Musicals Books

This showis one amazing show and the book just make you love it even more! Unlike other shows, Tommy is just so real and is just an amzing thing to see. I saw it when a Summer Stock did it and wow, I saw every show! You have to get this book if you love Tommy! If you are young you better get your parents permission cause this show is preatty inapporpriate!!

It holds its own in a sea of musical theatre books: "Phantom," "Les Miz," B&Beast" all have their own books; none compare to this. The extra CD is a great bonus: wonderful interviews w/ cast and crew (Not,like, the guy who pulls the rope) If you're a Who fan, great sections on them, as well as a generally beautiful layout and wonderful pics. (I mean it, kids) It's woth the $$$ and is a great coffe table compliment!

Admitting I'm a bit biased is putting it lightly. This was one of the first albums I purchased as a child and one of the first CD's I purchased as a young adult.

Paul McCartney becomes a Knight!

John Lennon's a National (or international) Hero!

And then The Who's Tommy becomes a Tony Award winning Show!

Even with Bush as our President, I still have faith in mankind.

The book is awsome! It not only is a script, but a great photo album and documentery. If I had one dissapointment, it was that the free CD with in it had only one song. But, there was a reason for that, and it was free!

I not only read it immediatly, but Tommy as entered my travelling discs once again. And I am listening to it regularly.

On a side note... I coach the local High Schools Speech Team and talk to the student regularly about music and not just literature. I was shocked how many music lovers that know all classic rock and modern rock that had never heard on Tommy.

Pete Townshend wrote over 35 years ago about a child who was verbally abused by his parents, sexually abused by a close relative and phycially abused by a cousin. Sound like most books, songs, movies and TV shows of today!

Sorry to rambel.

John M. Verteramo

Although not currently in print, this is a must find for "Tommy" fans. Like the broadway soundtrak CD, it transports you to the magic behind the memory of a great broadway musical.

Hello fellows,

a very fine songbook by Tori Amos with songs I've already been searching for!

Roland

Tori Amos for Fingerstyle guitar features solo guitar arrangements for most of the singles (and a few other favorites) from 1992's Little Earthquakes through 1998's From the Choirgirl Hotel. At its best the book seamlessly combines standard fingerstyle patterns with Tori's most identifiable riffs. The arrangements are mostly faithful to Tori's piano playing - at no point do they composite vocals into the arrangement as other pop fingerstyle books often do, even on repetitive arrangements

You don't have to own a nylon string (classical) guitar or be a fingerstyle player to enjoy this book, but you do need to be able to read chord frames and tab. The tabs are oversized, and extremely easy to read. Note durations are expressed as stems and dots attached directly to the tabulature numbers (i.e. there is no standard notation corresponding to the tab).

If you aren't much of a fingerpicker your learning curve will be slightly extended as you pick up the basics - like Travis picking and alternate-bass rhumba patterns. Only one song ("China") utilizes strummed chords with any amount of frequency.

Some of the songs are in dropped-D tuning ("Past the Mission," among others), with two other tunings employed ("Caught a Lite Sneeze" in EADF#BE and "Talula" in in DGDGBE). If you want to match pitch against the original recordings and the sample audio CD, you will need a capo. A few songs are in the incorrect key to play along with album versions; both "Icicle" and "Winter" need to be played a half-step under standard, while "Blood Roses" fails to mention that it should be capoed at the 4th fret.

"Talula" is the most aerobic workout in the book, with plenty of sixteenth notes and quick scales. "In the Springtime of His Voodoo" translates perfectly to guitar, as do the classics "Silent All These Years," "Pretty Good Year," and "China." My favorite has always been the first song, "Icicle," which combines an inventive voicing of the song's signature piano line with some challenging plucking during compound time segments. Lest you get too excited, a bouncy version of "Cornflake Girl" does *not* include the full piano solos.

None of the arrangements are "bad," though some of the weaker efforts rely mostly on arpeggios or travis-picked basslines ("Jackie's Strength"), which a skilled player doesn't need a fingerstyle book to figure out. "Spark" is the only true disppointment - it doesn't reflect any of the dischordant keyboard work featured in the song. However, its picking pattterns offer a helpful guide to playing the measures of 7/8 and 9/8 correctly. For slightly more dischord, try replacing all the Ds in the verses with x54030.

