Who are they calling an idiot anyway? Maybe they are not calling anyone an idiot. Maybe I am calling myself an idiot because I picked the book up and actually purchased it!

As the title suggest, “The Complete Idiots Guide to Music Composition“, this book deals with music composition. The author, Michael Miller, states “You have music in your soul, and you want to share it with the world. But how do you turn the music you hear inside your head into something that other musicians can play?” This is exactly what this book is all about…getting the music out…or what we call music composition.

It covers composition using chords, melody, or a combination of both. In addition to composing methods, he also explains chord progressions, ending phrases, using scales and modes, chord substitutions, rhythm and syncopation, repetition and variation, tension and release, and a slew of other composition techniques. To sum it up, this book is fully loaded.

I love this book and keep returning to it time and time again. It is packed with 250 pages of pure, simple, and easy to understand composition techniques. Don’t get me wrong though; there are four full chapters that contain all the advanced material to take your music to the next level as well. It is laid out in a precise and logical way which makes it easy to read from cover to cover or if you want you can start right where you are in your composition studies.

If you are new to music composition then this is the book I recommend to get you started. It is loaded with enough material to keep you busy for some time. It is not a college level book so do not expect it to cover every aspect of composition in great detail. I found some areas to be brief and somewhat vague but at the same time there was enough information to shoot me in the right direction for further study. You really can’t go wrong here as I picked this up for under fifteen dollars. This book is a pure pleasure to read and it had the ability to cure the idiot inside of me so maybe it can help you.

Conclusion:

Lesson Materials – This book is great! I have put my copy through much abuse and it still holds itself together. The best part for me is that it is not too stiff. It sits very nicely on my music rest.

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Lesson Instruction – The instruction is great but serves more as an overview to music composition rather than an in-depth analysis. I found it to be a great primer course which stirred my appetite for many new musical concepts.

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Fun Factor – For a book it is great. I had a hard time putting it down the first time through. It is written in a very enjoyable style, contains some nice graphics, and is very organized in its layout and design.

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Value – It is very hard to beat the value found in books at this price point. I think it is worth every last penny I spent on it.

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This is an enjoyable read from front to back. From the construction, to the design, and into the actual music lessons, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Composition is a pure addiction.

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