i'm thinking about buying the complete idiot's guide to compostion and music theory paperbacks...are they good books and do they teach well?

I read the Complete Idiot's Guide to Musical Composition and it's a pretty good for the absolute beginner, but if you've been composing anything for more than a few months, you probably already know most what the book talks about. It really doesn't go into much depth about what I'd say are the harder parts of composition (conveying emotion, writing good accompaniment, etc.) Still, it's not bad, so much as lacking in info in places.

I really would find your own technique of composing and work things out alone. Music theory and harmony rules and the like turn music into a science rather than an art.

cant go wrong if it's only 12 bucks ya know?

I really would find your own technique of composing and work things out alone. Music theory and harmony rules and the like turn music into a science rather than an art.

I find that they are very useful, actually. You will end up following the rules more or less, anyway, if your music sounds good, so you might as well take them into account. If you ask me, using music theory to help you composed is no different than considering perspective and anatomy in painting.

I really would find your own technique of composing and work things out alone. Music theory and harmony rules and the like turn music into a science rather than an art.
There's no harm in learning the basics of theory, is there?

You can still learn theory and in turn bend it and shape your own style.

I just got both books off Amazon, and after reading through some of the chapters in them, i would most definetly buy them if you need help with theory or need to brush up on some skills because i have learned more in 1 day than one whole semester of music theory...the book does really great job of explaning everything in a "down to earth" way.

Personally, I would seek out a person that has many years of expierence with music theory, or just music. Now, it's good to find that person knows a lot in the type of music or song you wish to learn from.

Confrontation is better.

The teacher I had was the leader of a jazz club...hes got like 35 years of teaching under his belt and he still didn't make it as easy as these books. I think confrontation is good for some and not so good for others...everyone has different ways of learning. Now i'm not saying don't ever go see a teacher for help or advice because it's always good to hear other people's opinions or experiences because thats always a plus.