Composer's Craft, The

What does it take to cross the line of silence and create a piece of music? Is composition equal parts mystery and magic—a discipline whose inner workings are revealed only to a few—or is it a set of skills that can be understood, acquired, and practiced by all? In this ingenious book, award- winning composers and composition teachers Blake Henson and Gerald Custer take a fresh look at what composers actually do by focusing on the elements of craft that composers use every day: the manipulation of sound and silence, gesture and color, text and texture. In an engaging style that resembles an informal conversation between friends (which is how this book began), the authors unpack each major aspect of the composer’s craft, explaining what it is and how it works in straightforward language.