Musicals Books

One of the best books around without a doubt. From the first wonderfully sounding licks, you quickly get to sound like you've been studying with Eric Clapton for 10 years...

I am an intermediate - advanced level fingerpicking guitarist.
I bought this book on a whim, not knowing really what to expect.
The lessons are well organised and short. Short licks are quicker to learn and much less intimidating than song-at-a-time.
If you have a love of blues and/or ragtime then this book is for you. Most of the tunes are geared towards that style of music, though some tunes have a country twang as well (maybe a la alternating bass chet atkins style).
I found that my fingerpicking ability increased greatly after going through most of the songs and lessons in this book. Previously I was really only proficient in a few fingerstyle techniques and this book has helped me greatly improve my range of abilities and skill level.

It takes awhile (it took me) to learn some of the licks, but it's very cool after you can play without watching the music. I think this is the best book in my collection.

The licks in this book are a great follow-up to the Fingerpicking Guitar beginner book. Short licks don't take long to master and sound impressive. Good collection of challenging solos, including a couple Joplin classics. Includes an excellent introduction into open tunings via some great short pieces.

five isn't just another boy band as they said in their biography.they don't just sing pop music either they add a little rap in there and do a great job of it!they're not rappers and they don't sing hip hop R&B as they clearly pointed out they just add it in to spice up their music.i love five and i think i'm the # 1 fan if you think differently please feel free to e-mail me at asreeves@uswest.net all of there merchandise is deffinately worth buying!

Like I said this book is great.It has tons of quality pictures.Good info about the lads.And its all around great ! I suggest this book to ANYONE who likes 5ive.

I bought this book and I kept reading it for hours. It really tells you all the adventures that Five has had already. It contains also a lot of beautiful pictures of Scott, Abs, Sean, Rich and J. Everybody should have it!!!

I would have bought this book just because it's Five's but it was really worth it. All the pics are amazing and show the boys how they really are. So if you are going to buy a book on Five, buy this one!

When buying music transcriptions you need to be reassured they're accurate and this one is written by real specialists in the genre. Some of the tunes are really challenging but all the fingering and detail - and the CD - is there so you can work at your own pace. I'd go so far as to say if you buy this book and master all the tunes you could call yourself a real flatpicker. I'm one of those who may not reach that level but it's great fun working on it.

I'm 39 and I play guitar since 12, so when i bought this book i wasn't sure if the book content would be useful at all for me, but after listening to this selection and taking a look to the pages, i've got surprised; some of the solos in this book are difficult to find, specially the Mark Oconnor stuff!

A keyboard player I use to play with had an expression. Every time we'd comment about how difficult the music we were trying to play was he'd say "Yeah, but when you can finaly play it, think how good you'll be!" That's how this book will make you feel.

The material here is all advanced. It's amazing to me that a Leo Kottke tune is the easiest one in the book. You'll need to spend some serious practice time on this book, but once you do you'll open up your technique to a lot of new areas. This really is a good thing, there's tons of books out there for beginning players, but not nearly as many for the advanced musician. It's nice to see high quality materials at the upper end of the skill levels as well.

The CD is excellent and is worth listening to on it's own. The 12 songs on the CD are the actual recordings off of the artist's original album. I like to let the CD play while I drive so I can get the feel of the tune memorized before I start to learn it.

The tunes themselves tend towards the bluegrass end of things, although Tony Rice's tune has very much a jazz feel to it (it is, in fact, a Wes Montgomery song) and Russ Barenburg's song is more "Adult Contemporary". Everything else is pretty much foot stompin' bluegrass. Any one of those songs would be a great choice in a guitar contest at a bluegrass festival. Even if you don't learn teh entire song you'll still pick up a lot of cool riffs that you can add to your own solos.

If you're looking for a challenge and you're ready to work then you'll get a lot out of this book. And once you can play one or two of these songs, "Think how good you'll be."

This book/CD consists of 12 songs, including some very fast picking tunes. It has musical notation and tab. I don't read music, so I used the tablature. I found that the tablature was extremely accurate, even on the fastest songs. The intros are well written and the book is a pleasure to use. I have to use the record and slow-down feature of my Korg Pandora to slowly make my way through the blinding speed of some tunes, but in the end it's worth it. If you can learn these songs you'll sound way better than you are! In short, if you wish to learn any of the songs included, there couldn't be a better book because of the accuracy, but you'll need something to slow down the speed while keeping the pitch the same, unless you're God.

