Alfred's Group Piano for Adults Student Book, Bk 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)I have taught from this book this year and also used the first edition for several years.This is a good book with lots to recommend it to the teacher and student.The multiple-key approach dovetails very well with college theory courses.The instruction in lead sheet and figured bass harmonization is also excellent.Solo repertoire pieces have been thoughtfully integrated and offer the teacher and student plenty of choices.The only drawback I have found, from a teacher's perspective, is that the presentation of scales is, in my view, unsound.Stressing two octave scales and arpeggios at this level is much too advanced.It would be better to spread the presentation of scales out more (one per week after they are first introduced) and require only one octave.Of course, a good teacher can adapt the scale presentation, but with so many other excellent features, I think that the authors could easily address this (maybe in the next edition).Also, since this is used as a college text, it is preferable to teach natural and melodic minor scales and fingerings too.But other than this slight quibble, I highly recommend this great book, which is useful for the entire first year of piano study.

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Product Description:
Alfred's Group Piano for Adults, Book 2 is designed for non-keyboard music majors with little or no keyboard experience. Upon completion of the course, students will have a strong grasp of functional skills, keyboard technique and musical styles. The text is easy to use, containing 30 units, each designed to be completed in one week.It is fully supported by CDs and MIDI disks with over 500 accompaniments.

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371 Harmonized Chorales and 69 Chorale Melodies with Figured Bass Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a nice edition to have. Playing two Bach chorales every morning is kind of like doing some jumping jacks and eating a spoonful of codliver oil...which is to say, good for you. After playing the first 120 you can expect some chorale fatigue to set in, but all the while you'll be absorbing good voice-leading and voice-doubling technique as though by osmosis. What's more, Bach will still surprise you- there are chords so jarring and dissonant that their sudden, logical resolution is like watching a rabbit being pulled out of a hat.
On the downside, the notes are small (this edition really packs 'em in) and it can be easy to get lost on the page. No texts are provided, either, aside from the opening words, so you have to accept on faith that some of the more contorted harmonizations are justified by the text. It's still nice to have, though, and looks nice and musicological sitting on the piano.

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The great Baroque master composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) wrote music for every combination of instruments and voices. His simplest and purest work are four-part chorale compositions and settings, so perfectly constructed that they evoke meditative spirituality. "Figured bass" was a Baroque system of notating harmony. In addition 371 chorales, this collection includes 69 melodies with figured bass. This classic Schirmer edition, edited by Albert Riemenschneider, has sold over 1,000,000 copies since its release in the early 20th century. Primarily for keyboard, the chorales can also be played by other instruments.

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The Contemporary Arranger: Definitive Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is the best one I have yet seen on the art of arranging for jazz bands and other contemporary/pop ensembles. It is full from beginning to end not only with all the standard info about instrument ranges, which instruments sound best in which voicings, etc., but also full of interesting little gems designed to inform the budding arranger about the realities of the music industry. Things like "All professional trumpet players carry with them a straight mute, cup mute, harmon mute, felt hat, and sometimes a plunger. Any other special mutes must be requested in advance of a performance or recording session" (page 13). Also tips on how best to record particular instruments in the studio, and things to look out for in this regard. "Of all the members of the woodwind family, the bassoon is the hardest to record properly, having the tendency to become lost when combined with other instruments.... it... is most effective when the texture of the passage in which it is used is transparent enough for the bassoon to be heard clearly."

To all of those reviewers at this site and the other page for this book, the CD *does* in fact match the examples in the book. The book specifies between regular written examples (not included on the CD), and *recorded examples*, which are on the CD. The listing on pages viii and ix accurately reflect the listing on the CD and the appropriate text in the book that matches each example.

The examples of various sounds possible on the stringed instruments and the French horn, are particularly helpful in matching up the standard musical terms "detache," "parlando," etc. with that particular sound.

Overall, an excellent book both for beginners and folks with some background who are looking to expand into jazz-style sounds.

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Product Description:
An authoritative, easy-to-understand text covering all aspects of arranging. This beautifully bound edition contains a compact disc with examples performed by jazz greats such as George Benson, Freddie Hubbard, Hubert Laws and Don Sebesky's complete orchestra.

