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Looking for best beginner book to learn music geared towards classical and film music

G

General_Disarray

Active Member
All my life I wanted to learn music but always seemed too complicated. Now in my early 50's, I regret not having started much earlier in life, but at the same time, I made up my mind and I'm going to do it, no excuses. You could say I had an epiphany, in great part triggered by listening to film scores and classical music much more than ever before, and at the same time, getting lots of sampled orchestras, and playing each instrument separately.

So I need to find a book or two, or however many I need, to start learning from scratch. I need a real plan, not watch a myriad of lessons on YouTube from a lot of different people. I need a step by step method that will teach me music, but the reason I'm asking in this forum specifically it's because there's a lot of people here that are film music composers, and I want to find good books that teach me music but with emphasis on that type of music, as well as classical, because film music and classical music are like siblings or cousins, especially the more classical film music like John Williams. I love both that type of film music, and the new kind, the one that mixes orchestral instruments with synths and other innovative things.

I don't care to learn music theory for rock, jazz, pop, etc. I imagine that they all have things in common, but I don't have a lot of time in my life to learn all types of music. That's why I want to learn mostly the music I'm passionate about.

Any recommendations? I was going to start with "Music Theory for Dummies", but it seems almost too cliché :)
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That’s tough. If you’re starting from nothing, Alfred’s “Essentials of Music Theory” is straightforward.

After that maybe pick up some freshman level harmony and tonal music textbooks, as well as a couple orchestration books (Rimsky-Kosakov and Adler are good).

I’d also invest in some Dover scores ( definitely The Planets by Holst) and any others that you like.

Unfortunately writing like John Williams is not something you’ll be able to pick up in a couple weeks or even a year. He has a very thorough understanding of all kinds of “classical” music and jazz.

But…. don’t let it stop you from getting started! Pick up an introductory theory book and start your journey.
 
I'm in a similar phase of life and boat as you! A late bloomer coming back to being an active participant in music and investing a substantial amount of time and money to pursue composition for the first time.

Here are a few resources I am finding useful:

I'm sure Udemy can yield a very wide range of results as far as quality goes, but I am really enjoying the set of three music theory courses from Max Konyi... https://www.udemy.com/courses/search/?src=ukw&q=max+konyi. He's a music teacher that does a good job of balancing the technical and psychological aspects of composing and offers a practical lesson plan with some solid assignments. Only buy these courses on a sale when they are offered at a fraction of the list price.

I'm also taking some of the "lower division" short courses from Thinkspace here https://thinkspace.ac.uk/courses/. Guy Michelmore is an enthusiastic and entertaining teacher and as a long-working composer he has a wide breadth of practical knowledge (see his huge list of YT videos on tons of composing topics, as well). When I am done with the short courses I am considering doing their new "boot camp" course as a next step.

Finally, I picked up a good used copy of Samuel Adler's The Study of Orchestration Third Edition on eBay ($40 to $50). Christian Henson had recommended it in one of his videos as a good instrument and orchestration technique reference and that was enough for me!

I'm waiting for a Fall sale on Orchestration Recipes... https://orchestrationrecipes.com/ - a practical set of guides to DAW composing that has been discussed in detail here. That will definitely be my next purchase!

I know that just scratches the surface, but I hope it gives you a few ideas. Good luck!
 
ed buller said:
I have questions:

Can you read music ?
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No.
ed buller said:
Can you afford a monthly subscription ?
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Yes, but I hate subscriptions, so the answer is no. I want to buy books that I can read from start to finish, and then go back to different pages if I need to. And I might buy them on Kindle form, so I can have the book on the side monitor and apply what it shows me in Cubase in my main monitor.
 
patrick76 said:
Unfortunately writing like John Williams is not something you’ll be able to pick up in a couple weeks or even a year. He has a very thorough understanding of all kinds of “classical” music and jazz.
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Well, I mentioned John Williams as an example of great classical film music like Star Wars and all that. Honestly his Star Wars stuff is not even the best he can do, his scores for "AI" and "Munich" are far better than any of the Star Wars stuff, but very underappreciated.
patrick76 said:
I’d also invest in some Dover scores ( definitely The Planets by Holst) and any others that you like.
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Definitely. Huge fan. I have several versions of The Planets on CD, HD Audio and Vinyl.
 
