The Contemporary Arranger: Definitive Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is the best one I have yet seen on the art of arranging for jazz bands and other contemporary/pop ensembles. It is full from beginning to end not only with all the standard info about instrument ranges, which instruments sound best in which voicings, etc., but also full of interesting little gems designed to inform the budding arranger about the realities of the music industry. Things like "All professional trumpet players carry with them a straight mute, cup mute, harmon mute, felt hat, and sometimes a plunger. Any other special mutes must be requested in advance of a performance or recording session" (page 13). Also tips on how best to record particular instruments in the studio, and things to look out for in this regard. "Of all the members of the woodwind family, the bassoon is the hardest to record properly, having the tendency to become lost when combined with other instruments.... it... is most effective when the texture of the passage in which it is used is transparent enough for the bassoon to be heard clearly."

To all of those reviewers at this site and the other page for this book, the CD *does* in fact match the examples in the book. The book specifies between regular written examples (not included on the CD), and *recorded examples*, which are on the CD. The listing on pages viii and ix accurately reflect the listing on the CD and the appropriate text in the book that matches each example.

The examples of various sounds possible on the stringed instruments and the French horn, are particularly helpful in matching up the standard musical terms "detache," "parlando," etc. with that particular sound.

Overall, an excellent book both for beginners and folks with some background who are looking to expand into jazz-style sounds.

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Product Description:
An authoritative, easy-to-understand text covering all aspects of arranging. This beautifully bound edition contains a compact disc with examples performed by jazz greats such as George Benson, Freddie Hubbard, Hubert Laws and Don Sebesky's complete orchestra.

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Advanced Techniques for Film Scoring (Book and CD) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was excited by the description of this book but disappointed by it's contents. The techniques are totally outdated. It goes on at length about analog recording technique which is nearly inapplicable to the beginning composer. Not recommended except as a minor resource for your library. Buy "The Guide to MIDI Orchestration" by Gilreath or the Jeff Rona Film Scoring book and the general orchestraion books by Adler and Blatter first.

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Earle Hagen has written an excellent sequel to his sensational best-seller Scoring for Filmsproviding composers with additional advice regarding more advanced scoring techniques for film orchestration.

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MIDI Power!: The Comprehensive Guide Review

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(More customer reviews)Although a variety of MIDI gear has been replaced by software, in-depth information about MIDI is as useful as ever. A full two decades after its inception, most musicians working in the electronic realm only have a cursory knowledge of what this technology is capable of and how to fully take advantage of it within the modern recording studio. Fortunately, the second edition of MIDI Power is designed to clear up much of this mystery. The first few chapters address MIDI hardware, General MIDI, and Standard MIDI Files, followed by almost 60 pages devoted to MIDI messages. Two chapters on MIDI computer basics lead to discussions of sequencing, virtual instruments, and advanced topics. The author guides users through various real-world scenarios on how to incorporate MIDI's myriad functions into the average studio situation, including topics such as SysEx data, General MIDI, the use of USB and FireWire MIDI devices, and how to interface computers and external hardware. The book's appendices are gold mines of information, incorporating technical explanations, practical tips, and the official MIDI 1.0 Specification. Each chapter ends with review problems for which there are answers in the back of the book. The book is profusely illustrated and is a worthwhile update to the valuable but aged first edition. I highly recommend it. Amazon does not show the table of contents, so I do that here:
1. The Basics - Covers the history and definition of MIDI.
2. Basic MIDI Messages - Looks at the information contained in a MIDI message and its syntax.
3. Control Change Messages - Looks at a specific type of MIDI message, the Control Changes, and how to use this type of message to control a performance.
4. General MIDI and Standard MIDI Files - Addresses compatibility when sharing MIDI files with others. Discusses the General MIDI file format and extensions made to it.
5. MIDI Hardware Devices - From sound modules to MIDI patch bays, looks at a wide range of MIDI-supporting audio devices.
6. MIDI and the Computer MIDI Interfaces - What you need to start using your computer with external MIDI devices.
7. MIDI Inside Your Computer - How to get your computer working properly with MIDI and audio applications as well as MIDI/audio related peripherals.
8. Sequencing with MIDI - Looks at the most popular type of MIDI application inside your computer and covers its configuration, the recording process, and editing environment.
9. MIDI Software: A Sound Creation Environment - Looks at the world of software instruments.
10. MIDI Software Applications - An overview of the different ways that programmers have used their skills to make MIDI very versatile. Also looks at creating MIDI-enabled web pages.
11. Deeper into MIDI: System Exclusive and Synchronization - Along with SysEx, examines how you can synchronize different devices, software, and video using MIDI's synchronization options.
12. The Standard MIDI File Format - This completes chapter four's introduction to the SMF by looking at the construction of a MIDI file, its parameters, and the values within those parameters. Here you learn how to repair a corrupted MIDI file.
Appendices
A. Understanding Binary, Decimal, and Hexidecimal
B. MIDI 1.0 Specification
C. Understanding Timing Concepts
D. The MIDI Troubleshooting Checklist
E. Midi Arrangements: Tips & Tricks
F. Review Questions: Answers