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Harmonization-Transposition at the Keyboard Review

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(More customer reviews)I waited quite a while for Amazon to procure this book for me, and it was with high hopes and expectations that I examined it, yesterday, when it finally arrived.The cover looked promising, as did the upbeat introduction.I began leafing through the book, and for the first 23 pages I was pleased.Then, alas, came abottomless pit of worthless, un-explained, un-documented examples beginning on page 24 and continuing up to and including the last page of the book.From page 24 to the end of the book is utterly, totally useless. It consists of melodies, all lifted from the public domain and nearly all attibuted to composers such as Mozart.There are very few chord symbols notated on these melodies, and all of them are treble cleff only.Page 23 says to apply the lessons taught in the first sections of the book, to the practice material that ensues.This book is so useless, and unuseable, that it is actually hard to get mad at the authors.I can only assume that they are so totatlly, utterly out of touch with the real world that they truly don't understand that a huge amount of borrowed melodieswith no explanation or examples of the correct way to harmonize them, is simply unacceptable to the vast majority of readers. There is nothing whatever in this book on the subject of transposition.I cannot imagine why the word "transposition" was part of the title.I say this somewhat authoritatively, as I have personally spent that last 6 months teaching himself how to transpose at the piano in all 12 keys.There are so many excellent books on keyboard harmony and voicing available through Amazon, that is is expecially ironic that this worthless book has a mis-leading title that will probably fool a lot of people into buying it the way I was.I cannot think of anything positive to say about this book. It should never have been published.The authors have not written enough of a book to even consider them real authors.It doesn't get any worse than this book.Any book, even a telephone book, is better than this book.

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Product Description:
While this book was designed for college classes in functional piano, it can easily be used by any high school student who is able to sight-read simple melodies. Part 1 presents clear explanations of the functions of primary and secondary triads, dominant sevenths and secondary dominants, and modulation. Suggestions for developing facility in harmonizing in various free styles rather than the more formal chorale style are also included. Part 2 contains 797 melodies carefully selected and classified to include a variety of keys, chords, rhythms, and accompaniment styles.

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A Composer's World: Horizons and Limitations (Schott) Review

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(More customer reviews)The literary style is a bit dry but the rhetoric and ideas are a solid read. Hindemith opens with a philosophical discussion of the nature of hearing and performing music and lays down the poles of Western thought between Boethius and Augustine, that music is considered to have moral force to shape the mind or that the mind imposes order on sound to create the mental impression of music. He tries to avoid being dogmatic about either and proceeds to an explanation of musical memory and emotional association.
Where he gets a bit cranky is explaining the American musical education establishment and the bad habits of performers. He's also very unforgiving to popular music and music made in totalitarian states (e.g. Shostakovich and music written for fascist regimes). But his comments about the shortcomings of American musical education are salient today and his critique of mass-marketing of music is also still relevant.

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The book aims to be a guide through the little universe which is the workingplace of the man who writes music. As such it talks predominantly to the layman,although the expert composer may also find some stimulation in it... From the center of basic theory the discussion will spread out into all the realms ofexperience which border the technical aspects of composing, such as aesthetics, sociology, philosophy, and so on.

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Jazz Guitar Harmony (Book & CD) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hi All.I highly recommend this book.It starts out with the basics and works you up to a pretty decent level for a single volume book.Well laid out and if you follow step by step, by the time you finish the book, you'll have a strong understandig of harmony, and a great mastery of the fretboard itself.So far, I have found all of Jody Fisher's book to be great.

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This comprehensive study of harmony is a must for any guitarist interested in jazz. This book explains the essentials of jazz harmony in a friendly, easy-to-understand manner. Learn about chord scales, abbreviated voicings, extended harmonies, altered chords, substitutions and analyzing chord progressions. Other topics include ii-V-I progressions, the dominant cycle, ""rhythm changes,"" clusters, quartal harmonies, working with upper structures and much more. Finally, jazz harmony is demystified in one reliable and easy-to-read book.

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Triad Pairs for Jazz: Practice and Application for the Jazz Improvisor Review

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(More customer reviews)A well done method to open ears to triad pairs, good for beginners and intermediate students.
Going through they appear quite repetitive and show their limit: in my opinion Mr. Campbell could close the issue shortly with much less pages.

