This is a question primarily to the composers among the list members.
As an astronomer, I have always had the desire to capture and express the
strong feelings that my subject of study inspires in me, and I find music
to be the most appropriate form.  Equipped with some MIDI software, I have
been producing fragments of something remotely imitating music for quite
some time and gained great satisfaction from doing so, but I feel that
I am impeded by my lack of the tools of the trade, never having had any
good musical education.  Since I do not share the philosophy of the Mighty
Handful, I would like to systematically acquire some of the more technical
skills of composition; aside from studying scores (Bruckner, Bruckner,
Bruckner and Mozart), I am looking for good and comprehensive textbooks on
a basic level that even astronomers can understand and that are suitable
for self-study.  I have seen a few works in the library of the UofA music
department, but found their emphasis to be too much on contemporary
compositional techniques for my taste.

I would greatly appreciate any textbook recommendations from you.

Thanks in advance,

Daniel Christlein