Music Notation by Mark McGrain | Berklee Methods Guide for Composition and Songwriting Students | Standard Notation for Pitch, Rhythm, Meter and ... and Notation Software (Berklee Guide)
Product ID: 8108532
Buy anything from 5,000+ international stores. One checkout price. No surprise fees. Join 2M+ shoppers on Desertcart.
Desertcart purchases this item on your behalf and handles shipping, customs, and support to Austria.
Music Notation by Mark McGrain is a comprehensive Berklee Methods guide for composition students, songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists who want to write music with clarity and precision. It presents the essential principles of standard music notation, from accurate pitch and rhythm placement to meter organization and voicing alignment. Whether working by hand or using notation software, readers gain a clear understanding of how musical ideas translate onto the page. The book covers correct rhythmic subdivision, articulation markings, and dynamic notation, helping writers communicate performance intent with confidence. Clear explanations and practical examples make it suitable for classroom study, private instruction, or independent learning, and useful as an ongoing reference. For aspiring composers and arrangers, mastering notation is the foundation of musical communication. This resource strengthens accuracy, consistency, and professional presentation. Songwriters learn how to notate melodies, harmonies, and rhythms so performers can interpret them correctly, while educators benefit from its systematic approach to notation fundamentals. The text serves equally well for guitarists and other instrumentalists seeking a deeper understanding of written music. By clarifying how rhythm, meter, voicing, articulations, and dynamics interact, it bridges creative ideas with formal structure and supports continued study. Topics Covered Pitch and rhythm placement * meter organization * voicing alignment * rhythmic subdivision * articulations * dynamics * notation for written and software scoring Whether used in a college composition course, a private studio, or as a personal study guide, this edition offers a dependable pathway to writing music that is readable, expressive, and professionally prepared. It also makes a thoughtful gift for serious music students. Review: An essential purchase. - The essential guide to the conventions of music notation. A must for any serious student studying music theory. Review: Music Notation - I don't really care about the author's personality, as stated by another reviewer. What I care about is the quality of the content of the book, and this book is exactly what I needed! As a music major I am constantly writing compositions and was not happy with how unprofessional and sloppy they looked. I believe this book is going to be a big help in correcting some of my writing flaws. It has basic, easy to understand examples, with exercises at the end of each chapter (I photocopy them so I don't have to write in the book). Learning to correctly write a manuscript is one of the most valuable skills a musician learns. This book will help you do it correctly.
| Best Sellers Rank | #936,890 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #261 in Songwriting #796 in Music Theory (Books) #4,220 in Music Instruction & Study (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 99 Reviews |
S**S
An essential purchase.
The essential guide to the conventions of music notation. A must for any serious student studying music theory.
M**Z
Music Notation
I don't really care about the author's personality, as stated by another reviewer. What I care about is the quality of the content of the book, and this book is exactly what I needed! As a music major I am constantly writing compositions and was not happy with how unprofessional and sloppy they looked. I believe this book is going to be a big help in correcting some of my writing flaws. It has basic, easy to understand examples, with exercises at the end of each chapter (I photocopy them so I don't have to write in the book). Learning to correctly write a manuscript is one of the most valuable skills a musician learns. This book will help you do it correctly.
N**A
I even found it fun to understand why the notes look like they are
Honestly, coming from a classical music this book gives you so much information about the most basic thing in music with which all musicians work - notation! I even found it fun to understand why the notes look like they are, what is the meaning behind every symbol and how to notate in the RIGHT way. Not many do so, but if you write music, ANY kind of music I really recommend the book. It's not a theory book, this book is teaching how to write notes and everything on the staff the right way.
M**S
A treasure trove!
Love this book! This is an excellent reference & resource for those things you know you know but occasionally need to look up. It is well organized in a logical way.
A**R
Very nice book about music notation
In this day and age, I didn't expect a book about music notation to teach me how to draw the symbols. I highly doubt that I will ever need the skill to draw notation symbols, but it's nice to have in case I'm out and about and get a wild hair and my battery dies on my tablet. I think some of the practice exercises are overkill, like asking you to draw a simple percussion clef 30 times. I'm exaggerating of course, but not by much. In all fairness this book is rather old, relatively speaking, so I don't believe when this book was written that there were any music notation software applications available. That being said, why not update this book or create a new edition that includes sidebars for us digital folks? Other than that, I am very happy with the content and although I have a bachelor's degree in music education, I am pleased to find that I'm still learning a few new things along the way, that I guess they just assumed I already knew being at the college level. If you're looking for a heavy hitter with tons of detail about notation, this is not your book, but it is definitely a great refresher if you have a background in music and maybe want to learn a few new things along the way.
T**Z
EXCELLENT BOOK
I am beginning read, if you want to write handwriting music, it is perfectly, You will improve a lot.
L**R
Really good book
It`s very basic but this book will correct you all your faults in music notation, if you are a teacher or arranger you have to buy this.
R**N
Five Stars
Great book to for reference. Fast delivery and love anything Berklee
N**G
I's deducted from my Bank Card for exactly the amount I spent.
Fast delivery. Book Binding and Printing Quality are excellent. Being delivered safely and in good condition. We are rest assured... Thank you very much.
D**N
More people should read this book.
This is a great book for those wishing to learn how to write (and read) music. I only gave it four stars because this book has great exercises in it, which would be more helpful if the answers were given in the back of the book. But, alas, this book comes out of the Berklee School of Music, where it is a textbook, and obviously, they want tuition that comes when a professional academic grades the exercises. I worked through the book myself, and will have to trust myself that I got it correct, but I learned a TON, and the book was more than worth the cost just for what I learned. I sent a copy to a friend of mine who is also beginning to write songs. Yes!
J**N
So how to draw notes by hand rather than writing conventions like how to beam 8th notes in a bar of
More a book for WRITTEN music, not printed music. So how to draw notes by hand rather than writing conventions like how to beam 8th notes in a bar of 11/8
M**A
Satisfecho
Es un gran libro para aprender escritura musical con las reglas necesarias para hacer scores y eacirbir partituras. Me pareció muy bueno.
N**A
ottimo libro
è molto dettagliato, al suo interno ho trovato degli argomenti che non vengono trattati in altri metodi simili. molto consigliato
Trustpilot
4 days ago
3 weeks ago