Reading Instruction Books

This is like the Cliff's Notes for a thick book on Music Theory. It cuts to the chase and gives you the basics, important info you'll need to read sheet music.

It's really helping me out a lot.

I'm still on the first exercises. But so far so good!
I'm sure I'll be able to sight-read once I complete all the exercises.

It's straightforward and a very thin book, which is nice because I've got a lot other things to carry (textbooks, binders).

The exercises the author provides help improve the chain of skills needed to sight read. You work on each link of the chain separately and progressively so that the learning work is doable and at any point in the process you skills get a balanced improvement. I was fluent in treble clef, but only knew a few notes of bass. A few weeks later I can easily recognize all the notes in the bass clef.

I wouldn't say that this book will make you a perfect sight reader, or even that it contains everything you need to know. In fact, it actually references a lot of different books to practice (book of scales and chords, Bach chorales). However, for $10, it is worth the buy. It contains helpful information and useful methods to follow. If you do everything he says in the book, it will take a while to get through and will provide you with needed techniques, especially if you are a beginner; you just have to stick with it until completion to see results.

I have yet to read this sight-reading book, but I am a big fan of Chuan Chang's Fundamentals of Piano Practice, wherein he gives this analysis:

Richman, Howard, "Super Sight-Reading Secrets", 1986, 48P., no references.
This is the best book on sight reading. It contains all the fundamentals; they are described in complete detail, teaching us all the correct terminology and methodologies. It starts from how to read music, for the beginner, and advances logically all the way to advanced sight reading levels; it is especially helpful for the beginner. It is also concise, so you should read the whole book once before starting any actual drills/exercises. Starts with how to psychologically approach sight reading. Basic components of sight reading are Pitch, Rhythm, and Fingering. After an excellent introduction to music notations, appropriate drills are given. Then the sight reading process is broken down into its component steps of visual, neural, muscular, and aural processes that start with the music score and end up as music. This is followed by drills for learning "keyboard orientation" (finding the notes without looking at the keyboard) and "visual perception" (instantly recognizing what to play). Depending on the person, it may take from 3 months to 4 years to learn; should practice every day. Finally, about one page of ideas on advanced sight reading. A MUST READ.

Mr. Chang also continuously refers to and highly recommends:
1. Fink, Seymour, "Mastering Piano Technique", 1992
2. Sandor, Gyorgy, "On Piano Playing", 1995
(...)

I had to read this book for college and found Gentry the only author worth reading. The others were hard to follow or did not make their case very well at all.

Myself, as well as a few other Full-Preterists, have asked Ken Gentry to defend his view that Full-Preterism is heresy, and every time he has either declined or not even responded to meeting in a public debate.

The book of Revelation was a letter written to specific people at a specific time in History (first century churches - 7 Churches). It was not written TO US, but FOR US to understand God's historical -redemptive plan for Israel.

The Church is the New Jerusalem which came down out of heaven, with the destruction of Babylon (Old Jerusalem) in 70a.d. Israel(the mother of harlots) was the only nation that was in covenant with God (Revelation is a covenant book), she killed the prophets and those sent to her. This is why God destroyed her, but kept His promise to remain true to the Old Covenant faithful (Abe, Isaac, Jacob,....etc.)These faithful inherited the land (kingdom of heaven)along with those in the first century when Christ returned in 70a.d.

Read these Time Statements and then tell me that Jesus was gonna come back in 2000 years:
Rev. 1:1,2; (things which must shortly take place)
Rev.2:5 - "Keep holding fast til I come" (letter to specific people)
Rev. 3:10 - "Hour of testing which is about to come on the whole inhabited land"
Rev. 18:24 - "And in Her (Babylon/Jerusalem) was found the blood of the prophets and
saints." (compare w/ Matt.23:31-39 & Luke 11:47-51)
Rev.22:6,7,12,& 20
These time statements show imminence to the first-century church (specific churches in Asia) to whom the letter/book was written.

