Modal Music Composition with CD

Modal Music Composition serves as a reference work unlikely to be superseded and also as a source of fresh ideas for composers and songwriters looking to use modal music as a true alternative to the tonal system. Only a modest knowledge of traditional (tonal) harmony and forms is necessary. No knowledge of modal music is assumed. Numerous examples and tables provide important information in easy-to-use form.Three extended study compositions illustrate the procedures more vividly than standard examples. The 3 study compositions and examples are recorded on the included audio CD.

This book, therefore, fills the need by composers and songwriters alike for a comprehensive description and analysis of the melodic and harmonic characteristics of the modal scales and their interrelations. Although composers have often used modal passages, it is acknowledged that the modal scales have less harmonic stability than the still predominant major-minor scales. To remedy this, Dr. Cormier has taken a fresh look at the modal scales and developed a systematic set of procedures that can maintain modal stability while retaining their special character.

Stephen M. Cormier has long pursued twin interests in science and music. He studied cognitive and neuro-psychology as well as music at the George Washington University. He has a particular interest in the association of cognition and information processing with emotion, as seen in his published monograph, Basic processes of learning, cognition and motivation (Erlbaum Associates).