Tutorials Books

If you ever want to program C++ outside of Visual C++, you will need the standard template library. This book is both a tutorial and a reference book. The book is excellent in both areas. I used to borrow it from a public library. Now that I have no access to the library anymore and started programming in Linux, I had no choice, but to buy it.

The Title To This Comment Pretty Much Says It All.

I Highly doubt that theres a book better than this on the standard library.

which makes this a must own.

Very complete, super helpful. If you are scared of C++ STL and you think it is an endless sea, this book will help you put things in an order. Very practical and it goes deeply inside the fundamentals. A must have for the non-hacker. This book is for the academic type scientist who wants to learn programming in an orthodox science like way. So if you are a mathematician a physicist or in general a scientist who want to get into C++ and program use this book. Also try other books from this author like C++ Templates: The Complete Guide. He is a very talented technical writer and scientist too.

The author has wrote a book that presents C++ standard library to the average programmer with plenty of samples that show how to implement each concept step by step.

This book does not even mention the use for some items that are integral to correct C++ usage, such as multidimensional vectors. It is not the book you will go to to find answers. It could be good as a primer on STL.

After trying to work though Pro Tools on my own, I bought this book and was recording ten minutes into the book. Screen Shots of Pro Tool windows keep me from taking my usual trial and error (mostly error) method. I can now lay down tracks bring in a drum track and add enough reverb to make my voice go from almost "just ok" to "wow that reverb almost makes your voice sound good". This is the best how to book I've ever used and is a must have for learning the power of Pro Tools.

There is so much to ProTools, Gina puts it into perspective! Her writing style is outstanding, and if you are like me who thinks the technical instructions and white papers seem to require a degree, this book is for you! I am currently on Chapter 5 and in one week, I have surpassed what I learned on my own with the "manual". Her additional downloads and assistance goes above and beyond!
As far as a response to the previous "click track" comment, with respect. I have talked to several studio musicians, and they all say they record with a click track, drummer, pianist, and guitarist.
If Gina comes out with an "advanced" ProTools guide, I will purchase it immediately!

I bought this book because I needed to learn to use Pro Tools fast and because I learn best through tutorials (like the Apple Pro Training Series books). This book got great reviews so I chose it. Unfortunately, I need to learn Pro Tools in reference to working with film soundtracks. This book doesn't address film so you'll need to look for another book if you want that aspect. I still gave it five stars because it is a very well designed and well written book - similar to the Apple Pro series. The tutorials make sense and all of those 'but what about' questions that often pop into your head while working in tutorials are answered. Concepts are clearly explained so that you can actually apply what you learn to other situations within the software. The focus of the book is on live recordings and working with loops. If that is what you are looking for this book is A+ and I kept it as a valuable reference for my library.

This was exactly what I was looking for. If you are like me this will work out great for you. I had ProTools M Box for about a month and could not even figure out how to record a sound. These tutorials walk you through everything in a step by step manner. I am half way through chapter 3 and have begun to get a handle on creating and recording tracks. Exactly what I was looking for.

I recently took the plunge, and invested in a small home recording studio. Being MUCH more a musician than an engineer, I found myself really struggling with the technical aspects of using the Pro Tools software. It looked like it would be a really long slog toward getting to the point where I could understand how to use the tools and focus more on actually recording my music. I'm so glad I found this book! It's written in a clear, engaging style and the layout of the visual aids is outstanding. I got through about half of the lessons over the course of two weekends---and can see I will soon have a solid, working understanding of pro tools basics. In my opinion, this book should be considered essential reading for anyone new to using pro tools. I checked out other guides and a variety of online resources--and nothing, in my view, matched the clarity of this lesson manual. Highly Recommended!

This books covers pre 93 Korn shell.

However this actually makes learning the shell more simple. At work we have a pre-93 version so the instructions are sure to work.

The author's "93" version of the book is also good, but a bit harder to understand for a beginner.

