ZAGER MUSIC • ADVERTISING WRITING MUSIC FOR WRITING MUSIC Praise for the fi rst edition: “A welcome guide for anyone wishing to make their career in the competitive world of commercial composing. It covers pretty much everything that you need to know—from the expectations of advertising agencies to the compositional techniques employed . . . a must TELEVISION AND RADIO for anyone angling for that new cream-cheese contract.” —MUSO magazine “Those interested in pursuing careers in this area of the music business will do well to review the fi nal few chapters that traverse the (AND MORE)
FOR COMMERCIALS areas of composing for radio, corporate videos, and the general business of advertising.” —Film Score Monthly
A MANUAL FOR COMPOSERS AND STUDENTS Writing Music for Television and Radio Commercials (and More): A Manual for Composers and Students succinctly describes the process TELEVISION of composing and arranging commercials for these two very different media. This new, expanded edition provides a comprehensive overview of the commercial music business while addressing the tools of composition and arranging and giving helpful instruction for jingle writing and composing for commercials. Michael Zager offers methods for analyzing commercials from a musical point of view, properly arranging instruments for the desired sound, and correctly scoring for each instrument. He often provides interviews with AND professionals in the fi eld to corroborate his information, and the chapters conclude with assignments for practice. RADIO COMMERCIALS RADIO
This second edition is rewritten and reformatted to increase readability and use in the classroom and includes new chapters on theatri- cal trailers, video games, Internet commercials, website music, and made-for-Internet videos. An included audio CD contains examples referenced in the book. This book is a necessary tool for music students interested in the commercial and advertising business but is also useful for composers studying fi lm scoring, advertising writers, art directors, and music producers.
MICHAEL ZAGER is the Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in Performing Arts and professor of music and director of commercial music at Florida Atlantic University. He is the author of Music Production: A Manual for Producers, Composers, Arrangers, and Students (Scarecrow Press, 2006). ( AND
MORE For orders and information please contact the publisher Scarecrow Press, Inc. ) A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefi eld Publishing Group, Inc. nclud 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 I e SECOND EDITION D d C Lanham, Maryland 20706 ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-6139-8 1-800-462-6420 ISBN-10: 0-8108-6139-9 fax 717-794-3803 www.scarecrowpress.com Cover design by Neil D. Cotterill MICHAEL ZAGER
WritingMusicMECH.indd 1 6/24/08 12:16:46 PM WRITING MUSIC FOR TELEVISION AND RADIO COMMERCIALS (and More)
A Manual for Composers and Students
2nd Edition
Michael Zager
The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Maryland • Toronto • Plymouth, UK 2008 SCARECROW PRESS, INC.
Published in the United States of America by Scarecrow Press, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.scarecrowpress.com
Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom
Copyright 2008 by Michael Zager
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zager, Michael. Writing music for television and radio commercials (and more) : a manual for composers and students / Michael Zager.—2nd ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-6139-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8108-6139-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) eISBN-13: 978-0-8108-6219-7 eISBN-10: 0-8108-6219-0 1. Music in advertising—Instruction and study. 2. Television advertising. 3. Radio advertising. I. Title. MT67.Z34 2008 781.5Ј413—dc22 2008009184