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Product Description:
From how MIDI works, to how to connect devices through it, to how it integrates into a computer environment, "MIDI Power!, Second Edition" is a comprehensive reference guide to MIDI.The book provides an in-depth look at MIDI, its messages, and protocols, and the information necessary to navigate it with ease.Learn when to use MIDI, how to edit MIDI, what technology uses MIDI, what software uses MIDI, and how MIDI is integrated into computers and what that implies for musicians, sound designers, and audio enthusiasts."MIDI Power!, Second Edition" provides complete coverage of MIDI hardware and software, is suitable for both Mac and Windows platforms.

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Treatise on Instrumentation Review

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(More customer reviews)Two hundred years ago this week, Louis-Hector Berlioz was born. This, then, is a time for me to comment on a few of his works, some of them "favorites by acclamation" and others simply those in which I find special merit.

When Berlioz died, in April, 1869, an obituary in the Musical Times read, in part, "...there can be little doubt that he will be remembered by his able and acute contributions to musical criticism than by any of the compositions with which he hoped to revolutionize the world."

These words by the Musical Times were addressed to Berlioz's feuilletons (musical criticisms in a largely satirical style). Berlioz captured many of his best feuilletons in his anthology Soirées de l'Orchestre ("Evenings in the Orchestra"), and his trenchant wit is also evident in his Memoirs.

But Berlioz did leave behind one work for which musical education for generations of composers to come had been the purpose: his "Treatise on Instrumentation," or, if one likes, "the art of writing for musical instruments of the orchestra to achieve maximum effect." The Treatise was the very first serious effort to fully describe these matters of instrumentation and orchestration, instrument-by-instrument and orchestral-choir-by-orchestral-choir. Paraphrasing a portion of a recent Berlioz Bicentennial article by none less than Norman Lebrecht, the Treatise was closely studied by Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss (who themselves were masterly orchestrators), Modest Mussorgsky had died with a copy of the Treatise on his bed, and, as a result of wildly successful concerts led by Berlioz in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov was motivated to write his own equivalent, "Principles of Orchestration," which would serve as a model for his Russian school of composers.

In point of fact, the revolutionary uses to which Berlioz put orchestral instruments in his compositions cannot be gainsayed, and his compositions, as well has the Treatise, served to redefine orchestral possibilities - and serve as a learning tool for subsequent composers - for the remainder of the 19th century and well into the 20th century. He was an inveterate "tinkerer," in terms of constantly assessing and writing for newly-invented instruments of his era, and, as well, he "borrowed" instruments freely from military bands of his time, to create orchestral "sound worlds" that were new and novel.

As the Treatise demonstrates, Berlioz was no mere dilletante, experimenting in willy-nilly ways, but was in fact thoroughly "grounded" in his understanding of such basic principles as acoustics and the creation of sound. In its original French form (virtually all of which, in translation, survives in this revised edition), the Treatise clearly set out all of these principles, applied to the instruments of his time by means of examples drawn from a wide range of musical compositions, and the French-language original seemed not to have been a problem for all the German, Russian, Italian, English and what-have-you composers who learned from it.