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Recording artist, saxophonist, educator, and author Gary Campbell presents an effective strategy for constructing fresh-sounding melodic lines. He progresses step by step through the concept, the practice exercises, and the practical application of Triad Pairs for Jazz. Concepts include: deriving triad pairs from the most used chord-scales, determining the best pairs for various chords and progressions, practice patterns for mastery, and exploring linear possibilities. Recommended for intermediate to advanced players as an expansion of the chord-scale approach.

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The Guitar Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, Technique & Improvisation (Softcover)/Tab Review

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(More customer reviews)There's an awful lot of information sqeezed into this book- scales, chords, arpeggios, modes, theory. What's missing, in large part, is a narrative to tie it all together. The guitarist approaching this book swithout much pre-existing thoery knowledge might find him or herself lost in the details.

Still, it's a fine collection of information that's still better organized than a lot of similar texts. Scales, modes and chords are presented in the "CAGED" system- a good way to organize knowledge- and simply following the text and practicing all the excercises will give the intermediate guitarist a lot of knowledge and technique to apply to further learning.

I'd recommend this book to the guitarist who's gotten comfortablewith playing rock or other styles, but who is looking to explain his or her matsery of the instrument- maybe with the thought towards playing Jazz, or perhaps progressive rock. This isn't for shredders looking to master playing exotic scales at neck breaking speeds, but for the guitarist looking for a command of melody and harmony.

Despite the "Cookbook" title, this is not a collection of riffs that can be immediately applied to one's playing. A lot of study and practice will be required to master what's here. But the player who master's what's here will have all the tools they need to play anything he or she might hear in their head.

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Product Description:
Spice up your playing with The Guitar Cookbook! Written by Guitar Player magazine music editor Jesse Gress, this collection of "recipes" for satisfying a wide variety of musical appetites is for beginning to advanced guitarists. It covers all the ingredients for cooking up great music on the guitar: music notation, tuning, intonation, rhythm, melody, scales, motifs, harmony, ear-training, technique, improvisation and much more. Players will develop a personalized musical vocabulary; learn how to apply it to many different styles; master basic guitar techniques; and let the musical ideas sizzle!

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Treatise on Harmony Review

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(More customer reviews)The importance of this work in the history of music would be hard to overestimate.While later music theorists and analysts, such as Schenker, find this emphasis on chords to be destructive to the horizontal considerations that make a great work hold together, this work has influence so many people that even those that do not even know his name but talk about root position chords and their inversions are invoking his concepts without realizing the source.

No, this is not a textbook for students.It is a treatise that explains in depth aspects of music that Rameau felt important and that he felt were essential for him to impart to other musicians.Composers of all stripes have consulted this work as have performers.Rameau has great authority because he was also a significant (if not great) composer.

The translation is quite good and easy to read.The concepts are not hard, but it helps to understand aspects of Baroque music such as figured bass and the types of pieces that were important in that era.Some grounding in species counterpoint would also make things easier, but is not absolutely necessary.

This book is really something all serious musicians need to know.You can take from it what you want for your own musical practice, but it really is not possible to consider yourself musically informed without knowing this work directly.

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One of most important books in Western music. Detailed explanation of principles of diatonic harmonic theory. New 1971 translation by Philip Gossett of 1722 edition. Many musical examples.

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Arranging for the Concert Band Review

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(More customer reviews)Frank Erickson has a rich history of writing music for concert band at all ability levels. Any one in the music education field knows of the wonderful pieces he composed. The book uses ilistrations of his own work to explainbasic scoring concepts. The book is well arranged and easy to understand.If you combine this book with the CD of his music from Walking FrogRecords, you have a good combination of resources for arranging for band.

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Arranging for the Concert Band and the accompanyingworkbook are intended to introduce students to basic techniques ofarranging for the concert band. Arranging can be divided into twoseperate processes.The first deals with scoring andtranscribing. Scoring is concerned with such things as voicing,doubling, balance and color. The term scoring also means the actualwriting of notes on the score paper. Transcribing is scoring musicwritten for one kind of musical instrument or group - say a piano ororchestra - for a different kind of group. This text deals with thosematters. The second part of arranging is the more creative process ofwriting introductions, modulations, endings, background figures and soon.

