Theory of music and musicology Books

Book SynopsisIn response to the anti-war movements of the 1960s, pioneering musician and composer Pauline Oliveros began to experiment with meditation, movement and activism in her compositions. Quantum Listening is her manifesto for listening as activism.

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Book SynopsisAlfred Brendel, one of the greatest pianists of our time, is renowned for his masterly interpretations of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt, and has been credited with rescuing from oblivion the piano music of Schubert's last years. Far from having merely one string to his bow, however, Brendel is also one of the world's most remarkable writers on music - possessed of the rare ability to bring the clarity and originality of expression that characterised his performances to the printed page. The definitive collection of his award-winning writings and essays, Music, Sense and Nonsense combines all of his work originally published in his two classic books, Musical Thoughts and Afterthoughts and Music Sounded Out, along with significant new material on a lifetime of recording, performance habits and reflections on life and art. As well as providing stimulating reading, this new edition provides a unique insight into the exceptional mind of one of the outstanding musicians of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.Whether discussing Bach or Beethoven, Schubert or Schoenberg, Brendel's reflections are illuminating and challenging, a treasure for the specialist and music lover alike.

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Book SynopsisFrom a Los Angeles hospital bed, equipped with little more than a laptop and a stack of records, James “J Dilla” Yancey crafted a set of tracks that would forever change the way beatmakers viewed their artform. The songs on Donuts are not hip hop music as “hip hop music” is typically defined; they careen and crash into each other, in one moment noisy and abrasive, gorgeous and heartbreaking the next. The samples and melodies tell the story of a man coming to terms with his declining health, a final love letter to the family and friends he was leaving behind. As a prolific producer with a voracious appetite for the history and mechanics of the music he loved, J Dilla knew the records that went into constructing Donuts inside and out. He could have taken them all and made a much different, more accessible album. If the widely accepted view is that his final work is a record about dying, the question becomes why did he make this record about dying? Drawing from philosophy, critical theory and musicology, as well as Dilla’s own musical catalogue, Jordan Ferguson shows that the contradictory, irascible and confrontational music found on Donuts is as much a result of an artist’s declining health as it is an example of what scholars call “late style,” placing the album in a musical tradition that stretches back centuries.Trade ReviewThis intelligent book uses the records and insights of Dilla's contemporaries to examine his approach to production, his relationships within the genre, love of records and how Donuts can be seen as a piece of music attuned to its creator's failing health. An insightful and emotive read. -- James Griffin * Bonafide Magazine *Jordan Ferguson’s book on Donuts provides a trove of information about what was clearly one of the albums of the last decade of any genre […]Ferguson offers a cogent reading of the album. Others have speculated that Jay Dee buried “secret messages” within the tracks. I don’t know how secret they are but it is clear that there were major preoccupations, life-death-relationships and, of course, music. What he produced was a brilliant, multi-layered, sonically exhilarating work and Ferguson has done the album justice with this slim volume. -- Robert Iannapollo * ARSC Journal *Excerpted * Stones Throw *That such a lively collection of beats and samples—as cerebral as they are physical—was created by a dying man ensures that Jordan Ferguson’s book will be poignant, but his clear storytelling and direct prose allows producer James Yancey to emerge as a complicated, contradictory character. The first half is the most extensive biography we have of the man, from his childhood in Detroit to his death in Los Angeles, just three days after the release of Donuts. The second half grapples with the album as a meditation on mortality, which only shows what an immense talent the world lost. -- Stephen M. Deusner * Pitchfork *Table of Contents1. Welcome to the Show 2. The Diff’rence 3. Hi. 4. Waves 5. Stop! 6. The Twister (Huh, What) 7. Workinonit 8. Two Can Win 9. Geek Down 10. The New 11. Bye.

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Book SynopsisOliver Sacks is a physician and the author of many books, including The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Awakenings (which inspired the Oscar-nominated film) and Musicophilia. Born in London and educated at Oxford, he held positions at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine and was Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at Columbia University. He is the first, and only, Columbia University Artist, and is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. In 2008, he was appointed Commander of the British Empire. His memoir, On the Move, was published shortly before his death in August 2015.Trade ReviewFascinating. Music, as Sacks explains, 'can pierce the heart directly'. And this is the truth that he so brilliantly focuses upon – that music saves, consoles and nourishes us. * Daily Mail *An elegantly outlined series of case studies . . . which reveal the depth to which music grips so many people. * Observer *