Also notice Rev.22:10. This was the same book/message that Daniel was told to seal up until the TIME OF THE END,(not end of time), when the power of the Holy people/ Israel would be completely shattered (Dan.12:7) in 70a.d. with the destruction of the Old Covenant system (the power of Israel to communicate and covenant with their God). Daniel was told that this would be far off / many days away. John was told "NOT" to seal it up, for the time of the end was "NEAR".
Dan.9:20-24 - 70 weeks determined for "YOUR" people & city (Israel & Jerusalem)
Dan.12:1- "Time of Trouble" - (Compare with Matt. 24:21(destruction of Jerusalem) & Mark 13:19

Dan.12:2 - Compare w/ John 5:25-29 - (vs.25 - "now is" = first-fruits harvest / then comes verse 29 - Harvest / General Resurrection promised to Israel specific.) The first-fruits signifies an immediate Harvest. 30a.d. - 70a.d. was the 40 year wilderness / transition period being brought out of Egypt (bondage to sin) into the Land of promise (Full relationship with God - Out of Sin-Death).

Dan.12:4,9,13 - "seal up to the end" when he would receive his inheritance, which was promised to his people Israel, the Kingdom of God.
In other words, New Covenant relationship, as Abraham had been looking for (heavenly country - saw it afar off but did not receive it (Heb.11:10, 13-16, 39-40) til 70a.d. when Old passed away and New was consummated (Old Heaven & Earth / New Heaven & Earth).
Specifically look at Heb.11:39-40. "They (Old Covenant Saints) should not be made perfect apart from "Us" ( firstfruit - first century / New Covenant saints). In other words, they would all be made perfect together. When would this happen??
Heb.10:36-37 - They were told to endure to the end, which was going to be in a "very, very little while" "for He who is in the process of coming, will not tarry". Isn't 2000 years tarrying?? Either the writer of Hebrews was lying, or he was giving encouragement to those who were going through persecution, waiting for the promise of Christ to return in "This Generation" (Matt.24:33-35) - 40 years / specific people.

I know that it seems that I went off on a tangent, but I'm trying to point out that the Old Covenant promises were to a specific people and that the New Covenant writers were seeing these promises being fulfilled in their generation.

The book of Revelation is a Covenantal book that is taken too literally by christians today.
It is a book that shows God's consummation of His full Historical-Redemptive plan for a specific people. This is why the book is loaded with Old Testament symbolism.

Also, if Rev. 21 & 22 point to the eternal state after the Old Heavens and Earth are destroyed, then why is there a need for the nations to have to have healing????( Rev.22:2).
This is a picture that the gospel still goes forth after the Old Covenant has been done away with. Those outside the eternal kingdom need healing to be brought into the presence of God ( where I presently reside as I write this e-mail). I don't ever have to worry about judgement or condemnation ever again. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free".

All the land promises were fulfilled to the Jews in the first century A.D. They were spiritual land promises - being brought into the Kingdom of God - Into His presence. Remember, Abraham was looking for a spiritual country to rest in, not a literal country .

This book offers a good summary of the various views of the book of Revelation. It is a very good starting point for detailed research

Gentry's presentation convinced me here of partial preterism... this is in part due to Robert Thomas' contribuation that is really not fun. Thomas is overly assertive without warrant and dogmatic without the evidence! Herein lies a convincing essay for Preterism...unfortuantly the rest are not worth reading. The book seems to turn into a showdown between Gentry and Thomas; Pate and Hamstra really do not hold much weight here. Marvin Pate's view is actually quite amusing. Thomas can not handle Gentry theologically although I will concede Thomas the victor of a great number of points. Kenneth Gentry puts Revelation in its original context and it all flows from this standpoint. Winner Kenneth Gentry...

Needed as textbook for class. Good presentation of current approaches to the Book of Revelation.

This another book with another great idea of how to instantly become familiar with where students are in the development of their writing. In theory, it seems like a great idea and resource if the teacher has the time to become very familiar with the process to identify the phases. I would like to be that teacher, but with so many other theories and requirements from the district it is would be time consuming to become to a practical phase theory expert, and be able to defend why I think a student is at that phase. As an early child teacher, I do appreciate that whatever phase a child may be in they are considered writers and tips are given to nudge them to the next phase. In part 2 of this book, Gentry takes a more political stance. One that assumes all of his readers are familiar with the reading debate in this country. The first half of the book is a good resource for primary teachers and the second half is good food for thought.

