Music Composition Workbook 1 offers a new approach to composing. The first section introduces you to the ingredients of composing, techniques that you can apply to a number of styles of music. The author looks at rhythm, word setting, pitch, melody, phrase structure, harmony, texture and instrumentation. The second section offers eight composing projects based on music of different styles and forms, including verse-chorus song, theme and variations, minimalism, musique concrete and film music. Each of these will guide you through the process of writing a piece of music from beginning to end. This book will prove invaluable for anyone whose music studies require them to submit one or more compositions as part of their coursework. Although the projects have been selected as being suitable for GCSE Music, they offer useful guidance and exemplars to someone in the early stages of any composition.

Author Biography

Alan Charlton is a freelance composer. He was awarded the first ever PhD in Composition from Bristol University in 1997 and was the first Eileen Norris Fellow in Composition at Bedford School (1999-2002). He was head of music technology at Bedford School from 2000-2009 and is also an examiner for Edexcel.