Books about orchestration and composing

[biggestmuff]

I want to start a list of good sources for learning and gaining knowledge about orchestrating and composing. So far, I have heard praises about Fundamentals of Musical Composition, but it appears to be out of print and difficult to find.

What other books would you guys recommend? :)

--------------UPDATED 0930 EST on 21OCT05--------------


Books


The Guide To MIDI Orchestration by Paul Gilreath (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0964670534/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance) Ensure you purchase the 3rd edition. The second half of the book is said to contain dated material about sample libraries.

The Study of Orchestration by Samuel Adler (http://www.overstock.com/?page=proframe&prod_id=1396555)

The Study of Orchestration Compact Disc set by Samuel Adler (http://www.overstock.com/?page=proframe&prod_id=1284216)

Workbook for the Study of Orchestration by Samuel Adler (http://www.overstock.com/?page=proframe&prod_id=1290619)

The Technique of Orchestration by Kent Kennan and Donald Grantham (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0134663276/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance)

The Technique of Orchestration and CD Recording Package by Kent Kennan (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0130771619/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance)

Essential Dictionary of Orchestration by Dave Black, Tom Gerou (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0739000535/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance)

Orchestration by Cecil Forsyth and William Balcom (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486243834/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance)

Principles of Orchestration by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486212661/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance)

Treatise on Instrumentation by Richard Strauss, Hector Berlioz (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486269035/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance)

Orchestration by Walter Piston (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393097404/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance)

Instrumentation and Orchestration by Alfred Blatter (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0534251870/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance)

Orchestration: A Practical Handbook by Joseph Wagner (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0070676550/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance)

Fundamentals of Musical Composition by Arnold Schoenberg (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0571196586/002-9357725-8431234?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance)

A Composer's Guide to Understanding Music by Sy Brandon (http://cooppress.hostrack.net/books.html)



Internet Resources


Alexander Publishing (http://www.alexanderpublishing.com/index.shtml) Books, resources, and a forum.

The Orchestra: A User's Manual (http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/~ahugill/manual/intro.html) A great reference site with video and audio clips.

Garritan Tutorials and Tips (http://www.garritan.com/tips_tutorials.html) A large section dealing with tutorial and tips. Some apply to GPO and some are general MIDI orchestration tips.

" A Practical Guide to Musical Composition" by Alan Belkin (http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/bk/index.html)

" Principles of Counterpoint" by Alan Belkin (http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/bk.C/index.html)

"Artistic Orchestration" by Alan Belkin (http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/bk.o/index.html)

"General Principles of Harmony" by Alan Belkin (http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/bk.H/index.html)

"Improving Orchestral Simulation through Musical Knowledge" by Alan Belkin (http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/Simulation.html)

Alan Belkin's main site (http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/e.index.html)

MusicTheory.net (http://musictheory.net/)

[drew]

I want to start a list of good sources for learning and gaining knowledge about orchestrating and composing. So far, I have heard praises about Fundamentals of Musical Composition, but it appears to be out of print and difficult to find.

What other books would you guys recommend? :)

Cecil Forsyth 'Orchestration' is a good book on orchestration. It is a bit dated as it was first published nearly a hundred years ago, but it does cover all the sections and has a lot of music examples. Good place to start.

[danpowers]

Sy Brandon has written a book called "A Composer's Guide to Understanding Music." I haven't seen it, but I've heard a few people praise it. You can read about it here. (http://cooppress.hostrack.net/books.html)

[JamesIII]

"The Study of Orchestration" by Samuel Adler. For an additional cost, you can purchase a set of CDs that plays all of the examples in the book; quite helpful. This text has been the "bible" or orchestration for years.

[AtmosMan]

I have the Adler, Forsyth, and also the Treatise on Orchestration by Berlioz. They are all great (the Berlioz is a bit harder to understand) but I see myself turning to Adler's book most of the time. The first half of it is devoted to instrumentation (how and what the individual instruments do) and the second half is about orchestration (how to put it all together.) It's a very nice book. You could probably find a new copy on the internet for $50 or so.

[sinkd]

Didn't we already have a big long thread on this? I was going to try to post a link but I can't seem to find it.... If someone knows where that thread is, I'm sure these folks will be interested.

Maybe I dreamt it or it was on another forum. I would also endorse Adler's book.

DS

[AtmosMan]

You're right sinkd, there was a thread about this a while ago:

http://soundsonline-forums.com/showthread.php?t=365

[biggestmuff]

Ah, there it is. Thanks, AtmosMan. I couldn't find that thread, so I started a new one.

I'm going to update my first post with books, authors and links. :)

[biggestmuff]

Ok, the first post has been updated with various sources mentioned in this thread, the thread linked above as well as some other sources. Feel free to add to the list. :D

[sinkd]

[QUOTE=biggestmuff]I want to start a list of good sources for learning and gaining knowledge about orchestrating and composing. So far, I have heard praises about Fundamentals of Musical Composition, but it appears to be out of print and difficult to find.

If you mean Schoenberg's FMC, you can still get it through Amazon (used or like new) Schoenberg's books are all great. Models for Beginners in Composition is also fantastic as well as Structural Functions of Harmony

ds