Richard Gentry's Breakthrough in Beggining Reading and Writing chronicles the writing process and has divided this process into phases 0-4. In hisbook, Gentry explains how to determine a young writer's phase, and appropriately support student writing growth from that point.Individualizing instruction based on strengths evident in writing samples.This book is written concisely and the phases described in an easy to understand manner.Also included are the author's views on phonics and invented spelling.

Gentry's book goes in-depth to define the Five-Phases of literacy development in children. He is detailed in his explanation of what a teacher should use as goals for each phase, the applications for each phase, and what to expect the child to produce in his/her reading and writing. While this book is detailed about the five phases, without a considerable background in early childhood literacy development, it may be difficult to translate the phases to actual student work. For this reason, as a teacher, I think it would be helpful to have more writing samples to support the Gentry's phases. In the latter half of his book, Gentry details his opinions about reading and writing development, connecting them to his Phase Theory. He also is explicit in his opinions on how children learn. Additionally, he addresses the crisis in today's schools with early literacy: "American education's lack of attention to closing the literacy gap before children enter kindergarten with universal preschool education is an egregious oversight." (p. 107) I would recommend this book for educators who have an established background in early literacy. It is an easy-read, and would benefit educators to help determine their students' phase of literacy development.

Breakthrough in Beginning Reading and Writing discusses Richard Gentry's Phase Theory which is the stages young readers and writers go through during their literacy development. This book is very informative but boring to read! However, I did appreciate his explanations and vignettes for each phase of a child's literacy development. Gentry also included a resourceful chart on page 69 that explains "precise definitions, identification of specific strategic operations for each level, and identification of expected guideposts for guided reading text levels" which is useful to match assessments and instruction for students in kindergarten and first grade (pg. 69). In chapter 7, Gentry provides examples of various children during each of his phases. This is particularly interesting if one is attempting to compare actual classroom work to his theory. Finally, this book concludes with Gentry's proposals for education in the 21st Century. He believes these three things to change in order to advance education in the 21st Century: 1. Overhaul teacher preparation programs to focus more on teaching reading and struggling readers; 2. The U.S. should provide universal preschool; and 3. The best teachers and administrators should be working in the worst schools.

In his book Breakthrough in Beginning Reading and Writing J. Richard Gentry presents his phase theory and the different phases that children progress through as they become accomplished writers. The first section of this book presents the different phases and the attributes that accompany each phase. For someone who is studying primary literacy for the first time or a teacher who is preparing to teach students who are primary learners this book could be extremely helpful. To understand what primary learners are able to do and where you should expect a student to advance in development this book is an excellent guide. One thing that I wish Gentry had done was to put a timeline of each phase. While he lets you know what the expectations of a student are for each phase and what a student in each phase should know he does not say how long a student should stay in each phase. While this may not seem like a big deal later in this book Gentry states the need for the earlies intervention possible. If I were only using his phase theory and this book to guide my instruction and interventions I would not know when I would need to intervene. A timeline for typical development would be helpful.

Since many students are no longer taught how to read music in school early in elementary school, this book is a good starter for those who want to not just play music, but how to understand all the different areas that sheet music covers. Basic explanations are used, and then examples are shown. If you have an older child or teen that wants to learn to read sheet music for choir, this is a good guide.

After reading some of the foolish comments by some of the "reviewers", here's the honest truth. This is ONE GREAT LITTLE BOOK! It's amazing that so much can be packed in such a short package, but this one does it. Forget about the staff/stave BS. It's irrelevant. I may say quaver or semiquaver half note or whole note. Who cares? If you are this picky then you shouldn't be learning to read music in the first place. I have been teaching all my student using this and earlier editions for about 10yrs now. NEVER had a complaint.
BTW, I do agree. It's a GREAT lil reference too. Buy it! Own it!

The Staff: Music. A set of horizontal lines and intermediate spaces used in notation to represent a sequence of pitches, in modern notation normally consisting of five lines and four spaces. Also called stave.

