Best Music Recording & Sound
Learn the subtle editing, arrangement, and monitoring tactics which give industry insiders their competitive edge, and master the psychological tricks which protect you from all the biggest rookie mistakes. Pick up tricks and tips from leading-edge engineers working on today's multi-platinum hits, including Michael Brauer, Serban Ghenea, the Lord-Alge brothers, Tony Maserati, Manny Marroquin, Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado, Jack Joseph Puig, Mark "Spike" Stent, Phil Tan, Andy Wallace, and many, many more . Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Mike Senior on Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio , "The 'Why The Hell' Challenge". In all these cases I've started with real-world small-studio recordings and used widely available mass-market technology to remix it to a commercial level, all without ever setting foot inside a "real" studio. If you want that kind of transformation for your music, then you can find a detailed explanation of my method in Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio . The second reason you might want to take notice of these mixing techniques, though, is that they've been drawn not only from my own professional experience, but also from more than four million words of first-hand interviews with the highest-profile engineers and producers on the planet. Amongst many other things in Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio , I try to deliver a stout kicking to the following questionable (but surprisingly pervasive) pieces of received wisdom: Indeed, the two most celebrated mixing speakers of all time, the Yamaha NS10 and the Auratone 5C Super Sound Cube, both have extremely uneven frequency-response plots, but excellent time-domain performance. Those common experiences are just the tip of the iceberg, and it's only by learning to work around the fickleness of your own hearing that you can begin to get decent mix results reliably. Corrective processing can certainly produce unmusical results, but it's important to realize that it doesn't have to, even if you're just using the editing facilities built into your software DAW. Furthermore, almost every small-studio production I've worked on sounded more musical (and became a lot easier to mix) once careful timing and tuning correction had been applied. In that case, it's much better to start with those while your ears are fresh, and while you've still got lots of mix real estate and computer CPU power to play with. In fact, a lot of the established classic reverb units sound pretty unnatural (the AMS RMX16, say, or the EMT 140 plate), but that doesn't stop them from appearing all over the current charts. I call this the "silver bullet" myth--that comforting delusion that the only thing separating your mix from the ones you hear on the radio is some single esoteric process. The malaise can almost always be traced to a whole selection of minor misjudgments that have been made at various points in the arrangement, editing, and mixing process. It doesn't matter if you have to replace the drums with samples, stuff synth pads between the guitar layers, add new backing vocals, or remove certain instruments entirely--just as long as your final product sounds great enough to make the client a happy bunny.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Even simple things like color coding tracks to quickly get around your mix can shoot the inexperienced in the foot, but here it is called out for you. We live in a world where programmers offer us a bewildering array of affordable equipment past engineers would have sold their house for and could only dream of. It might also be painful to realize some songs, no matter who the mixer, can't be fixed because the arrangement is boring, confusing, not musical or too busy. Rather than tinker at a problem until you lose your hair you can read this book which clearly spells out what you can do, what you probably can't and what you'd be a fool to undertake. I've read the handful of low ratings and I see the same pattern- readers with unrealistic expectations and not enough patience to mix. That said, I'm not sure how anyone could rate the book so low and expect commercial (or even slightly good) mixing results."
"I bought a mixer, and this book, and I'm already recording, and better yet, learning how to improve my recordings quite a bit."
"Too often I embark on new projects and buy all the gear only to find out that my interest and tenacity wains, leaving me with a lot of equipment that I end up selling cheaper that I purchased it for. You can get this knowledge free my trawling around the internet and joining forums, but it does mean you have to weed out the chaff from the grain as there is a lot of opinion out there."
"There are so many different ways that we can record and mix audio now; Computer/Analog, ProTools/Logic, Rock/Country. If you read this trying to understand the concept and idea rather than expecting him to tell you exactly what settings to use you can learn a lot. This is a great reference for people learning to mix as well as experienced people who just want to pick up a few new ideas."
A photographic look into the world of vinyl record collectors. —. including Questlove. —. in the most intimate of environments—their record rooms. EILON PAZ is a professional photographer and the founder of the popular vinyl-collecting website Dust and Grooves.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Lovely book, some interviews, which are nice."
"My Husband Loves This Book!"
"Just a gorgeous book."
"As a 70 year old collector, I found this very interesting and entertaining."
"Beautiful coffee table book that will be adored by any record collector."
"A very cool look at some dedicated collectors of vinyl."
"Great insight into record collecting."
