Writing About Music
An Introductory Guide (3rd Edition)
How do you put into the words the experience of hearing Beethoven's Ninth or the Hallelujah Chorus? Describe a John Coltrane solo or the Jimi Hendrix's blazing guitar work? For many students, the task of writing about musical experiences is a daunting one. Writing About Music, 4th edition offers practical advice and guidance to help students master the special skills needed to write about this most-elusive of arts. The text serves as a guide for each phase in the process of researching and writing a paper on a musical topic, and preparing for other projects such as seminar presentations, concert reports, program notes and essay examinations. Innovative, comprehensive, and internet-savvy, this step-by-step text will remain on music students' shelves as a handy reference and resource for years to come [Publisher description] "Writing about music, fourth edition, presents a concise, clear, and handy guide for both music majors and non-majors who have to complete research and writing assignments for their classes. Written by a music professor, the book approaches the craft of writing from a musical perspective, offering examples drawn from the kind of materials that musicians often use. It is an ideal accompaniment to any Music Appreciation or Introduction to Music Writing and Research course. This new edition addresses three new areas: the growth of the internet as a research tool; how to draw on others' research without plagiarizing; and new systems for citing new technologies." -- Back cover.
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction · Fiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
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These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Balanced tone · Steady pace
Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
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Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
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A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-1304-0603-3
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL9286235M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
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