I am programming with korn shell for 12 yr. already. And I started with this book. It is an excellent book for beginner and even intermediate programmer. It took me about 2 days to go through all book. i still looking inside once in a while. Few times i was loosing this book, bought another one and after short time i dumped it and bought this one again.
Examples and explanation in this book are so usefull, short and easy to understand, that you can't find better book. Your learning efficency really depends on it. Buy it, by all means you will be glad you did it.

This book is *the* way to begin working with the Korn shell. I needed to get up to speed with a shell scripting language in order to do Oracle DBA tasks. I bought this based on the strength of it's Amazon ratings and was completely delighted.

The author has a great style, easy to understand and very clear. I found the procession of topics to be very logical; a nice gradual build up from the simple to the more complex. There is plenty of 'depth' in each chapter and good highlighting of potential problem areas and difficult concepts. These have additional coverage to help steer clear of the hassles and come to a clear understanding of the more challenging ideas.

The examples are well thought out, they present each topic of interest clearly and in a meaningful way, without clutter. I have coded almost every single one and found only a few errors. Within a chapter the examples are presented with increasing complexity, but are never the page after page monsters that leave you lost. It is amazing how well the author illustrates the content with short (20 - 30 line) samples.

When I was puzzled with something I had read here, I turned to two of my friends who 'live' in shell scripting up to their necks. Both have learned useful techniques from this book through my questions.

My copy is literally starting to come apart from constant use for reference. It is that good.

I found this to be an excellent hands-on tutorial in KornShell. Wish there were a book-2 and book-3 with advanced training.

I love the Korn shell. This book is a fine intro to Korn Shell programming. For users who want more than just an intro, you may want to consider "Korn Shell: Essential Programs for Your Survival at Work" by Larry L. Smith. Examples in Randal K. Michael's "Mastering UNIX Shell Scripting" are also helpful.

When it comes to the saxophone, this book covers it all. Embouchure, posture, the parts of the horn, the history of the horn, reeds, fingering, you name it and it's in this book. It's surprisingly in depth on every front, even having a section on the altissimo register. This really is among the must haves of any saxophone player's library.

Having said that, this is in no way the ONLY book you should have. While it contains warm up exercises, actually buying a decent scale/chord study book should be a high priority. Also, if you're serious about learning the 3rd and 4th octaves, you need to buy a good high register book.

Ultimately, for me at least, this book comes down to more of an encyclopedia as opposed to a bible. It can take you really far, but you're eventually going to need to buckle down with specialty resources.

This book is considered by many to be the "Saxophonist's Bible." A great book with many illustrations and practical advice for playing the saxophone.

Great book!
I just started learning to play the sax, and this book has given me
an invaluable insight into the instrument and how to play it.
I recommend it to anyone starting to play the saxophone, but the information is valuable even for established and professional players.

I have recently started learning the basics of saxophone playing. My knowledge of playing the Saxophone, and indeed any musical instrument, and also music theory is limited. However I found that the information in "The Art of Saxophone Playing" was very informative and the way it is set out has certainly been of great help.
I think that the more advanced player will profit more from the information given in the later chapters. I'm hoping that as I improve I will better understand these chapters.

This book is a staple among saxophonists of all veins (jazz, classical, and anything else). It is a must-have, and for good reason. It gives insight in to every aspect of being a saxophonist, including some brief but helpful information on doubling. Some chapters are very in depth, though others are less so. A great find and worth every penny.

his is the first classical instruction book i ever had with a cd i had flamenco books with a cd guide to show how you are playing i am looking forward to many hours of fun playing and learning using this book.

I stumbled onto this book as a teenager trying to teach myself to play the guitar. I found it both easy to understand and rewarding. Eventually I went on to minor in jazz guitar in college and spent several years as a union musician. A few years ago I returned to this book (I finally replaced my old copy with a new version) when I wanted to venture into classical guitar. Almost thirty years later I found it equally as captivating and rewarding as it was in my first encounter.