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Book SynopsisPracticing is an essential part of every musician''s life, but we are rarely taught how to practice in the most effective and efficient way. Many of us find ourselves frustrated when we sound good in the practice room only to embarrass ourselves on stage or in front of our teachers. We feel overwhelmed by the amount of music we have to learn, unsure how to balance everything. Playing from memory can feel terrifying and an insurmountable challenge, and overcoming bad habits can seem impossible at times. Molly Gebrian applies the science of learning and memory to practicing and performing, giving musicians the tools to learn music more effectively and experience greater confidence on stage. Researchers working in the fields of cognitive psychology and neuroscience have discovered many important principles about how the brain learns new information, retains this information both short- and long-term, and how to make this learning reliable in high-pressure situations like performances. Musicians often choose practice strategies that don''t align well with the optimal ways in which the brain learns, leading to frustration while practicing and inconsistency in performance. The author offers a practical guide, using accessible language for non-scientists and non-academics, to help musicians get more out of their practicing by applying this research. Gebrian starts with general principles of learning and how the brain works, and then progresses through increasingly specific topics. Throughout the book, the science behind the various topics is explained in layman''s terms, accompanied by practical, actionable advice that can be implemented immediately, to give musicians of all levels better tools while practicing and greater confidence on stage.

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Book SynopsisCharles King is Professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University, Washington DC. His numerous books include the New York Times bestseller The Reinvention of Humanity (published in the US as Gods of the Upper Air), which was winner of The Francis Parkman Prize and shortlisted for the British Academy Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul; and Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams, which was winner of a National Jewish Book Award. His writing has appeared in the TLS, New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, The New Republic and other publications.

