Musical Composition

Musical composition is a key discipline in music programs in conservatories, colleges, and universities. Many teachers consider it as important in the development of young musicians as listening and performance. It can be argued that through compositions musicians achieve the deepest insight into the composer and his music. Musical Composition takes the student through the elements--melody, harmony, counterpoint, and rhythm--before covering a variety of special subjects such as writing vocal and choral music, accompaniments, and film and TV music. Chapters are devoted to recent techniques including free diatonicism, serialism, and indeterminacy. Over 200 examples illustrate points in the text and there are exercises for each chapter.

"Reginald Smith Brindle...is a composer who is also a brilliant communicator and teacher, and he provides just such a variety of suggestions and assignments....In this comprehensive but skillfully concise book, he addresses the needs of those school and university students 'not born with an intuitive grasp of "how to do it," who have a lot to learn [and] who need to be helped over the first hurdles....The range of examples is impressive: from Dowland to Dallapiccola, Purcell to Posseur--a wisely broad spectrum with a significant leaning towards the 20th century. Above all, Smith Brindle has the happy knack of being able to show, in a few words, precisely why a certain technique serves a composer's artistic purpose."--John Paynter, I usical Times