The Pop Composer's Handbook

Publisher : Schott Music
A step-by-step guide to the composition of melody, harmony, rhythm and structure

Styles and song-writing techniques from Rock, Reggae and Salsa to Bhangra, Club and Steel Band.
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.

Contains:

•   - Rhythm:
•   - Key features of rhythm in popular music
•   - Style, metre and tempo
•   - Building on a one-bar pattern
•   - Using technology
•     .
•   - Melody:
•   - Pop melody
•   - Extending melody
•   - Advanced melody writing
•   - .
•   - Harmony:
•   - Melody and harmony
•   - Why does pop harmony sound different from classical harmony?
•   - Chord progressions
•   - Dissonance
•     .
•   - Structure:
•   - Harmony and structure
•   - Standard structures
•   - 32-bar song form
•   - Verse and chorus
•   - Highlighting the chorus
•     .
•   - Instruments:
•   - The instrument of popular music
•   - .
•   - Production:
•   - Microphones
•   - Making the recording
•   - Post production
•   - Scoring parts
•     .
•   - Riffs:
•   - Adding a new section
•   - Study project: Tubular Bells
•     .
•   - Songs:
•   - George Gershwin
•   - Burt Bacharach
•   - John Lennon and Paul McCartney
•   - Stevie Wonder
•   - Bob Marley
•   - Michael Jackson
•   - Elton John
•     .
•   - Islands and Continents:
•   - Reggae
•   - Salsa
•   - Bhangra
•   - Celtic popular music
•     .
•   - Club and Urban:
•   - The techniques of club music
•   - Sampling
•   - Recording your own samples
•   - Planning the composition
•   - Projects
•   - .
•   - Performing Projects for the Class:
•   - Samba
•   - Steel band
•   - Tala
•   - Riff ensemble
•  .
•   - Frameworks for Listening:
•   - Keeping a listening log
•   - Focused listening
•   - Listening worksheets
•   - Comparisons
•   - Differentiating worksheets
•  .
•   - Designing Worksheets
•  .
•   - Schemes of Work:
•   - 32-bar song
•   - The instruments of popular music
•   - Songs with a message
•   - Cut and paste
•   - Rhythm
•   - The voice
•  .
•   - The Computer in the Classroom:
•   - Listening
•   - Performing
•   - Composing