Thank you dictionary.com :)

Don't get caught up on what YOU refer to the staff as, you miss the point of the book.

...not so great for trying to learn from scratch! I had been playing the keyboard/piano for years (learning songs by ear and making my own compositions) before I decided that I wanted to give a shot at learning how to read sheet music. Back in '04, this was the first book I got on music notation. The statement on the outside cover about "challenging exercises" is right! This book jumps right in to assuming that the learner will want to spend time pouring over each exercise repeatedly for extended lengths of time before moving onto the next one, without offering assistance in the way of memorization techniques. For instance, in one of the early sections, the author states: "As long as you can remember the name of ONE note, you can work out all the others." This isn't much help, being that the book introduces nearly all the notes at once, in rapid succession; first the ones on the staff, then all the notes above and below the staffs! The only song learned in between is a brief version of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". Not even E-G-B-D-F (Every Good Boy Does Fine) and G-B-D-F-A (Great Big Dogs Fight Animals) are thrown in as helpful mnemonics for the treble and bass cleff!

Plus, this book only includes eleven practice songs! While covering a myriad of complex areas, there is little chance to practice and whole lot of imformation to memorize for a complete beginner. The attitude of this book is comparable to the situation where you ask someone how to draw something, and they say "Oh, it's easy, you just do this..." and then proceed draw a masterpiece from scratch without telling you anything about method or technique! While claiming that it is "fundamentals of music notation made easy", Evans' book really presents the material in a way which is more frustrating than enlightening.

I had given up on learning how to read sheet music for awhile, until I came across Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic : Level 1 (Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course), which is fantastic. Unlike Roger Evan's book, I was able to progress through a new section and song every few days in Alfred's, and it took me about 3 1/2 months to finish. There are two other levels in the course that I plan on moving onto, since I can now play all the songs in that book, a few songs in other sheet music books I've gotten, and I have a pretty good understanding of the principals that the book covers (what key a song is in, chords, etc.).

However, I should note that I have actually used Evans' as a reference on occasion For being such a pretentious book, its 'Directory of Musical Signs', 'Note Directory', and 'Short Musical Dictionary' are definitely useful for clarifying certain terms and notes. But, helpful in learning how to actually read music for the first time? Not for me!

I was able to see this book in person before purchasing it online. It is easy to read and understand, especially when you wonder if you're too old to learn to read music. I haven't applied the techniques yet, but I understand what I'm reading. I looked through several other books and they were more confusing - keeping in mind that I have never read music.

I am a secondary school music teacher and was hoping to get tips from this book to help my students who really struggle with sight-singing. As a music teacher, I would like to tell you that this book takes an EXTREMELY BASIC approach. ONLY PURCHASE THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO READ MUSIC AT ALL. I can see how this book would be helpful to someone who doesn't understand the concepts of note values, pitches, etc. But seriously, this book was no help to me nor my students at all, and will certainly not be to you if you have a basic understanding of sight-singing already.

This is a great *introductory* book for someone who knows how to sing but is intimidated by sight singing. It is very basic--just a start--and you will need to supplement it with subsequent books or lessons. But it doesn't cost much and will get the student going. Here's a true story:

My wife has an excellent voice, but did not know how to sight sing and was convinced that she could never learn. I bought her this book and she went through it in one weekend. That Tuesday she auditioned for a chorus and was asked to sight sing a simple piece. She did, she passed, and now she sings in the chorus. I have her going through another book and she is progressing well.

WELL MY SINGING TEACHER GAVE ME THIS BOOK WHEN I GOT ANGRY AT MY OLD ONE, YOU KNOW?? 100 MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS, IT WAS A GREAT BOOK (EXCEPT FOR THE EXCLUSION OF LIKE GLUE) BUT I WAS JUST SORT OF FRUSTRATED BY IT, CAUSE SURE, THEY HAD THE LYRICS, BUT HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SING!? A WORD ON A PAGE??!?