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Jazz Masters Series: Creative Chord Substitution For Guitar Review

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(More customer reviews)I had the original edition of this book from what must have been the late 70's or early 80's. From the look of the sample pages, it hasn't been revised.

Pre-tab, it uses plentiful "chord diagrams" along with some non-standard "Johnny Smith-style" notation - meaning the guitar is scored in two staves like a piano, reflecting its actual pitch rather than transposed to treble clef as it is traditionally. I recall feeling a bit hemmed in by that notation at the time; I guess I wasn't as fluent in bass clef back then; I can appreciate the approach more today.

It was the first book I had that explained quartal voicings for guitar, and some of the blues substitutions were pretty advanced - at least I couldn't hear them back then which made them advanced to me. I always regreted the book didn't come with a recording and unfortunately it still doesn't.

Still, one of the reasons I like picking up copies of older books I've worked with is for the "aha factor" of recognizing some sound or idea that you recall being way beyond you back then. It's one way of measuring progress, I guess.

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As a jazz musician, being able to manipulate chords and progressions is an essential part of defining one's own personal musical style and this book is very effective in helping to develop this skill. Creative Chord Substitutions for Jazz Guitar explains the technique of chord substitution as a tool to expand and vary existing harmonic progressions. The theories of advanced harmony discussed here will enable any guitarist to have, at his fingertips, seemingly endless possibilities of chordal color -- possibilities that will take him far beyond the written page, and unlock an unlimited world of creativity as a player, arranger, and composer.

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The Craft of Musical Composition: Book 2 (Stap/067) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is the practical application of the principles Hindemith discusses in his theoretical volume of the "Craft of Musical Composition".There fifty-six exercises, two hundred and fifty-one musical examples and sixty-two rules for composition in this small volume.It is meant to be used by students with a skilled teacher who is also an able composer.The approach is intensely practical and is meant to build skill in actually writing music rather than empty exercises to demonstrate this or that rule.

Again, the methodology here is based on Hindemith's ideas of composition and theory.Do not expect to be writing exercises in the style of Palestrina, Bach, or Mozart.There are charts and explanations here that will be opaque without having a grounding in the theoretical volume of his "Craft of Musical Composition".You could do much worse than studying these two volumes, but you do have to make a judgment about whether the juice is worth the squeeze.

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Originally published in the 1940s, Paul Hindemith's remakable textbooks are still the outstanding works of their kind. In contrast to many musical textbooks written by academic musicians, these were produced by a man who could play every instrument of the orchestra, could compose a satisfying piece for almost every kind of ensemble, and who was one of the most stimulating teachers of his day. It is therefore not surprising that nearly forty years later these books should remain essential reading for the student and the professional musician. Preface * Construction of the Simplest One-Voice Melodic Patterns * Beginning of Two-Voice Setting * Elaborated Melody (Auxiliary or Teturning Tones, Passing Tones) * Elaborated Melody (Continuation) * Principles of Melodic Construction * Elaborated Melody (Conclusion) * Tonal Higher-Units * Tonality of the Melodies * Elaboration of the Melody Model * Free Two-Voice Setting I and II

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The Craft of Musical Composition: Theoretical Part - Book 1 (Tap/159) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hindemith lays out his theoretical understanding of how music works and attempts to give musicians a basic starting point for composition that isn't limited to traditional tonal music (i.e. pre-Wagner and Debussy). His series 1 and 2 are contested to this day but they don't form the heart of the book, which is a broader, philosophical exposition of how composer's should think about music and approach it on a day-to-day basis. He argues that all music is tonal but it doesn't have to be major or minor.
I still don't buy the chord-reckoning method and Hindemith never reconciled himself the fact that his method can include jazz and pop--but this book is still one of the best books about composition I've read. Hindemith is probably the biggest exponent of the neo-classical school besides Stravinsky (others are Prokofiev and, to some degree, Bartok). This book goes a long way to explaining that perspective. Even if you play rock music you can still get a lot out of this book. Although he put down most of it Hindemith did like some jazz (Ellington and Andrew Hill, who studied with him some).
For a less technical exposition of Hindemith's ideas you may want to check out A Composer's World, which covers a lot of the same stuff.