Geoff Emerick became an assistant engineer at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in 1962 at age fifteen, and was present as a new band called the Beatles recorded their first songs. Always aiming for perfection, the Beatles never took no for an answer, and he did his best to oblige by developing innovative recording techniques, some simple (e.g., using a loudspeaker as a microphone), others more sophisticated. Eventually, during the tense and uncomfortable White Album sessions, the Beatles barely spoke to one another without anger, and Emerick quit before recording was finished.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Geoff Emerick’s “Here, There and Everywhere” is a fascinating book for any Beatles fan and I would recommend it, though it is not without its problems. Emerick had the opportunity to be the proverbial fly on the wall pretty much throughout the entire Beatles recording odyssey, starting initially as an underling in the early sessions and eventually becoming the recording engineer by the time of the Revolver sessions. However, Emerick also holds a dim view of George and Ringo as musicians, and it should be noted that others, such as Beatles engineer Ken Scott, had a much higher opinion of the talents of the latter two than does Emerick and have flatly stated their disagreement in that regard. Fortunately for the Beatles, Emerick was young and experimental and willing to break the steadfast EMI rules about how recording was to be done, which often landed him in hot water with the administrative higher ups. Fortunately for the Beatles, Emerick was there to help through most of it. Working within the limitations of four-track tape recording, Emerick helped pioneer much of what we now take for granted in the greatly expanded digital recording world and it’s interesting to see the process unfold."
"Personally, I think it's the best Beatles book ever written. It doesn't delve into all the academics, dark underbelly, etc etc."
"Great fun and a great gift for any Beatles fan."
"First at Neve with fellow designers creating the consoles the engineers worked their magic on."
"This book is really really difficult to read."
"It is interesting if he can offer some reality on these much mythologized figures, even if negative, but the portraits--composed of a mixture of exactly precise dialogue so often aimed at making a particular point--seems both implausibly remembered with such exactitude, and untrue. This book does not help in that cause, as Emerick is so repeatedly caught up in pushing this point that it appears to reflect some inner motive or bias, to the detriment of fuller observations."
Best Performing Arts
Use with ARRL s online Exam Review for Ham Radio. Welcome to Amateur Radio. Radio and Signals Fundamentals. Electricity, Components, and Circuits. Propagation, Antennas, and Feed Lines. Amateur Radio Equipment. Communicating With Other Hams. Licensing Regulations. Operating Regulations. Safety. As you complete each chapter of this book, use ARRL's online Exam Review for Ham Radio to help prepare you for exam day. Once you've finished this book, use the online service to take practice exams with the same number and variety of questions that you'll encounter on exam day.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Some of the other books that I see concentrate more on passing the test by learning the test questions than actually teaching the material."
"After the training material, there is an excellent glossary, the complete exam question pool (with correct answers indicated), as well as a supplementary chapter on choosing a ham radio. Excellent graphics -- lots of tables, charts, photographs, and line drawings. As much as I love my e-Ink Kindle, this is the sort of book that is better in paper and in a large format. Table of Contents for the course material -- Radio and Signals Fundamentals; Electricity, Components, and Circuits; Propagation, Antennas, and Feed Lines; Amateur Radio Equipment; Communicating With Other Hams; Licensing Regulations; Operating Regulations; and Safety."
"Even though you could simply memorize the questions from the FCC test bank, you'll be missing out on a great amount of information that's useful to the new ham operator."
"As a test preparation guide and desktop reference, its a good book to own."
"I'm new to this HAM radio but am confident that this will be the reference that stays on my shelf as I get my first license level."
"This is a nicely laid out book that takes you through all of the material for the license exam."
"My only issue with the electronic format is that the images could be more readable inline with the text. This results in needing to zoom almost every image, where most of them could be otherwise read inline with the text."
"This manual takes a complex and fascinating hobby and renders it boring."