This publication presents a detailed history lesson on the silver flute and its creator. This book offers inspiration and clarification to many rarely addressed technical issues for those dedicated to the lifetime adventure of playing the flute.
In addition to the method, composition, and other insights, the copied letters, notes, and drawings throughout the book(many still in their original German, handwritten format) are an added treat.

I also like the binding and paper used in the publication. It just feels different than your usual paperback, there is a firmness and longevity in this publication that seems more solid and durable.

I lost my copy of this book, which I deeply regret. Boehm, as any flute player knows, invented both the key mechanism and concept of the conical, rather than cyndrilical flute. He also, in addition to being one of the finest flutists of his age, was the first to make flutes from metal, having trained as a goldsmith.

This book details his research into the acoustical properties of the flute, as well as the key mechanism, and why he felt the need to improve them. I feel that any flutist will benefit from an understanding of why the modern flute is as it is.

Boehm also includes invaluable hints on the correct manner of playing the flute. And who better to do so than the man who developed it to its' current level of perfection? His complete knowledge of the instrument is shown in this treatise.

Overall, an indispensable book for flutists, and other windplayers who play on Boehm system mechanisms (eg: clarinets, oboes, bassoons, saxophones). Don't miss!

This book is a journey into the development of the modern flute by Theobold Boehm in mid-19 century. It reveals the combination of the artistic approach mixed with science, craftsmanship and persistence of Boehm to perfect the flute to what we know today. The transition from wood to metal, the new mechanism - all are groundbreaking. Another part of the book deals with flute playing and practicing. A must for anybody interested in acoustics of musical instruments. After reading this book I cannot but admire Boehm and his contribution to the world of music!

As an engineer and a long time saxophone player who recently started learning the flute, I had many questions about why the flute was designed the way it was. This book is a translation of Boehm's notes on his life's work of transforming the old simple wooden flutes into the much more advanced modern flute. The translator did an excellent job, and includes many side notes of his own to explain more about what Boehm was talking about and to add interesting historical and technical points. Now I understand why certain notes are harder to play than others, why certain trade-offs were made, and how to play the instrument better. The result is a much simpler and more elegant design than the saxophone, and a professional instrument that you can fit in your glove box! And learning about the flute design has also helped me understand the design of the related saxophone and clarinet better. Boehm was a brilliant and dedicated inventor, craftsman and musician, so his story is both interesting and inspirational.

If you play flute, you *need* this book. Hours of entertainment, trust me on this.

It was indeed a pleasant surprise to discover that this book existed. As my son is an aspiring flute player, it was an additional surprise to find a copy of this book in his possession. And, also, as a fiercely dedicated Tull/IA fan for 30-plus years, as well as a classically trained musician, it was with eager anticipation that I set about analyzing its content.

OK, here goes:

Ian, I love you more than you will ever know. And Jeff, I applaud your efforts. Really. You went to a LOT of trouble, and many of the transcriptions are very well-done. But you didn't pay enough attention to many of the details. First of all, why did you title the book "Flute Solos Created by Ian Anderson" when much of the book is dedicated to transcribing not just the flute solos, but the melodies of the sung lyrics? And you didn't even bother to tell us which sections were the solos and which were the sung lyrics; I had to figure those out for myself. As a long-time fan, that wasn't that big a problem for me, but a more casual fan would be quite lost rather quickly. Also; a few of the songs transcribed here featured no flute whatsoever in the original recordings, specifically "The Chequered Flag" and "Look Into The Sun"; what was your point?

Granted, the point is valid that the improvisational nature of Ian's flute playing warrants sufficient liberty to be taken in reading any transcription, but that doesn't excuse your interpretation of "The Whistler." This piece is most definitely NOT in 12/8 time, especially the solo whistle sections. Try it again in a very brisk 3/4, and be a lot more generous with your 16th notes. It's not only more accurate, but much more consistent.

Details, dude, details. You failed to include a lot of Ian's flute counter-melodies, not only at the end of "Living In The Past", "Witch's Promise", and "Cross-Eyed Mary", but the vital counter-melody in "Bouree". They're not only fascinating studies in improvisation, but counterpoint as well.