THIS BOOK SIDE STEPS THE ISSUE ENTIRELY..LEADING US TO A PLACE OF HARMONY, THROUGH UNDERSTANDING.. SERIOUSLY THOUGH, THE MYSTERIOUSLY TITLED 'SIGHT SINGING' IS A CONUNDRUM AND A JOY BUT ALSO A MYSTERY. FOR AS MUCH AS I LEARN TWO MORE QUESTIONS CROP UP TO TAKE THEIR PLACE..SO IM CONSTANTLY SEARCHING FOR THE ANSWERS THAT ARE NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. MAYBE IM OVERTHINKING IT.
MAYBE THERE ARE NO TRUE ''ANSWERS''.

MY TEACHER SAYS THAT IM IMPROVING.

IM A MUSICAL MAN.

It is explained very simply and in an organized fashion which builds upon each level systematically. The audio is midi based
and has quite a simple digitized sound, yet it is clear for the purpose.

I'M A FULL TIME PIANO AND VOICE TEACHER IN LAS VEGAS. I CAME ACROSS SIGHTSINGING MADE SIMPLE SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHEN THE STORE WAS OUT OF MY REGULAR SIGHTSINGING TEACHING METHOD. WHAT A JEWEL I STUMBLED ONTO! THIS METHOD (WITH CD) IS EASY TO USE FOR BOTH THE TEACHER AND STUDENT. PITCH PROBLEMS DISAPPEAR. THE STUDENT LEARNS NOT ONLY HOW TO MATCH PITCH, BUT IS ALSO TAUGHT ABOUT MUSIC THEORY AND RHYTHM. THIS IS THE INTRODUCTION THAT IS SORELY NEEDED BY OTHER METHODS AND IS LONG OVERDUE.

Robert Trent Jones Jr. is a master Golf Course Architect - as anyone who has played one of his designs can attest first hand. This book gives strong insight into his thinking - and the thinking of course designers around the planet - on the subject of constructing every part of a golf course such that the golf course offers both enjoyment and challenge to all who experience the great game. But more than that - Robert Trent Jones Jr. offers his thoughts on recognising and reading the features of a course and the intention of its designer/architect - and how features give players clues on how the designer/architect intended a particular hole should be played. This information alone will lower your golf handicap.

Including details on everything from the peculiarities of different types of grasses and how best to play from each, thru the different types of sand and their characteristics; and even discussing the advantages of carrying 3 wedges rather than two - this book is another Robert Trent Jones Jr. masterpiece. It should be required reading and a part of the library of every golfer who has ever loved the worlds greatest game, or anyone who is its student.

RTJ II's Golf By Design provides a number of insights into the mind of the designer and how they view the elements that go into the design of a golf hole. I found the book to be more descriptive of how designers think and less prescriptive about what the player should do in terms of dealing with the various design elements (Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons is a much more strategic approach to playing individual holes). Many of the leading architects of this day and age have written similar books (Trent Jones Sr., Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio ....) - consider this book RTJ II's contribution to this genre .....

I play many different public courses and often times have trouble reading new courses, resulting in several shots wasted until I become familiar with the course.

I found Golf by Design to be really helpful in giving me the insight to read a course right off the bat and often saving me the wasted shots. It has also helped me appreciate the design and layout of the course that much more.

I would also recommend it to beginners as a great introduction into 'course management'

I found this book playing a beautiful local Robt. Trent Jones, Jr. course that's in this book, The Orchards. He shows you the clues the designer has placed their to steer you to a respectable round.

From the tee box to the fairway routing and bunker construction, to the style of course, i.e. links, prairie, desert, etc., this master architect using examples of his existing designs shows the risks and rewards of different strategies.

I found that not only did this help me to play Robt. Trent Jones, Jr. courses, but other good architects layouts as well.

Well worth the investment!

For whatever reason, there are only a handful of books available that address the problems of golf strategy specifically. Many of those turn out to be little more than lessons on how to hit a draw or fade, or to play out of rough. Only a few actually deal with the problem of hole designs and everything that comes with them.

In this light, Golf by Design is a raging success. It offers a look into the thinking of the architect and sheds light on a great many areas of play that usually get swept under the carpet in favor of learning to hit 300 yard drives. What do different bunker placements and shapes do to define a course? What effect can grass types have on how a shot rolls? Where should a person be looking to find the best angle to attack a fairway or green?