Best Communism & Socialism
Learn the subtle editing, arrangement, and monitoring tactics which give industry insiders their competitive edge, and master the psychological tricks which protect you from all the biggest rookie mistakes. Pick up tricks and tips from leading-edge engineers working on today's multi-platinum hits, including Michael Brauer, Serban Ghenea, the Lord-Alge brothers, Tony Maserati, Manny Marroquin, Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado, Jack Joseph Puig, Mark "Spike" Stent, Phil Tan, Andy Wallace, and many, many more . Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Mike Senior on Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio , "The 'Why The Hell' Challenge". In all these cases I've started with real-world small-studio recordings and used widely available mass-market technology to remix it to a commercial level, all without ever setting foot inside a "real" studio. If you want that kind of transformation for your music, then you can find a detailed explanation of my method in Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio . The second reason you might want to take notice of these mixing techniques, though, is that they've been drawn not only from my own professional experience, but also from more than four million words of first-hand interviews with the highest-profile engineers and producers on the planet. Amongst many other things in Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio , I try to deliver a stout kicking to the following questionable (but surprisingly pervasive) pieces of received wisdom: Indeed, the two most celebrated mixing speakers of all time, the Yamaha NS10 and the Auratone 5C Super Sound Cube, both have extremely uneven frequency-response plots, but excellent time-domain performance. Those common experiences are just the tip of the iceberg, and it's only by learning to work around the fickleness of your own hearing that you can begin to get decent mix results reliably. Corrective processing can certainly produce unmusical results, but it's important to realize that it doesn't have to, even if you're just using the editing facilities built into your software DAW. Furthermore, almost every small-studio production I've worked on sounded more musical (and became a lot easier to mix) once careful timing and tuning correction had been applied. In that case, it's much better to start with those while your ears are fresh, and while you've still got lots of mix real estate and computer CPU power to play with. In fact, a lot of the established classic reverb units sound pretty unnatural (the AMS RMX16, say, or the EMT 140 plate), but that doesn't stop them from appearing all over the current charts. I call this the "silver bullet" myth--that comforting delusion that the only thing separating your mix from the ones you hear on the radio is some single esoteric process. The malaise can almost always be traced to a whole selection of minor misjudgments that have been made at various points in the arrangement, editing, and mixing process. It doesn't matter if you have to replace the drums with samples, stuff synth pads between the guitar layers, add new backing vocals, or remove certain instruments entirely--just as long as your final product sounds great enough to make the client a happy bunny.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I bought a mixer, and this book, and I'm already recording, and better yet, learning how to improve my recordings quite a bit."
"Too often I embark on new projects and buy all the gear only to find out that my interest and tenacity wains, leaving me with a lot of equipment that I end up selling cheaper that I purchased it for. You can get this knowledge free my trawling around the internet and joining forums, but it does mean you have to weed out the chaff from the grain as there is a lot of opinion out there."
"There are so many different ways that we can record and mix audio now; Computer/Analog, ProTools/Logic, Rock/Country. If you read this trying to understand the concept and idea rather than expecting him to tell you exactly what settings to use you can learn a lot. This is a great reference for people learning to mix as well as experienced people who just want to pick up a few new ideas."
"This book has everything you need to know, and nothing you don't. It is my go-to book if I'm having issues with a mix, and always seems to provide just the right advice."
Best Music Reference
Every album and every song ever released by the Beatles - from "Please Please Me" (U.S. 1963) to "The Long and Winding Road" (U.S. 1970) - is dissected, discussed, and analyzed by two music historians in this lively, fully illustrated work. *Starred Review* This hefty gem of a book catalogs every recording released by the Beatles, in chronological order of album release. They know their stuff (Guesdon is a musician; Margotin, a music critic), and it shows—especially in the Production and Technical Details sections, where the type of equipment is named and described, recording speeds are discussed, and there is much talk of the number of takes each song required and why.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"book takes the "greatest bits of info" from the Lewisohn, Babiuk, Ryan/Kehew books, as well as previously published interviews by the Beatles and associates, recording anomalies (readily available on several internet sites) and puts them together under one cover (primary songwriter, instrument/vocal credit, dates/mixing/studio location and personnel, specific instruments used, the Anthology series audio material and additional background info). You will not see photos of the EMI recording boxes nor photos of every single instrument used, however there is certainly enough visual material to make the book a valuable tool covering the studio career of the Beatles."
"I would guess there are probably complex copyright issues with the lyrics and rather than the publisher dealing with tedious and expensive legal spelunking, they opted to omit. Or many Beatles album jackets have the lyrics (I have all the albums on original vinyl, so many have the lyrics - not sure about CDs and recent releases)."
"I received this great book for Christmas.....wow....exactly what I wanted."
"I was amazed how many instruments George Martin played on some later albums."
"Beatles 4 ever!"
"This is the book for it!"
"Also has info about history of how the albums were recording with a bit of band history and fun facts."
"Bought this as a Christmas present for my Dad and he’s obsessed!"
