(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best music theory & composition books

I'm not the most qualified person to answer because I'm still learning the ropes myself, but I can tell you the path I took. This is just one approach:

I would say the first step is to learn a DAW (digital audio workstation). I'd recommend Ableton just because it is very popular so you will find loads of resources and online tutorials. Reaper is also a good option if you don't want to spend a lot of money.

Then you may want to learn synthesis. Start with subtractive synthesis and in the future you can learn about FM, additive, and granular synthesis. You could try Syntorial (highly recommended) or a book like Refining Sound but I'm sure there are some good free tutorials out there if you look. Pick one synth plugin you can mess around with. There are loads of free plugins but you can also try Massive, Serum, Ableton's Analog, etc. For something a lot more complex but great for ambient, you may want to learn Reaktor (I think Tim Hecker uses Reaktor in some of his music). Here's a free online course that will teach you synthesis and Reaktor.

Finally learn about effects. Check out VahallaDSP, Audio Damage, FabFilter. Ableton Suite's built-in plugins are all really great too. You'd be amazed how a good reverb can totally transform your sound. Again, there are lots of free effects plugins you can download as well.

If you want to go the hardware route (which is much more expensive but can be rewarding), I'd suggest getting a polyphonic synthesizer. The Korg Minilogue, Roland System-1, or Novation Mininova could be good places to start. Pair that with a good effects pedal (the Zoom MS-70CDR is a great and affordable multi-effects pedal) and you can start making ambient music right away.

My last and most important piece of advice is to use the internet. There is just a plethora of resources online. Just google what you want to do (e.g. "how to make drone music on ableton") and you'll find tons of youtube tutorials, walkthroughs, forum topics, etc. It may spark more creative ideas and lead you down a new rabbit hole.

EDIT: One more thing, be sure to check out /r/edmproduction. Despite the name, it's a great place to learn about electronic music production in general.

Since some time has now passed and there haven't been too many answers, I want to add something that I think is the most important answer: you can make up your own chorale preludes by getting better at improvising.

An easy way to start improvising is by playing just the harmonization in your hymn book, but rather than playing the top three voices at the same time, you can play them in an arpeggiated way. Some notes will have to be added or taken away in some situations, such as when two voices merge onto the same note. Here is a very quick recording that I made to demonstrate this principle.

Over time, you'll want to add basic harmonic ideas to your musical vocabulary. A few things I'd note:

• It's OK to change the notes of the hymn tune slightly to accommodate the harmonies you want. But it's important to keep the rhythm of important motives the same, especially if you're changing the notes
  
• It's useful to learn the hymn you're improvising on in multiple keys so that you can switch keys in your improvisation
  
• Steal textures from written-out preludes/meditations/etc. on hymns. One texture you can use is the triplet texture I mentioned above.
  
  If you keep working on this, you'll get better and better. My favourite improviser who lives in my area sounds like this (the recording is terrible, but good enough that you can get the idea). A feature of his improvisations that I really like is modulations to far-away keys; when I hear him play, it feels like I'm being thrown into something vast and mysterious.
  
  A resource I recommend for liturgical musicians' improvisation is this book by Gerre Hancock. It's intended for organists, but is still extremely useful for pianists. I also find Improv Planet on Patreon very useful. It's run by a piano professor who specializes in improvisation in the style of Bach and Handel.
  
  If you haven't already studied harmony, I also highly, highly recommend it (I'd call study of harmony a prerequisite for Improv Planet). Good resources for self-study of harmony include the textbooks by Laitz and by Clendinning & Marvin.

So this might only be partially related to your question but thought I'd share anyway if you are interested in a little read.

Firstly, I think tabs are great and reading music takes much more practice.
Play some tabs of the music you love and get hooked. Then gradually learn to read music if you can.


That aside, wish I had the answer for you on the site.

Maybe a couple of these will help:
http://web.archive.org/web/20170802200045/http://tabs-ocarina.com:80/ocarina-tab-list

http://web.archive.org/web/20181127043926/https://ocarina-tabs.com/

http://web.archive.org/web/20180530023007/http://www.ocarinaforum.com/index.php?board=11.0

​

However, if you can afford a few bucks, try getting a book. songbirdocarina.com has some books with tabs and lots of great songs.


I know it sounds silly, like "Why pay for it if I can get it for free?" but after getting a music book, I found, helps me focus to play. Also nice to put my electronics aside and go somewhere with a book and be just myself an my ocarina.


Also, I highly recommend Hal Leonard Ocarina Method by Cris Gale. Teaches you a lot of good techniques and also how to read music gradually with lots of pretty easy songs.

​

Sorry that this didn't answer your question though. Would be nice to have a good site with all of that and maybe a place for people to collaborate on that again if anyone knows/has one.

Haha, it's as if this post was tailor made for me. I had a music degree and experience gigging as a trumpeter when I started playing piano seriously around 26 and have been playing full time pretty much since then. Incidentally, I've picked up accordion and guitar on the side since I started and started gigging on those as well (though I'm a terrible guitarist).

First I'll say that it's really hard to make it full time on music. And while I can do pretty well, I honestly wouldn't want to risk my mortgage on it. My wife has a normal day job (in addition to being a gigging/teaching musician) and that stable bit of income makes things way less scary, especially when my income is rocky.

>what was your journey like?

So I started playing on accident sort of. I got my degree, but the university screwed something up and I ended up without my certification. I was going to have to wait a semester to work on getting it, but my wife had moved and gotten a job. The school she was working at was really desperately for an accompanist.... enough to take me despite that fact I wasn't really a pianist.

The choir director was terrible at getting me music ahead of time if at all and I learned to comp from chord sheets as means of survival in addition to some really terrible memorization and pure muscle memory crap (which I constantly warn people against now).

The comping skill paired with my ability to read (though not sightread by any means) and play a bit by ear ended up landing me a spot in an established cover band that was replacing their keyboard player. I learn a ton from that and made more connections and started getting into jazz (which I'd had none of in college). So I picked up more and more bits of side work.

And in the last few years I've started doing a lot more accompaniment work again and actually getting decent enough at reading and pure technical ability to do so. I'm about 8 years in. But I also made a lot of pedagogical mistakes early on and understood less about practice than I do now. I could definitely have made faster progress, particularly in my earlier years.

Generally I was always just in a triage mode trying to learn the basics of whatever gig I had taken on and I continue to constantly pick up skills that coincide with the type of work I find available (and niches I noticed that aren't filled), though these days it's less of a scramble to keep my head above water. But man, the sink-or-swim sure did force m to learn a lot, even if it I wasn't always doing it in the most efficient manner possible.

>What's the best advice you can give me?

Read. Fucking read! The slowest skill to develop because of how many different skills it encompasses is sightreading. If accompaniment or church work is on your radar this is a skill you need to have. Most work will assume you can do this at least passably. My comping skills have opened a lot of doors for me that reading-only musicians don't have access to so I'd recommend working on that as well, but get started reading ASAP. Having both skills will get you lots more work and there will definitely be church jobs that having both will make you a golden unicorn for, but you can barely take any church jobs if you don't read.

Do not memorize music. Do not pick overly difficult music to work on. Avoid teachers who want to give you very difficult pieces to work on or are interested in showing you off at a recital. My rough rule is that a piece should take you no longer than a month at the extreme to learn. Honestly, you should be trying to digest as many short pieces in a week as you can. People make the argument that your technique can't grow unless you are playing very difficult stuff to push it and bluntly, they are full of shit. You wouldn't tell a beginner guitarist to jump immediately into a challenging classical piece when they don't even know any basic shapes, or tell them that they need to immediately work on some lead guitar solo full of sweep picking when they can't even cleanly alternate pick a scale. It's idiotic. You lay the foundation first. When you have that foundation, everything you build on it is much easier.

You make progress by finding that sweet spot and keeping on pushing it. Music that took you a month starts to take a week. A week starts to take a day. A few hours starts to be sightreading fodder. And this goalpost keeps moving, albeit slowly.

At the earliest levels, it's the hardest for most, but you have a background that will help. That said, be careful. That music background gets people in trouble constantly. They think they can fast-forward the fundamentals. You can't. Even with a world of knowledge, you have to build up that technical facility slowly.

So read. Keep your eyes on the page and not your hands. Resist the urge to play lots of very difficult stuff that you find yourself memorizing out of brute for repetition. Memorization should be an extra step you have to take after you learn a piece. If you're finding that you have it memorized by the time you learn it, or wore, have it memorized before you can play it, you're working on something too difficult.

Learn as many small pieces as you can in a week out of a book like this and start sightreading immediately using this book which is offensively easy, but the best place to start.

>How much should I practice a day in order to reach what I'm after?

Quality over quantity. Most people who are practicing many many hours a day are getting very little out of it. A ton of it is inefficient repetition of the wrong kind of material. You need to learn to laser focus on small goals and achieve them. Here's strategy for how to set goals.. I personally set a timer to limit my practice. It's easy to let time get away from you working getting a certain section up to tempo or whatever. But realistically, most of your progress comes in your sleep, not during practice.

Feed your brain as much good info as you can in a session and then nap or sleep on it and come back. Your brain remembers what you feed it. If you feed it dozens of sloppy attempts at a high tempo, that's what remembers. You just learned to play badly and you'll have to work twice as hard to unlearn it.

Try to aim at absolute accuracy even if this means playing pitifully slowly. There was a time I would spend half and hour getting 8 bars from 50-100 bpm and feel good about it. But the next day I wouldn't be able to play it even at 70 cleanly. But now I know that I could just spend 10 or even just 5 minutes getting it from 50-55 and then almost by magic I'd be able to play it the next day at 70 like a breeze and spend another short while to get it to the target.

The time I saved I could spend on several other small sections or technical exercises that would likewise almost magically improve. But I do them all very slowly, very accurately and very mindfully.

This is something I definitely had to learn for doing church sub work. If you've got 10-20 pieces of music to learn in a week, you don't have time to spend hours on one and then move to the next. You have to learn them all simultaneously as quickly as possible.