A half-century later, in 1904, Richard Strauss was requested to review and "revise and update" the Treatise by the publisher. It is in this form, with emendations by Strauss and translated ably into English, that the Treatise currently exists. Needless to say, familiarity with musical notation is important if one is to fully appreciate the value of the Treatise. But the narrative, including descriptions-in-words of musical examples of individual instruments and instruments used in various combinations, is clear enough that even those not knowledgeable in musical notation can bypass the notated examples and simply read the narrative with benefit. Berlioz was an exceedingly gifted writer, blessed with clarity in all that he wrote.

Strauss's emendations are rather clearly set out separately from Berlioz's original effort, so that the two do not get confused. By and large, Strauss doesn't trample too much on Berlioz's efforts, but deals with instruments not available to Berlioz, with many of his own examples drawn from the works of Richard Wagner. But Strauss's comparative measures of - and prejudices regarding - Berlioz and Wagner as composers are quite well established in his own separate Foreword.

The most recent instrument invention included in Strauss's emendations is the heckelphone (baritone oboe), which invention Strauss commissioned Wilhelm Heckel for Strauss's use in his "Symphonia Domestica." Obviously, then, the Treatise is not the reference to which to turn for descriptions and applications of instruments that are of 20th century invention, nor, for that matter, instruments in use elsewhere than in Europe that subsequently found application in 20th century "Western" music (such as the Indonesian gamelan).

A side benefit of the Treatise is in its historical value as a repository of capabilities, sonorities, techniques and usages of instruments long deemed obsolete, but in current use during Berlioz's careers as composer and conductor. Where else can one find such a wealth of detail on instrumental esoterica and arcana like the ophicleide, bombardon and serpent (all forerunners of the tuba), as well as various instruments invented by the highly-creative Adophe Sax, inventor of the saxophone but also the various saxhorns, saxtrombas and saxtubas now obsolete? In fact, I could find only one oversight on Berlioz's part, that of the sarrusophone, invented by Auguste Sarrus, a contemporary "competitor" to Adophe Sax.

It's a small oversight. Unless, of course, one takes a personal interest in the sarrusophone and its musical possibilities. I happen to, but that's just me.

Anyone interested in the course of musical instrument usage and history should have this inexpensive Treatise in his or her library. If you can't read the musical notation and examples, you'll nonetheless come away with an excellent understanding of Berlioz's contributions to the field.

Bon anniversaire, M. Berlioz!

Bob Zeidler

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The most influential work of its kind ever written, appraising the musical qualities and potential of over 60 commonly used stringed, wind and percussion instruments. With 150 illustrative full-score musical examples from works by Berlioz, Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck, Weber, Wagner and others, and numerous smaller musical examples. Complete with Berlioz' chapters on the orchestra and on conducting. Translated by Theodore Front. Foreword by Richard Strauss. Glossary.

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Principles of Orchestration Review

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(More customer reviews)I own some of the great books of orchestration, say, those by Pistons, Adler and Forsyth, but this book certainly is the best of the best. This is not a book about instrumentation (general information as range, articulations, characteristics, notation), rather it concentrates aspects such as resonance, register, doublings, combination of instrumental colors, as well as information about the chorus. These are the points that need to be considered in the course of orchestration. A well-organized book, with many orchestral excerpts drawn from Korsakov's own works. It is very useful for any orchestrators to understand the principles the author said.

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Great classical orchestrator provides fundamentals of tonal resonance, progression of parts, voice and orchestra, tutti effects, much else in major document. 330pp. of musical excerpts.

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Arranged by Nelson Riddle Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is definitely worth having, but it will frustrate you if you are just starting out.Like every arranging book, it gives you the breakdown of instruments and their ranges, etc.Unfortunately, it tells you nothing concerning the techniques of arranging, such as drop 2 and drop 2+4 voicings, the handling of non-chordal tones, what to do with chord extensions, etc., all of the mumbo-jumbo that you actually want to learn about.

Yes, the man is a master of arranging, but the book ends up being little more than a pleasant read...and it left me puzzled, with even more questions... questions that I found answers to in other, more detailed, books.

Of course, he's hailed one of the greatest ARRANGERS of all time, not teachers, so I write this review only to help the prospective arranging student avoid confusion, NOT to insult Mr. Riddle and the time and energy he put into this book.His charts will always have a place "under my skin".

