Composing Digital Music For Dummies [Paperback]

Russell Dean Vines (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470170956 | ISBN-13: 978-0470170953 | Publication Date: March 17, 2008

Yes, you can turn those great melodies and smokin’ grooves in your head into stunning digital music! And you don’t have to be a musical genius or a computer geek to do it! Composing Digital Music For Dummies shows you everything you need to know to compose great tunes using the hottest digital tools.

This friendly, plain-English guide explains all of the digital music basics, including how to work with the latest hardware and software, use templates from the companion CD-ROM to make a quick start, build your first tune, and save it in different formats. You’ll also find out how to add instruments to your score, set tempos and keys, create chord symbols and show fretboards, add lyrics to your tune, and much more. Discover how to:

• Write and arrange digital music
• Determine what — if any — equipment you need
• Create your own ringtones and mp3s
• Compose with a MIDI controller, or a mouse
• Work with notation software
• Use keyboard shortcuts
• Publish your creations on the Internet
• Build your own tune from scratch
• Extract parts from your score for each instrument

The companion CD-Rom also includes a demo of Sebelius 5, the most popular music notation software, as well as audio files for all music examples in the book. With this step-by-step guide and your computer, you’ll have everything you need to start writing, arranging, and publishing your own digital music — immediately!

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Pump up your tunes with beats, lyrics, and harmonies

This book and a computer — all you need to start composing your own digital music

Want to write your own digital music? This friendly guide explains the basics of composing great tunes with the hottest digital tools. You'll see how to work with the latest hardware and software, build your first tune and saveit in different formats, and add instruments to your score. With the included templates, you'll be making music in no time!

Discover how to:

• Write and arrange digital music

• Determine what — if any — equipment you need

• Compose your ownringtones and MP3s

• Compose with the MIDI controller

• Publish your creations on the Internet

About the Author

Russell Dean Vines has over 30 years of professional music experience. Hehas composed and arranged hundreds of jazz and contemporary music pieces heard on TV, radio, and the stage.

Product Details

• Paperback: 357 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (March 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470170956
• ISBN-13: 978-0470170953
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,146 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Music > MP3

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Book Teaches You How To Run A Software Program Not How To Compose Music, July 9, 2008

By 

Nikoli Gogol (Edmonton) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Composing Digital Music For Dummies (Paperback)

If you intend to buy this book to learn how to use Sibelius software as an aid to composing any kind of music, this is your book. The use of Sibelius software is what 90 percent of the book is devoted to. Sibelius software is expensive and its manuals are superior to Composing Digital Music For Dummies but the Dummies book does simplify the use of Sibelius software.

If your intention is to learn how to use digital instruments or software programs to lay down a drum track, to get a bedrock of bass accompaniment, to layer background music, to use your digital instrument to generate arpeggios, to learn which timbres work together, and finally how to compose melody and harmony, this is the wrong book for you. I can't point you to an alternative but Backbeat and Berklee songwriting titles cover some of this turf.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars music composition not creation, April 27, 2008

By 

GameMaker (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Composing Digital Music For Dummies (Paperback)

This book was really not what I expected at all after reading the description. I was expecting it to be a book about creating digital music. You know... starting from scratch or with loops or samples or whatnot and creating something that your friends and family can appreciate. Something along those lines. But that's not what this book is at all. I guess "composing" should be taken in the classical sense, since the book focuses mainly on using a particular piece of software to produce sheet music. There are sections on understanding and writing sheet music, and then a lot of discussion on using that particular piece of software to accomplish it.

Quite frankly, it seems a little unlikely to me that someone would be a novice to music and want to pick up a book like this to suddenly learn how to compose sheet music (without being able to play it), but whatever floats your boat. If that's what you are looking for, this might be a good book for ya. But if you are looking for more of a hands-on guide to actually creating digital music (composing, as in creating or putting together the actual music) then this is sure to disappoint.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This guy is on the take from Sibelius, February 3, 2010

By 

James M. Powers "the nightrocker" (Kelso, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Composing Digital Music For Dummies (Paperback)

I bought this thinking it was going to provide some shortcuts for my DAW and software. I own a lot of the software recommended in this book, but more than half of it is dedicated to Sibelius, a music notation software, mainly for orchestra or large bands, or vocal ensembles. I read this book in one sitting. I'm wondering how much in kickbacks the author receives for sucking up to Sibelius...