There are a lot of other strategies for understanding efficient practice I've figured out over the years. I recently listened to this book which I'm happy to recommend. It sounds basically like a collection of all of the shit I've been screaming at people about how hey shouldn't be practicing all these years and having someone read my own advice back to me with the backing of both research and professional anecdotes was very validating.

I will say, be careful about advice you take, particularly from pianists who started when they were young. Unfortunately, even many seasoned piano teachers are terrible at what they do. There is a problem in the piano field where so many people started when they were 5 that they have no clue what is and isn't difficult. They give advice to others that would apply to them... not the learner asking the question. Can't play Mary Had a Little Lamb with both hands... just learn some Bach 2 part inventions for hand independence. Can't sightread the most basic stuff... go read Bach chorales with 4 parts moving fully independently with tons of 10ths and larger.

I've been on the receiving end of tons of terrible advice from fantastic players. They literally just don't remember certain things being hard because they learned them before their brain hit the point that it was aware to think abstractly (roughly 13). So they have trouble giving advice for those things. So some of them can't even imagine certain things being tricky. And especially if they haven't taught, especially younger players, they've just never had to grapple with certain concepts being difficult.

Imagine trying to teach someone to walk. You know how to do it well, but could you teach someone? If someone had to be rehabilitated, do you actually understand the biomechanics enough to break it up and teach it to them step by step? Of course not. That's why there are people who specialize in therapy to teach concepts that we all take for granted, but tons of accomplished pianists view playing very difficult things like walking and wonder why everyone else can't just do it. So be wary of that when asking for help.

I took theory classes 15 years ago, and don't remember what text I used, but it was pretty generic as I recall. I'm thinking of any sort of classical music theory introductory text intended for use in a university course, since they will all probably begin with the same sort of progression of things which logically arises when describing how diatonic music works.


I did a quick search, and this is the sort of text I have in mind:


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393930815/


That one looks very good, and, looking at the table of contents, I'd say the Part I: Elements of Music is the essential part to familiarize with for the basics and then Part II: Diatonic Harmony and Tonicization would expand those ideas in the first part to show how those basics are applied in diatonic music harmonization (basically how to create nice-sounding chord progressions based on diatonic scales).


I would avoid books that are targeted to a specific instrument, or a more modern type of music - like guitar theory, jazz theory, blues piano theory, etc. Not that these books aren't good too, but I've seen plenty of guitar theory books that describe the basics in wacky ways, or in ways that are not really universally applied to all music. Classical theory books will mostly all be the same, and be a solid introduction to these very basics. If you see one that is 20 years old for two bucks at a yard sale it would likely be fine.


In my opinion starting to learn theory from this standpoint of classical music is a great way to start. There are a million ways to learn theory, and this might not be the preferred route for everyone, but it's so good in my opinion because Classical, Baroque, etc. - these early music forms were all about consonance, about how to make harmonic progressions and melodies, and so on, that were pleasing to the ear. They developed these stringent rules to describe methods for arranging sounds to make very pleasing compositions, rules which are very effective at what they are intended for. Once you learn these rules, it makes everything else so much clearer as to why other types of music that break every one of these rules are so effective.


It's maybe like learning to draw a face - you would probably start with learning to draw a face you are looking at, and making your drawing copy it as closely as you can. It's not easy to draw a realistic-looking face, and takes some practice to get it right, to make it look pleasing to people who spend their lives looking at faces and learning their intricacies. If you jump right into trying to do a stylized, artsy rendering of a face, it probably won't be very convincing, since you never learned how to draw a pleasing face to begin with! It would look like a child's drawing, certainly not realistic, but also not very interesting because it's not very sophisticated in how it goes about presenting that face.

For anything that involves advanced music theory, or more technical elements of music, your best bet (IMHO) is to stay clear from jazz/rock books or anything "popular" and read from traditional academic/classical composers. That is, if you're looking to understand music from a more historic point of view of how is was used, and how it worked for hundreds of years and how it still works today.

There are tons of good books out there, but off the top of my head I reccomend:

Regarding the art of counterpoint:


Preliminary exercises in Counterpoint - Schoenberg

Also, you could check out the traditional Fux's Study of Counterpoint, but I think Schoenberg's book is far more complete and incentive.

Regarding the art of Harmony:


For a long time I've always thought that books could educate you in any way, until I met my harmony teacher. After studying with her for a couple years I find it hard to believe how much information, technique, and art is missing from almost every book on the subject, some are exceptions, obviously, but my recommendation is that there is no better way of learning this but with personal intruction. Also, the teacher needs to be someone who has had a strong education in music from well-known masters of the past, as was my teacher.

Anyways, regarding harmony in the more poetical and theoretical sense I reccomend :

Rameau's Treatise on Harmony

and of course, Schoenberg's Theory of Harmony

For a more technical approach to harmony I haven't found any books I'm really fond of, but I do think that Paul Hindemith's book is a very good option.

For something in the middle I recommend this

Regarding form and structure in music:


Once again, I have never seen information and instruction similar to that which I received with my professors, however here are a few good picks...

Schoenberg's Fundamentals of musical composition

and 2 books that I found very useful were...
(these I didn't find on amazon.com)

from German composer Clemens Kuhn: "Formenlehre der Musik" (this is only in German)

and from Spanish composer Joaquin Zamacois: "Curso de Formas Musicales" (this is only in Spanish I believe)

Well, surely there are more books, but I think these are good options for you to start. However, always with a grain of salt

Yes, counterpoint assumes that you have a foundation in 18th century harmonic practice, also known as "common period" practices, e.g. voice leading as practiced by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, etc.

Harmony by Walter Piston is very thorough, but it's a serious treatment and perhaps not for the faint of heart. Also, you may want to get an edition before the fifth as it's substantially different from a pedagogical standpoint than the earlier editions. I can also recommend Kostka's Tonal Harmony very highly, but also a serious treatment. In fact, it may be best just to start with the Kostka and pick up the Piston later if the fancy strikes you.

These two books teach harmony in very structured way, and in many ways that's the best for learning counterpoint. Eventually, depending on how serious you want to get about composition, you may want to read Schoenberg's book Theory of Harmony. It covers the same material as most harmony books, but it does so from the perspective of the composer. It's even a little philosophical (and dense). It's not unusual for graduate students to re-learn harmony using the Schoenberg text as it forces you to think like a composer. Of course it's a more difficult read, but only if you're unprepared.

If you'd like something a little more easy, there's no shame in getting the Dummies series book on harmony. It does the job with a minimum of depth. Frankly, though, it's in your best interest to start with a solid, university level textbook like the first two I mentioned if you want to tackle counterpoint. Eventually, it's a good idea to read more than one book on tonal theory anyway, so it can't hurt to start with the Kostka and just put it down and use the "Dummies" book. You can always just come back to it later.

Quality is much more important than quantity. You can play a ton of guitar without really learning very much. Conversely, you can get a huge amount of benefit from fairly short practice sessions.

1. Get a metronome and use it. You don't really know how to play something until you can play it cleanly and at tempo. When learning something, play it at the slowest tempo you can manage and gradually increase the tempo. Rhythm is a vitally important part of guitar technique that is often overlooked. You shouldn't always use the metronome as you can become dependent on it, but it is an essential practice tool.
   
   
2. Mix it up. Start a practice session with some scales and arpeggios to warm up, move on to a piece you're learning and finish with something that you know quite well. There's strong scientific evidence to show that alternating between different kinds of practice is much more effective than solid blocks.
   
   
3. Get a teacher. Teaching yourself is fine, but a good teacher can save you a huge amount of frustration and wasted effort. Books and YouTube videos are great resources, but they can't spot problems with your technique or figure out what obstacles you need to overcome.
   
   
4. Get out of your comfort zone. Learn songs in different genres, learn styles that you wouldn't normally play. Start playing with other musicians and performing live before you think you're ready. There's no substitute for the fun of jamming with a friend or the challenge of playing in front of an audience.
   
   
5. Learn theory. Not everyone enjoys it, but it makes a huge difference to your competence as a musician. At the very least, you should aim to know all the notes on the fretboard, the major and minor scales, the dorian and mixolydian modes and be able to recognise and construct intervals and chords. There are many approaches to learning theory, but I'd suggest this book as a good starting point.

Download a piano app, we're going all in.

While it's downloading, think of all the songs you heard or sang as a child.

Happy Birthday or Mary Had a Little Lamb are great examples (and you should look up how to play them when we're done here!)

These songs are in a "major" key, which basically is what we associate with happy in music.

To understand, check out this diagram I made.
http://imgur.com/3CUdEsu

Play the "major" notes, all white keys, in order. Notice the note labeled B next to the top note, C? This is what gives major keys the sound we love so much: the leading tone. Between most notes, you will see a black piano key. But between E and F, along with B and C, we have nothing.

Alone, no two piano keys next to each other have this effect, but because we started on C, the B is leading us into C again.

So basically, major keys make us feel happy and complete.


But within a major key, there is a lot more going on. For example, there are major and minor "chords"

>Minor chords in a major key? What's going on?

Yes that's right! In fact, within the white keys is another key signature which we call "A minor." Test it out now and play it through!

You'll notice, unlike in C major, we do not have a leading tone in this sequence of notes (which we call a scale).
You may also notice that these are technically the same notes as before, don't get too hung up on this!

What you need to know is that in these two scales there is one big difference, the leading tone. In minor keys we don't experience the completeness that major keys have to offer, so they sound a lot more ambiguous and we don't know where they're going.

Both key signatures though, use both types of chords (in fact, there are many other types of chords). If you want to play around with this, play alternating notes together (C-E-G, D-F-A, etc) and you'll notice that some sound very different than others. But they're all white keys!

In short, the difference between A minor and C major is where we start. In C major, we want B to move into C. But there's nothing inherently happy about C or sad about A, it's just where we start, and what notes are played accompanying these notes.

Part of our association with these sets of notes is because of sound-waves and how our ears interpret them, and part of it is because we are raised listening to a lot of major sounding music.

We listen to this music because its a lot easier to sing, not because it's inherently happy. So it's kinda confusing.