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Book SynopsisNon-fans regard Celine Dion as ersatz and plastic, yet to those who love her, no one could be more real, with her impoverished childhood, her manager-husband's struggle with cancer, her knack for howling out raw emotion. This book documents author's brave and unprecedented year-long quest to find his inner Celine Dion fan.Trade Review"Let's Talk" about one of the most interesting music books you'll read this year... The always critical and erudite Mr. Wilson actually approached Let's Talk About Love as a non-fan grappling with questions of "good" and "bad" taste... It's almost certainly the only installment in the series to discuss French-Canadian race relations, rockism, and Milan Kundera's thoughts on kitsch. * Idolator.com *This could be the best book of the series...razor-sharp and unerringly intelligent. -- John Wenzel * The Denver Post *This book seriously explores the wide divide between mainstream pop that is mass-marketed and purchased, and the critics who usually sneer at it for those very reasons. It's a heady work that examines everything from 'reductive Marxist theories of culture' to why critics value restrained singing while 'American Idol' fans embrace 'show-offy' technical power. -- Mike Weatherfork * Las Vegas Review Journal *A book pondering the aesthetics of Céline risks going wrong in about 3,000 different ways...Instead, this book goes very deeply right. -- Sam Anderson * New York Magazine *Let's Talk About Love is a rigorous, perceptive and very funny meditation on what happens when you realize that there's more to life than being hip, and begin to grapple with just what that "more" might be. * Montreal Gazette *A bit of a departure for Continuum's 33 1/3 series exploring classic records...readers of the dizzingly dweeby intellectualizing that often makes Wilson's blog an exhausting pleasure to read will not be surprised that, for him, a discussion of the love theme from Titanic must encompass an examination of Quebecois culture, the history of parlour entertainment as it relates to the immigrant experience, the philosophies of Hume and Kant and the sociological experiments of Pierre Bordieu. -- Edward Keenan * Eye Weekly *Blending pop culture, cultural history, music criticism with Wilson's eclectic sensibility, the book is a fascinating look at how highbrow, middlebrow and nobrow rub meaningful observations along the way, moving on to the next without ever belabouring a point. The book is clever without the writer himself ever coming across as trying to be clever...It's like having an interesting conversation with a friend whose opinions you respect. * Toronto Star Online, November 2009 *This erudite and eye-opening book attempts to explore not only Dion's polarizing appeal but also the very concept of "taste." Along the way, Wilson traces his loathing for Dion back to her Oscars performance alongside Elliott Smith, examines the meaning of "schmaltz" and Dion's French-Canadian roots, meets her adoring fans, sees her Vegas show, reviews the album (it's the one with that Titanic song), and analyzes theories on taste from David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Pierre Bourdieu (turns out social distinction plays a big part). By the end, Wilson has set the blueprint for a kind of music criticism that "might put less stock in defending its choices and more in depicting its enjoyment, with all its messiness and private soul tremors-- to show what it is like for me to like it, and invite you to compare." In other words, let's talk about love. * Pitchfork feature "Our 60 Favorite Music Books" *Erudite and eye-opening. * Pitchfork's "Our 60 Favorite Music Books" feature *I teach in a university drama programme and I plan to integrate the book into our first-year Critical Theories course as a way to introduce students to principles of aesthetics, and to the discourse around pop/high culture. It's difficult to make Kantian aesthetics accessible to 18 year olds. Let's Talk About Love is a rare instance of the transmission of complex and sophisticated ideas in language that is accessible without being dumbed-down. -- Karen Fricker, Lecturer in Contemporary Theatre, Royal Holloway, University of LondonLet's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste offers a rare combination of compelling research and enormously entertaining writing, a real find for students of popular culture. It's a compact little volume packed with keen insights into the ideologies that have shaped music criticism and scholarship, thought-provoking commentary on problems of aesthetics, and sensitive reflexive analysis. That reflexivity, along with a careful balance of critical theory and field research, makes this work particularly appropriate for courses with an ethnomusicological angle. And as ethnomusicologists continue to cultivate a growing sub-field in popular music studies, Let's Talk About Love is a timely and valuable resource. -- Katherine Meizel, Lecturer in Ethnomusicology,University of California, Santa BarbaraWritten keenly and with great generosity. * Idolator, 24 December 2008 *The book [is] an engaging and intelligent study of taste and critiism framed by Celine Dion's tragic music. * EyeWeekly, 24 February 2009 *...a brilliant read and a total eye-opener. Unlike other contributors, Wilson doesn't shore up another crumbling wall of the canon but dives into a world of kitsch to ask what makes us hate music. How can we know that 'bad' music really is bad, and what is taste anyway? It'll shake all your critical certainties, which is not a very good idea when you're in my line of work. * The Word Magazine *Mention in Today's Books * BookweekThe A-List *Wilson covers a lot of ground in his 161-page quest; the second half of the book reads like a Cultural Studies power ballad, invoking Roland Barthes, Theodor Adorno, Immanuel Kant, Clement Greenberg, Arthur C. Danto, and scores of other contemporary critics in rapid succession. Perhaps most impressively, Wilson condenses French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's mammoth (and seminal) tome Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste into one spry little chapter. * Rain Taxi *It's said there's no accounting for taste, but