Recently I decided to learn to play the English concertina, but found that there were no quality tutorials readily available, so I turned, once again, to Mr. Noad. The exercises presented in the book have been very helpful and have allowed me to feel an increasing sense of aptitude on the concertina as I step through the lessons!

Solo Guitar Playing is built on a clear, accessible methodology and a well-paced progressive learning system that stands the test of time! If you could only have one guitar instruction book, this would be the one to consider.

I've started and stopped trying to teach myself how to play guitar on 3 different occasions for over 10 years. (I did have prior music experience from playing the violin as a youth.) I bought this book some time ago, got 20 pages in and then decided I'd just try to learn tabs and chords like everyone else seemed to be doing. But then I engaged my ego and decided to learn how to read notes and properly learn the playing technique I would need to last me for a lifetime. I dusted this book off again and kept plugging away. Lo and behold, I kept getting further and further into the material. The thing that helped me, which I didn't do on prior attempts, was to exercise PATIENCE! If it takes me two or three weeks to master a chapter, then so be it - I know it will stand me in good stead in later lessons and boy, has it! I now play at least 4 times a week for at least an hour, including practicing arpeggios and scales, for the sheer joy of it.

I am loving this book and have Solo Guitar 2 standing ready for when I complete the first volume. Highly recommend for those trying to teach themselves the "right" way. :-)

I ditto both previous review. Don't buy this book until after you have completed Noad's book one. It reviews some previous technique, but is much more advanced generally. I found a few mistakes in it so far, in the learning to count notation section, so it does have some notational errors. But overall, so far I think this is a good book worth the money. It would best to use this book in conjunction with a quality classical guitar teacher. Trying to learn classical guitar on your own with no professional guidance is begging to learn terrible playing habits.

First let me say that I would not recommend this book unless you are at least an intermediate classical player, if not, then begin with Noad's "Solo Guitar Playing 1", which goes from beginner to intermediate. Both of these books come with a cd containing most of the songs from the book, and neither one has tab. Solo guitar 2 has some technical instruction, such as counting dotted notes, rest stroke and free stroke, slurs, trills and other ornaments, and a number of definitions of classical music terminology. This book covers the periods known as classical, romantic, renaissance and baroque, with exercises and songs from each, by masters such as Sor, Tarrega, Guiliani (including his exercises for the right hand), Bach, Handel and others. The material goes from fairly easy examples that will improve your speed, accuracy and sight reading ability, to "Recuerdos de La Alhambra" and "Estudio Brillante de Alard", which are advanced concert quality pieces by F. Tarrega. There is also a song by Frederic Hand called "Study number 1", which isn't exactly classical, but it is quite nice anyway. This is one of my favorite classical guitar books, the material was selected to be educational and very enjoyable as well. If you put in several months (years ?) of work on this book you will not regret it, and by the end, you will be able to play these great songs, and just about anything else that you could ever imagine.

I found this book at the local library and kept renewing it because it was so helpful. I have elements 6 (the book is for elements 5) but this is by far the best book on elements photoshop that I have found. I have used it many times on my photos. If you are a beginner with elements like me then you will love this book! In case you are wondering, I have also purchased 3 other elements 6 photoshop books before I purchased this book. The first was 'Photoshop Elements 6 for Dummies', then 'Teach Yourself Visually Adobe Photoshop Elements 6' and last 'Photoshop Elements 6 in easy steps'. Now I can stop!

I love this book. It makes my life easier. What more could you ask for. This was just what i needed.

In one word WOW! You have to have this book, Matt explains things in simple terms and makes using PSE easy to use.

Bill

MATT KLOSKOWSKI DOES AND EXCELLENT JOB. VERY EASY TO FOLLOW! MATT'S HUMOR IS A DELIGHT. THE EXAMPLES MAKE IT EASY TO LEARN.

