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Summary: Commercial music textbook primarily for classroom use
Review: With this 1995 title, Ardsley House continues its bid to introduce a complete quality line of university-level music industry textbooks. Unlike texts or popular books which subtly suggest that songwriters and media-oriented music makers might be able to get by with a little less traditional theory, author Richard Sorce, from New York University, where leading programs in both musical theater and commercial music can now be found, heads in the other direction, saying, "There is no quick method of becoming a competent composer, songwriter, arranger, orchestrator, harmonist, improvisor, or theorist." This book, then, is a map of the high road, for commercial musicians who want to make every theory stop along the way. The author's philosophy is that the music of the common practice period (1650-1875?) guides not only classically-oriented musicians, but all music practitioners. "Whether a performer, writer, arranger, recording engineer, or publishing agent, the professional musician must know the componenets of music if he or she expects to sustain a successful career." Sorce has thus taken the stand of a purist, and many competent commercial practitioners may disagree. But on the other hand, so many young musicians begin careers, knowing how to do a few things well, but then, when their careers take the inevitable turn toward film scoring or other larger works, they find themselves relatively clueless. That's where this book can help. Take pages 180 and 181, for example: I get all excited seeing Bach's "Chorale No.15" from "St. John Passion," side by side with Paul Simon's "Stranded in a Limousine," with both of them harmonized using popular music chord symbols. I'm hoping that teachers of commercial music will gradually adopt this rather rigorous text, which sets a new benchmark in the field of theory for the commercial musician. Ron Simpson, School of Music, Brigham Young University. Author of MASTERING THE MUSIC BUSINESS
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