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I'm inclined to agree with Henry, a book on the history of music is probably the most likely source without masses of reading to deal with what's really a simple subject. There is a book titled "The Form of Music" by William Cole: "A concise guide to musical structures of the tonal era. The text is illustrated with many music examples," says the blurb. Another one by Wallace Berry: "Form in music." I can't recommend them as I haven't read them but perhaps there are reviews. The problem is there's almost nothing complex about these forms: Sonata form: the various "subjects" (themes), bridge passages, development, recapitulation, coda, etc., and some of these books will contain copious examples when really, after sussing the first example, the "student" should be able to analyse a classical work themselves. Get the jargon under ones belt then apply it to (e.g.) Mozart's Sonata in C or Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; or Beethoven's Symphony No. 2. Of course there are exceptions but beyond finding out "how a composer did it" there's little point in analysing exceptions to get to a generalisation. Forms like Sonata Form, Rondo etc., are quite well defined on the web. This may be enough. As for composing beyond the classical, it's as long as it's broad. As Henry says you may be looking at individual composers or genres (e.g. the dodecaphonic era, Schönberg and Webern). Impressionism: Debussy.

This is something I started working on yesterday. It's inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen story of "The Steadfast Tin Soldier". Each movement represents a different aspect of the story. I'm planning on it having seven movements in total and will update as I go (hopefully with scores). My intention is to keep each movement around 3 minutes and each one will be written in triple time (I don't write in triple time often, so it's a good challenge).

Here's one I like to imagine that Gilbert O'Sullivan might have tossed in his trash bin. It's an O'Sullivan type of choppy piano style. I love that uniquely original piano style/technique of his! The flute-y thing as usual with me is the lead melody for in case I ever add a vocal. People might not think it sounds sad but to me it is. I actually hopped to my upright piano right after watching the Disney/Pixar movie "Inside Out" and the chords and melody were almost there just waiting for me. It's not often that tunes come to me so effortlessly but this one did. Great movie BTW! I related to the blue "Sadness" character. It's a story with a universal message that sadness serves a purpose. It was done in the Sonar 8.5 piano roll. Enjoy! -Rick

It's a huge work, indeed.

Thank you for your criticism! I always appreciate honesty, and I think you're right. I modified the music piece, I changed the lead instruments at the beginning and at the end. It was too much from the brass section, but I really don't want to add "major key" parts to the piece. This is a tragedy... 🙂

Nice evolution around 1:20... It sounds more cinematic than wagnerian (sorry, but I can't take out of my mind his opera).

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but it looks like your high harmonic passages in the 1st Violins are notated at sounding pitch. I wonder should these be notated as natural harmonics instead? I'm not a string expert: so I'm just curious if anyone on the forum knows the answer? Also wondered if perhaps they should be notated as sounding pitch in the conductor's score; but harmonics in the scores for individual string parts?

You wanted a contrast between movements, and I'd say you achieved it! This was a great exercise in doing a lot with just two lines. I do like the idea of putting a musical constraint on yourself as a composer to see what that prompts in terms of creative solutions. Because of the speed, the accents you've written in really help the listener keep track of what's going on. I actually turned the YouTube speed down to 75% so I could get a better sense of the harmonies for a second listen. I enjoyed the shift from four note groupings to three note groups at bar 86, and crashing right into an ending with a totally different character on the last page. It really works well. Well done and what a bear to play!!

Hi @olivercomposer, This is a very gigantic excerpt and finally there's no "ahh" section! I will say, to be honest, the variety not too big throughout the excerpt since it's always brass featuring the music after 0:49. I really would hope to have some woodwinds and strings featuring the melody. It's always in the minor key too and maybe adding major keys or modal keys can help bring more tonal contrast as well. Thanks for sharing, Henry

I agree with @Quinn. I think listening more music is more important than reading music books. Of course it's important to read them but you first have to have some music materials in your brain to make good use of the books which analyze and group them. I discover Sonata form when I listen to the 3rd movement of Moonlight sonata and find the recapitulation having the same material as in the exposition but in different keys, then I start to discover why. I think in music practice always comes first and ranks first. Even Caplin's theory on sentence structure and period have many exceptions too since no theory can include and explain everything. Henry

Hi @GospelPiano12, I find the melody much fluent now and I think the harmonic spelling fine now! The ending is changed with added appreggios in the piano. I think the 4/2 time signature is not necessary there, just retain the 4/4 marking will be ok. If you want to thank me you can give me reaction points for this Henry

Hi @Aaron_Bob, I think the series of Cambridge Assignments in Music great starting point. Many books under the series introduce crucial matters succinctly. "General Musicianship" ofc is about general musicianship (lol what a trash explanation), "History of Music" provides basic western music history outline, "Form and Design" covers the basics of musical forms. We use these books when I was in my high school attending music lessons. i myself though start with the approach of form since I love that when I was young. I just find books (in Chinese) on different forms and love it. Henry

Wait wut Shouldn't you being using your brain more for mystery-solving?