Music Theory for Computer Musicians Paperback – 2 April 2008

I've played guitar in bands for 20 years, entirely self taught. I've also have been producing electronic music with Cubase (and other DAWs - Reason/Ableton etc) for well over 10 years. I haven't been able to read music since my very short stint learning trumpet as a 9 year old!Because of the above I have at least a bit of grounding in music theory, albeit sub-consciously, as well as experience of the alternative to music notation that is used by music software (ie. midi, piano roll, grids etc).Most other music theory books are likely to rely on the reader's ability to read music, making the subject inpenetrable to self-taught musicians. So, for someone at a similar level to me (I'm sure a couple of years of music experience as opposed to 20 will be enough), this book is fantastic and I couldn't recommend it enough.I have learnt loads and loads, and understand a hell of a lot more, in just two weeks. It's very well written, clear, concise and holds your hand throughout. It's very well broken down into the different subjects, so once you've read it all (and most likely been overwhelmed - which can't be helped seeing as it's a big subject), you can go back and re-read the sections you are unclear on. I can vouch that re-reading chapters has really worked for me. I am completely unacademic, so if I can get it, then you can too!My only small gripe is that there is at least one mistake in the exercises at the end of each chapter (I think!), but it's not going to affect my 5/5 rating as it's improved my understanding of music immeasurably.One last thing in reference to a couple of the lower-rated reviews. This book is not about synthesis and doesn't purport to be. You won't learn about oscillators or using DAWs etc. There are plenty of other books that do that. This is very a particular book that aims to improve the self-taught electronic musician's knowledge of music theory in order to improve their songwriting abilities (whether it's melody, harmony, chords, beats, rhythm, arpeggiation etc). I think it does that well. I found it logically structured, and yes, while it may give you some information that you find irrelevant to your needs, I'm sure there are other musicians that will find this information useful.

This book was recommended by a college music lecturer as ideal for beginners like me, and since I started working through it I have been highly impressed. It starts off slowly by introducing pitch, duration, intervals and notes, and works slowly into scales, chords and more complex matters. It really fired me up, and I like the exercises and the fact that you can download the answers, but not find them in the book (too easy to kid yourself and cheat). You can also download an MP3 version of the included CD so you can keep everything close to hand when working in Logic or whatever music software you're using; it works with most of them and deliberately references at least six different DAW titles with screen shots. There's a lot of information packed into it and I think it may take several passes of working through the book to absorb it, but it's a seriously good text for helping you start to learn the theoretical foundations of music.The early part of the book has a lot of grammatical or semantic errors, which was distracting at times while trying to study; the author's editor let him down I'd say. Fortunately each time a little thought enabled me to work out what the author meant; it's a minor niggle in a book which has so much to offer. I'd recommend this book for anyone starting out in music theory who is willing to work hard studying it; music is a complicated subject so there's no easy route to learning about it, but this does smooth the path a fair bit.

I bought this in the hope of an easy introduction, some hope! This book needs to be read at a SLOW pace with lots of concentration. If you rush you will get frustrated, it needs iron discipline to get the best out of it. In the 10 days I have had it,I have read the first 4 chapters about 3 times each and am going back over again.It has a wealth of information but I personally found the style of writing somewhat off putting by the author constantly refering to his day job in the middle of an explanation. I imagine he has taken this course in an attempt to make it a little less daunting.

A very well written, & clear introduction to music theory, aimed specifically at computer musicians, so most concepts are explained in relation to the Piano Roll - that is found in the vast majority of Digital Audio Workstations (DAWS). An audio CD is also included, so, if some concepts aren't crystal clear, the ability to simply listen to the referenced audio track on the CD is a very convenient feature, but the main concepts are so well explained, that this situation is rare - (in my experience, anyway, & I'm no virtuoso!!)

Very well written by someone who clearly has a passion for music and experience in teaching. Michael Hewitt plainly knows what he is talking about. I really I don't see how you can make EDM/produce without knowing this book back to front. 5 stars. No question.

Love this book as it is exactly what it says on the tin. I especially love the translation to piano roll which is what most computer musicians work with 90%+ of the time.The style of writing makes what is often dull reading interesting and engaging.Worth every penny!