Hi, i recommend you to learn how to read music first so you can get more from the books and courses.
I learned how to read music this year and now i can take advantage to study my favourites scores and get more of the books that uses notation to explain theory. I recommend it !
 
Xabierus Music said:
Hi, i recommend you to learn how to read music first so you can get more from the books and courses.
I learned how to read music this year and now i can take advantage to study my favourites scores and get more of the books that uses notation to explain theory. I recommend it !
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Wait, so these books don’t teach you how to read music?
 
VannKraken said:
I'm in a similar phase of life and boat as you! A late bloomer coming back to being an active participant in music and investing a substantial amount of time and money to pursue composition for the first time.

Here are a few resources I am finding useful:

I'm sure Udemy can yield a very wide range of results as far as quality goes, but I am really enjoying the set of three music theory courses from Max Konyi... https://www.udemy.com/courses/search/?src=ukw&q=max+konyi. He's a music teacher that does a good job of balancing the technical and psychological aspects of composing and offers a practical lesson plan with some solid assignments. Only buy these courses on a sale when they are offered at a fraction of the list price.

I'm also taking some of the "lower division" short courses from Thinkspace here https://thinkspace.ac.uk/courses/. Guy Michelmore is an enthusiastic and entertaining teacher and as a long-working composer he has a wide breadth of practical knowledge (see his huge list of YT videos on tons of composing topics, as well). When I am done with the short courses I am considering doing their new "boot camp" course as a next step.

Finally, I picked up a good used copy of Samuel Adler's The Study of Orchestration Third Edition on eBay ($40 to $50). Christian Henson had recommended it in one of his videos as a good instrument and orchestration technique reference and that was enough for me!

I'm waiting for a Fall sale on Orchestration Recipes... https://orchestrationrecipes.com/ - a practical set of guides to DAW composing that has been discussed in detail here. That will definitely be my next purchase!

I know that just scratches the surface, but I hope it gives you a few ideas. Good luck!
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Thanks, definitely a lot of useful stuff in your post, will surely take a look tomorrow!
 
General_Disarray said:
Thanks, definitely a lot of useful stuff in your post, will surely take a look tomorrow!
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No problem! I like to read and have a physical record of what I’m researching, as well.

The Max Konyi class has a few really helpful handouts and the Thinkspace courses come with really detailed written topic outlines. Both have hours of video lessons, as well.

Two different approaches, but have reinforced some key concepts for me with regard to scales, intervals, chord progressions, melody construction, etc.

The Adler book has great detail on every instrument and articulation imaginable.

So much to learn - like drinking from the fire hose. 😀
 
The best resource for what you want right now is Scoreclub. I'm guessing that is what Ed was going to recommend. It is a subscription, and it's filled with video lectures. However, in terms of an all-in-one answer to your question, that's it.
General_Disarray said:
Wait, so these books don’t teach you how to read music?
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No, none of the books that teach you how to write music with orchestral instruments teach you how to read music. It's considered a prerequisite. Do you play piano? I'd suggest getting a basic beginner book and going through it. You don't have to become a sight reading wiz, but you're going to hamstring your journey if you don't get the basics down.
 
General_Disarray said:
Wait, so these books don’t teach you how to read music?
Click to expand...
My advice:

Take a three-pronged approach to getting started:

- Learn music theory
- Learn an instrument
- Ear training

Theory:
Alfred’s Essentials of Music Theory will teach you how to read music - and it assumes no prior knowledge. It's a great place to start.

Instrument:
As books are by nature theoretical, you will need some practical practice also. I recommend learning an instrument - piano is the most common (but many composers come from other instruments - guitar, flute, viola you name it!). Piano is the least resistance for getting started - you will be able to play all the notes from day one. Consider finding a local teacher if you want to accelerate your development, but there are a mass of resources for self training - one example is: https://www.flowkey.com/en

Ear Training:
Staying on the practical side, as early as possible, start training your ear - there are a plethora of apps and sites to do this this is just one: https://www.tonegym.co/

Whats next?

Once you scale these peaks, you will see further snow topped peaks above you hahah 🙃

Once you have the basics of music theory, ear training, and can play an instrument at a basic level, a world of training opportunitites open up for you. Each one is unlocked by learning a skill:

- https://orchestrationrecipes.com/ is hands on practical inspiration: get in the DAW and start tinkering! It will help if you can play a little and know your way round your DAW for this one.