I'm sorry if this didn't make sense, I spent a lot of time on it but I have to acknowledge that I'm only just getting into music education and still have a lot to learn.
I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Please check out these resources. Do not shy away from music theory, it will only make you enjoy listening to music more!

Videos by Adam Neely

Why is major "happy"?

Which key is the saddest?

Books:

How music works

The Everything Music Theory Book


edit: formatting

>I'm trying to put together a plan of materials to go through with the intention of becoming an "expert" (very adept, lets say graduate level) in theory over the next several years.

So, at minimum, you'll need to know tonal (Schenkerian) analysis and post-tonal analysis. The fourth edition of Joseph Straus' Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory is good for post-tonal. My Schenkerian class didn't use a text, but Cadwallader and Gagne seems to be a thing now.

At the graduate level, studies are motivated by the student's research interests. It sounds like you are interested in what Dmitri Tymoczko calls "the extended common practice."

For breadth, read journals and publications. MTO is free, Spectrum is a big one, and so it JMT. Here are the last five recipients of the Wallace Berry Award (and you can read more here):

Steven Vande Mooretele - The Romantic Overture and Musical Form from Rossini to Wagner

Daniel Harrison - Pieces of Tradition: An Analysis of Contemporary Tonal Music

Ruth DeFord - Tactus, Mensuration, and Rhythm in Renaissance Music

Jack Boss - Schoenberg's Twelve-Tone Music: Symmetry and the Musical Idea

Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis - On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind

Given your interests, I'd definitely read the Daniel Harrison book.

/u/Jay13232 mentioned Persichetti. If you're going to read it, do so after you get a handle on set theory (from Straus). It's a good book, but our modern methodology is better for describing that repertoire in my opinion. Persichetti and Hindemith are like whacking nails into a board with a wrench (using ideas appropriated from tonality to describe music that doesn't follow those principles). Allen Forte, John Rahn, Robert Morris, and Howard Hanson gave us a proper set of hammers.

A collection of thoughts

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As has been said

> Don’t be afraid to build up a giant stack of half formed ideas on top of your piano.

Beethoven is notorious for his sketch books, and for playing with and developing ideas for years and years and years after the initial thought.

The original ideas for the 5th symphony are junk, for example. but he kept playing with it

get this book for more on this

https://www.amazon.com/Beethovens-Sketches-Analysis-Style-Sketch-Books/dp/0486230422/

part of music is the actual musical architecture and structure of the music. This is covered in the subject of "musical form" but this goes deeper

see this short video by whitacre on the subject

"Discovering the Golden Brick"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwjqptQ5R-w

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for more general instruction on the basics and the bigger issues of music composition, see this YT channel by Alan Belkin

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUQ0TcIbY_VEk_KC406pRpg

for a more popular music perspective, see Rick Beato and related channels

https://www.youtube.com/user/pegzch

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One of the longest traditions in music education is the making of arrangements and transcriptions of other people's music. This seems to far more effective if you do it by hand, and copy out all the parts yourself (again by hand)

Bach arranged Vivaldi, Mozart arranged Bach, Beethoven arranged Handel, etc.

If these masters did this as part of their own musical studies, maybe you could so this for your own education, using the music you admire most.

Even if it is arranging the music to a new key or mode (major to minor, etc)

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As a general thing I recommend books by Charles Rosen for music of the Classical era

https://www.amazon.com/Sonata-Forms-Revised-Charles-Rosen/dp/0393302199

https://www.amazon.com/Classical-Style-Mozart-Beethoven-Expanded/dp/0393317129/

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Probably the best place to start is by writing "etudes" which basically means "Studies" You could also call them "Experiments".

These would be shortish pieces where you try out different things. Thus if you do not know which way to go with something, you try them all or most of them, and flesh them out into separate things. Each is an experiment.

one idea might give a dozen experiments (major vs minor, slow vs fast, 3/4 vs 4/4 vs 5/4 = 12 combinations)

As experiments, not everything has to work. (but you might come back to it later)

Nothing has to be perfect, They are experiments

Later own, you experiment with ways to make it better. (see the Beethoven sketches again)

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part of the musical problem of form is to how to continue something in order to maintain interest, without it getting boring for a variety of factors. Traditional forms are solid solutions to the problem but you can come up with your own.

As an example, check out the old popular songs of John Denver (!) many of which do not follow a conventional common practice song format. What is he doing there?

>It's perhaps the least romantic gift ever

Hahahahaha! I would definitely agree, though—I think the CHWMT would be an excellent book. If she goes through any sort of History of Theory course (which most PhD programs do), I can't imagine she wouldn't use this book. Even if she didn't have such a course, this book is a collection of (with perhaps one exception) excellent essays written by top scholars on almost every major theoretical approach or issue in the history of Western music.

I won't speak for other sub-disciplines—vornska's suggestions are definitely some of the central books in present theoretical studies—but let me make some suggestions for books more oriented towards Schenkerian analysis.

Schenker's Free Composition — this is Schenker's magnum opus in which he lays out his mature theory. For any Schenkerian, this is definitely a Bible of sorts, and a must-have. Just be sure, if you end up purchasing this, to get both volumes; one volume is the text and the second is the examples. You can also find the hardcover first English edition, sometimes even for less than the price of the two paperbacks.

Cadwallader and Gagné's Analysis of Tonal Music: A Schenkerian Approach — this has become the standard textbook for teaching Schenkerian analysis, and I still find myself referring to it after years of Schenkerian studies. A somewhat dry but very clear and beneficial book.

Schachter's Unfoldings: Essays in Schenkerian Theory and Analysis — Carl Schachter is one of the greatest Schenkerians; nearly everybody who's anybody in the world of Schenkerian analysis studied with him. This book is a wonderful collection of some of his greatest essays. His writing style is exceptional and his analysis are some of the best I've seen.

Well the first issue you talk about-- the assignment of notes in your chords to instruments of the orchestra-- is orchestration. Here are a couple of good textbooks that cover that:

• http://www.amazon.com/Instrumentation-Orchestration-Alfred-Blatter/dp/0534251870
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Study-Orchestration-Third-Samuel-Adler/dp/039397572X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411570334&sr=1-1&keywords=orchestration
  
  The other issues are covered by some of the topics in "voice leading." It sounds like you have an understanding of chord progression, but things like harmonic rhythm or how fast chords change is also covered in voice leading. Many of those decisions are yours to make and that's what makes it fun! Some composers will create a harmonic rhythm that they will use to create a structure throughout the piece. I am a professional composer and would be happy to answer any other questions. Good luck!

If you tell them pretty much everything you wrote above, that's probably enough for them to go on.

Maybe try to find a teacher who has a good amount of experience teaching people who aren't starting from scratch, who is happy to focus on technique and filling in the gaps in your music knowledge (e.g. scales, chord theory, etc.). Someone who is willing to point out your bad habits every time and give you tips on focused practice to help break them.

The teaching won't be the challenging part, though. What's going to be hard is forcing yourself to break the physical and mental bad habits you've developed over years of playing without guidance. Practising scales, finger exercises, sight reading etc. is boring but will help a lot in deepening your understanding of technique and simple music theory.

You've probably passively picked up quite a lot about chord theory and stuff like that just from playing music, but don't yet have the basis in music theory to convert what you've learned into concrete knowledge.

I'd really recommend studying music theory in your spare time to help round out your knowledge - maybe consider getting a hold of something like this - you'll know a lot of the basic stuff already but it'll help fill in the gaps and explain in technical terms what you may only know as abstract ideas right now.

Best of luck!

It sounds like you have a good foundation both in what you have played and your knowledge of tab. I’m assuming that you mean ‘solo’ fingerstyle guitar (just one guitar but no voice) or fingerstyle as accompaniment to singing. In any case, the best place to start is with Travis Picking. More specifically, the styles of “Merle Travis” and “Chet Atkins.” Learning Travis Picking, even if you don’t pursue it, is an essential foundation to everything else you will do. An online program called True Fire (https://truefire.com) is an incredible place to go and is very oriented toward teaching you fingerstyle. Even Tommy Emmanuel teaches there! Beyond that, just listen to others. Listen closely to many pickers of many genres and styles, then pick and choose what you do and don’t like to create your own style. Finally, learn basic music theory (if you haven’t already). Music theory is in my opinion, a very important but often missed aspect of guitar. I wish you good luck, and I hope you found this helpful!

Some supplementary books I would recommend:

For music theory: https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Modern-Theory-Guitarists/dp/1503319210?keywords=Guitar+music+theory&qid=1540820080&sr=8-6&ref=sr_1_6

For Merle Travis Style: https://www.amazon.com/Mel-Merle-Travis-Guitar-Style/dp/078660266X?crid=1FDIX0PBK0ZS5&keywords=merle+travis+guitar+style&qid=1540819852&sprefix=Merle+Travis+guit%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-1&ref=sr_1_1

For Chet Atkins Style: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Chet-Atkins-Guitar-Method/dp/0786691476?keywords=Chet+Atkins+method&qid=1540819891&sr=8-1&ref=sr_1_1

You'll also want to stare at this diagram for a while. Look for patterns. Each interval has a different pattern. Start by learning octaves, then perfect fifths (power chords), perfect fourths, and major and minor thirds.

http://www.guitar-guide-easy.com/images/stories/fretboard.jpg

Did you know the guitar is tuned in perfect fourths, except for the G to B string which is a major third? Fourths is a kind of interval, btw. The guitar is tuned EADGBE and E to A is a perfect fourth, A to D is a perfect fourth, D to G is a perfect fourth, G to B is a MAJOR THIRD, and B to E is a perfect fourth.

Intervals are the distance between two notes. Each interval creates a different sound. Intervals can be harmonic (played at the same time), or melodic (one note played after the other). Major third is typically considered "happy," minor third "sad."

Did you know that unlike a piano the guitar contains unisons? That means there are multiples of the same exact note on the fretboard. This is not the same thing as an octave.

