Series: Berklee Guide
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Berklee Press (May 1, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 063400638X
ISBN-13: 978-0634006388
Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.5 x 12 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #222,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #86 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Songwriting #286 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Lieder & Art Songs #555 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Popular
This is a good book, well written , and clearly laid out. It offers the reader a methodical approach to writing better melodies by showing you that good melodies are the result of contrast, balance and fluidity. It also covers harmony and its relationship with melody giving examples from popular songs. The book is a refreshing change as it does exactly what it says on the cover; it looks at melody within song writing, and approaches it as a serious subject to be studied and learned. If like myself you get slightly lost every now and then, read the chapter through, go back and read it again, its really worth it because once this stuff begins to sink in, you go away and see what he's talking about as soon as you turn on the radio or listen to your favourite music. I say a refreshing change because it differs from other song writing books that I have recently purchased with titles such as "How To Write That Hit!" etc which seem to spend about 3 pages telling you how to write songs then divide the rest of the book between telling you how to "Pitch that song in the market" or patronising the reader with little cute stories about how they wrote their half a hit that came out 200 years ago "Oh and then Bruce, as in Springsteen, called up asking how the song was coming along, it was all so hilarious". We don't want cute stories , we want guide lines to the craft of writing beautiful songs. Lastly, in this book, Perricone does not attempt to suggest that technique is more important than inspiration, indeed he says that both work hand in hand, each one necessitating the other. As an aspiring young song writer myself I have often heard this debate between those that believe in the dreaded technique, and those that believe in inspiration alone.
This terrific book examines what might be called a "theory of melody" as applied to songwriting, although many of the principles Perricone demonstrates come straight out of classical composition and could be applied to melody in many contextsother than popular song.The author wisely divides the work into two large areas he calls"Melody: Its Components" and "Melody-Harmony Relationships". Separating the horizontal and vertical aspects of melody is an effective learning tool, though such a line would likely never be drawn in the intuitive act of composing.The Components part of the book deals with the behavior of tones and the contruction of melody: the influence of rhythm on phrases, devices to develop and contrast motivesand the expansion of this basic material into larger sections is covered.The second part of the book introduces the harmonic element, placing the melodic invention of the first part into its traditional context. Unless you're planning to write Gregorian chant or solo voice Appalachian ballads, your melodies interactwith, and are to a certain extent a function of, the underlying harmony. Tension tones, and the influence of target and bass tones are explored. Gradually the integration of harmony and melody unfolds and a set of tools are demonstrated for creatingboth chord progressions and corresponding melody. Indeed, much of this material is as applicable to jazz improvisation and composition as it is to songwriting.The author assumes you're familiar with musical notation and the harmony illustrations are keyboard-oriented, so if you're a guitarist you'll have to adapt the chord symbols to your own voicings.
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