While there are many courses and tutorials online, learning from a book is still one of the best ways to greatly improve your skills. Below I have selected top Sound Design books.
- Sound Systems: Design and Optimization: Modern Techniques and Tools for Sound System Design and Alignment (2016)
- Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema (2002)
- Electronic Music and Sound Design – Theory and Practice with Max 8 – Volume 1 (Fourth Edition) (2019)
- Sound Design for Moving Image: From Concept to Realization (Required Reading Range) (2018)
- The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects (2008)
- Welsh’s Synthesizer Cookbook: Synthesizer Programming, Sound Analysis, and Universal Patch Book (2006)
- The Art of Theatrical Sound Design: A Practical Guide (Backstage) (2018)
- Small Signal Audio Design (2014)
- Sound and Music for the Theatre (2015)
- Sound Design Theory and Practice: Working with Sound (2019)
- Electronic Music and Sound Design – Theory and Practice with Max 7 – Volume 1 (Third Edition) (2016)
- Electronic Music and Sound Practice with Max 7 – Volume 2 (Second Edition) (2017)
- Post Sound Design: The Art and Craft of Audio Post Production for the Moving Image (The CineTech Guides to the Film Crafts) (2017)
- SOUND DESIGN FOR BEGINNERS: How to Make Jaw-Dropping Sounds for Your Song by Discovering the Essential Basics of Synthesis & Sound Engineering (Best … Digital Audio Producers & Music Producers) (2019)
- The Sound System Design Primer (2019)
Sound Systems: Design and Optimization: Modern Techniques and Tools for Sound System Design and Alignment (2016)
Sound Systems: Design and Optimization provides an accessible and unique perspective on the behavior of sound systems in the practical world. The third edition reflects current trends in the audio field thereby providing readers with the newest methodologies and techniques.
Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema (2002)
Offers user-friendly knowledge and stimulating exercises to help compose story, develop characters and create emotion through skillful creation of the sound track. #200,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #128 in Literature Encyclopedias #67 in Movie Encyclopedias #242 in Video Direction & Production (Books) Would you like to ?If you are a seller for this product, would you like to ?
Electronic Music and Sound Design – Theory and Practice with Max 8 – Volume 1 (Fourth Edition) (2019)
(Fourth Edition updated for MAX 
Structured for use in university courses, the book is an overview of the theory and practice of Max and MSP, with a glossary of terms and suggested tests that allow students to evaluate their progress.
Sound Design for Moving Image: From Concept to Realization (Required Reading Range) (2018)
Sound Design for Moving Image offers a clear introduction to sound design theory and practice to help you integrate sound ideas into your productions. Contemporary soundtracks are often made up of hundreds of separate tracks, and thousands of individual sounds, including elements of dialogue, music and sound effects. As a result, many budding filmmakers find them a daunting prospect, and are tempted to leave sound to the last stages of post-production.
The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects (2008)
The Sound Effects Bible is a complete guide to recording and editing sound effects. The book covers topics such as microphone selection, field recorders, the ABCs of digital audio, understanding Digital Audio Workstations, building your own Foley stage, designing your own editing studio, and more.
Welsh’s Synthesizer Cookbook: Synthesizer Programming, Sound Analysis, and Universal Patch Book (2006)
This book covers ground that is often left untouched by other synthesizer books and was written to fulfill the wishes voiced by synth programmers. Section one explains the parts of an analog synth in detail using harmonic and waveform analysis to make clear exactly what each synth parameter does.
The Art of Theatrical Sound Design: A Practical Guide (Backstage) (2018)
Emphasising the artistry behind the decisions made by theatrical sound designers, this guide is for anyone seeking to understand the nature of sound and how to apply it to the stage.
Small Signal Audio Design (2014)
Learn to use inexpensive and readily available parts to obtain state-of-the-art performance in all the vital parameters of noise, distortion, crosstalk and so on. With ample coverage of preamplifiers and mixers and a new chapter on headphone amplifiers, this practical handbook provides an extensive repertoire of circuits that can be put together to make almost any type of audio system.
Sound and Music for the Theatre (2015)
Covering every phase of a theatrical production, this fourth edition of Sound and Music for the Theatre traces the process of sound design from initial concept through implementation in actual performances. The book discusses the early evolution of sound design and how it supports the play, from researching sources for music and effects, to negotiating a contract.
Sound Design Theory and Practice: Working with Sound (2019)
Sound Design Theory and Practice is a comprehensive and accessible guide to the concepts which underpin the creative decisions that inform the creation of sound design.
Electronic Music and Sound Design – Theory and Practice with Max 7 – Volume 1 (Third Edition) (2016)
(Third Edition updated for MAX 7) Structured for use in university courses, the book is an overview of the theory and practice of Max and MSP, with a glossary of terms and suggested tests that allow students to evaluate their progress.
Electronic Music and Sound Practice with Max 7 – Volume 2 (Second Edition) (2017)
(Second Edition updated for MAX 7) This is the second in a series of three volumes dedicated to digital synthesis and sound design. It is part of a teaching method incorporating a substantial amount of online supporting materials: hundreds of sound examples and interactive examples, programs written in Max, as well as a library of Max objects created especially for this book.
Post Sound Design: The Art and Craft of Audio Post Production for the Moving Image (The CineTech Guides to the Film Crafts) (2017)
Post Sound Design provides a practical introduction to the fascinating craft of editing and replacing dialog, creating Foley and sound effects, editing music, and balancing these elements to a final mix.
SOUND DESIGN FOR BEGINNERS: How to Make Jaw-Dropping Sounds for Your Song by Discovering the Essential Basics of Synthesis & Sound Engineering (Best … Digital Audio Producers & Music Producers) (2019)
Let’s face it. You want to make awesome sounds for your track, but they always end up horribly weak, lame and amateurish. That’s why EDM producer, CEO and best-selling author Cep from Screech House shares the essential basics of synthesis you must understand first to do high-quality sound design. Only available within this book. By using a synthesizer, you always face these typical problems. The huge lack of understanding how to recreate those sounds from your favorite artists.
The Sound System Design Primer (2019)
The Sound System Design Primer is an introduction to the many topics, technologies, and sub-disciplines that make up contemporary sound systems design.
Best Sound Design Books Worth Your Attention
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some sound design books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Artificial Intelligence in Music, Sound, Art and Design: 12th International Conference, EvoMUSART 2023 Held as Part of EvoStar 2023 Brno, Czech Republic, April 12–14, 2023 Proceedings
Author(s): Colin Johnson, Nereida Rodríguez-Fernández, Sérgio M. Rebelo
ID: 3692034, Publisher: Springer, Year: 2023, Size: 75 Mb, Format: pdf
Artificial Intelligence in Music, Sound, Art and Design. 12th International Conference, EvoMUSART 2023 Held as Part of EvoStar 2023 Brno, Czech Republic, April 12–14, 2023 Proceedings
Author(s): Colin Johnson, Nereida Rodríguez-Fernández, Sérgio M. Rebelo
ID: 3700543, Publisher: Springer, Year: 2023, Size: 75 Mb, Format: pdf
Sound Design for Film
Author(s): Tim Harrison
ID: 3063396, Publisher: The Crowood Press, Year: 2022, Size: 12 Mb, Format: epub
Please note that this booklist is not final. Some books are really best-sellers according to The Wall Street Journal, others are written by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant links you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.