The Cambridge Companion to Composition

This wide-ranging guide offers insights for musicians and students on how to be a composer.

Toby Young (Edited by)

9781108926997, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 May 2024

360 pages
24.4 x 16.9 x 1.8 cm, 0.63 kg

There are as many ways of creating music as there are composers in the world, with a vast array of possible methods and practices. This book provides essential critical and practical tools for composers as they try to navigate this complex landscape, whilst also offering provocations for practitioners discovering their own voices and solidifying their place in their musical communities. Designed to be a companion in the truest sense, the book offers practical support throughout the creative process and thought-provoking insights on technical questions for a range of compositional approaches.

Contents
List of music examples
List of figures
List of tables
List of contributors
Introduction
Part I. Creative Processes: 1. Inspiration Howard Skempton
2. Compositional unfolding Robert Saxton
3. Out of one, many: aspects, relationships, and attitudes to linearity Kenneth Hesketh: 4. Instruments and invention Tonia Ko
5. From sketch to score Julian Anderson
Part II. Technique(s): 6. Composing for ensemble Cheryl Frances-Hoad
7. Composing for orchestra Roberto Sierra
8. Composing for voice Toby Young
9. Composing for choir David Bednall
10. Composing for stage Nico Muhly
11. Composing for the screen Debbie Wiseman
Part III. Styles, Conventions, and Issues: 12. Dots, squiggles, and words: notation in recent music Christopher Fox
13. Sonorities and spectra Christian Mason and Jon Hargreaves
14. Electronic composition: histories and affordances Lauren Redhead
15. Transcultural composing Raymond Yiu
16. Nothing new under the sun: composition as adaptation Cecilia Livingstone
17. Composition and ecological listening Liza Lim
Part IV. Building a Career: 18. Finding your voice Eleanor Alberga
19. Beyond the notes: how to tell your story, and who needs to know Naomi Belshaw
20. Practical advice for emerging composers Hollie Harding and Toby Young
Further reading
Index.

Subject Areas: Music [AV]