On the Track

This is without question the most comprehensive and informative book on film scoring ever written. If you are serious about the endeavor of music in film, be that as a composer, or even a music editor or supervisor, or one who works with these positions, this book is a must buy. Yes, it's expensive, which put me off from buying it too, "how good can it be?" I asked myself. That was a mistake I made. Save your money as quick as you reasonably can, this book is well worth every penny. I own maybe every name book on this subject, have taught music, and scored various projects (though none major, admittedly), there are other good books on this subject, but if you buy only one book make it this one.I think what makes this book stand out was well written in Giovanni Williams excellent review, which I won't repeat. But one thing that should be known is that author Fred Karlin was a working composer in Hollywood for many years, on multiple levels. He never got trapped into one style of music, or any set of rules even. He doesn't mention himself much in the book, but if you followed his career, or just look into his work, you'll see this. He himself was a lifelong student of music, and film scoring. And he could go from traditional orchestration, to minimal arrangements, even to experimental scores and new instruments and electronics, and he shares this with you. As times changed, so did Karlin. And even though he passed away a decade ago, he followed the times, while understanding pragmatic principles, as good as any musician in the business, and it shows in this work. Similar could be said about co-author Ray Wright, who was a multi-instrumentalist, and professor of music. While both are now deceased, the fundamentals put forth in this book remain true to this day, in 2016, and likely will for many years go come, maybe forever.Having written that, it may seem like this book is "master class" only. But it's not like that. Even a beginner with little formal training, but a keen interest in the subject, will find this book relatively easy to read, and highly informative. The book is so comprehensive, and so well written and packed with information, it's also somewhat easy to skip around and use as a reference.

This is by far the most thorough book on the subject of film scoring that I've ever come across. The foreword by John Williams says it all really, this book is packed with years of experience and would help absolutely anybody in the field or aspiring to get in it. It's use of film score examples (from film's you've actually heard of) is fascinating, like a peek behind the curtain of your favorite play, you get to see sections of scores by John Williams, Thomas Newman, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, James Newton Howard, Hanz Zimmer, Danny Elfman...need I go on. From conceptualizing to timing music to picture, from compositional techniques to the business of film music this book is crammed full with goodies. Anybody interested in this field shouldn't even think twice about picking this bad boy up.

Great reference book for writing music for Film. Examples are great ....Highly recommend this book ! 👍🏻

In depth, concise, with musical examples of various compositional techniques taken from real film & TV scores!Well worth the price tag.

One of the best and most informative resources out there for media composition.

This is the book to own if you are an aspiring film composer. It is worth the money especially if you find the video examples listed in the book to go along with it. I love this book!

I took a film scoring course last summer, and bought this to augment my studies. Very insightful and helpful in my learning this genre.

If you are an aspiring film composer, get this book.There are many many printed score examples.If you are interested in film scoring as career this book is a MUST.

There are very few books on contemporary film scoring and this has got to be the best. It outlines a chronological journey of the film composing process from negotiating a films budget/timeline right the way through to delivering the final project. I have been fortunate enough to have worked on a few films and have found this book not only an interesting insight into the minds of fellow composers but a valuable reference tool. There are many helpful documents in this book including musical score analysis, cue sheets, timeline breakdowns which offer unparalleled access to the behind the scenes world of writing music for film. All accompanied by quotes from composers, directors, sound editors... One particular interesting moment that stands out is in the 'Role models and temp tracks' chapter where the theme from 'Chicken Run' by composers John Powell and Harry Greyson-Williams is compared to it's temp track 'The Great Escape Theme' by Elmer Bernstein. The detailed comparison between the two cues is backed up with clear orchestral score excerpts which are extremely difficult to come by. It's rather expensive for a book, however is worth every penny. This book has been praised by prominent film composers John Williams, Quincy Jones, Jerry Goldsmith, Henry Mancini & Many more...

Brilliant book for insights and snippets to film score production, composition and general tips and tricks. Well done.Could do with an update to bring it in to the 2010's though.

Came before actual delivery date which is fantastic considering the circumstances! Came in perfect condition no problems at all. Thank you!

Great book, a good introduction to film music for composers, there are frequent examples of printed music, but an accompanying audio CD would have been helpful!

Just perfect.