Best Music Business
“The industry bible” ( Los Angeles Times ), now updated, essential for anyone in the music business—musicians, songwriters, lawyers, agents, promoters, publishers, executives, and managers—trying to navigate the rapid transformation of the industry. Now if you’re reading this and trying to decide whether the music business will disappear and if you’d be better off putting the price of this book into your stamp collection, there actually is a beautiful weather forecast. As we’ll discuss, streaming has the potential to make the music business bigger than it’s ever been in history. People who never would have gone into a record store are listening to streams, and the numbers are growing fast. As these new ways to exploit music take hold, you might wonder how artists get paid. And at no extra charge (if you act RIGHT NOW), there’s an update of what’s happening with traditional music business deals—recording, songwriting, merchandising, touring, and so forth.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'll definitely refer back to it as my journey continues, but no matter your "stage" or "status" in the industry, do yourself a favor and read this book!"
"You dont buy this book... YOU dont take your craft seriously."
"Amazing book."
"This has become my bible for working in the music industry and has allowed me to have a clear understanding of the industry for running my record label."
"Great book to learn the ropes, it should be a must have if your in the music world."
"Bought it for my godson and he loved it."
"Great book, well worth the reading, from novice to expert, you will get something of value out of this book."
"Probably THE BEST in its field."
Best Music History & Criticism
Here's what The Rap Year Book does: It takes readers from 1979, widely regarded as the moment rap became recognized as part of the cultural and musical landscape, and comes right up to the present, with Shea Serrano hilariously discussing, debating, and deconstructing the most important rap song year by year. Complete with infographics, lyric maps, uproarious and informative footnotes, portraits of the artists, and short essays by other prominent music writers, The Rap Year Book is both a narrative and illustrated guide to the most iconic and influential rap songs ever created. Shea Serrano is a no.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Don't trust a man who gives this less than 5 stars."
"Basically, I had to attend this dinner party with my girlfriend where I was about to meet a group of people I'd never met before. It was important to me to make a good first impression and not be this boring dude with nothing interesting to say. Big Moon Dog, Big Punisher, Pun... Pun was like "yeah yeah kid and a bunch of other dopey nicknames, forget about that stuff, we don't have much time. Most people never take that chance, either they're too scared, or they don't recognize it when it spits on their shoes. Then as he headed back towards my closet, he went over to my desk and picked up six rulers."
"Books about rap ranked: 1."
"Let it be known that ShaunPG can be counted on in a crisis."
"Great all-around book."
"A) If you don't buy this book, you can't be trusted in a crisis."
"Sure, I completely disagree with many choices, maybe even most selections, but that's kind of the point: It has sparked playful debate with my wife, daughter, and friends; and, in a way, because of its mere existence, it works as the perfect social centerpiece: everyone who peruses it wants to then talk about it."
"Simple choice to pick up for you or a friend with its low price point. Shea's writing style is an easy read and is an entertaining "controlled chaos" with the use of footnotes to bring laughs is right out of the Bill Simmons playbook."
Best Musical Genres
1949), known for his work with the E Street Band, and his brand of poetic lyrics - Americana, working class, sometimes political sentiments centered on his native New Jersey - his distinctive voice, and his lengthy and energetic stage performances.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The motivations, the demons, the anxiety, the joys, the fears, the hopes, the dreams, all the elements that have constituted the Boss’s muse over these past 50 years are explained here. I do not want to reveal any of the revelations the reader will discover within the pages of this book, but I can say it was interesting to learn that Bruce possesses many of the same insecurities of us mere mortals. Bruce discloses, in great detail, particulars of his early years, his upbringing, the issues that influenced the way he thinks, his musically formative years, his wide held acclaim, his family, his doubts, his fears, and a treasure trove of personal details I have never heard before. Bruce has obviously spent much time in intense introspection, and he shares many of his insights and conclusions here. Now that the great James Brown has passed on, the moniker, “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” clearly belongs to Bruce. His unique gifts of lyric writing, musical composition, musicianship, and studio and on stage performance have rarely been seen in a single person. If you have ever wondered exactly what it is that makes one of the greatest of this or any other generation’s musical talents tick, it is all right here. Through a lifetime of events he details here, his skills developed and he has evolved into the national and world treasure affectionately referred to as "The Boss.""
"I read Bob Dylan's Chronicles a couple of years ago, and was struck by the artistic voice of the book."
"I love it so much. I didn't just learn about Bruce Springsteen's music, I learnt about some aspects of his life and some things about America. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading the whole book."
"Freehold, Asbury Park, New York City, San Francisco, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Memphis, and even Big Sur's Esalen make an appearance. The tension between the spontaneous nature of his live shows and the crafting of his music into recordings is palpable in the pages of "Born to Run"."
