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“I loved this book! And I'm not even a professional musician."—Sue Mingus

Master jazz saxophonist, educator (Manhattan School of Music), award-winning composer and arranger Steve Slagle draws on years of experience to create—in one song-packed, illustrated workbook—an original guide to tapping into the creative spark for composition and improvisation. Titled Scenes, Songs & Solos—A Composition Workbook for the Creative Musician, Slagle's trade paperback will be published in Fall 2011 by Schaffner Press.

In a highly personal and insightful style, Slagle reveals the underlying components to songwriting, providing candid advice on the mechanics of composition. Using his own musical creations as examples, Slagle demystifies the art of songwriting, and explains in detail the inner workings of each piece in terms of its melodic, harmonic, rhythmic and structural components.

The workbook, he says, is an instruction manual for “what a composer taps into," designed to lead someone down their own path by providing the nuts and bolts of the creative process. Slagle demonstrates that it is only through the complete absorption of the song in all its aspects that the musician will find the key that opens the door to original composition and improvisation.

The workbook features a distinctive structure:

• An Intro includes observations on the spirit of composition, letting music lead the way, the difference between orchestration and arrangements, and the gifts that “space" and “time" provide.
  
  
• Five chapters then outline Slagle's views on the different directions that compositions can take, including: The Blues (a musical “tone" that produces a unique mood springing from the American experience and feeling); Melody Rules (following songs on melody alone, then exploring the harmony); People Music (songs inspired by musical friends and family members, with varied rhythmic influences); Songs Over Standards (creating over a pre-existing form); and Free Songs (freedom as a state of mind, in composing and improvising).

Forty of Slagle's original compositionsare used to illustrate key points in the text, and distinct Tips boxes offer handy instruction to musicians embarking on playing these songs.

Other boxes, called Trips, relate personal experiences, anecdotes or quotes relevant to the material at hand. Scenes, Songs & Solos concludes with an Outro of “Lifestories," inspirational anecdotes drawn from Slagle's life, travels and working with other musicians. A Discography of all of the songs featured in the book, chapter by chapter, is also provided to assist the reader in locating the songs online and downloading them for further reference, learning and enjoyment.

Included in the book are photographs from Steve Slagle's collection—such as dates with The Mingus Big Band,