THE ONLY NEGATIVE IS THE BINDING ON THE BOOK. IT IS OK SO FAR. BUT I USE A BOOK HARD, I AM CAREFUL. BUT MYEXPERIENCE WITH THIS TYPE OF BINDING IS NOT GOOD. THEY SHOULD USE A SPIRAL BINDING.

This is a wonderful book. I have had it now for almost a year and use it constantly. It reads like a recipe book, which makes it extremely user friendly. I use it alone and in conjunction with "Photoshop Elements: The Missing Manual".

This book is very enjoyable and fun to play. The selections are very interesting and I feel like I'm actually improvising. I love the arrangements and look forward to practicing!

Dan Coates writes in a style much like my own, so I really enjoy the selection of songs and his arrangements of them. I've searched for years for a book like this! So pleased with it. There are 77 songs, most of them will always be timeless favorites. Some of the pieces are a little challenging, but I like that. I've been asked to play for a wedding and reception. Most all of these songs will be appropriate for the occasion, and they are professional-sounding, too. I'll be proud of this book for years to come, unlike many I wish I had never wasted my money on and are now collecting dust.

This is one of my favorite piano solo books. Some of the music takes work as it is mostly level 4-5, but the arrangements are wonderful. I take this book with me wherever I know there will be a piano. I'm a senior citizen who has played for years and Dan Coates improvisations fit my abilities very well. I hope there will be another book from him one of these days.

I play for numerous weddings where the bride chooses piano for the service music. These arrangements are a wonderful resource for these events. They are absolutely gorgeous, and they are a great source with a mix of classical, sacred, and modern songs. The arrangement of "Prayer" is worth the price for the whole volume. It is one of the best values I've encountered in many years.

I bought this for my wife who studied the piano up to a pretty advanced level, but stopped playing regularly about 6 years ago. Other reviews made me think that it would be a challenging book for her...in fact, she is enjoying the variety and smoothness of it. I guess that is both an advantage and disadvantage...depends on your expectations. One thing is for sure...she is loving it.

Readers may note that in virtually every reviewer comment, this book received 5 stars and even in the case of one lone '4' star review [the first one back in 2000], the reviewer nevertheless "highly recommended" it! As do I with 5 stars but read my reasons!

First, confession time: Although playing classical 'piano' is my first love, I have never abandoned the joys of the guitar. Besides, once you do the 'callous' thing on the fretboard fingers, who wants to repeat 'that' process all over again! So I keep the guitar up! But here's the thing, some readers 'may' be put off by the book title when it talks of "heavy guitar" and perhaps think that it's just another recitation of the classic 'heavy rock' pentatonic scale and then fizzles out or otherwise deals only with 'heavy' and 'rock' guitar or indeed, 'metal' guitar issues and that may not be their thing preferring perhaps 'acoustic' guitar or the whole gammut of guitar music [acoustic or electric or indeed acoustic-electric models] from classical to folk to country-western to blues to light pop stuff to 'you-name-it' or others with regard to pick and/or finger picking [or both modes as I and many others do] ==but== and here's the key, no matter 'what' you play, the guitar "fretboard" itself essentially remains the same, yes? So whether you're 'heavy' into fixed chords or indeed 'moveable' chords [barre inclusive] or 'lead' or 'rhythm' stuff or, hey, 'whatever', a knowledge of that "as is" fretboard becomes fundamental! So too using various 'shapes' where in fact there can be changes [with the barre movements] of location =but= 'knowing' these changes and how to produce them still derives from a fundamental savvy, if you will, of the original and 'untouched' fretboard and what notes are located where.

