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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition [Paperback]

Michael Miller (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
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Product Description

Write the songs that make the whole world sing.

A step-by-step guide to writing music, this book shows musicians how to compose simple chord progressions and melodies, and leads them through more advanced compositional techniques and musical forms. Designed for composers of all types of music, it includes instruction on composing stand-alone melodies, using different scales and modes, themes and variations, orchestration, and composing for film, theater, and videogames.

-Perfect complement to The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting

-Includes a comprehensive glossary of musical terms, as well as an appendix of various computer-based composition tools

-Easy-to-use oversize trim

About the Author

Michael Miller attended the prestigious Jazz Studies Program at the Indiana University School of Music. A former percussion instructor and working drummer, he is also an accomplished composer and arranger. He is the author of more than 30 books, including The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Playing Drums, Second Edition, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory, Second Edition, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Singing, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Solos and Improvisation.

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Michael Miller
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The desire to compose your own music is admirable. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
melodic composition, key scale tones, structural tones, nontraditional scales, nondiatonic chords, unstable tones, melodic outline, different chord progressions, bebop scale, neighboring tones, underlying scale, following chord progressions, subsidiary notes, short melodic phrases, traditional tonality, extended chords, common chord progressions, connecting note, chromatic notes
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Least You Need, Advanced Techniques, Jimmy Webb, Exercises Exercise, Working Outside the Basic Key, Understanding Melody, Write Your Own Music, Substitutions Substitution Example, Example Progression, Burt Bacharach
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
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4.5 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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103 of 103 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect follow-on to Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, October 30, 2005
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition (Paperback)
Just like this author's previous book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory", information is presented in a very readable way without losing necessary details. The author presents many musical examples and each chapter has exercises with some solutions included in the back of the book. This book is designed to be read from beginning to end, and the exercises are very instructive in that by doing them you WILL learn how to compose music based on formal techniques. This book consists of 18 chapters in 5 parts, with each part showcasing a different aspect of composition. Since Amazon does not show a table of contents for this book at the time I am writing this, I shall summarize for the purpose of completeness:
Part 1 is entitled "Before You Start," and it describes different types of composition, and discusses the tools needed to start composing music.
Part 2 is entitled "Harmonic Composition," and discusses the art of composing music, chords-first. Also described is the creation of a harmonious chord progression, using both standard and extended chords, and using chord substitution to create more sophisticated compositions.
Part 3 is labeled "Melodic Composition," and introduces melody creation techniques, including scales and modes, structural tones, embellishments, rhythm, syncopation, melodic contour, flow, tension and release. Also discussed is fitting chords to a melody and reharmonizing existing chord progressions.
Part 4 is entitled "Developing the Composition," and gives instruction on transforming a composition from something basic to a substantial work. Short melodies are transformed into a full musical piece. The use of repetition, variation, and creating multiple-voice compositions is included.
The fifth and final part of this book is entitled "Advanced Techniques". The subject matter moves beyond basic composition into more advanced musical areas. Orchestration, chromaticism, atonality, contemporary composition, and ultimately songwriting are discussed.
I would therefore highly recommend that you first read the "Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory", and then this book for someone who wants to self-study music theory and composition. These two books are particularly valuable to someone who is familiar with the computer and would like to get into computer music but does not have a formal education in music. These two books will get you up and running to the point where you can understand what some of the computer music books written by musicians are talking about.
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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars O.K. follow-up to Music Theory, March 4, 2006
By Corey Woodworth (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition (Paperback)
This is a very good book. It elaborates on the Idiot's guide to music theory specefically in the area of composition. My only gripe is that the first half is very redundant with the previous book. Many paragraphs are identical. I would have been much happier if they had been embellished, or if the two books would have been combined into one larger volume. The book does go into much more detail later on, with topics such as rhythmic patterns etc. Still the first half doesn't even feel like a review as much as it feels like Deja Vu.
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45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A good start, but lacking in places, January 31, 2006
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition (Paperback)
On the positive side, the book is very helpful in starting composition. While at times laconic, it covers pretty much all the basic areas of composition, starting with an intro into what you can do and what you will need and going on to harmony, melody, rhythm, and even touching on atonality. It explains the key ideas behind development, the use of phrasing, and even the ranges of common instruments and notes on transposing them.

On the negative side, it often fails to explain things as well as it could. For example, while the book gives a basic explanation of atonality and minimalism, it doesn't really say much about how to really use these techniques. While development is discussed well, actually creating full-length pieces seems to have been glossed over and there is little information on how various musical forms like the sonata or concerto are actually structured (something I struggled with for a long time).

Overall, an excellent introduction, but not really a complete guide in any sense.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is a joke
I bought this book and after I got thru about 4 pages of it decided I needed a book that explains things more basic in Music Composition that this one. Read more
Published 3 months ago by David Proffitt

5.0 out of 5 stars lots of help
excellant product at a great price just as advertised and it arrived in just a short time
Published 4 months ago by bookwormser

5.0 out of 5 stars great educational book
Well written. I am a composer and want to learn more of my craft. This book is quite helpful.
Published 4 months ago by The JetCats

5.0 out of 5 stars an OK book
Kind of refreshing to just be able to thumb through a book and find something useful or something you were wondering about. Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. Staker

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning to compose!
My piano students are just learning to do basic composing and they have enjoyed the Music Composition book. Read more
Published 9 months ago by L. L. Hatch, Hatch

4.0 out of 5 stars A review of The Complete Idiot's Guide to: Music Composition
This product review can be summed up in a few words: "This book is Great!"


However, there are a few disappiontments.... Read more
Published 11 months ago by C. Nellis

3.0 out of 5 stars Writing Music
Good general book. Somehow I have not found it easy to use. It did not cover some of the basic music writing topics, even by way of review or introduction. Read more
Published 13 months ago by W. S. Mohn

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest books on Music
This is possibly the greatest book on music composition ever written. Don't let the title decieve you, this book breaks the material down whereas a five year old can understand it... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Marketta L. Thomas

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful
A bit repetitive with his other book "Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory", but fills in the music composition blanks. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Jeffrey A. Hensley

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, focused on the conventional
This is a well-written introduction to traditional composition. The examples are plentiful and nicely illustrate the concepts being discussed and the organization of the book has... Read more
Published on June 2, 2008 by crawler

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