Dog Ears: Production/Theory Book Reviews

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Occasionally folks on DSF production forum ask about those old fashioned paper things that people put words in...oh yeah books! Youtube and Google are awesome resources for information. However, for me there is nothing like having some go-to references that have been fact checked and edited by a professional publisher. So I thought I'd start a series of book reviews on relevant materials.

First one for ya'll...

"Music Theory for Computer Musicians" by Michael Hewitt, Published by Cengage Learning. $34.95

The first thing that drew me to this particular text was the fact it was published by a respected text book publisher, but it also worried me. I'd been looking for something to show me the basics of music theory (like...wtf is a scale and how do I use them?) and thought I might end up with something that gets nit picky about the finer points for which I'd need help from an expert to understand.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that is not the case with this book. The book breaks down theory into small concepts that are simply explained in the least amount of words possible After reading Ch. 2 on Scales I felt like I had a good understanding of the basics of a scale and had already memorized the C Major scale as it is the primary example the book uses. Of course as the concepts become more complex, naturally so did the text.

You'll notice from the title that this book was written for "computer musicians" and I think there are several factors that make this very much the case. The book includes lots of diagrams, both piano roll and notation (but not always both). Though I found I was able to follow along when only offered notation images. It offers solutions and exercises for people who don't have a piano/slash midi controller keyboard. It often speaks about specific DAWs; however, the author seems to choose DAWs at random for different lessons and it's kind of frustrating for me that A) he never mentions FL Studio (since I use FL) and B) that he randomly switches DAWs in the first place. That being said, most of the things the author says about DAWs are a quick help file/google search away in most cases.

I can't repeat enough that the best thing about the book is that it is clearly written for computer musicians. I feel like it is constantly connecting concepts to the things that are most important in EDM.

The book includes little quizzes at the end of each chapter with the answers available online. It also includes a CD to listen along to the concepts the book is explaining. There is an appendix "quick guide" to the concepts the tracks on the CD are supposed to be teaching you. Also included in an appendix is a visual quick guide to the scales in both piano roll and notation format, which is stellar because god forbid someone might learn to read sheet music along the way!

I think the best thing about the book is that I felt the whole way through that when ever I was frustrated with a concept it wasn't the book, but the reader who needed to do some additional thinking, rereading, memorizing and practicing. I feel like this book will be resting next to my keyboard for a long time to come. I highly recommend this for anyone who is at the "I don't know wtf a chord is or how to play one" stage.

[code505]

I found this book awesome as well. It was important to play out the chords mentioned in the lessons after each chapter. Helped me a lot with understanding music theory.

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Yes! A good point, actually doing the exercises goes a long way in helping you understand.I've found that doing something physically to learn a theoretical concept is a very strong mnemonic device.

[Sirius]

ahaahhahahhaaah... memorised the C major scale!!

bro... start at C and play only the white keys, take ya long to remember?

!!chea

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Gotta start somewhere 'bro'. ;p

[legend4ry]

Gotta start somewhere 'bro'. ;p

PLUS ONE

[Sirius]

After reading Ch. 2 on Scales I felt like I had a good understanding of the basics of a scale and had already memorized the C Major scale as it is the primary example the book uses.

it was this, that i based my response on.
if it was a different scale... i woulda given it kudos,
but the C Major scale... a 3 year old could memorise it!

I found it hardcase as, wasn't downing the review.

!!chea

[deadly_habit]

will do a review of some of the ones on my shelf
and for the noobs www.tapeop.com free subscription for one of the best mags out there

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will do a review of some of the ones on my shelf
and for the noobs http://www.tapeop.com free subscription for one of the best mags out there

Right on. Look forward to the reviews!

[deadly_habit]

the power series for whatever daw you own if you can get cheap enough are great qrgs
i'm on cubase 5 atm and still refer to my sx3 power book time to time
often better than the manuals and have features buried in the pdf manuals since most boxed software comes with 600+page manuals in pdf form and just a limited printed booklet

[thedefinition]

I think this is a great start to a very promising series of reviews. One book that I'd highly recommend is the Dance Music Manual. I'd review it myself, but that'd be selfish since you're doing it so well. Big ups on the review and I look forward to reading more from you.