--- product_id: 67410692 title: "Musical Composition: Craft and Art" price: "COP 248992" currency: COP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co/products/67410692-musical-composition-craft-and-art store_origin: CO region: Colombia --- # Musical Composition: Craft and Art **Price:** COP 248992 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Musical Composition: Craft and Art - **How much does it cost?** COP 248992 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co](https://www.desertcart.co/products/67410692-musical-composition-craft-and-art) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description An invaluable introduction to the art and craft of musical composition from a distinguished teacher and composer This essential introduction to the art and craft of musical composition is designed to familiarize beginning composers with principles and techniques applicable to a broad range of musical styles, from concert pieces to film scores and video game music. The first of its kind to utilize a style-neutral approach, in addition to presenting the commonly known classical forms, this book offers invaluable general guidance on developing and connecting musical ideas, building to a climax, and other fundamental formal principles. It is designed for both classroom use and independent study. Review: Good - Good reference book Review: GET THE SCHOENBERG BOOK TOO - A lot of people have been recommending this as a replacement for Schoenberg's "Fundamentals of Musical Composition", but, I have both and I can say this is clearly not the case. This book is best used as a supplement to that book-- Mr. Belkin, instead of really going in depth to the nuts and bolt of what each form presented sounds like and progresses, provides a few musical examples and allows you to essentially abstract from your mind generally how each form works. Schoenberg does not do this; he explains everything very clearly with clear wording instead of letting the examples speak for themselves. Of course, Schoenberg provides a lot of examples too, but they are all elaborations on the basic skeleton he lays out at the beginning of the chapter in clear wording. One would best, therefore, read through the Schoenberg chapter, then switch to the Belkin chapter, as Mr. Belkin provides many much clearer examples for how each form can be stretched and shrunk and played with in general. More on that later. In theory, Mr. Belkin's book contains more "forms" than Mr. Schoenberg's, but Mr. Belkin does not go sufficiently in depth, again, affirming the main idea before expanding to "what can we do with this." For the most immediately offending example, Mr. Belkin mentions in passing in his section on ternary form how minuets are frequently in ternary form paired with a trio. He does not go into any more specifics about characteristics of the minute and trio or the evolution to the scherzo as Schoenberg does. Belkin's book has one huge leg up on Schoenberg's book and that is that Belkin covers binary form and how to properly write a piece in binary form. This could prepare a reader to compose an individual piece in binary form, or a movement in a larger work, or a number of movements in a baroque dance suite (though I would supplement the last with videos by Musica Universalis on YouTube.) Furthermore, Mr. Belkin's book does not go sufficiently in depth on what Schoenberg refers to as "motive-forms," which are essentially the building block of phrases. He instead provided a vague answer, because it's more "style-neutral." In his chapter on phrases, he does elaborate more on "less stable structures" of phrasing, which, Arnold Schoenberg does as well, but honestly, Belkin's book does a better job of adding on top of that basic frame that Schoenberg lays out. Ultimately the one thing that makes this book such an amazing complement (not replacement!) for the Schoenberg text is that it goes quite in depth about more general concepts instead of the nitty-gritty of each form. So, to sum it up nicely: Schoenberg's book will teach you form. It is the book you need for that. Belkin's book will open your mind after reading the Schoenberg chapter and teach you HOW to compose artistically using those forms. Thus, I can strongly recommend this book, but I will say, it should be used as a supplement instead of a replacement for a more fundamental knowledge of forms. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #84,252 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #15 in Music Composition (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 383 Reviews | ## Images ![Musical Composition: Craft and Art - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81yxNf899qL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good *by A***R on November 16, 2025* Good reference book ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ GET THE SCHOENBERG BOOK TOO *by J***N on April 21, 2022* A lot of people have been recommending this as a replacement for Schoenberg's "Fundamentals of Musical Composition", but, I have both and I can say this is clearly not the case. This book is best used as a supplement to that book-- Mr. Belkin, instead of really going in depth to the nuts and bolt of what each form presented sounds like and progresses, provides a few musical examples and allows you to essentially abstract from your mind generally how each form works. Schoenberg does not do this; he explains everything very clearly with clear wording instead of letting the examples speak for themselves. Of course, Schoenberg provides a lot of examples too, but they are all elaborations on the basic skeleton he lays out at the beginning of the chapter in clear wording. One would best, therefore, read through the Schoenberg chapter, then switch to the Belkin chapter, as Mr. Belkin provides many much clearer examples for how each form can be stretched and shrunk and played with in general. More on that later. In theory, Mr. Belkin's book contains more "forms" than Mr. Schoenberg's, but Mr. Belkin does not go sufficiently in depth, again, affirming the main idea before expanding to "what can we do with this." For the most immediately offending example, Mr. Belkin mentions in passing in his section on ternary form how minuets are frequently in ternary form paired with a trio. He does not go into any more specifics about characteristics of the minute and trio or the evolution to the scherzo as Schoenberg does. Belkin's book has one huge leg up on Schoenberg's book and that is that Belkin covers binary form and how to properly write a piece in binary form. This could prepare a reader to compose an individual piece in binary form, or a movement in a larger work, or a number of movements in a baroque dance suite (though I would supplement the last with videos by Musica Universalis on YouTube.) Furthermore, Mr. Belkin's book does not go sufficiently in depth on what Schoenberg refers to as "motive-forms," which are essentially the building block of phrases. He instead provided a vague answer, because it's more "style-neutral." In his chapter on phrases, he does elaborate more on "less stable structures" of phrasing, which, Arnold Schoenberg does as well, but honestly, Belkin's book does a better job of adding on top of that basic frame that Schoenberg lays out. Ultimately the one thing that makes this book such an amazing complement (not replacement!) for the Schoenberg text is that it goes quite in depth about more general concepts instead of the nitty-gritty of each form. So, to sum it up nicely: Schoenberg's book will teach you form. It is the book you need for that. Belkin's book will open your mind after reading the Schoenberg chapter and teach you HOW to compose artistically using those forms. Thus, I can strongly recommend this book, but I will say, it should be used as a supplement instead of a replacement for a more fundamental knowledge of forms. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good condition, good book! *by J***Y on May 29, 2023* Book came in with no damage. This is a great book for beginners in writing, but not suitable for someone who never learned music theory. So I guess I'd say it’s an intermediate level book. I enjoyed reading it! I’d highly recommend it. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co/products/67410692-musical-composition-craft-and-art](https://www.desertcart.co/products/67410692-musical-composition-craft-and-art) --- *Product available on Desertcart Colombia* *Store origin: CO* *Last updated: 2026-05-30*