So for example, if you look at the diagram, on the 24th Fret on the low e string, there is a yellow "e" note. That same exact note is found at the 19 fret on the A string, 14th fret on the D string, 9th fret on the G string, 5th fret on the B, and it's the note sounded by playing the open high e string.

EDIT: you might also want to buy a book on music theory. There's a lot of info on the internet, but sometimes it's easier just finding it all in one place. This book is pretty good.

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Music-Theory-Book-understanding/dp/1440511829

EDIT 2: A 24 fret guitar (most guitars aren't 24 fret, but for convenience sake I'm going with it) has a range of four octaves (E2 to E6).

To see what that would mean on a piano, see this:

http://sanfranciscoaudiophilesociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/piano-keys-hor2.jpg

Also, to know how many octaves there are on a piano, you take the number of keys (88) and divide by 12 (12 notes per octave). You get a little over seven octaves.

So that might lead you to believe that on a guitar you take the number of strings (6) times the number of frets (24), which gives you 144 notes, which you then divide by 12 (12 notes in an octave), giving you 12 octaves on the guitar. But as I said earlier, it doesn't work like that. Because unlike the piano the guitar has multiples of the same note.

sonata #1 sounds like a psuedo Beethoven/Liszt

sonata #2 sounds like a young psuedo Mozart. It sort of feels like you are trying to stuff the music into the form, like trying to stuff a genii into a bottle. The Genii doesn't always cooperate.

-)

sonata #3 sounds like a psuedo Mozart, but is much more masterful than your earlier efforts. it is the more accomplished, and seems much more listenable and enjoyable. It sounds like you are starting to put in additional layers so that everything isn't obvious on the first go around. This is a very good thing to do. It sounds like you are starting to have fun with the form. It has a good flow.

Keep this up, and we won't have to shoot the critics.

Recommended reading: Charles Rosen: Sonata Forms

If you already have a guitar you love, and you already have a versatile amp that can hook up to your computer as an interface, you're in pretty good shape.

Here are some of the best things you can own to improve your playing, if you don't already have them:

• Metronome
  
  
• Tuner pedal
  
  
• Looper pedal (TC Electronic Ditto or Ditto X2 are popular choices)
  
  
• Sight-reading books like this one or this one
  
  
• Music theory books like this one or this one
  
  If you only have 1 or 2 pedals you don't need a pedalboard.
  
  If you are interested in pedals but don't know what you want, a multi-effect unit is a great choice.
  
  If you're looking for an all-in-one effect unit & guitar trainer, this is a good choice. It has a built-in tuner, metronome (rare on pedals or multi-FX units), pre-programmed rhythm patterns for jamming, an aux-input for playing along to MP3s, a whole bunch of effects that you can use like a standard effects pedal, and a bunch of other stuff.

My advice is to buy some books. There's a lot of info on the internet, but it's all spread out and often chopped up into pieces, which can make it a bitch to make sense of. If you're going to go the internet route, though, check out guitarlessons365.com (not affiliated in any way). The vast majority of the lessons are free and the music theory section is completely free, not to mention very good.

http://www.guitarlessons365.com/lessons-archive/music-theory-lessons-archive/

Regarding books, this is a great, easy to read book on music theory that won't hurt your head. I'd start either here or with guitarlessons365.

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Music-Theory-Book-understanding/dp/1440511829

For guitar books, Fretboard Logic is a must read. Definitely buy this. It focuses on the 5 position system (CAGED). If you're interested in learning the 7 position system for the major scales and other 7 note scales, check out guitarlessons365.

http://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348759781&sr=8-1&keywords=fretboard+logic

After that, I'd check out this as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Theory-Guitarists-Everything-Wanted/dp/063406651X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348759708&sr=1-1&keywords=guitar+theory

Worth checking this out as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Fretboard-Workbook-Barrett-Tagliarino/dp/0634049011/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348759937&sr=1-3&keywords=guitar+theory

Here's another important book. I'd probably buy this last, though.

http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark-Levine/dp/1883217040/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348760257&sr=1-1&keywords=jazz+theory+book+by+mark+levine

Here's some other stuff for people interested:

Joe Straus' Introduction to Post Tonal Theory

• For solid post tonal and heavily set theory based stuff
  
  Introduction to Electro-Acoustic Music by Barry Schrader
  
  
• this book is old but has some cool stuff in it about earlier electronic music and it's cheap
  
  Samuel Solomon's How to Write for Percussion
  
  
• The best percussion book
  
  Rothenberg and Ulvaeus' Book of Music and Nature
  
  
• If you're in to, well music and nature this is a great anthology of writings by people like Cage, Takemitsu, Oliveros, etc. on the subject.
  
  Cope's Techniques of the Contemporary Composer is okay.
  
  
• for composery stuff
  
  My favorite orchestration book is actually the Blatter
  
  Composing Electronic Music by Curtis Roads is a very good new electronic book
  
  The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross
  
  
• Practically a must read
  
  On Sonic Art by Trevor Wishart
  
  
• is a must read also

It's sort of a combination of simple note reading, experimentation, and adaption to the instrument. Process:

1. The key is key. Figure out the key. With the sheet music in front of you this is really a matter of reading the staff notation and then figuring out whether your piece is major or minor (C and Am have the same key signature, G and Em have the same key signature, etc.). You can usually figure this out by listening to the last measure of the piece for its flavor, major or minor (usually).
   
   
2. In each measure, read the notes in each voice and write them down. The notes will tell you which chords are likely.
   
   
3. Now a little guesswork. You need to figure out which chord is appropriate to each measure. Usually this involves knowing a bit about chord progressions and phrasing (generally simple in hymns). If you can sing the melody, guess the chords and sing while playing them. Let your ear be the guide; if it sounds right, you are good to go. Also, it is not necessarily the case that only one chord will work with a given measure (if this was a functional relationship, someone would have written a computer program to deduce the chords for each measure).
   
   
4. Chord voicing. You will want to find the best way to play the chord on the mando. This gets into questions of voice leading, maintaining a good bass line, etc. Often your ear will be a good guide here.
   
   Step 3 can involve adapting your chord to your instrument. For hymns, you probably won't have to worry about this a huge amount except for seventh chords, and there are pretty extensive charts available for mando seventh chords.
   
   But really, after all is said and done: This is a pretty easy thing to do, if you know some basic music theory. If not, I think the closest I can get to ELI5 is (a) go read this and this, then (b) go arrange the hymns for mandolin.
   
   I'll try to post an example later this week (arrgh, not on vacation anymore, so much less reddit) for a simple hymn. Or PM me with a scan of a hymn and I'll try to mark it up and show you what I am talking about in steps 1-4 in the context of an example.
   
   EDIT: Another way to practice this chord writing skill: Get a book of hymns with guitar/piano chords already marked, and try out the process I outlined above. This way you can check your answers. This is not a bad start. Heck, it may have everything in it you want already.

If you want to learn piano, go to amazon and get these 4 books:

1.The Musician’s Way

2.First Lessons in Bach

3. Two and Three Part Inventions

And finally

4. The Well-Tempered Clavier

These books will teach you all you need to know about music. This is how I personally started playing piano. Work through the books in order, as each one builds on top of the other. Once you can play counterpoint excellently you can play pretty much anything else.

In the words of Brahms: “Study Bach. There you will find everything.”

As far as a keyboard goes, I have a Yamaha P-60 and it gets the job done. Just make sure you have weighted keys and 88 and you’re good. Bach’s music doesn’t require a pedal, so you don’t even really need that.

Good luck on your musical journey! To work through all these books will take a life time.

I download short films on archive.org and mute the sound, and practice scoring to them.

I also wasn't finding much work in film, so I started writing music for indie video game developers. Winifred Phillip's book has been very useful to me (it's a big picture kind of understanding with plenty of practical advice) and I just started reading Aaron Marks' book which has some good stuff in it.

Someone also recently told me about scorbit (started by Berklee I think), which I personally haven't used much but have heard good things. You can set up a free account with them which is nice.

YouTube is filled with great (and shitty) advice. Honestly, I have more sources than I have time to explore anymore, so I'm just picking a few, and doing the hell out of them.

Also, the TigSource forums are great!

http://www.amazon.com/Instrumentation-Orchestration-Alfred-Blatter/dp/0534251870/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278516600&sr=8-1

This book is one of my favorite sources for orchestration and just getting ideas about how different timbres interplay with one another.

As far as composing better, the best thing that you can do is make a bunch of pieces. Sure, some of the pieces aren't going to be that great, but you're going to eventually find bits that you really like. When you do that, you can requote those portions in other works and really start honing in on getting the piece to work together within itself.

Try writing three pieces in one day (similar to the as-many-songs-as-possible songwriting challenge). If that seems too easy, bump the number up. The more and more that you compose without overthinking what you are doing, the more likely that you will let your unbridled creativity flow. When the juice starts to flow, then you will be amazed at what you didn't know you knew.

Of course. (Even though I will only give some of the important things)

1. A piano is written with 2 staves (one per hand)
   
2. You have to specify what strings play (violin, alto, cello, DB ?) here you just have a staff that says "strings". That makes us wonder "who plays and when ?"
   
3. Same thing apply to woods
   
4. When it's done, you need to make groups the way it's supposed to be.
   
5. Normally, it would be : Winds, piano and then strings. I can understand the fact that your piano is above (since it's kind of a soloist), but the winds must still be above the strings nevertheless
   
6. There a no specifications of articulation
   
7. There a no specifications of dynamics
   
8. Your notation of rythm is a little off : In a 4/4 we need to see the 3rd beat. (exemple : your 13th bar)
   
9. You would not need so many ties in your piano if you simply noted how the sustain pedal should be used
   
   It's a start. I invite to you read orchestral (or chamber music) scores. It will provide you with great knowledge.
   
   I invite you to consult some book on the subject, like this one : http://www.amazon.com/Music-Notation-Manual-Practice-Crescendo/dp/0800854535 (don't really know if it's good, never personaly read it)
   
   Don't worry, people don't expect of you to know all these things to begin with. It's just important when you present something to fellow composers.
   
