Scoring the Screen: The Secret Language of Film Music (Music Pro Guides)

A good read for Film Music Enthusiasts, that have a reasonable knowledge of modern music theory. Has really good examples of the leading film composers music (although John Williams or Hans Zimmer's music is not covered).

This book is superb. Rarely does a book hit the target like this. Insightful analysis which gets to the heart of why film music communicates to its audience. Detailed harmonic, compositional and orchestration context. Wonderful.

Must read for film music composers

Great book supper informative

If You have ANY interest in writing Music to picture, this book is a must. Very complete with great Examples and lot's of in depth study into how the music actually works. One of the best books on the subject.

What can I say - great book, indeed. Each chapter must be read and studied very carefully. The only week point is the mediocre engraving of the scores. There are also number of textual mistakes: missing accidentals, elements in collisions, wrong placement – all that contradict with the great thought of Mr. Hill. However, I would recommend this book for students and beginner / intermediate orchestrators. The philosophical approach is the major point in this writing.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when this book arrived, I hadn't done much research, but as film scoring was inching up my leaderboard of hobbies/passions, I thought it looked intriguing enough. Firstly, I am not a big reader, and so when I find something that really works for me, that in itself is a pretty big compliment. I'd also say it probably isn't the right choice for a very casual reader, looking for a relaxing paddle into the shallow end of film composition, but if you are prepared to invest some time and effort, it's an absolute gem. Andy Hill takes a selection of the great soundtracks (everything from Hermann's Vertigo, through to Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross's The Social Network, and expertly dissects them - providing notation to highlight key points. There tends to be some exposition on the context of the piece, with notes about the composers, and a detailed exploration of the abstract strategies utilised by the composers, before diving into a more micro-level to start picking the score apart. Having not studied any music theory for the last 5 years, it can be slow going for me to keep up throughout these sections, but sitting with a piano whilst reading has substantially helped. Not only is it a truly in-depth analysis of film scoring, the excellent writing makes it an entertaining journey, which is difficult to put down. It has enormously improved my cinematic writing throughout lockdown, and I cannot rate it highly enough. Thanks Andy.

Interesting book explaining the creative process on particular films. Whilst this could be a good book for some, it explained the creative process that any serious composer has. If you don't know the creative process, then this could be for you.

The best book on Film Music's analysis.

This book is very well-written and a wealth of information. It arrived in perfect condition exactly when I expected it.

It was difficult to read on kindle because the letters are too small, especially in scores. You should buy copies.

Es una muy buena recopilación para la gente que de verdad se interesa en el tema.

Probablement un livre de référence sur le sujet de la musique de films pour les personnes qui lisent l'anglais. Livre à avoir ! On regrettera peut etre le petit nombre d'exemples qu'on souhaiterai plus important et diversifié !