As one reviewer put it, it's like a 'code' and once you learn that 'code' and thus the 'why' of it and how further sounds and shapes can be produced and "moved", it can make the process much easier. This book builds on the fundamentals and takes some of the mystery out of those folks you may know who can go up and down that fret board as if they were born to it and produce some astounding sounds . But the book does more than that because how many times have you wanted to really get into 'lead' guitar and even for no more reason than personal enjoyment of the challenge yet even though you can pick up speed with the immortal 'pentatonic' scale, well then, have you even said to yourself, 'I've got the pentatonic scale down and my speed is decent but .. now what?' You've got to be able to 'do' something with the scale [any scale for that matter] because going back and forth and developing speed is great practice, sure enough, but how to make 'music' with the thing becomes the key, yes? Otherwise, all you're doing is banging out scales but that's all you're doing until you put it together [ditto the piano, BTW] and see [and apply] how these otherwise isolated scales can be transformed into some great sounds. In effect, moving from scale exercises ... to making music! This book helps in that process.

The rest is up to you. Like 'any' instrument, you've got to apply the sweat and the motivation [and those calloused fingers!]. You read and then you apply. And build from the fundamentals to the advanced but the bottom line remains that if you want to do 60-ish Folk stuff or Classical pieces or take on the 'lead' and do barre chord shapes and power chords and all the rest, hey, you still have to know the fretboard! Its total duplication of note placements after the 12th fret notwithstanding. Believe it or not, I've come across new folks to the guitar and when they're informed that everything 'duplicates' itself after the 12th fret, I've heard, "It does?" It's a revelation to them! Good! That's how they learn and some of that perceived "mystery" becomes more digestible and 'doable' to them! It's not 'easy' , true enough, but then again, it's not impossible either!


Doc Tony

Richard broke the code to playing rock guitar, I was in high school and college in the 70's so that's the Rock Music era I grew up with. I got this book when it came out and if you work the exercises you will be cranking out leads in no time. Soon after I started working on this book friends would stop me and say "how did you do that" It's all in the book and this book changed my life because playing lead guitar is some of the most fun you can ever have.

bought it in the 80's then, lost it.
now i have again.
teaches: know your fret board.

This book is truly a gold mine of information. It helped advance my playing significantly.

Since playing classical guitar for a few years and recently picking up an electric I've been diving into really "getting it" as far as a path for learning and understanding the big picture of what's involved in playing the electric guitar. It's truly a different instrument than the acoustic, and a practice regimen is a difficult challenge to plan. This book, while serving as a great practice reference will give every electric/rock guitarist a complete explanation as well as instruction on the full array of "elements" that will make up your skills not just as a player of a guitar but someone who can work towards "owning" the instrument. From scales, chords, soloing and rhythm, this gives such a clear overview of the art of electric guitar that only now after reading this cover to cover have I found a new inspiration and clear direction on what I need to do to "get there". "There" being the goal of playing with other musicians and improvising knowledgeably.

If you're looking for a book to help make you feel comfortable that you're studying the right things, get this, read it cover to cover and then go from there. Outstanding, a must have. I wish this was the first book I bought on electric. While at first the book will seem rough around the edges from a design and editing standpoint, it will soon become obvious that this is truly a labor of love for the author.

I will add though, that this book should function as the center of the wheel of your quest to learn. Perfect compliments to this volume, for the self taught guitarist, would be a good scales book such as the "Guitar Grimoire Exercise Book", a book on chords and chord theory such as "Chord Chemistry", a method book, in my case classical is enjoyable for learning to read and play music so I'm working out of Noad's "Solo Guitar Playing", and any songbooks you would like to work on songs out of. Another outstanding book I've found indespensable, as have many others is Denyer's "The Guitar Handbook", it's truly a guitar encyclopedia, and explains clearly a heavy amount of theory and technique.

Hopefully this is helpful, I felt compelled to write this review to save those following a similar path as I am the trouble of unecessary purchases or a difficulty finding laser focus on their self taught direction. Good luck!

This work consists of sections which largely document Dr Suzuki's philosophy towards life and education (not just musical education, by the way). While I disagree with him regarding the level to which children are blank slates (I can tell you as the parent of two that they are individuals from before birth), most of the basic ideas hold out well. After all, inborn talent (which, unlike Dr Suzuki, I believe does exit) aside, we master what we spend time mastering. Furthermore, every one of us can become more noble than we are through real disciplines, including music (and this point comes across very well in this work).