Canadian music critic Carl Wilson certainly makes a Herculean effort in this latest entry in Continuum's 33 1/3 series...En route, Wilson finds plenty of fellow detractors, generously hashes out a lengthy definition of "schmaltz," and drags Elliott Smith, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Clement Greenberg, Pierre Bourdieu, and a gaggle of shameless starry-eyed Dion fanatics into his intellectual and aesthetic morass. -- Raymond Cummings * Baltimore City Paper *'Morally you could fairly ask', Wilson writes, 'what is more laudable about excess in the name of rage and resentment than immoderation in thrall to love and connection?' That is, indeed, a fair and moral question, and it leads Wilson to wonder 'if anyone's tastes stand on solid ground, starting with mine.' He doesn't reach any definite conclusions, but the conversation he carries on through the centuries with everyone from philosophers David Hume and Immanuel Kant to sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, is by turns enlightening, provocative and unexpectedly moving. Wilson aptly calls Let's Talk About Love 'an experiment in taste,' and maybe as much as anything else, the book argues that such an experiment is one we'd all do well to conduct. -- David Cantwell * No Depression *The 33 1/3 of pocket books ... are superb little volumes devoted to classic albums. What unites them is not so much their subject as the standard of the writing and imagination that the authors have brought to their task... every one I've read has been well worth the attention. Wilson's approach to Celine Dione, however, stands out ... Clever and witty. -- Keith Bruce * The Herald (Glasgow), Saturday 8th March 2008. *Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste is Canadian journalist Carl Wilson's Celine Dion contribution to Continuum's inspired 33 1/3 series of short books ... Music criticism is often just guy-world. Wilson is the real thing. I can't praise this small book enough. Smart, but humane. -- Heather Wilson * CBC, Monday 25th February 2008. *It's fascinating stuff...By turns hilarious and heartwarming. -- Dave Stelfox * Guardian Unlimited Arts blog *Mention on Offbeat.com -- Alex RawlsCarl Wilson was interviewed by The Onion's A.V. Club -- Steven HydenFramed by an irresistible concept...Wilson turns the [33 1/3] series on its head by seriously considering a blockbuster hit by Celine Dion. -- Christopher Gray * Portland Phoenix *Wilson's approach to Celine Dion...stands out. Wilson examines why he loathes it, its creator and everything about her-- and what inspires devotion in her bast army of followers around the world...Clever and witty, it almost make me seek out the album. But not quite. -- Keith Bruce * The Herald, Glasgow *Constantly interesting and thought-provoking...and I think he can teach us a few valuable things about criticism, for what it's worth. -- John Mulvey * Uncut, UK *I still don't like what I know of Dion's music and probably never will. But Wilson's efforts to examine the rote critical assumption that Celine Dion's music blows digs up all kinds of fascinating issues about the nature of taste and the hierarchy of pop culture. * Bohemian.com *An insightful, engaging and unexpectedly moving book. -- Jason Anderson * Globe and Mail *Brilliant. -- Alex Ross, author of The Rest is NoiseConsistently thought provoking. -- Matthew Siblo * Express: A Publication of The Washington Post *This book is especially interesting on Dion's background... His book is intelligent and often moving. * The Daily Telegraph *In perhaps the most erudite and humane book of criticism ever written, Let’s Talk About Love, the music journalist Carl Wilson brilliantly used Celine Dion’s album of the same name to discuss the subjective nature of good taste and to try to understand what makes Dion so world-dominatingly popular. * The Daily Beast *Music criticism is often just guy-world. Wilson's the real thing. I can't praise this small book enough. Smart, but humane. -- Heather Mallick * CBC News: Analysis and Viewpoint *By exploring taste, kitsch, culture, fans, the state of contemporary criticism, Quebec nationalism, and economics in Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, Carl Wilson manages to produce one of the most interesting and erudite books on why people love and hate certain kinds of art...Readers will find themselves evaluating their views on arts with added scrutiny after reading this surprising and provocative book. * Hipster Book Club *A wide-ranging book, one predicated on the possibility that what repels us may say more about us than what attracts us...[an] insightful, engaging, and unexpectedly moving book. -- Jason Anderson * The Globe and Mail *An important study- not just of Dion and pop music but also of the changing nature of criticism in the popular realm. -- Andy Battaglia * Bookforum *As refreshing a music book I have read in a long time. -- David Gutowski * Largehearted Boy, Book Notes *An illustration of the best side of music criticism. * Erasing Clouds *Wilson uses Dion's record as a crowbar, and pries open the assumptions and prejudices which shape our tastes in the first place. Despite our preconceptions surrounding Wilson's ostensible subject (or perhaps, because of them), the results are subtle, and startling enough to give the most jaded of readers pause. -- Alex Abramovich * Flavorpill NYC *The ironic subtitle attached to Wilson’s tome signaled the departure it marked from the series’ usual fare. His subject, Celine Dion, was in the eyes music criticism’s orthodoxy, the antithesis of the celebrated artist, and, accordingly, Wilson presented his work as a challenge, to himself and others, to approach her with fresh ears. -- Leela Ginelle * PQ Monthly *The most unlikely album made the best 33 1/3: Celine Dion isn’t usually afforded the same respect as a Bob Dylan or a Joni Mitchell, but Carl Wilson uses her populist art and personal history to ask questions about class, taste, and race in an effort to figure out how one of the most popular singers in the world could be loved and hated in equal measure. The answers he finds aren’t always comfortable, but that only makes them more important and crucial to criticism in the 21st century. -- Stephen M. Deusner * Pitchfork *

