Personal Bibliography: Arranging & Composition
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Ades, Hawley. Choral Arranging. Aces with the staff arranger for Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians. Despite being written in the 1960’s, the fundamental logic and understanding of voices has not changed, and is applicable to any style.
Betinis, Abbie. Writings. In addition to her stellar compositional output, Abbie has such clarity to her text writing. I have returned many times to these essays for thoughts on commissioning, collaboration, and more. Especially worthwhile is her interview with Dale Warland.
Dent, Cedric. The Harmonic Development of the Black Religious Quartet Singing Tradition. (Doctoral Dissertation) Dr. Dent, formerly of Take 6, provides great insight into this rich stream of vocal harmony music.
Lindsay, Gary. Jazz Arranging Techniques. Gary was my graduate school mentor, and I was lucky to be involved in the creation of this book (I engineered all the recorded examples). Gary’s understanding of jazz harmony and arranging is peerless, and his teaching approach is second to none.
Miller, Ron. Modal Jazz Composition and Harmony Vol 1. and Vol 2. The legendary jazz comp teacher at University of Miami influenced generations of students, myself included, with his innovative and well-thought-out approach to harmony.
Oliver, Mary. A Poetry Handbook. To compose choral music, we must have a strong understanding of the poetry we’re setting. Oliver’s book is a perfect place to dive deep into your understanding of how poetry is built.
Parker, Alice. The Anatomy of Melody. Alice’s celebrated composing and arranging comes from a distinctly melodic perspective. For someone like me who thinks from a harmonic perspective, this book fundamentally altered my approach to writing.
Parker, Alice. The Answering Voice. Alice’s second book on composition addresses the idea of creating a second voice that responds organically to the melody itself. She subtitles it “The Beginnings of Counterpoint” and looks to pre-Baroque understanding of music to inform her ideas.
Puerling, Gene. Collected Works. Really, any composer or arranger you admire. For me, learning to hear, sing, and play the arrangements of Gene Puerling had a profound effect on my own writing.
Wine, Tom, Editor. Composers on Composing for Choir. Sometimes, you just need to hear from other people with similar goals to your own. This book comprises numerous interviews with outstanding choral composers. The words are sure to inspire and challenge.
Zegree, Steve. A Comparative and Analytical Study of the Procedures used by Gene Puerling, Phil Mattson, and Clare Fischer in Writing an A Cappella Arrangement of a Popular American Song. (Doctoral Dissertation)
Last Updated: Oct. 11, 2018.