GET SMART

Jan 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Marty Cutler

           
 

HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Subtitled “The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer,” Analog Days ($29.95) is a compelling new book on the history of analog synthesizers. Authors Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco use the life and instruments of Bob Moog as an anchor, describing how the early voltage-controlled synths were developed and marketed. The book covers not only Moog instruments but also the creations of Don Buchla, Alan R. Pearlman (ARP), Peter Zinovieff (EMS), and Tom Oberheim.

Along the way, Pinch and Trocco interview a number of influential designers and musicians, from the famous to the somewhat obscure. Behind-the-scenes accounts of the development of particular instruments (such as the Minimoog and the VCS3) will provide fascinating reading to the analog-synth enthusiast. Harvard University Press; tel. (617) 495-2480; e-mail hup@harvard.edu; Web www.hup.harvard.edu.

CHERRY LANE MUSIC GROUP

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, who are known collectively as Steely Dan, write songs that are harmonically, lyrically, and structurally intriguing. If you're interested in the way they ply their craft, check out The Art of Steely Dan ($17.95). The book examines and demystifies the duo's songwriting techniques from a multitude of angles. Instead of presenting full arrangements of songs, the book holds specific phrases and sections from their work under the microscope for detailed analysis.

Author David Pearl starts with a brief history of the band and chronicles its influences. The second chapter emphasizes the band's reliance on 12-bar blues melded with extended song forms, highlighting Steely Dan's use of uneven phrases and mixed meters as well as solo and interlude sections.

Subsequent chapters detail scales and modes as utilized in song melodies, chord movement and modulation, rhythm, and instrumentation. For all of the musical examples the text includes the exact time (in minutes and seconds) at which the example occurs on the CDs. Hal Leonard Corporation (distributor); tel. (800) 637-2852; Web www.musicdispatch.com.

ACAPELLA BOOKS

Daniel Goldmark and Yuval Taylor's The Cartoon Music Book ($18.95) offers interviews with notable composers and articles about the craft of scoring animated films. The material presented in the book forms a historical account that begins with the silent-film era and works its way up to the present.

The Cartoon Music Book includes an interview with Carl Stalling, who wrote music that could turn on a dime rhythmically, melodically, and harmonically. In fact, Stalling was responsible for one of the first systems for synchronizing music to visuals: it was a precursor to the click track, based on the intervals between film sprockets.

The book also discusses Leopold Stokowski's contributions to Disney animated features; the work of Raymond Scott; and, in interview format, Mark Mothersbaugh's (of Devo fame) work on Pee-Wee's Playhouse in the early days of MIDI (Mothersbaugh used an early Roland hardware sequencer for some of the scores). The essays cover topics ranging from a discussion about cartoon music's influence on the musical avant-garde to Walt Disney's Fantasia and its contribution to the development of Surround Sound.

Not only does the book dispense a wealth of information, but it's also a fun read. As the editors declare, “It's about time that the silliest of musical genres be taken seriously.” Acapella Books; tel. (800) 888-4741; e-mail frontdesk@ipgbook.com; Web www.ipgbook.com.