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Book SynopsisDavid Bowie is holed up in his Bel-Air mansion, drifting into paranoia and confusion. Bowie has long been haunted by the emotional work of the Die Brucke movement and the Expressionists. Berlin is their spiritual home, and Bowie adopts this city as his new sanctuary. Immediately he sets to work on "Low", his own expressionist mood-piece.Trade Review"'A brilliant series of pocket-sized books focussing on a classic album. Each one a work of real love.' NME"

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Book SynopsisW. A. Mathieu, an accomplished author and recording artist, presents a way of learning music that reconnects modern-day musicians with the source from which music was originally generated. As the author states, The rules of music--including counterpoint and harmony--were not formed in our brains but in the resonance chambers of our bodies. His theory of music reconciles the ancient harmonic system of just intonation with the modern system of twelve-tone temperament. Saying that the way we think music is far from the way we do music, Mathieu explains why certain combinations of sounds are experienced by the listener as harmonious. His prose often resembles the rhythms and cadences of music itself, and his many musical examples allow readers to discover their own musical responses.Trade Review"Mathieu's books are worth reading for anyone in any field of music--jazz, classical, gospel, or any other. He's found the words to tell the power of music." * Pete Seeger, folksinger *"This book goes beyond what most textbooks offer, and its highly original pedagogy deserves the attention of every teacher of harmony. Above all, this is a book for anyone who would like to acquire harmony as a lived experience rather than as mere memorization of unyielding rules on paper." * Chien-Chang Yang, Quarterly Journal of the MLA *"Mathieu is consistently proving himself to be one of the best in musical theory." * John Coltrane in Downbeat Magazine *"This volume offers experiential keys to help unlock the mystery of how music works its deep affect upon us. Harmonic Experience extends any reader's understanding of music and is a user-friendly, elegant and graceful work. It is a technical treatise about the inner workings of music." * Daniel Atesh Sonneborn, Smithsonian Institution *Table of Contents Editor's Preface Introduction Part 1: Harmonic Purity: Feeling the Numbers 1 Seeing Air and Touching Sound 2 Singing Unison with a Drone 3 Singing Octaves 4 Singing Perfect Fifths 5 Singing Major Thirds 6 A Map of Harmonic Relationships 7 The Perfect Fifth Below: Hello Mother 8 The Major Third Below 9 The Central Section of the Map Completed 10 The Five-limit Lattice of Twelve Notes 11 Available Modes: Lydian Through Phrygian 12 Mixed Modes 13 Internalizing the Lattice 14 Numbers and Mysteries 15 Chomatic Pairs 16 Beyond Twelve Notes: The Extended Five-Limit Lattice 17 The Seventh Partial and Beyond 18 The Practice of Pure Harmony Part 2: The Selective Use of Equal Temperament 19 Leaping from Paradise 20 Six Unambiguous Chords 21 Twelve Unambiguous Chords: Tonal Harmony within the Lattice of Twelve Notes 22 Unambiguous Triadic Harmony in the Extended Lattice 23 Dronality in Equal Temperament: Mixed Modes 24 Dronality in Equal Temperament: Mixed Modes 25 Chromatic Pairs and the Magic Mode 26 Pushing the Magic Mode Envelope Part 3: The Function Commas of Equal-Tempered Tonal Harmony 27 Comma Phenomena 28 Didymic Pairs of Tones 29 Didymic Pairs of Triads 30 The Great Diesis: The Beauty of the Beast 31 The Tonal Array of the Great Diesis 32 The Diaschisma 33 Quasi-functional and Nonfunctional Commas 34 The Shape of Tonality Part 4: Harmonic Practice, Analysis, and Review of the Theory 35 Practical Matters 36 A Small Syllabus of Diatonic Sequences 37 Cadential Practices: Parallel Borrowing 38 The Long Cadence: A Comprehensive View of Cadential Energy 39 Tonicization and Modulation 40 Modal Modulation 41 A Syllabus of Cyclic Sequences 42 Symmetrical Harmony and the Dissolution of Tonality 43 The Notation of Positional Analysis 44 Review of the Theory Afterword Glossary of Terms Glossary of Singable Tones in Just Intonation Sources Acknowledgments General Index Index of Ratios Index of Most-Referenced Examples, Figures, and Tables

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Book SynopsisLearn about the world''s greatest classical compositions and musical traditions in The Classical Music Book.Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Classic Music in this overview guide to the subject, brilliant for novices looking to find out more and experts wishing to refresh their knowledge alike! The Classical Music Book brings a fresh and vibrant take on the topic through eye-catching graphics and diagrams to immerse yourself in. This captivating book will broaden your understanding of Classical Music, with:- More than 90 pieces of world-famous music - Packed with facts, charts, timelines and graphs to help explain core concepts- A visual approach to big subjects with striking illustrations and graphics throughout- Easy to follow text makes topics accessible for people at any level of understandingThe ClassicaTrade ReviewIt really is a fantastic book. * Steve Wright BBC Radio 2 *An engaging and informative read. * BBC Music Magazine *If you enjoy classical music and want to know more, The Classical Music Book is for you. * People's Friend *

