Composition for Computer Musicians

by Michael Hewitt

You might be extremely knowledgeable about the software that you use, have a good understanding of your own genre, and even have a good basic understanding of music theory. However, this does not necessarily mean that you can write effective music tracks. You need another kind of knowledge as well - the knowledge of composition. This friendly guide explains the basics of composing songs and music on the computer using any music using any music creation and recording program, whether you choose Reason, Live, Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools, Digital Performer, Finale, Sibelius, FL Studio, SONAR, or anything else. It's not as hard as it sounds, and this book eases the learning curve so you'll be making music in no time. You�ll quickly learn how to program rhythm and drums, create basslines and melodic leads, and use FX and samples. You'll also learn about mixing and mastering your track and distributing it to a mass audience. Composition for Computer Musicians explains it all while showing you the basics of music theory throughout so you'll be sure you're not just making noise on the computer - you're using your computer to make professional-sounding music.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference, Computers

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2009

Reviews

[Mihai Cosareanu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is not as much about music composition (how to go about harmony, melody, parts) as opposed to the entire process of creating a track using software. It's a broad and shallow book, but it's good for people who have no background whatsoever, giving a good overview of what it takes to produce a song (that's actually why I gave it 4 stars, else, for a musician that's been playing for some years it adds little value).

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book from a very good teacher, a sort of sequel to his title 'Music Theory for Computer Musicians.' Like that book, this one is well organized and full of clear explanations covering both the overall subject and a lot of specific details that will be good to know. I'd recommend this to anyone using music software to record or compose their own music. It comes with a CD containing dozens of examples of the material explained in the book.

[Svalbard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume sintetico ed esauriente che spiega i fondamenti della composizione per chi vuole fare musica col proprio computer, specificamente in ambiti tipo trance, techno, house, ambient ecc. ecc. ecc.
Si spiega passo passo come costruire un brano, come impostare una traccia di percussioni, una di basso, una melodica; i vari programmi, il campionamento, l’utilizzo di suoni presi da fonti esterne, le tecniche basilari di mixing e mastering. Tutte cose interessanti da sapere; bisogna però tener conto che il libro è del 2009, e gli esempi software risultano alquanto datati (ad esempio viene data molta importanza a Reason che oggi è abbastanza passato in secondo piano, e l’utilizzo di loop di tutti i generi è invece stato grandemente semplificato da software come Ableton Live, qui già presente ma non ancora particolarmente sviluppato).
Nonostante questo un libro pieno di suggerimenti e consigli utili.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good starting point for understanding composition in a modern electronic production environment (minus the fact it's 14 years old). There's a few points in it I'll be referring back to over time.

[Josias Rodriguês · Rating 5 out of 5]

super vamos!