Best Musical Instruments
Titles: Alouette * Alpine Melody * Amazing Grace * Au Claire de la Lune * Aunt Rhody * Auld Lang Syne * Aura Lee * The Bandleader * Beautiful Brown Eyes * Blow the Man Down! * Largo (Dvorak) * Lavender's Blue * Lightly Row * Little Brown Jug * Liza Jane * London Bridge * Lone Star Waltz * Love Somebody * Lullaby * The Marine's Hymn * Mary Ann * Merrily We Roll Along * Mexican Hat Dance * Michael, Row the Boat Ashore * Money Can't Buy Everything * My Fifth * Ode to Joy * On Top of Old Smoky * O Sole Mio * Raisins and Almonds * Rock Along * Rockets * Rockin' Intervals * Rock It Away!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It took me about 1 1/2 months to work through the book and I rate it as excellent instruction for anyone wanting to learn or re-learn the piano."
"A little background before I get into the real review: My 14 y/o trumpet player daughter has been wanting to learn the piano for years. Her trumpet teacher disagreed and recommended she start with the Suzuki method as she has and incredibly good ear and quite a bit of natural musical talent. I bought this book to help rectify that, knowing that I'll be sitting in on her weekly lessons and absorbing a lot of information there. It's pretty exciting to go from not knowing where middle C is located to playing Jingle Bells with a bit of harmony in 2 days! I do plan on adding scales and such to my practice sessions, as these are truly the things that will help you progress and give you a more fundamental understanding of how music is put together. I feel like I'm able to grasp the concepts that are introduced and will be able to help my daughter along once her lessons start in a couple of weeks."
"No CD, but Youtube is better than the CD anyway."
"So far, helping me learn the piano."
"A little bit hard if you are teaching yourself."
"I love this book!!!"
"This is a wonderful book for adult learners and my instructor agrees with me."
"This is a really great book on beginning piano playing."
Best Music Theory, Composition & Performance
Titles: Alouette * Alpine Melody * Amazing Grace * Au Claire de la Lune * Aunt Rhody * Auld Lang Syne * Aura Lee * The Bandleader * Beautiful Brown Eyes * Blow the Man Down! * Largo (Dvorak) * Lavender's Blue * Lightly Row * Little Brown Jug * Liza Jane * London Bridge * Lone Star Waltz * Love Somebody * Lullaby * The Marine's Hymn * Mary Ann * Merrily We Roll Along * Mexican Hat Dance * Michael, Row the Boat Ashore * Money Can't Buy Everything * My Fifth * Ode to Joy * On Top of Old Smoky * O Sole Mio * Raisins and Almonds * Rock Along * Rockets * Rockin' Intervals * Rock It Away!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It took me about 1 1/2 months to work through the book and I rate it as excellent instruction for anyone wanting to learn or re-learn the piano."
"A little background before I get into the real review: My 14 y/o trumpet player daughter has been wanting to learn the piano for years. Her trumpet teacher disagreed and recommended she start with the Suzuki method as she has and incredibly good ear and quite a bit of natural musical talent. I bought this book to help rectify that, knowing that I'll be sitting in on her weekly lessons and absorbing a lot of information there. It's pretty exciting to go from not knowing where middle C is located to playing Jingle Bells with a bit of harmony in 2 days! I do plan on adding scales and such to my practice sessions, as these are truly the things that will help you progress and give you a more fundamental understanding of how music is put together. I feel like I'm able to grasp the concepts that are introduced and will be able to help my daughter along once her lessons start in a couple of weeks."
"No CD, but Youtube is better than the CD anyway."
"I would definitely recommend Alfred's series, but make sure to get some additional piano literature to go along with it."
"I have been glad that I going through it with a piano teacher however as there are definitely things she clarified better than the book did. That said, I think this would be a good book were someone to choose it to teach themselves and I often move ahead in it to teach myself a bit of what is coming next in the lessons."
"So I got this book."
