Alan Belkin's A Practical Guide to Composition is an excellent introduction to this topic. Belkin's aims are to discuss fundamental principles of musical composition in concise, practical terms, and to provide guidance for student composers. Many practical aspects of the craft of composition, especially concerning form, are not often discussed in ways useful to an apprentice composer; that is to say, ways that help to solve common problems. Thus, this will not be a "theory" text, nor an analysis treatise, but rather a guide to some of the basic tools of the trade. Click here to download this guide in pdf format. It can be saved to your disk for offline browsing. The index below is linked to particular sections on Alan Belkin's site. Table of contents Introduction Why this book? Stylistic Assumptions Forms and Form Using this book as a textbook Sources A final note Basic Notions Foreground vs. Background Flow vs. break;continuity vs. surprise Articulation anddegrees of punctuation Rate of presentationof information Stability vs. instability Progression Momentum Balance Balance and Length Beginning Psychologicalfunctions of structural elements Structuralrequirements for the beginning of a musical work Some typical starting gestures The opening as a distinctsection Elaboration/Continuation, pt. 1 Organization of this chapter: GeneralRequirements for successful continuation Transitionaltechnique: the basis of satisfactory musical flow Contrast Suspense Points of reference Climax Elaboration/Continuation, pt. 2 Flow Major Contrasts Creatingsuspense over larger spans of time Long range points ofreference Climax Ending Howcan the composer conclude the piece convincingly? Resolution: the main issue Rounding Off Ending gestures The ending as a distinct section: theCoda Forms: A Glossary Introduction Specific forms Conclusion and Acknowledgements This material is © Alan Belkin, 1995-99. Legalproof of copyright exists. The material may be used free of charge providedthat the author's name is included.