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Music Instruction
The electric bass guitar is central to modern music, playing a key role in melody, harmony, and rhythm. This new, revised edition of The Bass Handbook will help you master the instrument and make it your own. The book-and-CD package includes a step-by-step guide to playing, from tuning to advanced harmony, and offers practical guidance on reading both tab and standard notation. It has instruction on modern techniques, including slapping and harmonics, and it offers level-headed advice on playing a range of genres and styles, from rock and blues through to jazz, funk, and metal. There is also a section featuring bass lines written in the style of some of the great bassists from yesterday and today, to inspire and instruct. With a foreword by the ex-Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, the book explores the history of the electric bass and its key makers and has a guide to the great bassists, as well as recommendations for listening, reading, viewing, and researching online. There is help with buying and maintaining your bass and advice on amps, speakers, strings, pickups, effects, and cables. The book's wiro-binding is designed to allow it to open flat for ease of use. The specially recorded CD has over 80 tracks that present the book's key musical exercises and examples.
The Complete Singer-Songwriter is the ultimate guide for the modern performer, chock-full of tips, tools, and inspiration for both aspiring troubadours and those looking to take their craft and career to the next level. Author Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers draws on firsthand interviews with songwriting legends and rising stars; expert advice from managers, agents, lawyers, and publishers; and his own experiences as a performing songwriter. He offers this invaluable companion for singer-songwriters on their journey from idea to song to the stage, studio, and beyond. New in the second edition: - A songwriter's guide to chord progressions - Understanding song form and rhyme - Dozens of songwriting games and exercises - Essential info on copyrighting your songs, music publishing, and digital royalties - Online companion at completesingersongwriter.com with playlists and additional resources Songwriting tips and techniques from more than 100 artists, including Joni Mitchell, John Mayer, Paul Simon, Rosanne Cash, Jewel, Jeff Tweedy, Ani DiFranco, James Taylor, John Fogerty, Brandi Carlile, Richard Thompson, Jason Mraz, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Garcia, Dar Williams, and more.
Help Your Kids with Music is a step-by-step visual guide to music theory. The Basics explains the types of instruments, notation for keyboard and stringed instruments, the "musical alphabet," and counting a beat. Rhythm covers the length of notes and rests, as well as basic rhythms and meters, phrasing, syncopation, tempo, and using a metronome. Tone and Melody includes everything a student needs to know about tones and how they work together to build a melody. Chords and Harmony shows how intervals work together and includes examples for horn and woodwind instruments. Form and Interpretation helps students understand how musical form can aid appreciation and interpretation for classical, jazz, blues, and other musical styles.
Help Your Kids with Music is the perfect primer to help students gain a solid foundation in music, no matter their age, skill level, or instrument.
Help Your Kids with Music clearly explains key concepts in five step-by-step chapters:
An acclaimed music scholar presents an accessible introduction to the art of listening to jazz In How to Listen to Jazz, award-winning music scholar Ted Gioia presents a lively introduction to one of America's premier art forms. He tells us what to listen for in a performance and includes a guide to today's leading jazz musicians. From Louis Armstrong's innovative sounds to the jazz-rock fusion of Miles Davis, Gioia covers the music's history and reveals the building blocks of improvisation. A true love letter to jazz by a foremost expert, How to Listen to Jazz is a must-read for anyone who's ever wanted to understand and better appreciate America's greatest contribution to music. Mr. Gioia could not have done a better job. Through him, jazz might even find new devotees. -- Economist
