Music in Words: A Guide to Researching and Writing about Music

by Trevor Herbert

Music in Words is a compact guide to researching and writing about music, addressing all the issues that anyone who writes about music--from students to professional musicians and critics--may confront when putting together anything from brief program notes to a lengthy thesis. The book is a writing guide and a reference manual in the first part, a "how to" section, offers a clear explanation of the purpose of music research and how it is to be done, including basic introductions to the most necessary tools for musical inquiry (with special emphasis on strategic use of the internet), and how they can be accessed and used. The second part is a compendium of information on style and sources for quick reference, including a straightforward presentation of the purpose and use of citation and reference systems as they are applied to and in music. As a whole, the volume gives readers a clear picture of how to write about music at different levels and for different purposes in a
handy, thoroughly cross-referenced format.

This American edition has been thoroughly revised and expanded, and features an extensive section on writing for the Internet and new sections on writing for jazz, popular music, world musics, and ethnography. Additionally, a companion website presents a broad range of writing samples and links to key resources.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Diogo Almeida]

An invaluable reference tool giving much needed advice on how to research and write about music. Addresses all the issues that anyone might be confronted with when undertaking a writing task. Introduces methods and procedures that provide a framework for independent research.

[Brian Zhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Music in Words is a nonfiction book that teaches people how to write about music. This book includes strategies on how to use different research tools, the different musical tools, how to describe different types of music, and how to make sure that when writing it does not seem like you are talking. For me, this book was very interesting and I learnt a lot about writing in general from this book. I would give it a 4/5. However, I would not recommend this book to anyone that just wants to have a fun and short read.