There are many wonderful passages that hold up simply as instrumentals, including most of "Winter," the choruses of "Little Earthquakes," and much of challenging "Blood Roses." In the absense of composited vocal melody some of the songs with repetitive parts are more fun if you sing along - even though the arrangements are great. This is especially true on "Caught a Lite Sneeze," which is arranged much better than in the piano sheet, and to a lesser extent on "Black Dove."

The included CD features an abridged version of each arrangement that introduces you to all of the major passages while omitting repeats. It's a little difficult to play along with, but an invaluable tool for a quick review of what you're trying to achieve. The book includes a handy list of how to follow along with each abridged CD tracks.

This book is big success in almost every area - from arrangements to song selection. It only skips three big singles ("Crucify," "God," and "Hey Jupiter") and includes some additional favorites ("Icicle," "Black Dove," "Little Earthquakes"), though it could have featured a few more B-Sides, or at least something less obscure than "Black Swan."

If you are a guitar-playing Tori fan comfortable playing without a pick you will reap hours of enjoyment from these arrangements.

this book is helpful for the fans of tori amos who can't play the piano as well as tori herself. for those of us who can play the guitar this book is a lifesaver. simple easy to read tableature that we all have grown to love guides us in to the interesting world of tori amos on guitar. now all the songs I wished i knew how tyo play are finally acessable on my favorite medium...guitar!

I've been playing the guitar for about 6 months and when i knew there was a book of Tori's songs for guitar i couldn't wait to get it. The best thing is that i wasn't disappointed. It is very well explained, it's easy, and when you listen to the cd and you get the feeling of how the song should be played is very exciting. With practice i assure you that anyone can learn how to play those songs. I also think the choice of the songs that were transcribed is very good , look for "Cornflake girl"'s version, is so great!!
Anyway i reccomend it very much, i'm sure you wiil enjoy it.

I have owned this book for years (mine came with cassette tapes,not CDs!) and originally learned these airs on whistle and flute. I started playing the Celtic harp three years ago and have just begun arranging some of these lovely airs for that instrument, for which they are ideally adapted. It is a wonderful resource for material that is not widely available in other collections of Irish music, which as other reviewers have mentioned tend to focus on reels, jigs, and hornpipes.

O'Canainn is a piper, and these airs are written out exactly as he would play them, with authentic ornamentation. For that reason alone the book is a gem, for anyone who's trying to learn where and how to decorate Irish music in the traditional style.

This is my favorite book of music for playing with my tin whistle(s). I am an intermediate player, and not fast, so slow airs are perfect for me. Many of the tunes are new to me and already I have grown to love the many melodies. The tunes range from a number of Carolan tunes to many traditional tunes, all of which have Gaelic titles. THere is no background information on any of them. I recommend this highly for whistle players who are beyond the beginnining, read music and want to learn beautiful melodies well suited to the instrument. Many other instruments I am sure could use this music book, but I have little background in music so will not render an opinion in this regard. THe subtitle to the book does say, "Suitable for All instruments."

I have been playing these slow airs for a couple of years now. They provide an excellent introduction to a part of traditional Irish music that is often overlooked at sessions where you tend to hear and play reel after reel, along with a few jigs thrown in. Of particular interest is the accompanying double tape set that goes with the book. Here Tomas gives you the title, many in Gaelic(so non-Irish speakers can mangle them infront of their freinds) as well as providing some beautiful examples of sean-nos singing. In fact, itis this singing style that is the basis of the slow airs as many of the tunes do have lyrics which you can follow-up on. I had a particularly successful experience with Mo Ghile Mear, which my band perform regularly. The tunes can be played on any tradional instrument, with the tunes in D and G. One drawback of the book is that only the basic note structure is written out with very little room for interpretation which you will have to do yourself - preferably from reputable performances true to sean-nos style. This problem is also evident on the tape recordings as the notes are played strictly as writ without ornamentation and without any room for pulling the music around. Fortunately there are many recordings of these tunes that bring the written music to life. Enjoy their beauty!