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The definitive study of arranging by America's premiere composer, arranger and conductor. A "must" for every musician interested in a greater understanding of arranging. Includes chapters on instrumentation, orchestration and Nelson Riddle's work with Sinatra, Cole and Garland. Two-hundred pages with biography and pictures.

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Sounds and Scores : A Practical Guide to Professional Orchestration Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this book before learning any of the technical aspects of arranging, and it left me wanting more.After I found the books that cover the techniques of arranging, I went back to this book and found it way more beneficial.

You get to 1.) read Mr. Mancini's commentary about a particular score example, then 2.) listen to a CD of the example while looking at the score.Not every example comes with an audio track, but the CD has well over 50 tracks, so you still get an abundance of examples to see AND hear.To be able to see the brass/sax/French horn voicings at the end of 'Peter Gunn Theme' and the string and horn parts in 'Mr. Lucky' is pretty amazing.

So, if you know basic techniques of writing for several instruments and sections, and you'd like to see and hear how a master of the craft puts it all to use, consider this book a worthwhile investment.

If only it had the vocal arrangement to 'Bachelor In Paradise', but that's just me being greedy.

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A practical guide to professional guide to professional orchestration featuring recorded musical examples performed by Henry Mancini. Included in the book are sections on the woodwinds, brass, the rhythm section and the string section. A recording is included to follow along with the printed scores.

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Manuscript Paper No. 16: 16-stave (Passantino Manuscript Papers) Review

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(More customer reviews)Pros:The paper is an excellent deal for its price.In fact, I can't find 16-stave paper for a cheaper unit price (per page).It's letter size, so it fits in your bag and scanner.No bar lines, so you can choose the size of measures and the number of staves needed for each system.The spacing is just right for me to include all musical markings.

Cons:The ink is a bit light, so photocopying sometimes renders unclear staves.Nothing that can't be solved by upping the contrast.It is double-sided, but who orchestrates on both sides?So that is a bit of a waste, unless you want pencil smudges from rubbing pages of detailed pencil work against each other.I'm not sure if the # of pages advertised counts each side or each page, but it's still a good deal.

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This concert-sized paper provides sixteen staves per page, accommodating a large amount of music in a compact space.

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The Orchestration Handbook: The Essential Guide to Every Instrument in the Orchestra (Reference) Review

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(More customer reviews)I typically don't review products like this, however, I found this orchestration manual by accident while searching for a different title.

Anyone thinking about purchasing this book needs to know a few things about its content, and the somewhat serious flaws it contains.Examples follow:

1) This manual is designed for the composer/orchestrator who specializes in professional film music (most orchestrators would not appreciate the 16 out of 72 pages dedicated to click track tables and film length conversion charts, but if you need one, it can be found in this book).

2) The ranges listed for many instruments were not accurate - sometimes the range printed was the transposed range, and others it was an untransposed range.There was no way of knowing which range was appropriate unless you already knew what the range of the particular instrument was - not very useful for a novice orchestrator (and confusing for a more experienced one).The ranges (transposed or untransposed) could easily be disputed in most cases.

3) The clefs corresponding to particular instruments were sometimes downright WRONG!Mr. Ray seems to think that French horns play in alto clef (horn players NEVER play in alto clef).Concerning that error, my book actually had a publisher-produced correction sticker over the more accurate (printed) horn range chart - I peeled away the alto clef sticker to find (after badly scarring a page in my book) a range which was at least in the correct clef, although somewhat lacking in accuracy.

4) For as picky as the author seemed to be on some areas of orchestration and detailed instrument descriptions, there are errors such as the confusion of gongs and tam-tams as the same instruments.Anyone who has taken a basic percussion techniques class would tell you that a gong has an indefinite pitch, while tam-tams are pitched percussion instruments.

5) Important differences in instruments are sometimes neglected.For example, the author makes no mention or differentiation between the capabilities of a straight-bore tenor trombone and a tenor trombone with an F-attachment (trigger).This is important for determining range as well as playability of passages in the lower register.It is also a factor when writing for jazz ensemble (where straight-bore tenors are much more common) versus concert band or orchestra trombone sections.

