“Music Theory for Computer Musicians” vs “Dance Music Manual”
Can those of you who read either of these books please give me a quick differential between these two?
Music Theory for Computer Musicians by Michael Hewitt
Dance Music Manual by Rick Snoman
Did some searching on this forum and these 2 books seemed to be the most popular. Please advise me on my first book to purchase as my entry into production?
My background real quick: I can read sheet music, played piano for 5 years before switching to percussion/drums. Forgot most of my music theory though :-/ Also, 15 years of drumming experience so rhythm is not a problem. Picked up an LPK25, Studio One will be the DAW, and looking into Maschine later on…
I know about youtube, but I’d love to have a solid book to read as well
Can’t speak for the other one, but Rick Snoman’s book is a godsend. It’s an excellent primer that will take you from the very basics of sound design (Ever want to know HOW to reproduce certain sounds or create your own original ones? It’ll give you a great start. It also goes over compression, mastering, as well as dance music theory and an overview of major styles in a very professional but always easy to understand. I highly recommend it and it did me a world of good to follow the exercises in the book (It comes with a CD including samples and a tutorial on how to create each one, such as the TB303, and samples of various song genres and typical progressions.)
The Dance Music Manual is extremely technical. It’s great to learn the whys and hows of the technical side of it but of for a lot of people it may just all go over your head. I had to reread many parts and I study sound and computers daily. Great book, I do suggest picking it up but not as your first one. That’s just IMHO. I can’t offer any advice on the Computer Musicians Music Theory at all.
I think you would be better of with the Dance music manual as this covers both music theory and production of multiple genres while the other one focuses very hard on the music theory that producers without a music background might be missing out on.
You have a music background and while you say you have forgotten it there is enough covered in the dance music manual to refresh you and you will (hopefully) only need to read those parts once rather than the ten times some of us had to before it made sense
Use the “Search inside this book” link on amazon to see the contents lists and see the difference in topics covered:
i’m currently reading music theory for computer musicians and i think it’s exactly what i needed. (probably about 70% through it).
I played drums and can read drum music, but had really no understanding of keys/chords/scales before I read the book. It has been an enjoyable read and hasnt been too technical. the Kindle version does not come with the audio CD which is refernced quite a bit. it does have some general music information that may or may not be used in dance music.
I did like how alot of the chord examples use the piano roll view and not sheet music. for me that made it much easier to translate.
there is a follow up book, harmony for computer musicians, which i own, but have not read yet.
I just stumbled upon this discussion and have become very interested in getting either of the books. I have just began to really put time into producing after about 5 years of Djing and having FL studios for a solid 2 years. I have no background with playing instruments and was wondering which one would be best for me to read?
i’ve only read the one, but i think the computer musiciain book is pretty comprehensive. Although it does have a chapter on musical notation, it does not really require you understand that to move forward.
Both are great. The dance music manual is more geared towards specific music styles. The music theory for computer musicians is more ‘‘basic’’ theory. I have both, but having a background in music I find myself using the Dance Music Manual more often
I still don’t really understand music theory so i’m considering music theory for computer musicians but the reviews are mixed- apparently there are some mistakes that are confusing for beginners and one review said they were expecting a lot more piano roll