Many years ago, I had the opportunity to hear Dr Suzuki's young students on a tour of the US and I was amazed at their musical sense-- something the Suzuki method in the US has not been able to quite capture. This book holds many of the secrets of his success.

In many regards, I see this as an important work on early childhood education and why wholistic education is important. Highly recommended.

If every parent follows the philosophy of Doctor Shinichi Suzuki, the world will be a very pleasant place to live

I love this book!!! It talks about success at music as well as success in life. Very uplifting and motivational.

This book should be required reading for music teachers, and for parents who would like their young children to have music lessons. I teach piano and violin to young students, and I felt it was immensely helpful to me. It was a constant reminder that patience, persistance, and a deep love of music will yeild the most profound results with even my most difficult students. It is all to tempting to dismiss the abilities of a particular child, especially one who tends to be uncooperative, instead of recognizing that each child has enormous potential. The touching stories Mr. Suzuki shares of students who overcame terrible difficulties, from blindness to infantile paralysis, to play the violin as best they could, moved me more than words can say.

The book wonders between autobiography, philosophy, history of how Suzuki's philosophy developed, and technique but the message is clear. Most children's success is dependent on the culture parents create EVERYDAY at their home and for their children. The parents are the creators of culture and the culture is what is done, talked about, emphisized, supported, given time to, and encourage everyday with love. It is easier if society at large supports the culture that parents want but parents ultamately have to create their own culture for their children and the key is what is done everyday and it requires a serious investment of time.

We are what we do everyday (Suzuki is in line with Aristotle on this one). Patience, perserverance, determination shrouded in love 15 minutes a day, for a child, is better than an hour one day a week. Parents talking about it, encouraging it everyday, making it the family culture, are keys to success in music as most anything for most children. There are a lot of distractions that wish to throw our children into worshiping the vanities in this world, the best way to fight this is to create an inner dignity and harmony that comes from a serious but loving endevour everyday.

This book is just fantastic. In the first half an hour of reading, Farkas explains an incredible amount of information that is all completely relevant to the playing of the French Horn. He offers his own suggestions on technique and plenty of pointers, especially offering new fingerings and explaining why they exist. He explains the history of the horn and explains why players have to do what they do (ex. Hand placement, fingerings, etc). Really interesting and helpful. The included warm ups have become my daily routine and are extremely helpful. Excellent book, the only thing I disliked is that this text is quite outdated in its horn maintenance instructions.

A wealth of information. Techniques, warm-up scales, alternate fingerings, transposition, practice music to improve different areas such as range, intervals, pitch. Learned about this from a horn player in the Dallas Symphony when I was in high school, found it very useful when I played with the Guam Symphony, and used it regularly when I returned to playing after several years of absence. Given it to young players across the US and overseas.

95 pages full of advice for any hornplayer, beginner, advanced or pro. Maybe the fotos and the layout are not best quality, but finally its the content that counts.

This book is my favorite of all time-- and for a teenager, that may seem strange. I have played horn for about four months, and this is my reference for any issues from technical problems, to practice advice, to encouragement and warnings. Philip Farkas speaks in a way that I love-- he offers frank advice and talks to the reader in a voice that clearly states that he is a fellow hornist, a friend helping a friend. His tone is clear, honest, and very distinguished-- I found it very encouraging that he does not speak to the reader in a condescending way. I am extremely encouraged that he offers such a wide variety of advice, though I do question some of his techniques, such as sitting while practicing and advising not to hold the horn "free". I do agree with his preference of a dark, mellow tone, but I believe that can be achieved while holding the horn free if the right hand is in the correct position. Furthermore, Mr.Farkas's book is the bible of french horn and should be commited to memory by each and every hornist that is serious about this art.

As a Horn teacher for many many years, this is required text for all my students. The "manual" for Horn playing.