Montclair, NJ – Hal Leonard Books, the musician’s best source of books on the music business, audio technology, instrument history, and more, has published Getting Started with Music Production. Written by Dr. Robert Willey, recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award 2013 from the UL Lafayette Foundation, this book will help readers quickly learn how to record and mix music with a digital audio workstation (DAW), understand basic audio principles, and will help more advanced practitioners hone their music production skills.
Getting Started with Music Production’s logically structured, hands-on approach works well for self-guided learning and for activity-oriented courses. The illustrations and examples are built around Studio One from Presonus (most exercises can be done with the free version), but the fundamental concepts and techniques transfer seamlessly to any modern DAW, such as Logic and Pro Tools.
As digital technology has fundamentally changed the way music is produced, Dr. Willey strives to teach musicians and budding audio engineers how to take full advantage of the new tools and unleash their creativity. “The students have to know what’s behind it. How analog to digital conversion works, how computers represent sounds, and the principals of recording, where to put the microphone, and things like that,” he says. “The more knowledgeable they are as students, and the broader they are as musicians, the more they’ll be able to adjust to the future changes in the industry.”
To help the reader apply what they learn, Dr. Willey includes a wealth of practice exercises; quiz questions, activities for all levels, and complete mix sessions. Audio and video examples further explain and expand on the concepts presented. All supporting media is provided online for easy access from a computer or mobile device.
Getting Started with Music Production is intended for college music majors, high school students, and independent learners. It is the perfect guide for those who produce music at home, and the ideal textbook for teachers. The first ten chapters can be used by schools on the quarter system, with an additional five chapters provided for those on the semester system.
“What Robert brings to the table is so unique: the ability to make the connection between all the different technologies and true musicianship,” says Gordon Brooks, Dean, College of the Arts.
John Mlynczak, the Education Market Manager for PreSonus, talks to Dr. Robert Willey about the book at http://onstageandbackstage.libsyn.com/robert-willey-chats-with-john-mlynczak (podcast).
Getting Started with Music Production
$29.99 (US)
Inventory #HL 00128992
ISBN: 9781480393790
Width: 8.5″, length: 11.0″, 186 pages
About the Author:
Robert Willey is a keyboard player, composer, and music technologist with a long background in higher education. After earning a PhD from the University of California, San Diego, he spent two years in Brazil as a Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor of computer music composition and performance, chamber music, improvisation, arranging, and distance education course design. He returned to the United States to teach popular music theory, computer literacy, and rock band at the State University of New York College at Oneonta; later, at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, he taught music theory, music technology, synthesis, recording, live sound, music appreciation, music industry, and jazz combo. He is presently the director of the Music Media Production and Industry program at Ball State University. His publications include Louisiana Creole Fiddle, Brazilian Piano, and the DVD From La La to Zydeco: Creole and Zydeco Music from Louisiana. He lives in Muncie, Indiana. For more information, visit rkwilley.com and lovelythinking.com.