This program will help you gain a professional command of the mechanics behind most of the contemporary music that you enjoy.
This certificate program offers an in-depth education in composing and orchestrating the types of scores that will both compliment the visual and elicit emotions from viewers.
A solid understanding of music theory is no mere academic exercise but a common language that will enable you to concisely communicate with other musicians, a core component of any collaborative endeavor with music. From basics like reading and writing music notation and using scales to advanced topics such as modal and pentatonic melodies and harmonic tensions, you’ll leave this program with a concrete foundation in music. As a result, you’ll approach your next project with a full set of tools and much more confidence.
Create great-looking music quickly and easily with the powerful Finale music notation software, and learn techniques to maximize speed, control, and accuracy.
Learn to create lead sheets, choral and instrumental scores, drum maps and guitar notation, and explore many other ways to use Sibelius for your own personal and professional needs.
Become a versatile and sought-after jazz composer and arranger by advancing your skills with some of Berklee’s most renowned jazz educators.
Learn the nuances of music notation, and create professional looking scores. Berklee College of Music brings together teachers and students from all over the world, and we use notation in a great variety of ways. This book presents our perspectives on notation: what we have found to be the most commonly used practices in today’s music industry, and what seems to be serving our community best.
Whether you are writing for a Nashville recording studio, Hollywood sound stage, concert hall, worship choir loft, theater pit, jazz club, or school auditorium, private teaching studio, or music publication, this book will help you to create readable, professional, publication-quality notation. Beyond understanding the standard rules and definitions, you will learn to make appropriate choices for your own work, and generally how to achieve clarity and consistency in your notation so that it best serves your music.
You will learn:
Foreword by Matthew Nicholl, Berklee’s associate vice president for global initiatives and former long-time chair of the Contemporary Writing and Production Department.
Royalties for this book are contributed to Berklee’s Matthew Marvuglio Endowed Scholarship.
“Berklee Press has released a new book to help musicians learn the nuances of writing notation and creating polished scores. Berklee Contemporary Music Notation, by Jonathan Feist, offers practical modern perspectives on the subject. From traditional staffs to guitar tablature, the book discusses hundreds of notation symbols and general guidelines for writing music.”
—DownBeat Magazine, August 2018
“Here’s a book that tells you how to write it down, no matter whom you’re writing it down for. It’s an indispensible companion for composers and arrangers and anyone else interested in musical notation. It won’t write your music for you, but it does the next best thing: show you how to write it so other people will play it the way you want it.”
—Peter Schickele, Multi-GRAMMY Winning Composer, Biographer of PDQ Bach
“I found this book to be very enlightening and useful. Jonathan’s insight and knowledge of music notation are impeccable.”
—Lalo Schifrin, Multi-GRAMMY Winning/Oscar-Nominated Composer, Arranger, Conductor, and Pianist
“I’m often asked to recommend books that can help musicians improve the clarity and quality of their notation. I’m excited to be able to add Jonathan Feist’s Berklee Contemporary Music Notation to my short list. Jonathan addresses the crucial elements that are vital to the copyist’s craft. He provides numerous practical examples and excellent advice regarding everything from chord symbols to paper choice. The information is provided in a clear, well-organized manner. Best of all, it’s an enjoyable read.”
—Mark F. Adler, Notation Product Manager/Sr. Editor at MakeMusic, Inc.
“A clear, concise, and comprehensive guide for notesetters, composers, arrangers, or anyone with an interest in music notation.”
—Kimberly Brand, Engraving Manager, Hal Leonard Publishing
“Music notation is one of the most fundamental skills every musician must master. It is the means of communication between composers and musicians, enabling ideas to be shared around the globe and throughout centuries. Jonathan Feist has written a complete and concise guide of notation practices, both traditional and contemporary, that will empower musicians with this important skill. I recommend it to all musicians and composers.”
—Ben Newhouse, Composer, author, and Berklee Online instructor of film scoring and orchestration
“With wry wit and a curator’s precision, Jonathan Feist’s succinct, informative (and dare I say rollicking!) Berklee Contemporary Music Notation deftly shepherds the music-notationally curious to a seat at the staff-shredding, appoggiatura-wielding expert’s table.”
—Shane Adams, Nashville-based GRAMMY-nominated music educator, producer, songwriter, and author
Jonathan Feist is editor in chief of Berklee Press, where he has helped to produce hundreds of music education products…