   Keep up the good work !
   
   (if you want to know my sources, I'm a composition student in a university in Canada)

There is no significant advantage to using a dedicated hardware synthesizer over a computer. To the contrary, a computer gives you far more flexibility, and it takes up a lot less space.

Don't get me wrong, though -- I absolutely love both hardware and software. I just think you can learn a lot more about synthesis and music production with cheap or free software than you can with a single dedicated synth in the introductory price range. I would recommend buying a midi keyboard and a copy of this book. It gives recommendations of free software you can use while working through the book, and it will teach you the fundamentals (and then some) of all the major forms of synthesis.

Plus, if you buy a midi controller, you can use it to control hardware synths later on, if you choose to purchase any.

I learned a lot from taking classes and private lessons, as well as self study by reading books and analyzing music. I'm not really aware of that many good resources for jazz theory online unfortunately, but there is this site: http://community.berkleejazz.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

EDIT: I love the Jazz Piano Book, it's not really a theory book but I thought it was great. The author has also written a Jazz Theory Book which a lot people seem to like, but I haven't really gone through it yet. Some other options are the Berklee Book of Jazz Harmony and the Jazz Harmony Book

I have a feeling this isn't what you're looking for, but this book on practice could be of value to you. Perhaps if you understand the reasons why you're practicing and how to practice in a way that will most benefit you you'll be more willing to commit to it.

Good practice is one of the best skills you can learn for almost anything in life.

The great thing about virtual instruments is that you don't have to make them do anything 'correctly'. You can stretch them and distort them into all kinds of new directions using all the tools available on the computer. You don't even have to know what the instruments do - just treat them as sound sources and be creative.

If you are wanting to learn to compose for an actual orchestra then I would start by sitting down and listening to a lot of orchestral recordings while following the scores (also going to concerts). Pick out bits that stand out to you and start studying how the various textures are built, how each instrument works, how performers approach various articulations in an orchestral context, the sounds the instruments produce when combined into sections, what each section contributes to the overall orchestra etc.

There are a lot of resources for this kind of thing. Orchestration Online is a great resource. Books like Adler's The Study of Orchestration can be invaluable as a reference.

Best of luck!

I'm starting with a double and just learning--the fingering on the large chamber is the same as most 12 hole ocarina tutorials. So you can just buy a double, treat it as 12 hole until you master the first chamber, then add the second chamber. Since I knew I wanted a double's range for most of the songs I want to eventually learn, it was cheaper to just get a double to start.


I bought the STL Plastic Double for $40 initially, since I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy playing the ocarina. It's good enough to learn on and get familiar with the fingerings. The plastic causes it to go out of tune as your breath condenses inside it while you play, though. A clay ocarina will end up sounding better and be playable for longer in a session. (And cost more, if you're not sure about the instrument long term.)


I just ordered the highly rated Focalink Double for $118 (you just missed their Memorial Day sale) after a lot of research. If you want clay, I'd probably recommend that. Any of the STL doubles would probably also work for you, they are $100 normally. And depending on your budget, you might think about their MaxRange Doubles ($140ish). They're supposed to have a pretty awkward fingering in exchange for the extra range, but they're one note shy of a triple and cost much less. YMMV, do your research before buying one.


Finally, I also got /u/ocarinadiva 's Hal Leonard Method book, and as a noob to music I really like it. There's quite a lot of information on basic music theory and ocarina specific techniques in the book and the included video lessons really help. There's free resources out there, but having everything in one place was more than worth the price to me.

Cadwallader/Gagne is the standard text to use. There's also the Forte book which I haven't personally used but my friends that have used it don't like it.

You could also try the Salzer/Schachter book on counterpoint: it's heavily Schenkerian and just a great read. But its goal is to instruct you in counterpoint, not in Schenkerian analysis per se...that said, counterpoint is obviously very influential on Schenker's theories and it's important to understand counterpoint to succeed at Schenkerian analysis.

Timothy Johnson recently published a book on John Adams's Nixon in China, which I'd recommend if you're interested in that composer's work from a theoretical standpoint. If you're interested in more biographical stuff, check out his autobiography, Hallelujah Junction.

As for notation, I found an old copy of Gardner Read's book at a used bookstore a while back, and I'd recommend picking it up if you're really interested. I do feel the need to include a couple of caveats: the book (or at least my edition) predates computerized typesetting, so the purpose and organization of the work aren't the most efficient and helpful for modern purposes. Nevertheless, he is very comprehensive and thorough, and it makes a good resource if you're interested in scrupulously "correct" notation.

I feel you. Counterpoint would certainly be a good starting point, but it almost certainly isn't going to be useful to you except as a bridge upon which you might arrive at 4-voice-land.

Bach is an incredible study in counterpoint, but you'll likely not understand how to write simply by analyzing his counterpoint (unless you're peculiarly keen on intervalic analysis and pick up on nuances like a lack of parallel 5ths and 8ves, contrary, parallel, similar or oblique motion between voices, etc).

I'm not aware of any online resources with which one can learn counterpoint (someone else might be able to direct you there).

This is the book we've used in all of my theory classes, I through IV so far It's not a particularly cheep cheap (god it's late)* book, but it's been worth it for the wealth of knowledge. It does a really good job of taking theory step by step from the smallest of pieces (notes on a staff) to crazy complex serial compositions and other awful stuff like that ;)

If you want to save your money and learn a ton, wikipedia is actually an excellent resource for basic orchestration. IMSLP has loads of free scores... youtube and spotify loads of videos and recordings of performances. Listen to/watch a piece along with its score. If you're still looking for a book, Samuel Adler's The Study of Orchestration is a great (but expensive) place to start. Cheers.

This is a complex question. First, it assumes that your teacher has taught good posture, and good LH and RH technique, you have a decent instrument and bow, etc. My first violin came with a Glasser bow and I happily started playing with it, it sounded pretty decent to me, until... I saw in a store that it was a $40 fiberglass bow, then i decided it sounded terrible.

Anyway, i've watched a number of violin and cello teachers over the years try to verbalize the action of hair on strings. What develops is combination of understanding, visualization, a developed ear and muscle memory that you have to develop yourself, you don't just absorb it from your teacher. You always should do the simplest exercises, playing a single tone, and then playing correct (beatless) thirds and fifths. It may help to read about it, like in books by Bruser, Klickstein and Kenny Werner about practicing music and this trumpet story:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Musicians-Way-Practice-Performance/dp/0195343131/

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/takuya-kuroda-rising-son-takuya-kuroda-by-danmichael-reyes.php

As a long-time user and refuge of Sibelius, I begrudgingly recommend Finale. It's actually pretty decent. The most important thing is that when you make your choice to learn everything you can about the software itself. If you can master all of the shortcuts and hotkeys it will make your life much easier.

Also, I recommend buying a book on instrumentation and orchestration. Alfred Blatter's book (link below) in particular was the one I used throughout college and even now. Good luck!

http://www.amazon.com/Instrumentation-Orchestration-Alfred-Blatter/dp/0534251870

I have this one at the moment

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1503319210/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472771251&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=guitar+theory

Excuse the formatting, on mobile and I suck at the app!

It's been pretty good so far, makes a lot of sense and I'm definitely learning. That being said I've not really had to knuckle down and actually study anything since uni, so it's taking longer than I'd like to!

Good luck :)

This is a pretty good one. It's centered around jazz but the concepts are super transferrable. You probably need to be able to read music for it though.

​

Outside of that, I'd guess that almost any book on functional harmony would teach you what you're looking to learn. Hope this helps!

\> This composition was focused on the balance and elegance of the Classical era (like Mozart and Haydn).

It doesn't quite achieve that either, mind you. The following paragraphs sound harsh but aren't intended to be.

There are lot of what I would call mechanical mistakes. Take the second bar. You shift an E-major chord up a second to F#-major, all voices moving in parallel. And then you compound it by the F#-C# to B-F# parallel fifths in the cello, viola and second violin. You will not find anything like this in the body of works of Haydn or Mozart. It's just a simple violation of rules that cannot happen when you strive to write in the Classical style.

Aside from these types of formal issues, there is something that takes much longer to get right and it has to do with all these unwritten rules that you would find implemented in every Mozart and Haydn sonata movement. The second theme appears to be presented in bar 17 and it is according to the standard rules in the dominant. So far so good. The problem is that you are missing the transition from first to second theme. The first section is just a repeat and alternation of two-bar motives. The 16 bars entirely consist of three chords: B-major, E-major and F#-major. And then, after ending on the tonic B-major, you introduce the second theme in the dominant F# but you never established that key, and it needs to be.

According to classical rules it requires either a cadence on the dominant, often introduced via vi which in the case of B-major would be like a g#-minor chord with the third in the base but more correctly denoted as B^(6), or a half-cadence on the double-dominant C#-major. You have neither and you don't have a single reference to the new leading tone E#, and you kind of do need it to convincingly present the second theme in the new key.

Whole books have been written specifically about how Classical composers treated the sonata form. I recommend Charles Rosen's Sonata Form or The Classical Style by the same author. These are incredible books and eye-opening. I keep repeating this and a lot of people don't believe it but the Classical era was the height of formalism in music. Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven were the most comprehensively trained composers in history. They had to be. They knew everything that Bach did but in addition to that they had mastery of the far richer structural and harmonic principles and rules of the Classical era (which, actually, they created themselves). That's why a scholar such as Charles Rosen spend his whole life (well, apart from performing as a pianist) on studying what made Classical music Classical.

But not to worry. It seems this competition that you won is for young (as in teen) composers. I've taken part in various composition competitions myself decades ago (and never really won anything). You'll figure it out. But do get these Charles Rosen books. When I read them for the first time they elevated my appreciation and understanding of classical music to an entirely new level.

So many people seem to have this idea that they're just going to "learn theory." Like that's it.

Like there will be this AHA I NOW KNOW THE MUSICAL THEORY I CAN NOW WRITE THE MUSIC.

But in all seriousness. Yeah you will learn theory. If music is going to be a life long pursuit you will never STOP learning theory. Unless you're not serious about it. Then you might just learn what I IV V means write some pop songs and stop there. I digress..

