This is without question the most comprehensive and informative book on film scoring ever written. If you are serious about the endeavor of music in film, be that as a composer, or even a music editor or supervisor, or one who works with these positions, this book is a must buy. Yes, it's expensive, which put me off from buying it too, "how good can it be?" I asked myself. That was a mistake I made. Save your money as quick as you reasonably can, this book is well worth every penny. I own maybe every name book on this subject, have taught music, and scored various projects (though none major, admittedly), there are other good books on this subject, but if you buy only one book make it this one.
I think what makes this book stand out was well written in Giovanni Williams excellent review, which I won't repeat. But one thing that should be known is that author Fred Karlin was a working composer in Hollywood for many years, on multiple levels. He never got trapped into one style of music, or any set of rules even. He doesn't mention himself much in the book, but if you followed his career, or just look into his work, you'll see this. He himself was a lifelong student of music, and film scoring. And he could go from traditional orchestration, to minimal arrangements, even to experimental scores and new instruments and electronics, and he shares this with you. As times changed, so did Karlin. And even though he passed away a decade ago, he followed the times, while understanding pragmatic principles, as good as any musician in the business, and it shows in this work. Similar could be said about co-author Ray Wright, who was a multi-instrumentalist, and professor of music. While both are now deceased, the fundamentals put forth in this book remain true to this day, in 2016, and likely will for many years go come, maybe forever.
Having written that, it may seem like this book is "master class" only. But it's not like that. Even a beginner with little formal training, but a keen interest in the subject, will find this book relatively easy to read, and highly informative. The book is so comprehensive, and so well written and packed with information, it's also somewhat easy to skip around and use as a reference.
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Top reviews from other countries
Martin
An outstanding reference for film composers and film music enthusiasts.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 28, 2017Jonathan Brooker
Great insights for film-score production.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2016Loobyloo
Great book, a good introduction to film music for ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 25, 2015
