Cole, Bruce - The Pop Composer's Handbook
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  • Cole, Bruce - The Pop Composer's Handbook

Cole, Bruce - The Pop Composer's Handbook

Catalogue No: ED12723
A step-by-step guide to the composition of melody, harmony, rhythm and structure

Product FormatBook
ComposerCole, Bruce
£38.50
Typically dispatched in 5-7 working days
Pages160
Publication Date28 September 2006
ISBN9781902455600 (1902455606)
ISMN9790220121920 (M220121920)
UPC841886002982
Anyone who can pick up a pencil can draw. Anyone who can sing or play an instrument can compose. Following the successful formula of The Composer’s Handbook, The Pop Composer’s Handbook is a step-by-step guide to the composition of melody, harmony, rhythm and structure and covers styles and song-writing techniques from rock, reggae and salsa to bhangra, club and steel band. The book is aimed at composers aged 11 to 18 and beyond. It includes games and warm-ups, whole-class projects, worksheets and schemes, projects for the more advanced and advice on recording and producing. Bruce Cole studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music with Sir Harrison Birtwistle and has pursued a joint career as a composer and teacher. He has taught at most levels from pre-school to postgraduate, including teacher training, working with young people with special needs and prison education. His work as a composer has included orchestral commissions, scores for film, television, theatre, dance and new circus as well as collaborations with The Rolling Stones, Squeeze, Joan Armatrading and Asian Dub Foundation. Bruce Cole is currently Fellow in Community Music at the University of York and Chief Examiner of a national examination board.

Contents

  1. Rhythm:
  2. Key features of rhythm in popular music
  3. Style, metre and tempo
  4. Building on a one-bar pattern
  5. Using technology
  6. .
  7. Melody:
  8. Pop melody
  9. Extending melody
  10. Advanced melody writing
  11. .
  12. Harmony:
  13. Melody and harmony
  14. Why does pop harmony sound different from classical harmony?
  15. Chord progressions
  16. Dissonance
  17. .
  18. Structure:
  19. Harmony and structure
  20. Standard structures
  21. 32-bar song form
  22. Verse and chorus
  23. Highlighting the chorus
  24. .
  25. Instruments:
  26. The instrument of popular music
  27. .
  28. Production:
  29. Microphones
  30. Making the recording
  31. Post production
  32. Scoring parts
  33. .
  34. Riffs:
  35. Adding a new section
  36. Study project: Tubular Bells
  37. .
  38. Songs:
  39. George Gershwin
  40. Burt Bacharach
  41. John Lennon and Paul McCartney
  42. Stevie Wonder
  43. Bob Marley
  44. Michael Jackson
  45. Elton John
  46. .
  47. Islands and Continents:
  48. Reggae
  49. Salsa
  50. Bhangra
  51. Celtic popular music
  52. .
  53. Club and Urban:
  54. The techniques of club music
  55. Sampling
  56. Recording your own samples
  57. Planning the composition
  58. Projects
  59. .
  60. Performing Projects for the Class:
  61. Samba
  62. Steel band
  63. Tala
  64. Riff ensemble
  65. .
  66. Frameworks for Listening:
  67. Keeping a listening log
  68. Focused listening
  69. Listening worksheets
  70. Comparisons
  71. Differentiating worksheets
  72. .
  73. Designing Worksheets
  74. .
  75. Schemes of Work:
  76. 32-bar song
  77. The instruments of popular music
  78. Songs with a message
  79. Cut and paste
  80. Rhythm
  81. The voice
  82. .
  83. The Computer in the Classroom:
  84. Listening
  85. Performing
  86. Composing
ED12723