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Music Theory for Computer Musicians Paperback – April 2, 2008

by Michael Hewitt (Author)

91 customer reviews

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Many DJs, gigging musicians, and electronic music producers understand how to play their instruments or make music on the computer, but they lack the basic knowledge of music theory needed to take their music-making to the next level and compose truly professional tracks. Beneath all the enormously different styles of modern electronic music lie certain fundamentals of the musical language that are exactly the same no matter what kind of music you write. It is very important to acquire an understanding of these fundamentals if you are to develop as a musician and music producer. Put simply, you need to know what you are doing with regard to the music that you are writing. Music Theory for Computer Musicians explains these music theory fundamentals in the most simple and accessible way possible. Concepts are taught using the MIDI keyboard environment and today's computer composing and recording software. By reading this book and following the exercises contained within it, you, the aspiring music producer/computer musician, will find yourself making great progress toward understanding and using these fundamentals of the music language. The result will be a great improvement in your ability to write and produce your own original music!

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Editorial Reviews

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Introduction Chapter 1: Musical Sound Chapter 2: The Notes Chapter 3: The Major Scale Chapter 4: Rhythm, Tempo and Note Lengths Chapter 5: Score Editing Chapter 6: Intervals Chapter 7: Meter Chapter 8: Chords Chapter 9: The Natural Minor Scale Chapter 10: Melody and Motives Chapter 11: The Harmonic and Melodic Minor Scales Chapter 12: Augmented and Diminished Intervals and Interval Inversions Chapter 13: Chordal Inversions, Octave Doubling, and Spacing Chapter 14: Additive Rhythms Chapter 15: Expanding Your Knowledge of Keys Chapter 16: the Pentatonic Scale Chapter 17: Major, Minor, Augmented, and Diminished Triads Chapter 18: Chord Progressions and Root Movement Chapter 19: The Cycle of Fifths Chapter 20: The Seven Diatonic Modes Chapter 21: Chords of the Seventh Chapter 22: Exotic Scales Chapter 23: Complex Harmony Chapter 24: Arpeggiation Chapter 25: Intonation Chapter 26: Conclusion Appendix A: Scales Appendix B: Audio CD and Accompanying Text Sidebars

About the Author

Dr. Michael Hewitt was born in South Wales in the United Kingdom. He earned his bachelor of music degree at London University and a master's degree and doctorate at the University of North Wales, Bangor, where he specialized in musical composition. He is a classically trained musician, composer, lecturer, and author on musical subjects. He also writes classical scores as well as soundtracks for various television productions both at home and abroad. He is currently working as a music technology tutor at Coleg Harlech in North Wales.

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (April 2, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1598635034
ISBN-13: 978-1598635034
Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 91 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Recording & Sound
- #60 in Books > Education & Teaching > Schools & Teaching > Instruction Methods > Arts & Humanities
- #67 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Theory

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ASCENDER

YES!!

January 23, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Holy crap this is unreal! I needed help with music theory, not being educated otherwise, and Im a computer composer so I figured this might at least help. I'm only on chapter 7 and I have learned way WAY more than I thought I would. The information is clearly presented and concise which is very appreciated cause I don't really like wordy explanations that just seem to be wordy to make the information seem more complex than it actually is, or make the author seem smarter than the reader... I know you're smarter than I am, thats why Im reading your book!!
Then there are quizzes at the end of each chapter that really help drive key points home. When you get online to log into the answer keys you have to be careful though because I think on like 2 occasions so far one of the answers provided in the key was incorrect, but I think that has to do with the fact that the Answer keys are on a massive website that have lost of answer keys and maybe it got lost in translation, or its a new edition... whatever... Its no matter, it takes nothing away from the integrity of the information contained within or how it is being presented. SO in conclusion the book is incredible. From a dude that knew nothing about music theory I can say that this book is actively elevating my understanding of the musical language and how to implement it into my work.
Many thanks to Michael Hewitt and the people that put this book together.

7 people found this helpful

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Mr Majestik

Excellent = what's your sine wave?

February 20, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is a an excellent book on music theory with concrete examples in the text and on the CD. I'm coming back to making electronic music after 20 years and was looking for a book to help me understand the basics again... and then some. I also play guitar so I have a few theory books with emphasis on the fretboard, and I have an academic book on general music theory, but Mr. Hewitt's book beats (!) them hands down with real world examples I can relate to: Chap 14 = additive rhythms and Chap 24 = arpeggiation are two of my favorites. Check it out !

6 people found this helpful

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Fornaio

Don't get the Kindle version

February 23, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I learned a great deal from this book - probably a 5-star value, but have to ding the Kindle version due to the poor resolution of the figures, which are a pretty important part of learning music theory. Many are barely readable at normal resolution on my iPad Air. When zooming-in they are pretty useless. I notice that this edition is not currently available in the Kindle version, so maybe the author is updating to address this problem. In the meantime, I'd get the paperback version. I wish I had.

