Recommended Books for the Study of
Composition, Orchestration
and Electronic Music Production
Harmony, 5th edition, Walter Piston, Norton
A comprehensive text on classical harmonic theory.
Counterpoint, 3rd edition Kent Kennan, Prentice-Hall
A study of 18th century
contrapuntal practice. Covers the various species, imitative
counterpoint, fugal writing,
motivic analysis and much more.
Counterpoint, Walter Piston, Norton
Somewhat less pedagogical than the Kennan text, Insightful, philosophical and technical.
Workbook for Counterpoint, Kent Kennan, Prentice-Hall
Exercises in the various species of counterpoint and analysis of contrapuntal forms.
The Study of Counterpoint (Gradus Ad Parnassum), Johann Joseph Fux, translated and edited by Alfred Mann, Norton
Classic text on 16th century
counterpoint. This book was used by Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn,
and many other
composers over the past 200 years.
Techniques of 20th Century Composition, Leon Dallin, WCB
A fine overview of techniques developed by 20th century composers.
Materials & Techniques of 20th century Composition, Stefan Kostka, Prentice-Hall
Very thorough text on compositional developments of this century.
Music Notation, Garder Read, Crescendo
Excellent reference on the notation of music.
Music Notation in the 20th Century, Kurt Stone, Norton
Reference on notational practice, including most of the notational developments of the 20th century.
The Study of Orchestration, Samuel Adler, Norton
Excellent and fairly up-to-date. Comprehensive with many examples from various stylistic periods.
The Technique of Orchestration, Kent Kennan, Prentice-Hall
Introduction to orchestration techniques. Covers family of instruments as well as individual orchestral instruments.
Orchestration, Walter Piston, Norton
Deals with instruments,
textures and contains many examples from the classical repertoire.
Includes a chapter on
orchestral texture and how these textures
are created.
Principles of Orchestration, Rimsky-Korsakov, Dover
Examples and discussion of Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestral music.
The Guide to MIDI Orchestration, Paul Gilreath, MusicWorks
Basic information about
samplers, libraries, simulating acoustic ensembles. Better for
information about sample libraries,
synthesizers and samplers
than as a learning tool for orchestration.
Form in Tonal Music, Douglass M. Green, Holt Rinehart
How composers build structure through repetition, variation and development.
The Shaping Forces in Music, Ernst Toch, Dover
Insightful inquiries into the the way we perceive musical structure.
Music and Imagination, Aaron Copland, Harvard
A wonderful set of essays on music composition in America in the 20th century.
The Third Ear, Joachim-Ernst Berendt, Henry Holt
This book is a must-read for
those composers who’ve experienced the tyranny and
triviality of academia, and
who yearn to write a kind of music
which restores vitality, energy and an understanding of overtones
to their musical thought.
Art & Fear, Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, David Bayles & Ted Orland, Image Continuum
This is a truly unique little book. It
deals with the many social, psychological and artistic issues that are faced by artists of
all mediums who work alone and put so much of
their energies and attention into their work.
Music, The Brain And Ecstasy, Robert Jourdain, Morrow
A wonderfully inspiring book
that can be enjoyed by both the professional musician and the
layman. It investigates music
and sound from many points of view
including the brain’s response to sound and the body’s
capacity to perform music.
If there is one book on the philosophy
of music that you read this year, this is the one.
Poetics of Music, Igor Stravinsky, Harvard
Ideas and reflections about music by a masterful and original composer.
Rhythmic Training, Robert Starer, MCA Music
Exercise book for reading and comprehending rhythmic patterns, meter and accents.
On The Track, Karlin/Wright, Schirmer Books
Fine book on the craft of
composing music for film. Covers many technical and business
issues and contains
interviews of those composers highly
experienced in the craft of scoring music to film.
Composers on Music, Sam Morgenstern, Pantheon
A collection of short essays
and letters by composers about music. Offers insights into the
thinking of Mahler, Bach,
Mozart, Byrd, and many other composers
who devoted their lives to music composition.
The Acoustical Foundations of Music, John Backus, Norton
Excellent textbook on the
physics of music and musical instruments. Somewhat mathematical
but very readable
for those not trained in physics but have a
good understanding of music.
Any Sound You Can Imagine, Paul Theberge, Wesleyan University Press
A social analysis of the effect of technology on music and musicians.
Excellent reading although I wish the author had
dedicated as much of his
comprehensive research on art music as he did on pop music.
MIDI for the Professional, Lehrman/Tully, Amsco
Good reference book for MIDI equipment and techniques.
Modern Recording Techniques, David M. Huber, SAMS
Up-to-date information about
the recording studio, the acoustic properties of sound waves, the
console, digital audio,
MIDI, compact disc manufacturing,
microphones and signal processing.
Practical Recording Techniques, Bruce & Jenny Bartlett, SAMS
Overview of recording studio equipment and techniques. Covers live recording and how to record classical music.
Hard Disk Recording for Musicians, David Huber, AMSCO
Covers the essentials of sampling, disc-based recording equipment and techniques, digital audio, digital editing and related issues.
The Music Machine, Curtis Roads, The MIT Press
A collection of articles and
essays from Computer Music Journal. Some are highly technical and
require an understanding
of the mathematics of filtering and
signal processing, others are less technical and of use to the
musician.
The Computer Music Tutorial, Curtis Roads, The MIT Press
The classic textbook on
electronic music and related disciplines. Very technical, some
chapters cannot be fully comprehended
without knowledge of
mathematics and the equations of signal processing. Other
chapters are much more readable to the
trained musician. An
excellent reference book for the electronic music studio.
New Harvard Dictionary of Music, Randel Belknap, Harvard
A well-known and well-used music dictionary, in short and long versions.
Mastering Audio, Bob Katz, Focal Press
The best book on mastering audio
by a well-respected industry pro.
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