This is a fantastic collection of slow airs (some of which you will recognize from having famous ballads set to them). It is also the only such collection in print that is easily available, as far as I know. Most collections don't include many slow airs, probably because they are musical prose compared to the musical poetry of jigs & reels, which tends to make a few airs go a long way (by this I mean they don't tend to have a repetitive theme or structure, or at least it is more subtle). Nonetheless they represent a wider emotional pallette than the generally jaunty dance music, and thus are an important aspect of traditional Irish music. The accompanying CD (available from 'Sheet Music Plus')features all the airs played on a single instrument. The intruments used are: guitar, cittern (bouzouki), bagpipes, accordion, mandolin, tinwhistle, flute, fiddle, oboe, saxophone, piano, harp, concertina, and vocals. You will note that saxophone and oboe are not generally heard in traditional Celtic music. Aside from demonstrating the tunes, the cd's make great minimalist listening, helping you get back to musical basics and providing a solid foundation for understanding Celtic music.

This is the best single book ever written on the general subject of rock and roll. It is free of the both the sloppy hype of trashy works on popular culture, and the ludicrously inappropriate jargon of high-toned academic treatments of the subject. Pattison demonstrates very convincingly rock's roots in nineteenth-century pantheism, and shows how, to a surprising extent, all of pop music's "rebels" conform to its tenets. The author is clearly a knowledgeable fan of rock but doesn't make outrageous claims for it; he shows amazing taste and discretion. A book as enjoyable and stimulating as it is neglected; I've never seen a reference to it in the rock press or met anyone else who has read it. It's definitely worth the effort to find it.

One of the best and most eurudite studies of Rock music as a cultural phenomenon and sociology. Pattison is both a critic and fan of Rock music, but the latter function doesn't turn him into a sniveling sycophant full of pretentious drivel like the usual Rock music magazine writers. He hits the nail right on the head with his comparison to romanticism. Pattison doesn't take his study far enough, however, as he ignores his own glaring exposes of the neo-pagan/religious dimensions of Rock music. He performs an intensive study of why Rock music is such mindless, vulgar pagan "jungle music" that people react to without thinking, a powerful cultural force. But in the last few pages he tries to discount everything he has written and substantiated in his book! He cannot accept the very conclusion he has so devestatingly exposed! He realizes that he seems to have come too close to the stance of the Christian right (and most of traditional Christianity) in its attack on Rock-n- Roll as "devil's music." As a true Rock fan (no true "holy roller" Rock detractor could have as much crucial information about Rock music and its details as Pattison), Pattison doesn't want to push his argument to its logical conclusion and condemn the music he so loves, therefore he makes a pathetic jab at the Christian right at the end and chicken's out. He is docked a star for this. Nevertheless, this is the best, most intelligent and objective study of Rock music that I have read, I have read a hell of a lot on the subject--most of it is drivel.

I read this book long ago when it was first published and found it fascinating. I found myself reflecting on it today as I was thinking about the slow death of "classical" music. The author makes the case that rock music is the product of the ideas of 19th century on democracy and individualism, the celebration of things common.

While there has always been a divide between the music of the upper and lower classes, I suppose it was not until late in the 19th century and continuing on that the "lower class" music began to be celebrated by the established musicians. I'm thinking specifically of the folk tune inspired works of composers like Brahms and Dvorak.

My reflection on Pattison's book now is that his thesis has been more than adequately proven with the continued growth of bottom-up trends in fashion and music. While rock and roll, as he argues, may have a mythical relationship to African music, modern hip-hop seems to have a very real relationship to current lower class culture. Other authors since then have dealt more generally with this theme I am sure (Theodore Dalrymple comes to mind), but I thought Pattison did great work showing how the ideas of the 19th century thinkers have influenced this development.

I keep finding myself coming back again and again to this excellent study from Pattison which convincingly argues that rock's aesthetic is a vulgarized form of the ideals behind the great romantic poets. Far from the clueless, absurd academic piece that one may fear, Pattison proves to be a real fan of rock music, in fact he is in many ways more thoroughly versed in rock than many respectable big-name rock critics like Marcus or Marsh. Black Flag, the Fall and the Meat Puppets are just a few of the groups touched on. The most insightful chapters, in my opinion, are the ones dealing with the white romanticization of black Americans as "soulful" others, as well as the myth of the noble lower-class hillbilly. Pattison provides the only believable explanation (too complex to go into here) as to why the racially divided south produced the great black-white musical hybrids of our time (country, blues, jazz and rock n' roll). Pattison doesn't see the pagan roots of rock n' roll or romantic poetry as negative.