6) Muting terms concerning brass instruments are not wholly accurate, nor is the factor of *time* in changing mutes mentioned.Four types of mutes are listed for the trumpet with a short (3-word) description following each.They are very uninformative for the most part.For the trombone, under "sordino" there is merely a "see trumpet" description of the muted effects (although the sound of mutes used with the two instruments varies quite a bit).

I am not an expert in the field of orchestration, but I have found enough errors and omissions in this manual to cause me to question its integrity.Although I applaud the author for inserting some interesting and useful information not contained in some orchestration books, I could not with a clear conscience recommend this book to anyone who would like to study the art.Even though it may be a bit dry, a standard orchestration textbook like Kennan/Grantham's "Technique of Orchestration" would contain much more accurate and detailed information, while basic information for each instrument can still be readily accessed.If you still want to buy this book, I'll sell you my copy!This is definitely a puchase I regret.

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Product Description:
The Orchestration Handbook is an at-a-glance guide to the key elements in a musical score. Students and instructors alike will find this handbook indispensable for its clear, concise explanations of instrument characteristics, musical symbols, mood and dynamic indications, and tempo marks. Wondering if your melody can be doubled by clarinet and tenor trombone? Not sure of the difference between dolente and doloroso? The characteristics of every instrument and score marking are covered here. Designed in a unique 4-1/2 inch. x 12 inch. format, The Orchestration Handbook belongs on the music stand of every conductor, arranger and composer.Don B. Ray is the creator of the Film Scoring Program at UCLA's Department of the Arts and a retired Music Supervisor for the CBS television network.

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Arranging in the Digital World: Techniques for Arranging Popular Music Using Today's Electronic and Digital Instruments (Berklee Guide) Review

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(More customer reviews)I should have paid more attention to the sticker on the front of the book that proclaims: "Great for Beginners!"It's sad that Berklee Press not only published, but continues to promote this book.I expected much better.
I've been hanging around music for a while, but am more of a "seasoned hobbiest" than anything else.Yet there was only a couple of things I found useful in this book.Because the book is called "Arranging in the Digital World," I was expecting to get a book that taught some arranging, including some discussion about common ways to use a keyboard in an ensemble.Instead, the author fails on both of these points.First, in the introduction he states, "Our focus will be on sequencing techniques... rather than actual writing techniques."Last time I checked, arranging was WRITING appropriate parts.So, maybe this book should have been entitled, "Sequencing in the Digital World," since the author doesn't go into any depth about the kinds of parts you might want to write.The author also assumes that you are a seasoned keyboard player already (who else uses midi?) and so skips discussing keyboard altogether with this dismissive quote, "I assume you are already familiar with the piano..."I don't know how a serious book on arranging can say nothing about what keyboards might typically play in an ensemble.
Other than a sample midi song fragment or two in a handful of styles (mostly jazz & latin), there just isn't much "arranging" to be found.You can read the whole book in an hour and it's not likely that you'll ever pick it back up again....

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This is the resource for creating truly inspired arrangements! Full of tips and tricks covering techniques for building digital arrangements in a variety of styles, including country, gospel, pop, jazz, rock, Latin and more. Teaches basic MIDI, sequencing, production concepts, and arranging techniques for a variety of digital instrument sounds. Make your MIDI sequences and grooves come alive! Also includes a General MIDI disk with more than 50 sequenced samples, helpful definitions, and more.

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Guide to the Practical Study of Harmony (Dover Books on Music) Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this book on the strength of the authors name. It's a shame that his writing is not as strong as his music. Even for the period in which it was written, it is hard to read and much concentration required to ingest the information. That said, the information is there and goes from the basic intervals to complex chord structures, but most experienced composers/musicians would start reading at about two third into the book.

This is an interesting book, more interesting for giving an insight into the great Mr Tchaikovsky than studying harmony and for that I would buy it again. In my opinion, there are far better books on the subject.

A W.Roberts. (Composer)

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Written during the composer's years as professor at the Moscow Conservatory, this volume presents a clear and thorough introduction to the study of harmony. Out-of-print for decades and exceedingly rare in its original edition, Tchaikovsky's Guide to the Practical Study of Harmony bears an intrinsic historical interest. Features numerous examples and exercises.

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