Best Composer & Musician Biographies
He describes growing up Catholic in Freehold, New Jersey, amid the poetry, danger, and darkness that fueled his imagination, leading up to the moment he refers to as “The Big Bang”: seeing Elvis Presley’s debut on The Ed Sullivan Show . Like many of his songs (“Thunder Road,” “Badlands,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “The River,” “Born in the U.S.A,” “The Rising,” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” to name just a few), Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography is written with the lyricism of a singular songwriter and the wisdom of a man who has thought deeply about his experiences. Born to Run takes readers on a riveting ride through the everyman rock star’s deeply lived existence.” — Associated Press. His story is intimate and personal, but he has an interest in other people and a gift for sizing them up..” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times. He delivers the story of Bruce—in digestibly short chapters—via an informally steadfast Jersey plainspeak that’s worked and deftly detailed and intimate with its readers—cleareyed enough to say what it means when it has hard stories to tell, yet supple enough to rise to occasions requiring eloquence—sometimes rather pleasingly subsiding into the syntax and rhythms of a Bruce Springsteen song." “A virtuoso performance, the 508-page equivalent to one of Springsteen and the E Street Band's famous four-hour concerts: Nothing is left onstage, and diehard fans and first-timers alike depart for home sated and yet somehow already aching for more.” — NPR.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The motivations, the demons, the anxiety, the joys, the fears, the hopes, the dreams, all the elements that have constituted the Boss’s muse over these past 50 years are explained here. I do not want to reveal any of the revelations the reader will discover within the pages of this book, but I can say it was interesting to learn that Bruce possesses many of the same insecurities of us mere mortals. Bruce discloses, in great detail, particulars of his early years, his upbringing, the issues that influenced the way he thinks, his musically formative years, his wide held acclaim, his family, his doubts, his fears, and a treasure trove of personal details I have never heard before. Bruce has obviously spent much time in intense introspection, and he shares many of his insights and conclusions here. Now that the great James Brown has passed on, the moniker, “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” clearly belongs to Bruce. His unique gifts of lyric writing, musical composition, musicianship, and studio and on stage performance have rarely been seen in a single person. If you have ever wondered exactly what it is that makes one of the greatest of this or any other generation’s musical talents tick, it is all right here. Through a lifetime of events he details here, his skills developed and he has evolved into the national and world treasure affectionately referred to as "The Boss.""
"Bruce Springsteen's book follows the advice of "write it like you say it.""
"Not only great songs that many of us love and identify with, but now he’s given us this inspiring autobiography! Hopefully, those reading the book, who have never suffered from it, will understand how it never goes away, but can be managed (exercise, meds, and support from loved ones)."
"I especially enjoyed reading about some of his specific songs and what they really mean."
"Incredibly well-written, Mr. Springsteen can describe a scene in such a way that makes you feel like you are there -- smelling the smells, hearing the sounds, and feeling the feelings."
"I love Springsteen and the real story though I read another Bio a very good one by an Author named Carlin; but reading his own words about how it all came to be was fascinating and totally interesting and lesson in single minded deterimination to succeed!"
Best Songbooks
Titles: Alouette * Alpine Melody * Amazing Grace * Au Claire de la Lune * Aunt Rhody * Auld Lang Syne * Aura Lee * The Bandleader * Beautiful Brown Eyes * Blow the Man Down! * Largo (Dvorak) * Lavender's Blue * Lightly Row * Little Brown Jug * Liza Jane * London Bridge * Lone Star Waltz * Love Somebody * Lullaby * The Marine's Hymn * Mary Ann * Merrily We Roll Along * Mexican Hat Dance * Michael, Row the Boat Ashore * Money Can't Buy Everything * My Fifth * Ode to Joy * On Top of Old Smoky * O Sole Mio * Raisins and Almonds * Rock Along * Rockets * Rockin' Intervals * Rock It Away!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It took me about 1 1/2 months to work through the book and I rate it as excellent instruction for anyone wanting to learn or re-learn the piano."
"A little background before I get into the real review: My 14 y/o trumpet player daughter has been wanting to learn the piano for years. Her trumpet teacher disagreed and recommended she start with the Suzuki method as she has and incredibly good ear and quite a bit of natural musical talent. I bought this book to help rectify that, knowing that I'll be sitting in on her weekly lessons and absorbing a lot of information there. It's pretty exciting to go from not knowing where middle C is located to playing Jingle Bells with a bit of harmony in 2 days! I do plan on adding scales and such to my practice sessions, as these are truly the things that will help you progress and give you a more fundamental understanding of how music is put together. I feel like I'm able to grasp the concepts that are introduced and will be able to help my daughter along once her lessons start in a couple of weeks."
"No CD, but Youtube is better than the CD anyway."
"I would definitely recommend Alfred's series, but make sure to get some additional piano literature to go along with it."
"I have been glad that I going through it with a piano teacher however as there are definitely things she clarified better than the book did. That said, I think this would be a good book were someone to choose it to teach themselves and I often move ahead in it to teach myself a bit of what is coming next in the lessons."
"So I got this book."