 Getting Moody 56 Moods a la Modes 58 Ionian (major scale) 58 Dorian 59 Phrygian 59 Lydian 59 Mixolydian 60 Aeolian (natural minor) 60 Locrian 61 The Pent
• Chapter 7 : Building Melodies Using Motifs and Phrases 65 The Long and Short of Musical Themes: Motifs and Phrases 66 Building a Melodic Phrase 68 Spicing It Up by Varying the Phrase 70 Rhythmic displacement 70 Truncation 71 Expansion 71 Tonal displacemen
• Chapter 8 : Developing Your Melodies 75 Structural Tones 75 Step-wise and Skip-wise Motion 76 Passing Tones 77 Neighboring Tones and Appoggiatura 78 Other Melodic Techniques 79 Escape tones 79 Suspension 80 Retardation 80 Anticipation 80 Pedal point 81 Ex
• Part 3 : Harmony and Structure 85
• Chapter 9 : Harmonizing with Melodies 87 Harmonizing Using Consonance and Dissonance 88 Tritone: The devil's interval 89 Conflict and resolution 90 Harmonizing Using the Circle of Fifths 92 Harmonizing Using Pivot Notes 94 Exercises 95
• Chapter 10 : Composing with Chords 97 Chords and Their Moods 98 Major 99 Minor 99 Major seventh 99 Minor seventh 100 Dominant seventh 100 Major sixth 101 Minor sixth 101 Suspended fourth 102 Ninth 102 Minor ninth 102 Diminished 103 Augmented 103 Minor 7,
• Chapter 11 : Composing from the Void 119 Composing Using the Movement Around You 120 Composing Using Musical Gestures: "Gestural Space" 121 Introducing Effort Shapes 122 Weight: heavy versus light 123 Time: Sustained and staccato 123 Flow: Bound and free-
• Chapter 12 : Beginnings, Middles, and Endings 131 A Word About Form 132 Beginnings: Intro and letter "A" 133 The power of titling 133 Starting a piece 134 Chord progressions 134 Middles: Letter "B" 135 Endings: Return of the Chorus or Refrain 136 Exercise
• Chapter 13 : Musical Forms 139 Combining Parts into Forms 139 One-part form: A 140 Binary form: AB 140 Song form: ABA 140 Arch form: ABCBA 142 Classical Forms 142 The sonata 142 The rondo 143 Concerto 144 Symphony 144 Fugue 144 Divertimento 145 Minimalism
• Part 4 : Orchestration and Arrangement 157
• Chapter 14 : Composing for the Standard Orchestra 159 Concert Pitch and Transposition 160 Pitch Ranges of Transposing Instruments 161 Alto flute 162 B flat trumpet 163 B flat clarinet 164 B flat bass clarinet 166 E flat clarinet 166 English horn/cor angla
• Chapter 15 : Composing for Rhythm Sections and Small Ensembles 185 The Drums 186 The Bass 187 Upright bass 187 Electric bass guitar 188 Acoustic bass guitar 188 The Guitar 189 Acoustic guitar 189 Electric guitar 190 Twelve-string guitar 190 Steel guitar 1
• Chapter 16 : Composing for Multiple Voices 195 Story Lines and Instrumentation 195 Writing Multiple Harmony Lines 196 Independent Voices 198 Counterpoint 200 The Five Elements of a Musical Tone 202 Pitch 202 Duration 202 Intensity 203 Timbre 203 Sonance 2
• Chapter 17 : Composing Commercial Music and Songs 207 Composing for Film 208 Working with time code 210 Working with proxy movies 211 Composing for Video Games 211 Composing for TV and Radio 212 Composing for the Orchestra 214 Composing for Yourself 215 C
• Chapter 218 Film Music Network 218 Music Licensing Companies 219 Musicbed 219 Jingle Punks 219 Marmoset 219 Taximusic 220 Working with Agents 220 Songwriting 221 Deciding on lyrics and tempo 222 Building rhythm 223 Choosing your form 224 In the beginning
• Chapter 18 : Composing Electronic Music 231 Software and Hardware for Composition 231 Sequencers and digital audio workstations 232 Music notation software: scorewriters 232 Repetition and the computer 234 Sound libraries 234 Composing on Computers 235 Th
• Chapter 19 : Composing for Other Musicians 241 Composing with Lead Sheets 241 Composing with Guitar Tablature 243 The Score 246 Writing for Ensembles 247 Working with Foreign Scores and Ensembles 249 Working with Drums 250
• Part 5 : the part of Tens 253
• Chapter 20 : Ten Career Opportunities for Composers 255 School Bands and Choirs 256 Incidental Television Music 257 Musical Theater 257 Concert Composition and Performances 259 Producer/Arranger 259 Industrial Music and Advertising 260 Business convention
• Chapter 21 : Ten Recommended Books for Composers 265 Songwriter's Market 265 The Shaping of Musical Elements, Vol II 266 The Norton Scores, Vols 1 and 2, 10th Edition 267 How to Grow as a Musician 267 Analysis of Tonal Music: A Schenkerian Approach 268 Th
• Chapter 22 : Ten Platforms for Promoting Your Music 271 YouTube 271 Bandcamp 272 Show.co 273 CD Baby 273 Distrokid 273 ReverbNation 274 TuneCore 274 Spinnup 274 Amuse 275 Ditto 275
• Part 6 : Appendixes 277
• Appendix A: Modes and Chords Reference 279
• Appendix B:
• Glossary 299
• Index 305