The Dance Music Manual: Tools, Toys and Techniques

by Rick Snoman

Whatever your level of experience, The Dance Music Manual is packed with sound advice, techniques and practical examples to help you achieve professional results. Written by a professional producer and remixer, the book is organised into three accessible

Technology and theory
If you're relatively new to the technology and theory behind today's dance music, Rick Snoman discusses the basics of MIDI, synthesis and sampling, as well as music theory, effects, compression, microphone techniques and sound design.
Dance genres
This section covers techniques for producing different musical styles, including Trance, Trip Hop, Rap and House. Snoman takes a close look at the general programming principles behind drum loops, basses and leads for each genre, in addition to the programming and effects used to create the sounds.
Mixing and promotion
Snoman guides you through the art of mixing, mastering, remixing, pressing and publishing your latest masterpiece. This includes a look at how record companies operate, copyrighting your material, pressing your own records and the costs involved. Finally, guest contributors offer essential advice on DJ'ing and how to create your own website to promote your music.

The CD provides demo tracks showing what can be achieved when applying the advice contained in the book, including examples of the quality difference before and after mixing and mastering. The CD also contains free software demos for you to download.

For even more advice and resources, check out the book's official website www.dancemusicproduction.com

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title sucks, as it doesn't represent how technical this book actually is. The author really knows his theory and the science behind synthesis.

[Velanche · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty dense book, and sometimes the grammar leaves much to be desired. That said, it's a deep and comprehensive book on music production in general, and not just dance music. It might take some patience to digest, because you may have to read chapters several times before the concepts stick. Also helpful is the companion piece with files to accompany some of the chapters.

[Felipe Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dance music manual" is extremely essential if you're into music production! It gives you the foundation, so you can start producing your own musical content and knowing exactly what you're doing (not by trial and error). I strongly recommend it!

[Sach Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for computer musicians.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has the lowest filler-to-content ratio of any reference book I have ever owned. This is not to say that every piece of information is usable to the average producer, especially one who is just starting out. Much much of the information in this book is related to specific genres or pieces of studio equipment, but even that is written succinctly and given enough context to make it interesting to a broader audience. The book was written in 2008, and by 2012 considering the volatility of the medium, it is starting to show its age. Still, most of the info is based on techniques that can be adapted and recycled to accommodate newer trends (yes, by that I mean Dubstep).

To be clear, this is a book on music production, not DJing. The subject of DJing is only discussed in brief and is not the primary topic of this book.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has given me some great ideas for synth programming.

[Bobu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This might be a good choice for a first read if you want to start making dance music. It is an easy read as it does not go very deep and does not get very technical. However, this book really needs some revision, e.g. the chapter about compressors is kind of unprecise / wrong (explanations of threshold, attack and release times).

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the sections about specific genres and their history.

[Aleksandar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent guide for electronic dance musicians that are just starting out. You'll learn everything you need to know on producing cookie cutter EDM tracks, which sets the foundation for branching out into original stuff later down the road, and going into more experimental waters (learn the rules so you know when to break them). Not all chapters will be relevant to everyone, so skim through what's most important and whatever you do make sure to pick up the latest edition, it makes a huge difference in this fast paced industry.

The only thing I disliked about the book is the editing, particularly in the second half. Plenty of grammar mistakes and misplaced references as the chapters seem to have bounced around across edition. Still, not such a big problem that I need to remove a star.

[Mohamed Zizo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning about music production from the books may not be the most favored way, but if you decide to do so, then this is your thing!! This book is fully comprehensive with anything you need as a music producer (EDM in particularly), starting from basis of midi, synthesis, and music theory, all the way to publishing and promotion of your music. Hardly will you find a relevant topic not covered in this big one.

A great manual to have an idea of how everything goes in the dance music business, which is not only from a producer's side!!

[Ty Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit basic so far, but appears promising.