- Music matters is one of my personal fave trainers: https://www.mmcourses.co.uk/ no pre requisites for these.

- https://scoreclub.net/ is arguably the best resource for composers, but you will need to read music to get the most of it. I also really like musicmatters. I am not ready for scoreclub. One day though!
 
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General_Disarray said:
I need a real plan
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Yes, you do. This is a very smart realisation, you are off to a good start:

There is a lot to learn, in some sort of order:

Note names
keys and scales
Grand Staff
Note Values
Rhythm and Meter
Tertian Harmony 4 types of chords
Seventh Chords and cadential activity
Leading Tone chords
Circle of Fifths
Tonic, Subdominant, Dominate
Primary and secondary Chords
Basic Diatonic Harmony
Dominant Harmony
Extended Tertian Harmony and Dominant 9th chords
Extended Diatonic Harmony with basic Chromaticism from altered notes
Neapolitan,Augmented 6th
Parallel harmony and chords derived from it. ( ie in maj key using chords from minor, also called borrowed harmony)
Secondary Dominants
Secondary Leading Tone Chords
Deceptive Resolutions
Deceptive Resolutions of Secondary Dominants and Secondary Leading Tone Chords
Extended Chromatic Harmony
Root movements by thirds and Chromatic Mediants
melody writing
Harmony writing
voice leading and basic counterpoint
sentence structure
phrases, sequences and extended forms
punctuation of same
20th century Techniques
synthetic scales
Interval Cycles
Compound Cyclic Collections
Inversional Symmetry and the Axis Concept
Pitch sets
cyclic tetrachords
Bitonality
12 tone
serialism
Jazz

Take it as read , JW knows all this backwards inside and out and wanders all over them without stopping to catch his breath

Best

ed
 
I ran into a book - Harmony and Melody Volume II - by Elie Siegmeister that covers chromatic harmony concepts elegantly once you’ve got the foundational diatonic harmony covered. I’ve been using it to deepen my understanding and to practice using secondary dominants.

Also Film Music Notes has some great classes as an alternative to ScoreClub if subscriptions are truly a no go. I completed the course on 8 bar themes which was a wonderful expansion of classical theme structures into the context of various media.

It’s great over time to learn about the same concepts from multiple perspectives/teachers/books as it helps with contextualizing how they apply in contemporary music - I found that to be the aspect that takes the longest to sink in.
 
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General_Disarray said:
Any recommendations?
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If you want a book, you could look at:

Amazon product ASIN B0073V7KY8
press.uchicago.edu

Composing Music

Aimed at those who have some knowledge of music but not formal training in composition, this concise introduction to composing starts right in with a brief composition exercise, then proceeds step by step through a series of increasingly complex and challenging problems, gradually expanding the...
press.uchicago.edu press.uchicago.edu

It has chapters for Scales, Harmony, Transformation, Themes, Ostinato, Counterpoint, etc.
It uses musical notation / scores.
Most importantly, it has lots of examples and lots of exercises.

For example, in the section of rhytmic transformation, consecutive examples are shown:
- in example 1, the phrase is changed to 3/4
- or kept in 4/4 but started a beat later
- or changed to 3/4 and started on another beat
- or started a halfbeat later

Followed by another example (as starting point) with similar exercises.

Exercise in the section about the Dorian scale:
- compose a melody of six to ten measures expressing water: a lake, a stream, a waterfall or rain
- use only the tones in example G (has the notes of Dorian D sacle).
- don't let your melody slip into C major
- use only this rhythm
- from time to time you may repeat a measure, either consecutively or after intervening measures

As you see here, the exercise has rather detailed instructions and lots of boundaries.
The boundaries limits your choices and this has advantages as it prevents you from becoming overwhelmed by unlimited choice.

Random text:
- With a very strong and identifiable rhythm as seen in example Q, you can achieve unity between figurations that have little in common except for this rhythm.

PS: this is also teached and demonstrated in the video course "Memorable Melodies" from ScoreClub.
 
If you'd also like to check out a chords/scale generator/player, you can download the PC software at ChordwarePA.com

You can filter lists to suit your needs, so it's better than just a book of chords and scales.

Added: please regard this as out of context with the above discussion since this is not really a teaching environment.

For example, the D Dorian is not shown except as chords of the C Major scale with the root D, and roman numerals (optional) set to D.

Also, much of the best rhythm accidentally results from just playing with control combinations.
 
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