Play It Again! The Art of Musical Composition Video (5-part series - DVD)

This five-part series uses modern music to illustrate techniques for composing songs. The first part shows how successful artists make pop music hits by speaking with Jim and Carolina Corr of the Irish band The Corrs, and UK garage music artists Joel Samuels and Michael Rose. The next segment observes the impact of technology on songwriting as Talvin Singh and Jocelyn Pook discuss incorporating various sounds and rhythms into their dance music via sampling. The third segment highlights improvisational music, discussing with Courtney Pines and Django Bates how the composer must create space for the performers to create music on the fly. The fourth segment looks at the strict formality in classical compositions, how musicians like Steve Maitland bring formal structure into the modern era. The final segment examines how artists compose music for movies and theater productions. Video clips illustrate how composers can set the tone of a film, or show a character’s emotions through sound.

5-part series, 20 minutes each.