Since the time of this work's publishing, several similar volumes have come out, not the least those dealing specifically with architecture itself. Others, including Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons, mix in swing tips with strategies for golfers of differing calibers. It is possible, though, that a good overall book on golf, such as Golf Magazine's Complete Book of Golf Instruction, will include a great deal of information located here.

Three things you will not find in other volumes, however, are details on the visual illusions used by an architect, the diagrams, illustrations, and photos found in this volume that do the best job of demonstrating a point of any book around, and lastly an insight into the RT Jones philosophy of course design. This last point may be of particular importance to a number of golfers, as their favorite courses may be a RTJ work.

In the end, however, the fact that a working architect with his own interests at heart is the author keeps the book from having the impact that it could. Several jabs are taken at other architects here and there, some probably deservingly, but still making for an ugly display. The fact that the author is a skilled golfer himself comes out in one passage too many, where we see a guiding hand from the enlightened being offered to the poor initiate. However, Although many of the examples given do come from RTJ courses, this is nothing to fault the author for. Readily available material is the boon of any writer.

If you have not read anything on golf architecture, and want to get an idea of what it is all about and how it affects your game, Golf by Design might be the right place to start. Anyone with some education in course design might be best served by saving up for a trip to a famous layout, as the hands-on experience will probably be more worthwhile.

This was a pretty dumb book I already knew all of this stuff!

I bought this, along with several similar books, for my 11 year-old son. The Q&A format of this book made it easy to read, but many topics were handled in a clinical, vague manner and spent way too much time on trivial subjects (e.g., a whole chapter on "Crushes.") I actually checked the copyright, to see if it was written in the '50's. (It's 1988.) I was very troubled by the section, "What Happens if a Young Girl Gets Pregnant?" It ignored the boy's role & responsibility, and glossed over the topic with vague statements such as: "Her whole life will change, and not usually for the better." And, "She may feel upset for a long time afterward." There's even a section, "Why Would a Girl Let Herself Get Pregnant?" which suggests "Sometimes a girl secretly wants to get pregnant..." The section ends with: "The surest way to prevent pregnancy is not to have intercourse." I found a much better book for my son: "What's Going on Down There." Silly title, but much more thorough, balanced and practical.

As a mother and a teacher, I appreciate Cole's sensitivity and frankness with a difficult subject. I am afraid, however, that the adolescent audience for whom the book is intended will be distracted by the many graphic illustrations. This is unfortunate because the book has many good things to say. I especially appreciated the chapters on AIDS/STDs and sexual abuse. Children need this information. I would like to see this book reprinted with fewer illustrations. Descriptions will often suffice as children have vivid imaginations!

Joanna Cole gives straight answers for preteens' questions concerning sex. Parents and child should read the chapters together. The book will open lines of communications on this very important subject.

I bought this book hoping to have an early broad conversation about sexuality with my 9 year old boy and found this book to be too detailed for someone that young. The illustrations are over-simplified and may be good for younger kids, but it doesn't jibe with the text which is more complex and biologically, fact-based. A great book- but I found I have to leave it on the shelf for another year or so. I don't think most 9-year olds will get this stuff yet so I'd advise you to hold off buying this unless you have an exceptionally mature child of this age. I'm sure it will be an excellent reference at 10 or 11.

Let me put it succinctly:

1) ANYBODY who can read music could have written this.

2) Many people who can read music HAVE published books about how to read music: there are MANY better alternatives available.

3) Much of what this particular book tells you is WRONG.

Here is ONE much better alternative: The ABC OF MUSIC: A SHORT PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE BASICS by Imogen Holst.

So what part of "NO" don't you understand?

The course was well-structured, easy to follow and also with a good CD. Probably good for people who can't read music but can already play well.

Terry Burrows' "How to Read Music" is the ideal for adult students who want to read music without attending classes. Thorough tests are given throughout the book, to assure you understand the material. A CD is also included to help you understand the text better, by listening to examples of written music.

This book assumes you learn to play an instrument without learnning to read music notation. It tries to match the note with the sound, and test you to see if you know the notes. You take each test using the CD. In order to use the CD correctly The author recommends a CD player that "searches tracks", not a CD that shows "time remaining". You can use a "time remaining CD to synchronize but it's not easy.

