Music Composition for Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Basics and Rhythm
	Chapter 1 Thinking Like a Composer
		Limitations as Freedom
		Composing as an Extension of Listening
		Rules as Inspiration
		You as Your Own Teacher
			Know what your options are
			Know the rules
			Pick up more instruments
			Understand when to put something aside
			Get something from nothing
			Trust your own taste
	Chapter 2 Tools of the Trade
		Composing with Pencil and Paper or a Tablet
		Performance Skills
		Composition Software
			Finale
			Sibelius
			Logic Pro X
			Cubase
			Ableton
			Pro Tools
		A Pair of Moderately Well-Trained Ears
		Knowledge of Music Theory
		Space, Time, and Ideas
		A Pack Rat Mentality
	Chapter 3 Musical Scrapbooks: Writing on Paper and Screen
		Writing It Down
		Using Software
		Computer versus Paper and Pencil
		File Management
	Chapter 4 Rhythm and Mood
		Sculpting Time into Music
		The Feel of Different Rhythms
		Speed Bumps and Rhythmic Phrases
		Mixing It Up: Back Phrasing, Front Phrasing, and Syncopation
			Back phrasing
			Front phrasing
			Syncopation
		Finding Your Own Rhythmic Phrases
		Rhythm and Mood Exercises
Part 2 Melody and Development
	Chapter 5 Finding Melodies Where You Least Expect Them
		What Is a Musical Framework?
		Finding Melody in Language
		Let’s Eat(,) Grandma!
		Finding Melody in the World Around You
		Helping Your Muse Help You
		Finding Melody in Your Instrument
			Using scales in composition
			Using music theory in composition
			Using musical gestures as compositional tools
		Exercises
	Chapter 6 Scales and Modes, Moods and Melodies
		Major and Minor Modes and the Circle of Fifths
		Getting Moody
		Moods à la Modes
			Ionian (major scale)
			Dorian
			Phrygian
			Lydian
			Mixolydian
			Aeolian (natural minor)
			Locrian
		The Pentatonic Scale
		Harmonic and Melodic Minor
		Exercises
	Chapter 7 Building Melodies Using Motifs and Phrases
		The Long and Short of Musical Themes: Motifs and Phrases
		Building a Melodic Phrase
		Spicing It Up by Varying the Phrase
			Rhythmic displacement
			Truncation
			Expansion
			Tonal displacement
		Exercises
	Chapter 8 Developing Your Melodies
		Structural Tones
		Step-wise and Skip-wise Motion
		Passing Tones
		Neighboring Tones and Appoggiatura
		Other Melodic Techniques
			Escape tones
			Suspension
			Retardation
			Anticipation
			Pedal point
		Exercises
Part 3 Harmony and Structure
	Chapter 9 Harmonizing with Melodies
		Harmonizing Using Consonance and Dissonance
			Tritone: The devil’s interval
			Conflict and resolution
		Harmonizing Using the Circle of Fifths
		Harmonizing Using Pivot Notes
		Exercises
	Chapter 10 Composing with Chords
		Chords and Their Moods
			Major
			Minor
			Major seventh
			Minor seventh
			Dominant seventh
			Major sixth
			Minor sixth
			Suspended fourth
			Ninth
			Minor ninth
			Diminished
			Augmented
			Minor 7, flat 5 / half-diminished
		Putting Chords Together
		Rhythmic Movement
		Chord Progressions
			“Rules” for major chord progressions
			“Rules” for minor chord progressions
		Coming Home with Cadences
			Authentic cadences
			Plagal cadences
			Deceptive or interrupted cadences
			Half-cadences
		Fitting Chords and Melodies Together
			Extracting harmony from melody
			Using chord changes
		Exercises
	Chapter 11 Composing from the Void
		Composing Using the Movement Around You
		Composing Using Musical Gestures: “Gestural Space”
		Introducing Effort Shapes
			Weight: heavy versus light
			Time: Sustained and staccato
			Flow: Bound and free-flowing
			Space: Direct and indirect
		Composing Using Effort Shapes
			Dab
			Flick
			Glide
			Press
			Float
			Punch
			Slash
			Wring
			Shaping story and mood by combining effort shapes
		Exercises
	Chapter 12 Beginnings, Middles, and Endings
		A Word About Form
		Beginnings: Intro and letter “A”
			The power of titling
			Starting a piece
			Chord progressions
		Middles: Letter “B”
		Endings: Return of the Chorus or Refrain
		Exercises
	Chapter 13 Musical Forms
		Combining Parts into Forms
			One-part form: A
			Binary form: AB
			Song form: ABA
			Arch form: ABCBA
		Classical Forms
			The sonata