As the title indicates, this book is a must-have for those of us who are passionate about U2. The photos are great, the articles cover a wide range of styles, authors, perspectives, etc....it is especially interesting to read interviews with the band at vastly different stages of their career. However, I wouldn't suggest this book as an introduction to U2. Unless you know the history of the band quite well, most of these articles would be confusing to you because they are highlights from U2's magazine, and background knowlege is assumed--sometimes very little context is given. But as I said, for those of us who know U2 well, context is not necessary. My only complaint is the editing, or lack thereof. There are so many typos in this book you would think that it wasn't proofread at all; or perhaps it was simply produced very quickly. Overall though, an essential addition to any fan's collection.
I am adding a p.s. to this review after reading Ian Gittins' (the editor himself!) response to mine and others' complaints about the typos. I thank Mr. Gittins for explaining; the fact that the typos were present in the original articles did not occur to me. If I had thought a little harder about it, maybe it would have occured to me, or maybe it wouldn't. At any rate, though the typos are still distracting, they are not as irritating now that I know why they're there. I am dutifully chagrined for any implications about Mr. Gittins' editing abilities...

I'm glad readers are enjoying this U2 compendium. A word, though, about the typos and spelling errors. This book is a snapshot in time, a record of U2's Propaganda magazine, warts and all. The very earliest magazines were punky and rough around the edges, and occasionally contained grammatical errors. We made a conscious decision to keep them in to make the book a truer guide to the journal's development. To correct them would have been to airbrush history. I hope this helps to explain matters.

(By the way, apologies for my appalling arrogance in awarding the book five stars here - Amazon don't allow you to post a review without awarding the book a star rating!).

This book is a great insight into the world of U2, great reading for the U2 fan although i think Ian Grittins forgot to proof read this material and also forgot to hit spell check because there is alot of spelling and grammer mistakes, still a fantastic buy, lots of stuff here that you wont find anywhere else.

This book contains only the best of the best of U2. You can understand some of the decitions of the band or event the songs just to take a look to the book. The best book of U2 ever.

I started drumming about 2 months ago with a basic set, Tommy Igoe's 'Getting Started on the drums' dvd and this book. The book is endless pages of exercises that gradually builds in difficulty. It's great. Each new pattern gets you using all four limbs, and are easy to modify for more practice (open/closed hi hats, crash vs hi hats, etc). It's got sycophated patterns, drum fills, and stuff on establishing a 'groove' with a band/bass player. Not the end-all of drum books, but perfect for beginners.

I really enjoyed using this book as a teaching aide. Obviously, some musical background will allow for faster progress through the book. I have found that someone with no musical background might get off to a slow start, but anyone can improve with more practice. The CD that comes with the book is very helpful.

Without any previous drumming backgroud, I enrolled in a beginers class at college just for fun. We used Rock Drums Basics as one of our textbooks. It soon became my favorite book. It really starts with the basic patterns but gets progressively more complex to the point where you can play along three real songs (included in CD), rock, ballad and shuffle.

With this book you will learn about 19 rock patterns with at least two additional variations of each one plus some fills for each groove. Just make sure you practice on a drum set and not on a practice pad. You will really have fun.

Rock Drums Basics is in fact, one of the easiest ways for you to learn how to count, read notes and play the drums. it's include all the common 2 & 4 snare rhythms, and Also include a chapter about developing a groove with a bass player, which is a very important skill for a rock band. the book can really help you understand the important part of the drummer in a rock band, and even better: anybody can use this great book!

I ordered the Ultimate Book as soon as it came out, and I have gained more plectrum skills in the past few weeks than in the 5 years previous! It is absolutely fabulous. Whether you are a beginner or advanced, student or teacher, it is the perfect plectrum banjo book.

I live in a small town in Indiana, the middle of plectrum banjo nowhere, and have been trying to learn to play plectrum for the last five years. Despite years of 5-string playing, I just wasn't getting anywhere...particularly without a live teacher.Then along came The Ultimate Plectrum Guide. The chord diagrams are the best I've ever seen. They are used in a unique way to indicate timing, picking, and even whether to pick up or down. The organization of the book is superb. First of all the explanations are precise, including "Dave's Rules", neat little generalities that stick in your mind the way he intended them to. Exercises are meaningful...when Dave says play it 20 times, if you play it 20 times you will have learned it. The book starts with the basic chords, and just when you have had enough chord playing, they interject a secondary subject, then back to chords, etc. By the time you reach the end of the beginner's section, you can play all but the most arcane of chords with various picking styles. But then you come to part 3: "Adding Some Polish". Single string picking, turnarounds, etc. "Chord melody vs. improv vs. Background", "You're working too hard -- shortcuts" and "Transposing on the fly". Really great stuff.