I don't get the negative review at the bottom of the page. As somebody who can already play an instrument to a high level, but couldn't read music, this is a GODSEND. I'd always found the subject intimidating until studying this book - now I don't. I REALLY recommend this book. LOTS

Reading critically is an essential skill to getting through college, and this book helped me improve that skill and thus improved my whole college experience. I would recommend it to anyone who needs a little extra help with all those very difficult college textbooks!

Reading critically is an essential skill to getting through college, and this book helped me improve that skill and thus improved my whole college experience. I would recommend it to anyone who needs a little extra help with all those very difficult college textbooks!

By the reviews in this site you will hate the book before opening it, but I would advise the reader to try it because once you go through it, it can be a pretty nice book.

Abstract ideas and language in this work gave my friend a hard time understanding the content. They also make it difficult for those who do understand it to explain the text to their ESL friends. It could have been better, i suppose.

this book was so disappointing! I didn't learn A THING. but what's worse -- BRENDA DOESN'T CARE. It's so obvious! I's so sad! DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!

Folks don't waste your money! I have read countless instruction books on many different subjects, and I can say without reservation that this is the worst one yet. This book never once tells the reader how to properly hold and manipulate the airbrush. After briefly touching on inks, gouaches and acrylics,it never explains the different types of paint and how to use them. It starts demonstrations without adequate instruction on how to set up or prepare for the exercise. It completes complex demonstrations in five or six steps, leaving out numerous intermediate steps; and the last step simply states,"the exercise is now finished". This book is a surprise from Watson-Guptill, the publisher of many fine books. By itself, this book will set up the beginning airbrush artist to become frustrated and fail at this interesting craft. So, if this is not your intent, pick another instruction book that is more reader friendly and one that will help, rather than hinder, the beginning airbrush artist.

I'm a true bigginer in airbrushing and I bought this book along with two others and this one just isn't very impressive. Its about as thick as a thick magazine and it really doesn't go into much detail. I only paid $3 for it used so i DO think I got my monies worth. I'm not dissapointed just not impressed. Could be because the other two books i ordered were just so much better. Big Book of airbrushing and Complete Studio Handbook. Most impressed by the Complete Studio Handbook from my beginners perspective.

I remember buying my first airbrush over a decade ago. A Thayer and Chandler model. As a naive teenager, I was so eager to get stuck in, I didn't realize the paint was supposed to be diluted into liquid form first. Much to my frustration, nothing happened. That was before I bought this book, succinctly titled "Airbrush Painting".

Like most books about art technique, "Airbrush Painting" (1988)starts off with a list of materials and equipment, the tools of the trade employed by both fine artists and illustrators. This is followed by diagrams, troubleshooting and step by step projects, before finishing up with a gallery of work by the professionals, all of which are guaranteed to awe the novice. Out of the list at the back, Chris Moore was the only name I recognized.

Most people will agree that the airbrush is an intimidating tool at first, but this book explains a lot about it in easy-to-understand language. In fact "Airbrush Painting" is very similar to another book I own called "Creative Airbrushing" by Graham Duckett. Both covers show a hand holding the airbrush over a piece of highly finished artwork. In fact, the books are almost identical in content and format.

Despite the advances in desktop publishing, I like to think that airbrushing is not old hat. Airbrushing is a useful skill to have when the computer breaks down. In the past people have expressed reservations about the airbrush, believing that it's a form of "cheating". I find this amusing. Like all technology, the airbrush is meant to help the artist complete the job quickly and more efficiently. It makes life easier. Is it cheating when a farmer uses a tractor instead of a plough?

Just as the car hasn't stopped people riding horses, the computer hasn't stopped artists using the airbrush. The technique (which dates back to the time of cavemen) is just as popular today. Whether you're an artist or an illustrator, "Airbrush Painting" is a valuable book to have.

It has everything in it from basic gradients, to complex photo retouching techniques. Everything is there. If you manage to find this book anywhere, you should buy it immediately. It is INDESPENSABLE!