It is not my intention to belittle your ambition. But one of the most amazing things about the analysis of Ian Anderson's music is the depth of his talent. Any transcription of his music warrants sufficient attention to detail, and I think, despite your very noble efforts, you fell just a bit short. Should any aspiring flautist or Tull/IA fan buy this book? Certainly. But they must also be made aware of these small (and perhaps anal) shortcomings. And perhaps in a later edition you will note them.

Thank you for allowing me to speak my piece. Rock on.

I bought this book when it first came out (which was about 1978) which was also about the time I started playing the flute in an efort to emulate my musical hero, Ian Anderson. The fact that it is still available is testimony to it's value.

This book contains some brief instructions on how to do some of the special techniques Ian uses. It also decodes how those special techniques are indicated in the sheet music. Since this came out in 1978, there are no pieces in it that were produced later than that date. This means the most recent material in it comes from Songs From the Woods. This includes the easy Fire at Midnight, the somewhat more difficult Cup of Wonder and the more difficult Whistler (which is actually easier to play on a tin whistle, except you can't switch from the D whistle to the G whistle fast enough to play it live, so Ian doesn't). That touches on the real value of this book. Even a beginner can get through modest renditions of Living in the Past and Fire at Midnight and perhaps even Look into the Sun, while the extract from A Passion Play is extremely difficult. There is material here for all levels of players, along with motivation to get better so that things like My God can be attempted.
Contents:
Baker St. Muse (Nice Little Tune/Crash Barrier Waltzer), Big Dipper, Bouree (of course), Bungle in the Jungle, The Chequered Flag, Cross=eyed Mary, Cup of Wonder, Fire at Midnight, For Later, Living in the Past, Look into the Sun, My God, Nothing is Easy (including playing this solo the way it is written), Passion play edit., Thick as a Brick edit. (instrumental from "I've come down from the upper class..." section), The Third Hoorah, The Whistler, The Witch's Promise.

Now if only somebody would put out sheet music for Divinities!

Congratulations to the author and editors of this book for attempting to capture Ian Anderson's most wild solo passages! Granted, with some determination and lots of listening, Ians solos could be figured out... the hard part is finding out all of the other odd things he does... The author of this book has done a wonderful job of accurately notating this book, (including noting Ian's frequent use of harmonics, dark tones, and singing/playing simultaneously.)

I found a few notes/rhythms that are different from the actual sound recordings, but since most of Ian's work in this area is improv, it can be interpreted many different ways.

All of these solos are from the late 60's/early 70's... I would like to eventually see a book of some newer songs as well. Overall, this is a very entertaining book, with some very challenging passages... just make sure you have your favorite Tull CD's handy so that you can play along!

I really liked this arrangement-very fun and upbeat. It is difficult, but has no insane rhythms/stretches, etc. A medium to advanced player will have a good time, but it is not for a beginner. Trust me, don't ruin your favorite music/love of piano by starting out on these harder books.

Great music, great writing, great everything! I actually am working on the production of Footloose (the play comes out in 2 months) and I play Chuck Cranston. just to say so.
great musical altogether! i'm loving it

This by far one of the best musicals ever.I had the pleasure of preforming in it over the summer, and let me tell you...it has great, clasic songs that you'll keep huming for days and a timless teenage story!

This is great for piano, especially when playing accompiament

Before I bought this volume, I knew some of Tarrega's easier pieces, like Lagrima, a pretty piece, apropriate for my level. When I got this collection I realized that the rest of his work is significantly harder.

I have to choose a number of stars, and for mee it is more like 2-3 stars, but for those who possess the required skill, this is an 5-star collection of beautiful pieces for guitar. But I have not been able to learn much of it.

This is a wonderful collection of the greatest classical style composer of our time. Paul Henry continues his excellence in teaching aids. My only complaint is that tablature is included and for me it clutters up the score. But, for others the tablature may be helpful. Thank you Paul Henry!

This is a great book. Tarrega was one of the most important Spanish composers and his work is very important to be familiar with. The only complaint I could make is that this is not really a book for beginners and therefore should not have tablature included. Otherwise it's nicely edited and fingered.

I have great admiration and love of the work of Tárrega, and this is a great collection, but there are actually two very similar collections available here at Amazon. So which one should you grab? I actually decided on this one due to its inclusion of Malagueña, although it wasn't actually written by Tárrega, but Lecuona, the Cuban composer of Siboney.

