Arranging Songs: How to Put the Parts Together Paperback – Audiobook, January 1, 2008

This is a good book for anyone wanting to improve their Songwriting skills.

This is a must have book for anyone like myself ,who knows theory ,used to be in a band years ago ,can play an instrument still ,but now has gotten into djing,remixing doing mashups and now wants to go farther with my career producing.this book is not for anyone with a music degree it would be useless obviously because you know this stuff already.For someone like me who knows how to program synths,knows theory and all the only thing i was lacking was my composing and arranging (even though i knew theory ,theory is not composing its two different thingsthe book arravide in 1 day from amazon and i chose the 5 day shipping so i have not have time to read all of it but like the other guy says it is based on guitar in the first 3 sections ,but you can apply what he is saying to any instrument. I dont know anyone who just plays a guitar in there songs only unless your Paul Simon.But basically from what i did have time to read the book does help you about arranging . I gave it 4 stars only because it is based on guitars the first few sections but you can still read what he says and apply any instrument to those sections.

First off I read the kindle version - the hard copy with CD would have been much, much better for having audible examples and the last 15% (?) of the book is useless for not having the CD and the format is, from memory, missing key details - page number references.That said, this is a great book with all the basics and more. There are countless hours of songs (you can search for on YouTube if you don't own the albums)referenced that fill in his ideas for arrangement. I am completely new to music production - just in the last few months. I've also read the Music Theory for Computer Musicians series (very recommended as well).I haven't read his other books. It's true that there is a lot of guitar information in the book, but it's not that the astute reader couldn't learn and reapply the principles with other instruments... But it certainly helps if you are at least a little familiar with how they work and the related terminology.I will be reading this at least one more time to make a Cliff Notes version for better reference - I plenty of ideas of my own while reading. The book could have been longer, but what it details is very interesting and enlightening.

I started creating songs when I was kid many years ago. I am a lot older now and the brite new beginning and enthusiasm has changed now. I put together a library of (how to!) that goes along with my experience ( for reference.) Rikki Rooksby books are the favorite in my collection. They are easy to understand and a great value for the cost. Some day I may pass on some teaching of what I know . I will be recommending Rikki Rooksby books as part of the learning process.

About to start reading the book, but just a heads up to the company making this book: check to make sure the CD in the back is actually in the packet, and not BEHIND the packet that's glued on to the book. Also, should probably make sure the flap that you open to get the CD out is facing away from the book and out where we can open it. I mean the book looks great and everything, although a little guitar heavy which I wasn't expecting, but I was worried when I had to pull the plastic for the CD flap off the book to get to the opening and then realized the CD wasn't even in it but centimeters away from having glue all over the edges.

This is an excellent chord book. It isn't just a 100 ways to play a C chord. It's all about those small adjustments you can make that turns one chord into another. It about finding those chords that sound different to the ear but are difficult to find on the fretboard. One section (my favorite) is about those chords you know from favorite songs but that you never knew what they were. It's got great ideas for song writers to help find that spark. I highly recommend it to all but the most jaded!

I've read most of Mr. Rooksby books in this series, and this is another well-written addition to his collection. I am an amateur musician and I both record in a small home studio and play live with my band. The author, Rikky Rooksby, obviously knows what he writes about and speaks from his own personal experience as a musician and as someone who works with other musicians and bands. As a songwriter and a live musician, I found that this book provides insight into both song composition, live performance, and in recording tracks. One of the tricks to playing in a band, whether live or in a recording environment is to find "space" for your bandmates and other instruments. Rikky understands that and offers practical tips. He also understands what make a song memorable from the audience's perspective and again offers real world practical tips that I have easily adopted. Highly recommended.

After reading this book i realized, the musicians I like best are great at arranging music. The musicians I dislike, are horrible at arranging music. You could be average at everything, but if you great at arranging, you're head-and-shoulders above 90% of the musicians out there.

Very cool book! Explains basic principles of arranging, with a bit of theory and guitar tips, giving specific examples of songs to listen to.

Was ist möglich? Was ist brauchbar? Wie arbeiten Profis? ... wird alles leichtverständlich fundiert beantwortet. Sehr gutes Werk!

Some great info here

Excellent and very helpful. Rikky Rooksby writes in a clear style, giving understandable explanations for everything. Great for unconfident or new arrangers

Thoroughly recommended. Content covers suggestions for a wide arrange of instruments - rock,pop,orchestral, etc. - and styles and includes an audio CD (which I have not yet heard).