100 Books Like Inside the Score

I love this book because it’s a fantastic reference book on basic techniques for arranging for brass, woodwinds, strings, and voices. There are numerous practical and professional music examples that illustrate the text. I used this book for years as my bible for practical arranging techniques and basic information on all the instruments.

I always kept a copy of it on my piano when writing for quick and easy reference. Don Sebesky was a seasoned and successful arranger with a talent for organizing the material in a manner that’s clear, musical, and easy to understand.

I love this book because it provides many musical examples from the author’s own voluminous repertoire. The examples illustrate various arranging techniques, presented in condensed concert scores for ease of sight-reading. I love the relaxed, conversational tone of the book, which illustrates the musical techniques in the music itself without resorting to academic lists and charts.

I love the way Sammy presents the material in an informal, easy-going manner which has the effect of making the reader feel like they’re sitting in a room with the author listening to music, while various techniques and styles are illustrated from within the music.

I love this book because it provides not only specific techniques for film scoring but also an overview of the lifestyle and business considerations of the film composer. This book reads like a novel but still presents a multitude of valuable information in a well-organized and anecdotal manner. It’s not an exhaustive textbook, but is a great place to start to get a feel for what it means to be a film composer.

I read the whole thing (132 pages) on a 5-hour flight from LA to New York. I love the fact that there are appendices (film/music schools, professional societies, and organizations, suggested scores to study, suggested reading, and websites) as well as a glossary of technical terms.

I love this book because it is a truly comprehensive textbook on contemporary film scoring, covering invaluable sections on musical techniques, the relation of music to film, the technology of film scoring, and the business and lifestyle of film composers. It features references to 150 films as well as interviews with many film composers.

The extensive practical information on musical techniques and technology, as well as the relation of music to picture and drama, are timeless and still valid in today’s world. I also love the way this book presents a wealth of information on the relation and interaction of the composer and filmmaker. 

Mancini wrote "Moon River," "Days of Wine and Roses," the Pink Panther theme and, for TV, music for Peter Gunn, Newhart, and The Thorn Birds.

He was the first film composer to become a household name in the 1960s and '70s. His cool jazz for Peter Gunn was so popular and influential that every cop and detective for the next 20 years was accompanied by "crime jazz," as it became known.

This is less about Mancini's personal life than about his career (the composer covered that already in his autobiography, Did They Mention the Music?), but I was captivated, particularly with Caps' ability to convey the essence of Mancini's music in descriptive words and phrases.

And it's a thorough chronicle of the work.

This was my ‘go to’ book for years when I first began to write about music and jazz music in particular.

Cooke explains many things that until then, I had only heard about. The history of jazz music is explained clearly. From Be-bop and hard bop to free jazz and the avante garde. His writing allowed me to put names to music styles I found fascinating and it was as if an author was truly speaking my language. He introduces some well-known jazz musicians and their impact on jazz music 

Back when jazz was popular and popular music was jazz, Andy Razaf was born in Washington DC, a member of the royal family of Madagascar: one source says his name was Andriamanantena Paul Rezafinkarefo, his father a nephew of Queen Ranavalona III. Andy became one of the most successful lyricists of his era. By the time he and Fats Waller co-wrote the black broadway show Hot Chocolates in 1929, Louis Armstrong singing "Ain't Misbehavin'" from the pit, he was at the top of his game. He and Waller wrote "Honeysuckle Rose", "Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now", "Blue, Turning Grey Over You", "The Joint Is Jumpin'", and more; in the early years, they would sell their lead sheets to as many publishers as they could, knowing that the publishers were cheats too. But Razaf also wrote with Eubie Blake ("You're Lucky To Me", "Memories Of You"), James P. Johnson ("A Porter's… show more.

This book opened up jazz music for me and changed how I viewed it. It is a history book, a storybook, and a narrative on social change, and the author is both knowledgeable and intuitive in his approach.

Insights into nearly all forms of jazz are given, along with their origins. Free jazz and improvised music are explored and in the final pages, Finkelstein gives some wonderful insights into what the future of jazz might look like from the American viewpoint. Masterful writing and a glorious journey into and through the jazz genre and its development.

I felt like Finkelstein was speaking directly to me in some places. An accessible and informative read.

In The Freedom Principle, Chicago music critic John Litweiler examines the AACM’s connections to the experimental styles of jazz that emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Figures such as Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane were important early influences on the AACM, and Litweiler shows how their work became the foundation for the even more radical advances of AACM composers and improvisers. The Freedom Principle is also replete with wonderful stories from the AACM’s first two decades, including Henry Threadgill’s account of how he created the hubkaphone, a percussion instrument made from salvaged hubcaps.

First of all, the compositions are incredibly beautiful. Kenny Dorham is the ultimate romantic. As an added bonus, Walter Davis arranges these often complex tunes in a way that is accessible for the intermediate pianist. The simple and economical voicings offer insights that you just can’t get from fake books.