It is no fault of the Author, as Malagueña has been falsely attributed to many of Spain's great composers. It is just that good and has been covered by everyone: Andrés Segovia, Paco de Lucia, Chet Atkins, Xavier Cugat, Richie Valens, Liberace, etc.

This book is great! It's fun and very simple to use and understand. It's fantastic for someone who has just started playing the Ocarina like myself! I definitely recommend it for beginners.

Extremely helpful book and very thorough instructions. Crystal clear notes came out of my instrument after a few lessons.

This book contains the following 25 songs adapted for a 5-hole ocarina:

- Au Claire De La Lune
- Lightly Row
- O When The Saints
- Ol' Dan Tucker+
- Pop! Goes The Weasel
- Blow The Man Down
- This Little Light Of Mine
- Kum Ba Ya
- Liza Jane
- Goin' Home
- She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
- Jacob's Ladder
- Lolly Too Dum
- On Top Of Old Smoky
- Rise And Shine
- Song From The Magic Flute
- Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms
- The Caissons
- Once There Were Three Fishermen
- Reuben And Rachel
- This Old Man
- Kookaburra
- Stephen Foster Theme+
- Praise Him In The Morning
- Swanee River+

The songs are arranged by complexity, so that the more notes a song uses, the further back it is in the book. Note that all the songs are written in C major (i.e. no sharps/flats), and are thus more suitable for performance on an ocarina tuned in C. All songs but three (the ones marked in the list with +) can be played on a 4-hole ocarina. The three noted songs make use of the tonal range of a 5-hole ocarina (low C to high D), although one can play them on a 4-hole ocarina by playing a low D instead of a high one.

My only complaint is that the printing quality is rather low: in the copy I received, some pages were printed in such a manner that the title at the top was partially cut. Fortunately, the music itself is clearly legible.

Considering its price, I didn't really expect much. All in all, though, I'd say this collection makes a nice songbook for a newbie ocarina player (at least for one who chooses to start learning on a 4/5-hole instrument).

I ordered this for fun, and I have had a great time with it! I bought this to use with a lovely hand-made ocarina I purchased here in Alaska! I am no musical wonder, but it sure is fun to tinker around with , as I use my ocarina flute! PLAIN FUN!!!!!!

This book has a very clear and simple approach to music fundamentals and theory. Chapter 7 and onwards is the 'real stuff.' You are introduced to scales, keys, the circle of fifths (don't let the name intimidate you, it's just a neat circle for arranging keys). To put it in very un-musical terms, keys are the "holders or masters" of scales. Scales are basically a set of notes, that "sound good together." Bb is a note (most people know that but i'm still mentioning it for some unknown unknowledgeable reader). Say you have a Bb minor scale, that scale "produces" sounds that give off a Bb "flavor" or color. Scales are neat.

Chapter 9 and onwards focus on triads. A triad is basically a harmonic arrangement of three notes, stacked in thirds (or 'vertically' for the purpose of this review). Basically, if you have a major triad then it sound "good and square." But say you want to make...you know, actual organic music, and not just a happy yellow song. This is where music theory comes in.

The next few chapters in the book entertain you with triads. You can do alot of things to traids, you can invert them. Think of a bird, now think of this exact bird if it were smaller. Both the big and the small birds would sing the same notes but the "pitches" would be different. The smaller bird would produce a higher pitch, or something like that, but the idea is that both birds are singing the same note. This is basically the octave concept.

This book has a lot of practical value even if you're not a music person, triads in particular are extremely important. You can invert them, change their quality (sound, dark, happy, etc). If you have a piano or guitar lying around, do this: play a C triad, (C E G notes together). Now flat that e, or "play a d#"). A single note makes a big difference. if you flat both the E and the G, you get a diminished. There are many other complications & neat stuff (but of course, to musicians this is 'common sense'). Hope this helped. It's a good book.

Author of the book has done a great job explaining the fundamentals of notations used to read/write compositions.

I have the 3rd edition of this book and I have to say, it takes a while to get through this book, but it is really went written! I've learnt so much abut music theory from this book that I never could seem to understand from all the other books I have.

Fundamentals of Music 3rd Edition by Earl Henry 1999

This work is a high school or college refresher level text. It is in booklet format with 3 ring binder holes for easy transportation. The book starts out by giving instructions on how to notate music which includes exercises on re-writing musical examples. This is unique for beginning materials as it has the student re-write music in different beat levels. This is exceptional as it teaches the student reading skills without them even being told that they are doing just that.