8 people found this helpful

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DJ Exquiz

A Good Foundational Book!

April 4, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I bought this book after reading the reviews saying it was basic and only good for beginners, etc! Well as someone who is not a complete beginner on music theory, having taking lessons and playing keyboard for years, this book is still very useful in reviewing topics that you may already know but need a refresher on. The fact that it does cover this using some examples of using a music Digital Audio Workstation (DAW for short) software's Piano Roll interface, there are examples from versions of various software and this book is NOT software specific, to me is a plus. No not every example is laid out in Piano Roll format like one reviewer suggested, and the writer does use most of the examples with traditional treble $ bass clef music notation. But if you are a complete beginner he does do a great job explaining how the piano roll layout in software translates to traditional treble & bass staff notation, and it even includes a introduction section on sound and synthesis.

Why 4 stars instead of five? For me this book is a solid basic music theory book, and has some very good examples and review exercises, so far I really like the sections on the cycle of fifths, the chapter on the different modes of music (different types of scales), and the section on the pentatonic scale (which is essential reading), however I was a little disappointed on the chapter on appregiation (splitting notes of chords in music melodies) and while it is good, hoped it would come with more examples since this is used extensively in most of today's dance music. Also a good basic section on drums, drum roll notation would have been nice, even though I know that's not covered in most music theory books, but this is a book for computer musicians and most using any DAW sequencer will have drums, opposed to someone who is just learning how to play the piano/keyboard or a guitar. It also does have guitar tab notation which is a plus, and there is a good section on rhythm, tempo, and note length. For me personally I think this book is a great introduction to music theory, a generally good reference, and the fact that it comes with an Audio CD of examples is a big plus. I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is looking for advanced examples, chord progressions, or techniques that are used in specific modern pop songs or songs of specific genre say R&B or Club Music, and I think this book would go well with others that cover some of its chapters in more detail. Some I think might be a good supplement to this book are:
1)Basic Chord Progressions (Alfred Handy Guide) , 2) Chord Progressions For Songwriters, 3) The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios and Cadences: Includes All the Major, Minor (Natural, Harmonic, Melodic) & Chromatic Scales - Plus Additional
4)Keyboard Chords & Scales Book (Fasttrack Series)Instructions on Music Fundamentals]] ,
and for keyboard specific players 5) ,
and for keyboard specific players 5) The Piano Handbook: A Complete Guide for Mastering Piano
and for drums 6) Drum Programming: A Complete Guide to Program and Think Like a Drummer
for R&B and Hip Hop specific (which also translates to many dance styles) 7) RandB Soul Keyboards: The Complete Guide (Musicians Institute Press)

10 people found this helpful

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DarkKnight22

Good concept, poor execution

September 10, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The author is well qualified and doubtless incredibly talented as well, but I think this book falls short of its potential. As a complete novice in the world of music theory, I really felt that the early chapters were great, but that the later ones didn't include enough depth for me to understand what he was getting at. I know practice is important, but it is difficult to practice when you can't even understand what the author is getting at.

3 people found this helpful

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emanicus

Absolutely AMAZING BOOK!!!

November 5, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is absolutely AMAZING!!!! If you are self thought and played synths and keyboards all your life and you want finally get into the music theory then this book is definitely for you. It is very clear and constantly matches computer examples to pure music samples. very very well written and the exercises are not that easy like you normally find in these teaching books... they get tougher and tougher as you move up on chapters. there is a new version coming out this year and even if there very few changes in it compared with this older version I will definitely get me a copy.!!!

One person found this helpful

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June 17, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very thorough, easy to read, and covers a broad range of topics. Moves through content in a way that keeps it from getting too dry. This book has been an invaluable part of my progression as a producer.

2 people found this helpful

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W. E. Weems

Good basic starting book

January 20, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Good basic starting book! If you're wondering where to start in your electronic music journey, this is as good a starting point as I've found!

One person found this helpful

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Most recent customer reviews

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Good book with a strong focus on breaking down the basics and the need to know info.

Published 26 days ago

Amazon Customer

I liked how the author made you understand in simple terms ...

I liked how the author made you understand in simple terms the book was well written and i certainly learned a lot of termanology i did not know about music theory.Read more

Published 5 months ago

WOLFMAN

It's ok

Published 9 months ago

Amazon Customer

Excellent content

Great for beginners, it helps a lot to understand basic concepts of music production

Published 11 months ago

Middleman Sales and Auctions

Very good, but could be very boring and overwhelming to amateur musicians.

Should have read this years ago.

Until recently I suppose you could call me an "intuitive" music theory student. I've developed an ear through years of dedicated listening, and was able to produce tracks...Read more

Published 1 year ago

Proft

Five Stars

Great theory book. The CD is very helpful

Published 1 year ago

MPA

A very good take and pov for musicians wanting to learn theory ...

A very good take and pov for musicians wanting to learn theory who use programs like pro tools or cubase or Ableton

Published 1 year ago

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