Part Four, "Music Theory" is terrific, my wife is taking piano lessons and reading through this section clarified things her teacher was unable to. It is practical music theory, which sounds like a conflict in terms, but it is presented in such a way that you can put it to use immediately...building chords, transposing, converting to chord melody, etc.

Section 4 "Intermediate Banjo Playing" is about playing in groups. The first chapter, "When to cheat and how to do it", is full of techniques for playing above your head. The second, "What'd he say?" is a lexicon of band jargon so you don't feel stupid when you first sit in with a group.

Part 6, "Advanced Banjo Playing" really is, subjects like "single string and embelishments", "Differing Scales", modes and the harmonized scale, and "Inside chords and beyond". Then comes the Appendices! Every chord diagram you can conceive of, transposition charts, etc., etc.

This book is not only the very best plectrum banjo book, it should be the model for every "how to play anything". It is a whole new approach to writing music books, a superb teacher (David Frey) combined with an outstanding writer of technical manuals (Susanne Sagiacomo, who was actually learning to play) created honest-to-God synergy and advanced the art of music instruction by a whole order of magnitude.

"The Ultimate Plectrum Banjo Player's Guide" reallyis. It is not only the very best plectrum banjo book, it is a wholeorder of magnitude better than any music instruction book I've ever encountered.

I ordered the Ultimate Book as soon as it came out. I live in a small town in Indiana, which is in the middle of plectrum banjo nowhere, and have been trying to learn to play plectrum for the past 5 years. Despite many years of 5-string playing, I just wasn't getting anywhere. Then along came "The Ultimate Plectrum...Guide", I have gained more plectrum skills in the past few weeks than in the previous 5 years! It is absolutely fabulous. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced player, a student or a teacher, it is the perfect plectrum banjo book. The chord diagrams are the best I've ever seen. They are used in a unique way to indicate timing, picking, and even whether to pick up or down. The organization of the book is also superb. The explanations are precise, including "Dave's Rules", neat little generalities that stick in your mind the way he intended them to. Exercises are meaningful...when Dave says play it 20 times, if you play it 20 times you will have learned it. The book starts with the basic chords, and just when you have had enough chord playing, they interject an interesting secondary subject, then back to chords, etc. By the time you reach the end of the beginner's section, you can play all but the most arcane of chords with various timing and picking styles.

Next is part 3: "Adding Some Polish". Single string picking, turnarounds, etc. "Chord melody vs. improv vs. Background", "You're working too hard -- shortcuts" and "Transposing on the fly". Really great stuff.

Part Four, "Music Theory" is terrific, my wife is taking piano lessons and reading through this section clarified ideas her teacher was unable to get across. It is practical music theory, however, which may sound like a conflict in terms, but it is presented in such a way that you can put it to use immediately...building chords, transposing, converting to chord melody, etc.

Section 4 "Intermediate Banjo Playing" is about playing in groups. The first chapter, "When to cheat and how to do it", is full of techniques for playing above your head. The second, "What'd he say?" is a lexicon of band jargon so you don't feel stupid when you first sit in with a group.

Part 6, "Advanced Banjo Playing" really is, subjects like "single string and embelishments", "Differing Scales", modes and the harmonized scale, and "Inside chords and beyond".

Then comes the fabulous Appendices! Every chord diagram you can conceive of, transposition charts, etc., etc.

This book is not only the very best plectrum banjo book, it should be the model for every "how to play anything". It is a whole new approach to writing music books, a superb teacher (David Frey) combined with an outstanding writer of technical manuals (Susanne Sagiacomo, who was actually learning to play) created honest-to-God synergy and advanced the art of music. If you've read this far, buy it! END

Covers all the bases from beginners to playing in a jazz band. Highly recommended to all especially those who can't find a instructor for this elusive instrument. It also is a nice supplement to the Buddy Wachter video courses. Also recommended...Vol 2. Well done Dave and Sue!