The method comes with a companion cd that has recorded musical examples that go along with the written music that is in the text. All exercises in the book are written in large style text for easy reading. There is even a chapter dealing exclusively with the keyboard. Students need these skills so it is best to introduce the instrument as early as possible. In contrast to other texts of this style (workbook based) it does not just give a myriad of exercises, it makes sure that the student fully understands why he or she is completing the work which leads to a concept mastered.

The text helps the student to understand how to write notation for themselves on paper. There are examples of correct and incorrect notation. Many texts, I feel introduce the computer based programs too early. They are necessary in this day and age because that is the direction in which society is headed. Paper and pencil; however is still common ground for most educated persons at this point in society. It is for that reason that I favor pencil and paper in the education process at least initially and then allow the student to make up their own mind which direction to proceed. There are many composers today that still favor paper and pencil over computer programs and later have a copyist translate their work into digital format. John Williams (Star Wars) is one that comes to mind.

Chapters proceed as with major scales, keys, and the order of sharps and flats. These concepts are presented simply and in a basic format with little expounding of ideas. This appeals to younger students as it is the least confusing. I like how the author assumes that the student does not know concepts until they are taught. Many methods assume the student knows more than they actually do.

When intervals are taught, the keyboard picture is always present and then the explanation of how they construct scales. The concept of the circle of 5ths is brought up at the end of the interval chapter rather than the beginning like many texts do. This is helpful as it limits confusion. It is best to not introduce a concept until you are sure everyone understands and then it is best to proceed from there.

Minor scales and keys are presented with a look visually at a keyboard. A written musical example is given. The relative major is explained at this time adequately and thoroughly

Chapters proceed with information on root position triads, inversions and then diatonic relationships. I feel that diatonic harmony should be introduced before root position triads and their inversions but the instructor could reverse this if they preferred to. The final chapter culminates with cadences, seventh chords and voice leading. Unfortunately, these concepts are merely touched upon rather than explaining in more detail. The information on voice leading amounts to only one paragraph of written information. Possibly, the author intended for this information to be expounded upon in a further volume. If that is the case, one would need to extend the teaching by using another work or to expound upon the material. I like the text and would use it in a high school or possibly in a community college setting. I would not use it in a university except for remediation as it does not explain voice leading and 4 part harmony in any great detail.

For an aspiring bassist wanting to slap like Bill Dickens and Stanley Clarke, this book is what you need. Whether just a beginner or a 3-year veteran, this book will refine you technique and give you some awesome licks and grooves on paper and CD to practice. This book provides a clear transition from one level of skill to the next, as well as includes cool bonus' like a Suggested Discography and an Equipment section.

I hate to say it, but these grooves are so cool I could just listen to the CD on repeat!

When I bought "Funk Bass" I thought it was gonna be just another book with a couple of cool licks and a couple of good exercises and another badly recorded cd, but I was pleasantly surprised.

First of all, I recognised myself completely in the introduction where Mr. Liebman describes bad exercise-habits, so I was immediately motivated to do every exercise in this book.

Also, the way this book is written, it's almost like there's actually someone sitting next to you and encouraging you to continue to practice. The exercises are really helpful and the licks in chapter 5 and 6 really groove. The cd is good and because of the way it's recorded you can mute the bass-guitar or the drums by turning the balance completely to the left or the right speaker. There's also a lot of useful information about effects and a great discography.

I think that I'm a much better bass-player after practicing with this book for a couple of months. So if you want to be a better (funk-)bassplayer: buy this book and follow the instructions step by step.

This book was written very well, and has very important things in it. FUNK BASS made me five times better the bass player I was. For those beginners, I recommend this book to you, for FUN BASS and FUNK BASS. This book contains good slapping and popping exercise, cool bass techniques, good advice, a discography, what you need, cool basic patterns, "groovy" bass lines, and much more. This was an achievement. I keep turning back to this book! A must-have for any bass player!

I bought this book about 8 years ago I have been playing for about 14 and I tell ya this book has inspired me in many ways . Its a blast to play along with, the riffs are very good and CD is also well arranged .
You get the feeling that Jon Liebman the author put some passion into this book and thank him for doing so .It helped become a better bass player and still is .Out of all the countless books I have laying around this is my fav .