First thing. Learn to read music. DO NOT READ TAB. Learn all the notes on the fret board. Not like you can count up to it and realize that something is a C. Like you KNOW IT. Point to it and you know what note it is. Start reading music here.

Another good way to learn the notes on the fretboard is to pick 4 triads of different qualities. One major, one minor, one diminished, and one augmented triad and play them in all inversions in all positions on the neck while saying the note names. And then pick 4 new triads the next day. Do not just learn the shapes. This will probably take you 2 hours on your first day if you're as thorough as you should be.

If you don't know what any of that means that's fine for now. Those are some pretty basic concepts that you'll learn pretty soon if you're serious about this.

This guy knows his shit. Learn from him. Take it slow. Don't just watch the video and go "Yeah that makes sense." You need to KNOW IT. Drill the concepts a few hours a day.

You could buy a music text book.

Or get an actual guitar teacher. I'd recommend learning jazz because unlike a lot of rock or pop players they actual know their shit about theory and their instrument. You kinda have to know your shit to play jazz. Either that or classical. But jazz theory is more in line with modern music.

Segway: Buy a Real Book

Start off in there with Autumn Leaves or something else easy.

If you're really beginner-y start here.

While that guy's course is good it really focuses on technique. You learn basically no theory from that guy. Just shapes and tabs. Doesn't even use standard notation. His jazz course is ok. It's on his side bar.

This guy's stuff is good for a beginner in jazz. But a beginner in jazz is not exactly beginner level for some other genres. I think you need a pretty solid level of understanding to understand what he's talking about.

That should get you started..

[Edit] Some people have this disconnect. They think that learning theory is somehow separate from song writing. Learning theory will open so many doors to you and show you why and how things work. So that you can actually understand what you're doing.

If I wanted to build a house I could just jump in and start building a house. I'd probably come across a lot of problems. My first house might suck and have a leaky roof or bad plumbing or something. But I could probably learn a long the way. Maybe after I build a ton of crappy houses I could figure out for myself why things work.

Or.. I could look through the writings of the millions of house builders that came before me and see what they found out works and what doesn't. Then maybe my first house will have some issues and it might not be so easy to pull off but I'd be better off learning from the people who came before me than trying to figure it out myself. By doing this I have just saved myself the time of trying to rediscover the wheel so to speak.

That's what learning theory will do for you.

Read this and this

Edit: Additionally, everyone has a natural frequency they resonate at. When you wake up in the morning, hum a note. What comes naturally is usually your natural resonance. Due to sympathetic vibrations in the harmonic series, certain harmonies and sympathetic tones can physically interact with your "personal frequency"

In other words, music fucking rules

Nail + Head = Hit

OP: The best way to learn is by a combination of listening, reading, writing and (I think) most importantly, playing.

Some places you could start are, of course the master BACH. For something more contemporary, the band Cake actually used some quite sophisticated counterpoint.

Some reading can be done with schoenberg HERE (sorry, I couldn't find a PDF, but if there is a university library nearby, they should have a copy.)

The book simply called "Counterpoint" By Walter Piston is a good alternative.

What else? I read a really good Schenckerian analysis of Dark Side Of The Moon, once, but now I can't find it. It's a pity, because I remember thinking it would be a good way to get into it.

> Hey now, you might hurt my feelings.

hehehe don't worry. I love physics, and I am jealous that you are still involved with it ;)

Music is very weird. Even newborns can sense "off" notes (they will grimace). Music is one of those things that I partly ascribe to "the consciousness mystery". For example, in my music paper, I could easily talk about the parts of the brain that recognize individual notes, or how music triggered memories, etc... but that still went nowhere towards how it feels to listen to your favorite tune, as it were.

There are a couple of books I have on this idea that I still need to read. One is Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks.

Note that the use of the word "feel" in this subreddit leads to immediate downvotes. ;) Qualitative descriptions are not useful for proving anything, of course! :)

> if dogs could comprehend what we wanted them to do, they might be able to put smells on a scale

We could also just cut to the chase and attach a highly sophisticated brain sensor to their skulls that would communicate what they're smelling based on what parts of the brain light up. Essentially using them as part of the instrument. It still wouldn't tell us what it's like to be able to smell that well, though.

Curious to hear your opinion on the qualia/zombie links.

You shouldn't have major technique issues if you are taking lessons and your teacher believes you are ready for that piece. It could be something subtle that your teacher won't see unless you say something, so I wouldn't rule it out completely, but I wouldn't call it the most likely suspect. How do you cross strings? Do you use your whole arm, from the shoulder, so that each string has its own hand and elbow level, and keep your elbow on the same plane that the wrist passes through when its in a neutral position? Does your wrist move with your bow strokes? Is your hand relaxed, with no death grip on the bow? Are your fingers close together on the stick and not wrapped around it in a claw hold? Are your pinkie and thumb bent? If all of that is true and your teacher has not corrected anything, and you are not tired after an hour of practice and do not experience pain or new mistakes that would point to you stumbling over yourself due to exhaustion, then my gut is that it has nothing to do with kinesthetic aspects of your technique but rather with your lungs.

We don't talk about breathing much when learning to play the violin because, unlike vocalists and wind and brass musicians, our lungs don't directly power our instruments. However, especially when we play something high energy with fast string crossings, our bodies need more oxygen. Otherwise, you default to a metabolic process called lactic acid fermentation, a form of anaerobic respiration (feeding your cells without oxygen). As a very short-term solution, lactic acid fermentation is a good way for your body to get emergency energy. However, if you use it for longer periods of physical activity, the byproducts of that process build up in your muscles, and it will result in pain until your body can break it down.

Weight lifters typically do not lift weights seven days a week. They have rest days, or they will focus on different parts of their body on different days, to allow themselves recovery and prevent pain and injury. They also have to know how to breathe and work in activities that are naturally more aerobic, like running or swimming or yoga, to compensate.

Violinists could actually learn a lot from weight lifters and other athletes. We need to learn to breathe, perhaps by building something that encourages it into our exercise routines. We need to learn to breathe while we play, give ourselves a slow warmup, and take breaks if we are tired or experience pain. Since ideally we do practice everyday, we need to learn to have a different focus each day, vary our routine so we don't end up with repetitive strain injuries.

Here are some books that cover these ideas, if you are interested:

https://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Yoga-Practice-Performance-Inspiration/dp/0876390955/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479054081&sr=8-1&keywords=musician%27s+yoga

https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Less-Hurt-Prevention-Musicians/dp/1423488466/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479054162&sr=8-1&keywords=playing+less+hurt

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810833565/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?ie=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0810833565&pd_rd_r=RWHBKW02B6M7TF94YYKR&pd_rd_w=46ibZ&pd_rd_wg=u4M4j&psc=1&refRID=RWHBKW02B6M7TF94YYKR

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195343131/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0195343131&pd_rd_r=E19SZTNCKQQDJQ6RBHGM&pd_rd_w=xqfGw&pd_rd_wg=92fpR&psc=1&refRID=E19SZTNCKQQDJQ6RBHGM

As a biologist and a musician, I can tell you with certainty that it's fucking magic

Music causes strange things to happen in the brain, there's a number of popular science books on the subject (e.g, Musicophilia). Neurologists don't understand it fully. Playing music is one of the most complicated cooperative behaviors we perform as a single group. We can play a fast piece with a 9/8 time signature in an large ensemble comprised of various instruments with ease (think Celtic or Indian music as well as Western Orchestral). Why music makes sense to us is an even greater mystery.
If you ask me, I think we could sing before we could speak. :-)

This is a classic. This is a more recent one , and it's always a good idea to have at least two sources for theory.

Remember that making music is more about learning songs, listening and copying - i.e., learning the practices by ear (or from songbooks). Theory will give you all the terminology to help organise the information, to make sense of what you're learning, but you can actually make music (compose or improvise) with very little theory knowledge - just by copying the sounds you like. That's how most of the great pop/rock songwriters (and guitar improvisers) learned their craft.

I'd say build yourself a portfolio with various styles and post it to your website or Soundcloud. You must include it in e-mails. Do contact local studios first, you'll have better luck connecting if you're somewhat close for meetings. I got lots of gigs by e-mailing studios or people I simply stumbled upon on social media. If you're into programmer circles you're surely gonna connect eventually. Also try going to indie meetings to network.

One thing to keep in mind is don't get discouraged by lack of replies. Bigger or rapidly expanding studios generally react very slow (if at all) and generally require prior experience - even if it only consists of indie work.

Also here's a book that really got me going into the mindset of a game music composer: http://www.amazon.com/Composers-Guide-Game-Music-Press/dp/0262026643?ie=UTF8&keywords=composing%20for%20games&qid=1465410856&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3

Good luck!

The Zelda replicas from OcarinaWind have a pretty bad reputation and the owner carries multiple models, which makes it even more difficult. STL, Songbird, and Rotter all have affordable Zelda replicas that are pretty good quality.

That is the Night by Noble, so you're good there. As far as learning materials, it really depends on you. A lot of people like having a structured curriculum and it helps save time. You can find tutorials and such online, but you have to consider what your time is worth and if it is worth having a centralized resource to get you up and running. My wife wrote the Hal Leonard Ocarina Method and I think for $/£10 or so, it's worth not having to look for resources and having videos that basically show you every lesson. It's also available in book form as well as iOS and Andriod/Google.

Theory can be weird when it comes to songwriting and composing.

If you don't know anything, your songwriting is really free and wide open.

When you know a little bit, it's easy to feel boxed in by "the rules".

Eventually, when you learn enough, you understand that there are no rules, and you are once again able to freely write, but you have your theory knowledge to guide you. You can find the sounds you're looking for quicker, and more reliably.

One of my composition teachers once told me "the reason you learn this stuff is to forget it", and that always stuck with me. So make sure to keep that in mind as you learn stuff.

I recommend the Berklee theory book. It's not exactly what they use in class (although it may be now, I graduated there back in 2010), but it is a great book.