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Originally published in the 1940s, Paul Hindemith's remakable textbooks are still the outstanding works of their kind. In contrast to many musical textbooks written by academic musicians, these were produced by a man who could play every instrument of the orchestra, could compose a satisfying piece for almost every kind of ensemble, and who was one of the most stimulating teachers of his day. It is therefore not surprising that nearly forty years later these books should remain essential reading for the student and the professional musician. Introductory * The Medium * The Nature of the Building Stones * Harmony * Melody * Analyses

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Alfred's Essentials Of Music Theory (Teacher's Activity Kit, Complete) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a very good book for those who have little knowledge of musical theory, and those who have none. It contains three books which can also be bought seperatly. This book was used as a textbook for me for my voice lessons. It proved to help me a great deal since I am going to be studying music in college this fall. It's best to buy the CDs so you can do the ear trianing as well. You have no way of checking your answers unless you also purchase the teacher's answer key. I gave it a three just because you have to buy the CDs and teacher's answer key to get the most out of the book.

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There are five reproducible Activities in each of the eighteen Units, which correlate specifically to the eighteen Units in the Complete Book of "Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory."The wide variety of Activities includes Scale Writing, Interval Naming, Triad Identification, and others for a total of 90 Activities in all.There is also one Test per Unit, eighteen total, that covers all the theory concepts introduced in that Unit.Each reproducible page includes scoring boxes to help the instructor grade the page.

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Structural Functions in Music (Dover Books on Music, Music History) Review

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(More customer reviews)Very informative.Berry explores deep into the chore of musical functioning.An extremely useful resource for students and professionals alike.However, grammatically, Berry's unending use of extremely long run-on sentences, unnecessary wordiness and excessive punctuation take more than their toll on a reader.The structure of every last sentence in this book is so complicated that it is often difficult to understand what idea Berry is attempting to convey.There are at least four commas and often 1 or more colons and or semi colons in almost every single sentence.A good tool,but difficult beyond necessity to the point of hindrance.

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A brilliant investigation into musical structure and experience through a systematic exploration of tonality, melody, harmony, texture and rhythm, and their important interpretations. These are illuminated in penetrating analyses of musical works ranging from early madrigals and Gregorian chants through Bach, Beethoven and Brahms to Ravel, Bartók and Berg. Index. Prefaces. Introduction.

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Guide to the Practical Study of Harmony (Dover Books on Music) Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this book on the strength of the authors name. It's a shame that his writing is not as strong as his music. Even for the period in which it was written, it is hard to read and much concentration required to ingest the information. That said, the information is there and goes from the basic intervals to complex chord structures, but most experienced composers/musicians would start reading at about two third into the book.

This is an interesting book, more interesting for giving an insight into the great Mr Tchaikovsky than studying harmony and for that I would buy it again. In my opinion, there are far better books on the subject.

A W.Roberts. (Composer)

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Written during the composer's years as professor at the Moscow Conservatory, this volume presents a clear and thorough introduction to the study of harmony. Out-of-print for decades and exceedingly rare in its original edition, Tchaikovsky's Guide to the Practical Study of Harmony bears an intrinsic historical interest. Features numerous examples and exercises.

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Inside the Music - Guide to Composition (Softcover) (Book) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a very readable and accessible book for anyone.It covers the basics in an unintimidating way and has a chapter on composition and improvisation.It doesn't assume the reader has a Masters degree in music. It's very good and I highly recommend it to anyone.

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For those who want to learn the inner workings of music without, as author Dave Stewart notes, "getting bogged down in a lot of fearsome technicalities," this is an enlightening exploration of the theory and practice of music. Picking up where The MusicianÃ-s Guide to Reading & Writing Music leaves off, Stewart uses the same amusing style, clear examples, and practical advice to encourage readers not just to read music, but to write some of their own. The book sheds light on tonality, chord sequences, scales and modes, tempo, rhythm, improvisation and composition, chords and chord voicings, MIDI, and more. 128 pages, 6 1/8 inch. x 9 1/4 inch.

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