Product Description

A self-training manual as well as a classroom text, this book is a complete step-by-step course to develop the musician's ability to hear and notate any style of music. Personal training, thoery and exercises produce techniques which are combined in an integrated craft which may be applied to composition, orchestration, arranging, improvisation and performance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18171 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780962949678
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
A kind of finishing school for those who wish to pursue a career in composing, orchestrating, arranging or performing. -- The Score, Society of Composers and Lyricists

A myriad of practical information. Comprehensive ear training, important because aural skills are among the most overlooked in music education. -- Survey of New Teaching Materials, Jazz Educators journal

A synthesis of the author's vast knowledge and his quest to define the question, "How do we hear?" -- ITG Journal

A wonderfully systematic approach to ear training . . . neatly designed and structured, it just flows. Direct and easily understood. -- New books, Jazz Educators Journal

From the Publisher
In this book you will discover: Transcribing techniques. How to maximize your creativity and productivity. How to develop your craft by consolidating techniques. How to read music with your ears. How you can write music without using an instrument. How to write music spontaneously, as your ear guides your hand. How to communicate accurately through music notation. Why you don't need "perfect pitch." Tools to develop your music perception. 140 exercises, many music examples—models for a lifetime of study. Resources for composing, orchestrating, film scoring. Working in the music business. Where to find supplies, organizations, information, inspiration. A definitive guide and reference for composers, orchestrators, arrangers and performers.

From the Author
This book is designed to help you develop and refine your perception and your ability to communicate with music—to know what you are hearing and to express your thoughts through music notation or performance.

In this second edition, we have added new material including Creativity and Productivity, Working in the Music Business, and outlined a plan for developing and consolidating your techniques into an integrated craft. There are updated resources for your investigation into all areas of music, as well as expansion and clarification of material in response to readers questions and comments.

In these pages, you will find guidance, inspiration and information to help you clarify the abstract aspects of music, make the intangible tangible, and perhaps spark your interest to further explore some of the vast realms of music. Along the way, we will explode a few myths that have continued to confuse and discourage students of music. We will encourage you to develop the musician within to the fullest, so you may achieve mastery in all areas of music that you choose.

The studies in this book require a fundamental knowledge of music. You should have the ability to read notes on a staff and be familiar with clefs, keys and meters. This book does not attempt to duplicate the many existing sources of basic music skills. Rather, it will enhance and expand the knowledge and techniques that you have developed thus far. You’ll gain the confidence to allow your musical decisions to be guided by your ear, experience and intuition, rather than someone else’s rules.

Igor Stravinsky said, "I had only my ear to help me; I heard and I wrote what I heard. I am the vessel through which Le Sacre passed." Many musicians, artists, actors have expressed the same thought with different words: "I am merely a channel/conduit/vessel/instrument; my art flows through me."

This work is concerned with that moment when music flows through you.

Customer Reviews

On "Hearing and Writing Music" by Ron Gorow
"Hearing and Writing Music", by Ron Gorow, is a superb book. It makes a simple and elegant presentation of the internal process by which we hear sounds and music, how we recognize intervals, chords, melody, harmony, counterpoint, and the timbre of instrumentation/ orchestration, how we can develop the skills of listening, auditory memory and imagination, and how to use these skills to hear and to write down music of any sort. The hallmark of an expert is the ability to explain the basics of his field as simply as possible. By that standard, Mr. Gorow has proven his expertise in this book.

I note that the other reviews, both for Amazon and in musical journals, tend to limit the importance of "Hearing and Writing Music" to ear training. I believe that Mr. Gorow's book is valuable for much more than ear training. I have studied it, and as a result of that study, I believe that my auditory memory and imagination and my abilities in score reading have improved enormously. Further, I have been able to use the skills in this book to transcribe melodies, harmonies and counterpoint almost effortlessly, both those that I have heard, and those which existed only in my imagination. This book has opened many doors for me. I believe that it can do so for many others.

On a personal note, for the last 30 years, I have been able to hear and compose music in my imagination. Unfortunately, I have been almost exclusively self-taught, and I despaired of ever being able to write down what I heard. Mr. Gorow's book, and my use of it, has changed all that. I have just completed the first movement of a symphonic tone poem, and I intend on continuing to compose for the rest of my life.

I have studied many books on music theory, and have listened to and studied many pieces of music. If I may make an analogy, my studies had formed the equivalent of a crystalline solution. "Hearing and Writing Music" was the equivalent of a seed crystal, which put everything into order, and transformed me from a listener to a composer. I cannot recommend it highly enough for those who wish to become songwriters, arrangers, or composers, or those who wish to improve their skills.

If you only own one music instruction book. . .
. . . make it this one!!

I was so impressed with this book, that I recently purchased the expanded second edition, even though I already have the first edition! I have never done that with any book before. (And as a musician with a B.A in Music Education who has almost a thousand music books in her library, that's saying something!)

The depth, range, and thoroughness of this book far outpaces any other book of its kind out there. Where else can one go from the very origins of sound itself, and the active listening and perception thereof, all the way to transcribing complex polyphonic works, orchestrations, and film scores, all in one book?

What I really enjoy about this book is its approach to listening to music beyond mere intervals and passive listening. It expands ones'hearing to phrases,and through texture and form as a whole. It is the first ear training method I've ever come across that actually addresses tetrachords, modality, chromaticism, and
sequences as tools, while most methods stop at the intervals and chords themselves. (There is even a section on tone rows!) Don't let the above words scare you; the book is very clearly written, with a minimum of technical jargon. Indeed, it actually encourages the reader to reach to the highest levels of musical perception, and in turn, prepares one for transcribing, composing,orchestrating,and performing.

The organization of the book is very clear and logical, from perception of sound itself,from sound to music, using the materials of music to transcription, perception to notation and communication with notation, through to performance and publishing. There is even a section on copyrights (not only in the paper domain, but the digital domain, as well!)

In addition, the sections on transcribing resources, supplies and books, and film score links on pp.384-399 alone are worth more than the price of the book itself.

Best of all, this book is written by someone who has been working in the business for over 40 years, and the labour of love shows in every page.

I was going to list my favorite parts of the book, but the list soon looked like the Table of Contents! For me, this isn't just one book; it is an amalgamation of all of the wonderful and inspiring professors and books that I've ever learned from. (This book is also a soothing balm over the scars left by incompetent, mean-spirited and ignorant teachers and outdated pedigogical curriculum--a certain Dr. Andersen from Fresno City College comes to mind!!)

Reading and working with this book will help any musician (even a non-musician who shows a cursory interest in music)reach his or her highest creative potential by expanding musical awareness and perception. I have since found that expanding creative awareness and perception in one endeavour carries over to other modes of human expression: painting, drawing, sculputure, dance, film, etc.

Something for every musician
"Hearing and Writing Music" is a marvelously comprehensive and concretely practical book for musicians. There is something in this book for every musician, regardless of experience level. The beginning musician could read it methodically chapter-by-chapter, absorbing the text and carefully doing each exercise, while the professional musician might zero in on specific topics to enrich his knowledge and skills. I was especially intrigued by the discussion of the intervals as they relate to the harmonic series. Mr. Gorow strikes a delicate balance between scientific and aesthetic points of view; he explores the mathematical basis of music, while never losing sight of the artistic purpose of it. Mr. Gorow's method of transcription, which is perhaps the heart and soul of the book (though by no means its only purpose) is full of insight and practical advice. I applaud and heartily recommend this important and valuable book. - Andrew Kinney, professional composer/orchestrator