Improvisation rattles some listeners. Maybe they're even suspicious of it. John Coltrane's saxophonic flights of fancy, Jimi Hendrix's feedback drenched guitar solos, Ravi Shankar's sitar extrapolations--all these sounds seem like so much noodling or jamming, indulgent self-expression. "Just" improvising, as is sometimes said. For these music fans, it seems natural that music is meant to be composed. In the first book of its kind, John Corbett's A Listener's Guide to Free Improvisation provides a how-to manual for the most extreme example of spontaneous improvising: music with no pre-planned material at all. Drawing on over three decades of writing about, presenting, playing, teaching, and studying freely improvised music, Corbett offers an enriching set of tools that show any curious listener how to really listen, and he encourages them to enjoy the human impulse-- found all around the world-- to make up music on the spot. Corbett equips his reader for a journey into a difficult musical landscape, where there is no steady beat, no pre-ordained format, no overarching melodic or harmonic framework, and where tones can ring with the sharpest of burrs. In "Fundamentals," he explores key areas of interest, such as how the musicians interact, the malleability of time, overcoming impatience, and watching out for changes and transitions; he grounds these observations in concrete listening exercises, a veritable training regime for musical attentiveness. Then he takes readers deeper in "Advanced Techniques," plumbing the philosophical conundrums at the heart of free improvisation, including topics such as the influence of the audience and the counterintuitive challenge of listening while asleep. Scattered throughout are helpful and accessible lists of essential resources--recordings, books, videos-- and a registry of major practicing free improvisors from Noël Akchoté to John Zorn, particularly essential because this music is best experienced live. The result is a concise, humorous, and inspiring guide, a unique book that will help transform one of the world's most notoriously unapproachable artforms into a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
Finally! A hip, fun and culturally relevant series of music appreciation books, perfect for modern music-loving families who want to take advantage of this era of exploding musical access! Get a personal guided tour through an amazing historical back-catalog of music that was previously unavailable. We Rock!: A Fun Family Guide for Exploring Rock Music History is a guided tour through thrilling corners of the musical universe that should not be missed! This book highlights great songs in rock history, shares insights and stories on the artists, details the social and historical influences at play, and offers fun activities for families to do together. Detailed listening guides help music fans understand song structure, lyrics, and instrumentation. Related listening lists introduce readers to other exciting artists in similar genres. Set into 52 "music labs," these stories can be explored at will by individuals and families or used as a curriculum for community groups and educators. There really are no other books out there like this - that are music appreciation books for a general audience that focus on popular music - so pick up yours today and you will have your whole family singing along with We Rock.
Whether on the go or composing at home, The Musician's Notebook is a necessary and unique tool for every musician. Within this beautiful, updated package, are the standard staffs, guitar chord boxes, and tablature. Along with these are quotes by some of the biggest names in music, like Lorde, Beck, and Adele, speaking about inspiration, creativity, and performance. This is a must have for any budding or established musician.
You're a smart person but you don't know a lot about classical music because they didn't teach it in your school. Still, you know something about classical music, whether it's the "da-da-da-dum" opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony or that a famous shaggy dog was named after that same composer. But when it comes to knowing your Vivaldi from your Berlioz, you find it less stressful to tune your radio to something more contemporary. If you like classical music but don't quite know why, this book is for you. And if you love classical music but are afraid to admit it because you really don't understand what it's all about, this book is also for you. The Smart Guide To Classical Music shows you how easy it is to understand, enjoy and appreciate classical music - from recognizing musical pieces to distinguishing one composer from another. Here you'll find practical, down-to-earth information in plain English. In this Smart Guide you get: Simple definitions of intimidating music jargon. Tips on how to listen to classical music and identify musical instruments. Fascinating anecdotes on the composers. How to untangle the seemingly complicated web of classical music. How to feel comfortable at a classical music concert or opera performance.
A visual guide to the history and development of this instrument - featuring specially commissioned photographs of famous, rare, and vintage guitars, from the earliest acoustics to the latest electrics. Packed with construction and design information, and with detailed, informative profiles on everything from the legendary (Martin, Gibson, Fender) to the weird, the exotic, and the oddball (Burns, Hagstrom, Danelectro, to name a few). The Ultimate Guitar Book brings each instrument to life and makes pleasurable browsing for players and collectors alike, from beginner to professional.
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