			The rondo
			Concerto
			Symphony
			Fugue
			Divertimento
			Minimalism
			Through-composed
		Popular Forms
			The blues
			32-bar blues and country
			Rock
		Jazz
		Atonal Music
			Atonality and form
			Atonality and instrument realities
			Atonal Music and You
			Listening for atonality
		Exercises
Part 4 Orchestration and Arrangement
	Chapter 14 Composing for the Standard Orchestra
		Concert Pitch and Transposition
		Pitch Ranges of Transposing Instruments
			Alto flute
			B flat trumpet
			B flat clarinet
			B flat bass clarinet
			E flat clarinet
			English horn/cor anglais
			Flugelhorn
			French horn
			Piccolo trumpet
		Non-Transposing Instruments
			Concert flute
			Bass flute
			Bassoon
			Double bass/contrabass
			Oboe
			Orchestral harp
			Tenor slide trombone
			Viola
			Violin
			Cello
			Where they all are on the piano
		Getting the Sounds You Want
			Stringed instruments
			Brass and woodwind instruments
	Chapter 15 Composing for Rhythm Sections and Small Ensembles
		The Drums
		The Bass
			Upright bass
			Electric bass guitar
			Acoustic bass guitar
		The Guitar
			Acoustic guitar
			Electric guitar
			Twelve-string guitar
			Steel guitar
		Free Reed Instruments
			The harmonica
			The accordion
			The concertina
	Chapter 16 Composing for Multiple Voices
		Story Lines and Instrumentation
		Writing Multiple Harmony Lines
		Independent Voices
		Counterpoint
		The Five Elements of a Musical Tone
			Pitch
			Duration
			Intensity
			Timbre
			Sonance
		Some Do’s and Don’ts
			Don’t write more than three independent melodies at one time
			Don’t cross melody lines over each other
			Do be deliberate in the use of octaves and unisons
			Do consider tessitura
		Exercises
	Chapter 17 Composing Commercial Music and Songs
		Composing for Film
			Working with time code
			Working with proxy movies
		Composing for Video Games
		Composing for TV and Radio
		Composing for the Orchestra
		Composing for Yourself
		Composing Teams
		Helpful Organizations and Web Sites
			Film Connection
			American Composers Forum
			American Composers Forum, Los Angeles Chapter
			Film Music Network
		Music Licensing Companies
			Musicbed
			Jingle Punks
			Marmoset
			Taximusic
		Working with Agents
		Songwriting
			Deciding on lyrics and tempo
			Building rhythm
			Choosing your form
			In the beginning
			Making your song moody
			The hook
		Making a Great Demo
			Keep it short
			Only include the best stuff
			Organize it
			Have more ready to go
			Identify yourself
			Invest in quality
			Copyright it
	Chapter 18 Composing Electronic Music
		Software and Hardware for Composition
			Sequencers and digital audio workstations
			Music notation software: scorewriters
			Repetition and the computer
			Sound libraries
		Composing on Computers
			Thinking in sections
			Linear composition
			Loop composing
			Computer as recorder: musical scrapbooking
			The bad news
			Saving and backing up
	Chapter 19 Composing for Other Musicians
		Composing with Lead Sheets
		Composing with Guitar Tablature
		The Score
		Writing for Ensembles
		Working with Foreign Scores and Ensembles
		Working with Drums
Part 5 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 20 Ten Career Opportunities for Composers
		School Bands and Choirs
		Incidental Television Music
		Musical Theater
		Concert Composition and Performances
		Producer/Arranger
		Industrial Music and Advertising
			Business conventions
			Music libraries
		Film Scoring
		Video Game Scoring
		Songwriting
		Teaching
	Chapter 21 Ten Recommended Books for Composers
		Songwriter’s Market
		The Shaping of Musical Elements, Vol. II
		The Norton Scores, Vols. 1 and 2, 10th Edition
		How to Grow as a Musician
		Analysis of Tonal Music: A Schenkerian Approach
		The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music
		American Mavericks
		RE/Search #14 & #15: Incredibly Strange Music, Vols. I and II
		Silence
	Chapter 22 Ten Platforms for Promoting Your Music
		YouTube
		Bandcamp
		Show.co
		CD Baby
		Distrokid
		ReverbNation
		TuneCore
		Spinnup
		Amuse
		Ditto
Part 6 Appendixes
	Appendix A Modes and Chords Reference
	Appendix B Glossary
Index
EULA