Volume I is probably the best music instruction book ever, but Volume II is an absolutly essential companion to it. If you're already an intermediate to advanced player, you could possibly get along without Volume I, but you've gotta get Volume II. It is comprised of two sections, songs and exercises.

First there are the songs, just about every song needed in a plectrum player's basic repertoire of tunes. But get this, not only are they presented in the usual "fake book" or "lead sheet" format (melody line in standard musical notation with chord names above and lyrics below), there is also a chord chart, as well as chord diagrams for every note in the chord melody!

The chord chart uses a box for each measure with the chord name(s) in each, a great compact memory jogger for use after you've learned the song.

The chord melody diagrams are the tour de force of this set of books and a major advance in the art of string music instruction books. They not only show how to form the chord, and where on the neck to play it, but they also show the timing and the picking. By following these diagrams, you can be playing the chord melody in a matter of minutes.

Part 2 is the exercises, a compendium of all the exercises in Volume I, which is to say all the really good exercises you will ever need to increase and maintain your skills as a plectrum banjo player. Once you have mastered a particular section in Volume I, all the exercises without the accompanying text will be found in Volume II.

When I was first working my way through Volume I, I tabbed each page with an exercise so I could go back and run through it. Then I looked in the back of Volume II and there they all were, exactly as I needed them to be!

Exercises include: Dexterity exercises; All the chords played up and down the neck; Chord transition exercises (same fret and inversions); Chromatic chord scales for every note on the neck; Single string scales; Harmonized scales; Runs and fillers; Intros, tags, and endings; Duoing; and Arpeggios.

If you can master these exercises, you can play any of the tunes in the first section with professional polish. I can't speak highly enough about these books and the accompanying CD's.

I am neither a parent nor a fan of Broadway, but I still found much in this book to relate to. (I *was* a "Life Goes On" fan.) The way Maile projected so much of her emotion onto one person/idea is something I think many of us do for various defensive and protective reasons. Maile's writing is honest, intimate, smart and funny even when she's revealing her rather painful experiences. It's so compelling that I read it in two sittings. I really hope to read more of her in the not too distant future. I feel like she could write about anything and I'd enjoy it immensely.

This memoir is beautifully written and was a joy to read. I was riveted and I couldn't put it down! If you like tender and humorous slice-of-life prose, this is the book for you. Whether you are a fellow fan of Patti LuPone and her work or if you have never even heard of her, this story captures the roller coaster ride that is fan-dom and the fears and dreams that all human beings experience. I especially love the ending!

This is the best book for people who love Broadway and the stars that shine there that I've found in years. It's funny, it's heartbreaking, it's beautifully written, and at its core it covers a topic that is rarely addressed: the inspirational power of stars to uplift and even transform their audience members. It's one of "the other sides of the story" - rather than being the biogrpahy of a star, it's the story of Maile, one of Patti LuPone's fans, and how Patti's performances change her life. For Patti's fans, there's plenty of stories about her performances written in a way that makes you feel you're right there, watching them along with Maile. I loved it, and I think everybody who has ever had a favorite actor, actress, athlete, or rock star - especially one who led you to want to take your life in another direction - can relate to it. If a star inspired you sometime, somewhere, you'll want to read this book.

The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti LuPone
This is a well written, sensitive book that provides insight not only about the author, Maile Hernandez, a devoted fan, but also about Tony Award winner Patti LuPone who is currently starring in Gypsy on Broadway. Maile is an attorney living in Arizona with a husband and their autistic son. She shares her feelings for, and her interactions with Broadway Diva Patti LuPone. The book is interesting, funny, insightful, and at the same time sad. Although a story about personal growth, The Unreachable Star expresses the pain that can be felt from rejection by a beloved performer - even from a distance.

Mark Atkinson has done an incredible job in putting this book together. I'm almost as amazed at his ability to transcribe Vinnie's solos as I am in the solos themselves. With two CDs; one with the solos slowed down and various exercises, and the second with the Randy Waldman's recording of these songs you can both see and hear what Vinnie is playing. To digest all this this book will take many many hours (how many hours in a year?) but what I have found so far is while you learn the solos you will find one or two measure phrases that you may internalize and use immediately. So even if your unable to learn an entire solo you can still get ideas which you can incorporate as your own. You'll find stickings that you've never played before and get a real insight into what makes Vinnie's playing and phrasing of odd time signatures so unique. Highly recommended for the experienced drummer.

