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Articles & Books From Scott Jarrett
Article / Updated 03-29-2021
Musical themes in composition are characterized by three main categories: motif, melodic phrase, and period. You use these three kinds of melodic elements to build your compositions.
Motif: A motif is the smallest form of melodic idea. It can be as short as two notes, like “cu coo,” or the first two notes of the theme from Star Wars.
Article / Updated 03-29-2021
Drummers have a language all their own, and drum notation has some peculiarities as well. Rather than write out a drum part, it is often easier to say something like, “Play a half-time groove,” or “Swing.” This article guides you through some of these conventions for composing music for drummers. But first look at the way in which drum notation works.
Article / Updated 03-29-2021
A distinct type of lead sheet, designed specifically for guitar and bass, is called tablature, or just tab. Instead of using standard musical notation symbols, tab uses ordinary ASCII numbers and letters, making it ideal for reproducing music for the Internet and online newsgroups where anybody with any computer can link up, copy a tab file, and read it.
Article / Updated 03-29-2021
Making a living as a music composer is hard. And it’s not because the money isn’t out there waiting for you to come along. It’s simply because that for every legitimate composing job out there, there are dozens—or even hundreds—of budding, starry-eyed composers out there waiting in line for their big chance.Does that mean you should give up?
Article / Updated 03-29-2021
Although it’s perfectly acceptable to write and perform music just for yourself, most composers and musicians make music for other people to hear and, hopefully, enjoy. The given way to promote your music is to perform in public and tour as much as possible, but you also can build up a solid base of fans by using the many online platforms available for musicians.
Article / Updated 03-29-2021
Walk into any bookstore and check out the Music Books section, and you’ll find yourself before a wall of daunting choices. Stop by any given online bookstore and search for music, and you’ll be faced with even more. It seems there are nearly as many books written about music composition, the music business, and music appreciation as there are albums or compact discs containing music.
Create the next big pop hit, bang out a catchy jingle, or write an iconic film score, with music composition skills Today's composers create music for television, film, commercials, and even video games. Music Composition For Dummies brings you up to speed with the theory and technicality of composing music. With easy-to-understand content that tracks to a typical music composition intro course, this book will teach you how to use music theory to write music in a variety of forms.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-01-2022
For quick reference, most of what you need to know about music composition is covered in this cheat sheet. Whether you’re sitting with a band and need to know what someone means when they say, “Take it up a fifth!” or you can’t remember the proper form for the 8-bar blues, this handy info is right at your fingertips on one convenient page.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
You can't overestimate the value of a good musical imagination. It's the single most powerful source for composing music — if you can tap into it. The imagination is so powerful, in fact, that it was long ago personified as the Muse.
Because it's inside your head, though, your imagination is also the hardest source to put your finger on.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
The piano is a well-loved music composition tool for a reason. Not only do the piano's 88 keys contain virtually all the notes you'll ever need to create a solid foundation for a full orchestral composition, but the entire piano is tuned to concert pitch. Concert pitch simply means that when you hit a C on the piano, you are actually playing a C.