I already knew a lot before I started at Berklee, but the way they organized and presented the information there just made more sense to me. It may not resonate with you the same way, but that's how it goes sometimes. You just have to find a teacher, book, program that looks at things in a way that works for you.

If you would like to end with Chopin, you only need to study tonal theory. So twelve tone topics are not of any use since that topic is 20th century, after tonality.

If you didn't do voice leading (SATB harmony): Are you interested in voice leading? If you want to get to the more advanced topics of tonal theory, you'll need to cover that. If so I would suggest this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Guide-Theory-Analysis-Third/dp/0393600491/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535936804&sr=1-1&keywords=clendinning+theory

Have you done species counterpoint? Species counterpoint will be very helpful in dealing with just about all music. I would recommend Fux's book:

https://www.amazon.com/Study-Counterpoint-Johann-Joseph-Parnassum/dp/0393002772/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535936929&sr=1-1&keywords=fux+counterpoint

If you've already done species counterpoint: For more advanced counterpoint (not useful for Chopin, but necessary for anything with fugues in it, obviously) I would suggest Mann's book:

https://www.amazon.com/Study-Fugue-Dover-Books-Music/dp/0486254399

For a complete discussion of forms I would suggest Berry's book:

https://www.amazon.com/Form-Music-2nd-Wallace-Berry/dp/0133292851

For an in depth and modern discussion of sonata theory (remember that symphonies are also often times in sonata form), I would suggest Hepokoski's book:

https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Sonata-Theory-Deformations-Late-Eighteenth-Century/dp/0199773912/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535937360&sr=1-1&keywords=hepokoski+sonata

If you already know species counterpoint and voice leading you can study Schenkarian Analysis. For this there's two books I would suggest:

https://www.amazon.com/Analysis-Tonal-Music-Schenkerian-Approach/dp/0199732477/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535937496&sr=1-1&keywords=schenkerian+analysis

https://www.amazon.com/Tonal-Analysis-Schenkerian-David-Damschroder/dp/0393283798/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535937488&sr=1-2&keywords=schenkerian+analysis

​

If you're interested in composition, that's the other side of the coin and so all the above are of limited use. Let me know if you want books for composition.

I think most of the Norris plugins are in audio unit format, he also has a bunch of interesting looking max devices which I still have to dive into :)

>Yes, I remember reading the same thing. Perhaps what he meant was just to turn off the grid in ableton?

Thats probably how he did it, I doubt he writes the entire track with the grid off - probably either sketches it out with it on, and then adds elements with it off, or keeps a few audio tracks on grid throughout and writes the rest around it. But then again Burial supposedly didn't use a grid at all for a lot of Untrue.

The most helpful thing I've come across for learning max (after doing the built in tutorials to learn the basics), is this book by Alessandro Cipriani Electronic Music and Sound Design. I bought the max 7 version on iBooks, its about the same price and has video examples built into it. Also the dude837 tutorials are fantastic, but he often doesn't explain what he's doing properly which is a bit annoying if you're starting out. John Jannone's tutorials are also pretty great.

The Musicians Way.
Goes in depth about how to practice, memorize, improve, create practice routines, how to stay healthy. And a lot more.

All good to follow a book and learn. But, only you, and maybe your instructor, know your weakness. Good know how to spot them, and create a practice schedule around that.

Edit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0195343131/ref=pd_aw_fbt_b_img_2?refRID=0M5P4Y51J8CNC5JBCSGB

Dont know how to do the fancy link stuff on mobile

Theres a great book called A Composer's Guide to game Music that I really enjoyed. It'll help you get more into the mindset of producing for video games and what that normally entails.

I think the biggest thing is to think about what type of game music you want to write and look for resources specific to that. I.e. do you want to write for indie games, AAA, fighters, phone games, etc...

Hey OP, not sure exactly which one you are referring to but it might be one of these:

Looking to start a career in composing music for games, just got some questions about where I'm coming from

Colleague of mine is making a living out of composing for more than 5 years. A blog interviewed him. Thought this might be an inspiration for all of you aspiring musicians and game composers.

I have the portfolio, I have the skills, I have some paid experience, where do I go from here?

Perhaps these will help, but a lot of materials are out there for looking at getting jobs in the game industry including

A Composer's Guide to Game Music and Make Some Noise! Getting a Job Creating Sound and Music for Videogames.

It's trivial to mix multiple audio streams in real-time with Max. You can just feed all your outputs into a single input of a DAC with inline *~ objects whose right input accepts a multiplier to control gain. There are lots of more sophisticated way to do it.

These books have a lot of info on this topic as you get more advanced.

http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Music-Sound-Design-Practice/dp/8890548452/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422140884&sr=8-1&keywords=electronic+music+max+msp

There are very good books on Amazon which might get you started on game audio. Some links :

Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design
A Composer's Guide to Game Music
The Complete Guide to Game Audio: For Composers, Musicians, Sound Designers, Game Developers

About the audio engines (audio middleware), the two big ones are FMOD and Wise (when the studio is not using its own middleware). There are some tutorials on Youtube which might get you started on that. It's essential to know the basics of sound integration (I mean how to use FMOD/Wise with game engines) if you want to work in video games.

Also, come join us over at /r/gameaudio

I would definitely start with Cris Gale's Method Book. David Erick Ramos also released his own method book. I would also check out the method books sold by STL Ocarina.

​

David Erick Ramos and OcarinaOwl have excellent tutorials.

​

For intonation, I would practice with both a tuner and a drone. Using the drone will help train your ear to hear the correct pitches so you don't have to rely on visual tuners. I would also work on the first three pages of these tone warmups for flute once you've mastered reading sheet music.

If you're talking about orchestral composition at all, you'll need to know quite a bit about instrumentation and orchestration as well. Alfred Blatter has an excellent book on that. As for composition in general, you'll need to read up a bit on music theory, if you're not already familiar with it. This is the book I used in college; it has a variety of composition exercises with various restrictions, and is a great place to start.

FWIW, while I am very much not a successful or confident musician (I am an older hobbyist), I have noted people here whose opinions seem usually balanced and sound recommend The Musician's Way found at http://www.amazon.com/The-Musicians-Way-Practice-Performance/dp/0195343131, which seems to me to directly speak to what you are saying.

Usually a good idea to include:

• The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory
  
  
• Strunk's Source Readings in Music History
  
  For the kids to read:
  
  
• Music in Ancient Greece and Rome
  
  
• On the interpretation of Greek music (free on archive.org)
  
  Accessible primary sources:
  
  
• The Manual of Harmonics of Nicomachus the Pythagorean
  
  
• Ptolemy Harmonics: Translation and Commentary
  
  You might want to get/read:
  
  
• Apollo's Lyre: Greek Music and Music Theory in Antiquity and the Middle Ages
  
  
• The Science of Harmonics in Classical Greece
  
  
• Ancient Greek Music
  
  
• Ancient Greek Music: A New Technical History
  
  
• Greek Reflections on the Nature of Music
  

This book and the second volume are pretty great: https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Music-Sound-Design-Practice/dp/8890548452/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1483643697&sr=8-3&keywords=Electronic+Music+And+Sound+Design

They flip flop back and forth between a chapter explaining the theory behind a particular aspect of synthesis or music production and then a chapter explaining how to apply that knowledge using Max/MSP. Max isn't for everyone, but the theory bits alone in here are great, and IMO max is a good environment to learn this stuff at a lower level.

I don't know what you mean by the "science" of it, but Gardner Read's Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice is a great reference (and covers microtones). Someone also recently recommended Elaine Gould's Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation to me, which is much more recent, but I don't know anything else about it.

Yea, you're 16, you got plenty of time to be amazing at both in 3-5 years if you practice it consistently. And I do mean amazing, most people don't practice consistently for years at at time at all. Also, read this book on practice

It is probably true that everyone who has aspirations to become a composer should read Fux at some point, but there are other books on the subject that might be more accessible to someone who's just starting out. Schoenberg's book is excellent. There's also Harold Owen, for a less rigorous, more inclusive approach.
In my opinion we are doing our students a disservice in not teaching them that clefs are movable objects. With three clefs and five lines, one can represent every pitch on every line or space in several different ways, which is more important than it seems. If you can imagine a change of clef (and key signature, if necessary) at the far left side of the page, you can transpose anything to any key at sight.

Not to go out on a tangent as I know you were looking for free online resources, but I purchased The Everything Music Theory Book from Amazon for $13 as an aid for learning music theory. It can be useful to have the information in paper form in front of me while I follow along to videos on similar subjects of music theory.

Pretty much all the Berklee method stuff is excellent. Here’s a link: https://www.amazon.com/Berklee-Music-Theory-Book-1/dp/0876391102

One of the most comprehensive free resources is Julius O. Smith's website on mathematics of the Discrete Fourier Transform, synthesis and DSP, physical acoustic modeling, geez you name it.

A less mathematical but still good recent book on synthesis is Refining Sound by Brian K. Shepard.

Most college music theory texts have a companion workbook filled with quizzes and practice problems/questions. Where I went to undergrad we used Tonal Harmony and the school I'm going to now uses The Musician's Guide to Theory and Analysis. Not sure if that qualifies as being "accessible," but it's good material if you're willing to part with all those dollars. Text books sure are expensive.

Congratulations on being accepted.

Berklee Jazz implies Chord Scale Theory. The standard text is https://www.amazon.com/Berklee-Book-Jazz-Harmony/dp/0876391420/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9C6VNR2M4EUA&keywords=berklee+book+of+jazz+harmony&qid=1565552756&s=gateway&sprefix=Berklee+%2Caps%2C192&sr=8-1

Accept no substitute.

The Berklee guide to Jazz Harmony https://www.amazon.com/Berklee-Book-Jazz-Harmony/dp/0876391420 was fantastic. Pick it up from the library if you can.

"Music Notation" by Read. It has everything you need to know from Bach to Crumb.
http://www.amazon.com/Music-Notation-Crescendo-Book-Gardner/dp/0800854535/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334606410&sr=1-8

Also, "Anatomy of the Orchestra" by Norman del Mar is a very in-depth orchestration book that could be a reference for citing something about a specific instrument. Good luck!