This book is a must for all serious drummers. Mr. Atkinson did a great job of breaking down Vinnie's solos so that they're easier to understand and practice. The CD's are so helpful, they alone are worth the price of the book.

Mr. Atkinson has truly done an amazing job transcribing Vinnies solos. The CDs break it down and make it easier to work on. I highly recommend this book for the serious drummer. Thanks Marc.

Buy this book!

If you have a sincere desire to really "get inside" the drumming of Vinnie Colaiuta, you must invest in this book!

The transcriptions are flawless! Each page is well laid out, and to properly prepare you to tackle the rest of the book;
Marc has written a unique set of exercises designed to help you for what is to come in the rest of the book.

One of the most appealing aspects of this great learning device is the fact it contains two CD's! The first CD is the "Unreel" CD by the amazing Randy Waldman, featuring Vinnie, throughout the CD. The second CD is the icing on the cake!

In the second CD, you will find everything that Marc has transcribed, sequenced and slowed down to a very approachable speed. The second CD is unlike any other drum-related CD you have ever worked with. It is pure gold!

In addition to the mystery of Vinnies' soloing techniques being revealed, the CD also includes an incredible amount of great information for you to play along with, to help you develope your own "Vinnie-istic" approach.

Marc has worked very hard to bring this book to fruition. He has been transcribing Vinnie's work for a number of years, and this book gives you the very best insights into learning the language of "Vinnie."

As a matter of fact, I have seen over 350 transcriptions of Vinnies' drumming that Marc has successfully completed. No one has accurately transcribed and documented Vinnie, like Marc! If you will pardon the pun, his whole body of work on the topic of Vinnie Colauita is quite "remarkable!"

As much as the Unreel Drumbook will inspire your imagination, drumset performance, and love for Vinnie's drumming; wait 'till you see what Marc comes out with next!

Until that happens, you will just have to settle for what is quite possibly, one of the best drumbooks ever written!

Go ahead: Make the investment and buy the Unreel Drumbook now!

With the greatest respect,

Dan Bodanis www.thedanbodanisband.com.

West African Rhythms for Drumset is hands down one of the BEST books ever. The writers and editors did their homework because they have given the drum world a true gem. There is so much valuable information in this book its hard to desrcibe in a simple review. Any drummer or hand percussionist can and will benefit from this masterpiece. 5 stars and a total A++++++++++. Larry Salzman www.larrysalzman.net

Had this book nearly a year, recommended to anyone seeking to add to their drumset vocabulary. Material is well presented and structured, how these Ghanaian traditions and styles adapted on to the drum kit, it has given me plenty of ideas about concept of timeline, creating diff.textures, use of brush/stick/hands on drums, 12/8 melodic phrases etc. Study of these rhythms will greatly add to your grooving abilty and improve co-ordination, internalize them and then improvise and have fun with them, buy it.

I would like to post the following quote from Modern Drummer Magazine (September 98) in the interview with drummer Billy Martin of Medenski Martin & Wood.

MD Do you have a particular mode of practice?

BM I highly recommend Royal Hartigan's book West African Rhythms for Drumset. I feel that if drummers would check out some of the patterns in this book they'd really get a lot out of it. What's great about it is you're playing some traditional rhythms that are adapted for drumset, which I think is important because they've been tried and tested over hundreds of years. It's good for coordination, and these rhythms are musical, they're not just technical exercises. And Hartigan talks a little bit about the history. I think it's one of the best books our on drumset stuff.

MD So this book is a real source for you?

BM Well, It's one book that I would pull out if I needed some inspriation as far as really trying to get into into playing something different.

Tha! nks! Please feel free to contact me if you want to find out more about it.

This book and accompanying CD are essential to any real drummer. These rhythms are the real deal and if you can learn to play them, you will have a great foundation to play with anyone (Afro, Latin, Jazz, etc.). Even if you are NOT a trap drummer but play traditional african music, this book gives you the traditional fokloric ensemble set up with examples on the CD. I like that these traditional ensemble examples on the CD have each instrument/part come in announced succesion against the bell. I used to live in Ghana playing drums and I really learned a lot from this book. It has something for everyone, no matter what your skill level! OK enough gushing! Buy it you won't regret it!