Lots of good answers here - for a thorough read, I would recommend "A Composer's Guide to Game Music" by Winifred Philips.

https://www.amazon.com/Composers-Guide-Game-Music-Press/dp/0262026643

One of the biggest distinguishing factors (same for film music) is that it is not the center of attention. It is there to augment the gaming experience. With games (and this is distinct from film) you also have to take player interaction into consideration. Will this be looping? Will it get annoying if it loops? How does it fit in with the (dynamic and player induced) sound effects? Is the audio adaptable/dynamic to player action or game mechanics?

I've been using The Practical Guide to Music Theory for Guitarists but Joseph Alexander . It's helped me with how chords are constructed and how intervals relate to harmonization. It builds slowly, is in plain English and has many practical examples.

I've been playing for not very long, less than a year.

The Practical Guide to Modern Music Theory for Guitarists: Second Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1503319210/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_uf7OCbJKWXQRK

Music composition in medieval and early renaissance, and classical period can be analysed as pattern based.

Some good books - https://www.amazon.com/Music-Theory-Problems-Practices-Renaissance/dp/0816669481

https://www.amazon.com/Music-Galant-Style-Robert-Gjerdingen/dp/0195313712

https://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-History-Western-Music-Theory/dp/0521686989

The same can be said for many traditional/ethnic music styles. (Get any good book on X folk/pop/ethnic style depending on your interests,)

Composing the writing new lines or melodies. Think of it as writing something from scratch. Just like drawing
Orchestration is a form of arranging: for example you take a piano piece and arrange it for orchestra that's basically orchestration.


This video explains it (good channel for Orchestration):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=119&v=3BfD50eERmo&feature=emb_title


Also, get the bible of orchestration (it is expensive so I advise you to get the 3rd edition instead as it's way cheaper):
https://www.amazon.com/Study-Orchestration-Fourth-Samuel-Adler/dp/0393600521


Piston is also a good book for orchestration

The Adler book is definitely a standard, but I've heard a few complaints about inaccuracies. Haven't read it, so I'm not sure. I think the other major go-to is this book by Alfred Blatter. I used it in my undergrad and felt pretty good about what I learned.

That was one of the first books I picked up when I started learning. Really helps with being in the right mindset.

Also recommend The Musicians Way and The Practice of Practice.

refining sound: a practical guide to synthesis and synthesizers

i read this book when i first started out about two years ago. it's an easy going introduction that covers enough of the basic material to be helpful.

There are a couple I know of, none of which I would wholeheartedly recommend. Teaching someone composition is a tricky task as it can never truly be taught. There are two that were relatively interesting, most likely due to their author:

-Fundamentals of Musical Composition - A. Schoenberg

Written along with the below book for his composition students at university when he noticed a substantial lack of the basics.


-Preliminary Exercises in Counterpoint - A. Schoenberg

Forwarded and edited by his pupil Leonard Stein, who did the same for "Structural Functions of Harmony" and whose brother did "Arnold Schoenberg Letters"

Thanks man !. not being tone deaf is a start :) . Unfortunately with no theoretical nor practical knowledge of music i wouldn't know where to start with matching pitch/key etc. But this has given me something to think about. I think I should learn basics of music. D'ya think that book "Music for dummies" is a good place to start ?.

At my school everybody takes classical theory for at least 2 years.

We used this book

Here's the work book

You'll probably need the answers too since you're teaching yourself

Really what I got out of it was being able to just instantly know chord spelling. I don't really have to think about a lot of things any more. It's just second nature. You don't really use classical counterpoint rules unless you plan on composing classical music. But it's a good vehicle for learning theory since it's rather specific and you have to consider a lot of things at once.

We use this book in our jazz theory class

But mainly I learned most from the lectures since our professor is really good. We also have to write a jazz tune every week and learn and improvise on it. As well as the ear training.

I wouldn't really even say that theory is "extremely challenging." You just have to spend a lot of time on it. There was a lot of assignments from the work book every week during classical theory. Probably spent like 6+ hours a week just on the homework for those classes. And that's not even including ear training. With any of this stuff you just have to be consistent, I don't think it's really that hard to understand and I started playing music much later than a lot of my peers.

But if you're trying to understand jazz before understanding really basic concepts like knowing your key signatures, how to spell basic triads, the chords in a given key, simple time vs compound time, etc, you're going to have a lot of trouble. Everything builds on to itself so you really have to understand the basics first which might be a little boring but you have to do it.

Don't know anything about this, but the idea that occurs to me would be to use MIDI for music play back and dynamically add channels based on what is happening in the game.

For example, you could have a theme for a particular monster. When that monster is approaching/on the scene, you would add a channel with that monsters theme.

You could also compose the music so that it can be dynamically shifted to a different section based on what is happening in the game. For instance, if the here is losing a battle, you could shift to a section of the music that has a faster, more frantic feel with a discordant harmony.

In addition, you could dynamically change tempos, volume or mix balance based on game events.

Never read it, but I have seen this book.

If you are interested in Max/MSP, this book is pretty good for hands on learning using Max's synth tools.

http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Music-Sound-Design-Practice/dp/8890548452#

I know Max is more expensive than what you said you were looking for originally, but with Max you can make your own instruments and plugins.

I used an android app called note reacher and these books

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0882847309

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0800854535

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1554400112


I see no advantage at this point to reading music after working on it for 5 months and becoming fairly competent. I'm glad I learned but it has not added to my ability to make music. Maybe in the future it will pay off.

Gardner Read's Music Notation text is the foremost work on this subject. It is a fantastic resource!

I'm a beginner, too. Is this your first instrument? I would suggest reading The Practice of Practice. You will need to practice, but don't call it practice to yourself. Call it playing or spending time with your instrument. Practice just has the conotation of being arduous and boring. Playing guitar is really playing with something and exploring what you can do and what your instrument can do. This has given me motivation when I'm having trouble getting beyond a barrier in my musical ability.

ok man, you're right. whatever you say. ann coulter, bill oreilly ... etc use sources in their publishing first of all. secondly. that's a mistake to add those pundits into the conversation becuase they sell based on popularity. if you are trying to LEARN something,using a credited, published book
maybe something like this http://www.amazon.com/Berklee-Music-Theory-Book-2nd/dp/0876391102/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450295738&sr=8-1&keywords=music+theory+berklee

which was super fast for me to find, and I know it's credible and organized. whereas going 'on the internet' will leav eyou finding little pieces of information that you have to put together by yourself, and will not know whetehr it's right or wrong.

again this is teh second time that you are calling me out for syaing "ALL BOOKS ARE BETTER THAN THE INTERNET" and I didnt say that. of course I can name a book with bullshit in it. but that's not hte point. thersbullshit on both sides. but you're MUCH MUCH more reliable to get a random book and learn loads more from it than 'the internet'.

Here's a good starting point: http://www.amazon.com/A-Composers-Guide-Game-Music/dp/0262026643

The discipline you're looking for is a little more specific; you're looking for the History of Music Theory. Luckily for your boyfriend there's this glorious/awful son-of-a-bitch book.

The "how" and "why" of music theory is way more complex than evolution. Spend a little time with this book, and you'll find yourself scoffing at the idea of a teleological view of music. The tl;dr truth of why we do music the way that we do is because theory is a hot mess of style conflicts, nationalism, culture-wars, dogma, religion, mathematics, and science.

This book will be difficult to understand without a solid background in theory, but perhaps getting some of the "whys" might motivate you both toward investigating the "hows" and "whats" of musical construction.

source: PhD. music theory.

You might also try Music Notation by Gardner Reed, which is a pretty exhaustive guide to modern notation.

Check the sidebar under theory apps and books. I haven't finished a single book yet so can't really comment on what's best, but there are some listed there. I've ordered " The Musician’s Guide to Theory & Analysis", you can find that on google books I think and browse it.

None that I've personally used enough to recommend. I think I used the "music theory for dummies" or equivalent when I learned the basics.

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Theory-Dummies-Audio-CD/dp/1118095502

P.S. Amazon will rent you the book for the semester. $22 USD
http://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Guide-Theory-Analysis-Second/dp/0393930815/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409269943&sr=1-1&keywords=musician%27s+guide+to+theory+and+analysis

http://www.amazon.com/Berklee-Music-Theory-Book-Edition/dp/0876391102

Blatter's 'Instrumentation and Orchestration'.

You should pick up Oliver Sacks' Musicophilia. He describes earworms and similar stories there.

Books, books and more books
http://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Way-Practice-Performance-Wellness/dp/0195343131/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418943223&sr=1-7&keywords=music+theory

http://www.amazon.com/Chord-Wheel-Ultimate-Tool-Musicians/dp/0634021427/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418943269&sr=1-14&keywords=music+theory

http://www.amazon.com/Study-Counterpoint-Johann-Joseph-Parnassum/dp/0393002772/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418943285&sr=1-15&keywords=music+theory

The 70's book isn't Modern Music Notation is it?

Berklee Music Theory Book 1 & Book 2

Free music classes from Coursera taught by Berklee College of Music professors

Sonata Forms by Charles Rosen

Check out the Berklee Book of Jazz Harmony and patiently work your way through it.

By guitar theory, do you mean music theory that applies to guitar? If so, here is a music theory book that helped me a lot: http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Music-Theory-Book-understanding/dp/1440511829

I read it all, did all the exercises (which forced me to re-read the chapters in order to fully complete the exercises) and by the time I was finished, so many things fell into place.

Download FMOD or Wwise (more studios use Wwise if I recall) and learn the software. Trailers and cutscenes are not good representations of the job of composing for games; they're a tiny fraction of the bigger picture of adaptive and looping music which you should get yourself familiar with.

I'd also strongly suggest picking up A Composers Guide to Game Music by Winifred Philips (worked on some Total War games, AC games, Spore, Dragon Age and God of War, so she knows what she's talking about) as a primer for what you need to know, and how the skills you need differ quite a bit from a film composer.