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Book SynopsisSlayer's Reign in Blood remains the gold standard for extreme heavy metal: a seamless procession of ten blindingly fast songs in just twenty-eight minutes, delivered in furious bursts of instrumental precision, with lyrics so striking that Tori Amos was moved to record a cover. This book explores the creation of this album.Trade ReviewI can tell you this- if you hold Slayer's Reign in Blood in your holy trinity of album releases that would go with you to your metal desert island, then this is definitely your new favorite book. * addictedtovinyl.com *Overall, 33 1/3: Reign in Blood will thrill those who've carved SLAYER into their skin (it's more common among fans than you'd think), as well as pique the interest of hard-rock aficionados curious about Slayer but who've not taken the sanguinity plunge yet. * OC Weekly *Reign in Blood' is notable for its brutality, but as the defining manifesto of thrash metal, it is transcendent for its purity. To love rock & roll is to love subcultures, and D.X. Ferris has explained, in stunning detail, how one subculture was defined and galvanized by that single album, and why that definition will never need to be written again. -- David GiffelsA short, intense, meticulous history of Reign In Blood and really, the whole band... The result is an authorized, damn perfect look at this one album. * Martin Popoff, editor in chief of Brave Words Bloody Knuckles *D.X. Ferris has written an academic and thought-provoking book while at the same time presenting it as a general reader. Ferris does not give in to the tendency of 'dumbing down' metal; instead, he puts forth a very well argued statement that Slayer's 'Reign In Blood' is a classic album and should be treated as such. -- Laura Kowalewski and Andrew Carpenter * Ballet Deviare *If you don't learn something from this book then you are a liar. * Sage Francis *Ferris interviewed everyone who's anyone so he could deliver the last word on Slayer's first metal masterpiece. Rock-solid rock joürnalism that deserves its umlauts. * Dan LeRoy, author of 33 1/3: Paul's Boutique and The Greatest Music Never Sold: Secrets of Legendary Lost Albums by David Bowie, Seal, Beastie Boys, Chicago, Mick Jagger *D.X. Ferris breaks it all down person-by-person and track-by-track to separate fact from fiction, retracing the origins, occasional pitfalls and eventual triumph that brought forth in his words, 'the greatest heavy metal album ever.'... The book untangles a number of assumptions related to the band that should surprise even longtime fans.... The book provides not only a good introduction to the band, but capably answers on all fronts regarding the album in question.... Ferris pens a clean and even story; flashes his bona fides outright and is passionate enough about the work to sustain that fervor through to the end. -- Todd DePalma, The Left Hand PathD.X. Ferris's recent 33 1/3 book devoted to Reign In Blood is excellent. -- Joel McIver, author of Slayer biography The Bloody Reign of SlayerDeclares Ferris, 'I wanted to present the story in a way that's compelling to both rabid Slayer fans and to NPR listeners who love pop music but have never lost a shoe in a mosh pit' -- and he largely succeeds. -- Dave Segal * OC Weekly *Writer D.X. Ferris pulls off an admirable tightrope walk. As both a fan and a critic, Ferris manages to convey a sense of excitement about the album even as he pulls the reader headfirst into the world of Slayer. By talking to band members, other musicians, friends and other people around the band at the time, hardcore fans..even respected studio engineer Andy Wallace...Ferris pulls together as complete a picture of the making of Reign in Blood as you'll likely ever read. * Trademark of Quality Blog *… in writing one of the few 33 1/3 books on a metal album, Ferris knows he must argue persuasively for their inclusion. Toward that end, he conducted a raft of original interviews for the book (everyone from Slayer frontman Tom Araya to Tori Amos) to tell their story as clearly and as vividly as possible. -- Stephen M. Deusner * Pitchfork *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Reign in Blood, featuring original commentary from... Introduction The Argument: F*****' Slayer Talkin' Thrash "Metalstorm: Face the Slayer" Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Drummer Dave Lombardo Singer-Bassist Tom Araya Guitarist Kerry King DJ-RR: The Producer, Rick Rubin. And the Label, Def Jam. Engineer Andy Wallace Recruiting New Blood Writing Blood Recording Blood Illustrating Blood Bad Day at Black Rock Def Metal: Slayer in the House Reviewing Blood The Reign Reign in Blood: The Songs and Their Impact Reign in Blood, in Summary The Legacy Notes, Asides, and Works Cited

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Book Synopsis"Aja" was the album that made Steely Dan a commercial force on the order of contemporaries like Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles and Chicago. A double-platinum, Grammy-winning bestseller, it lingered on the Billboard charts for more than a year and spawned three hit singles. This book paints a detailed picture of the making of a masterpiece.Trade ReviewMusician and songwriter Breithaupt's book pores over every last note of Josie, Deacon Blues, Peg and the like with the enthusiasm of a teenybopper and the insight of an academic. -- Terry Staunton * Record Collector *Aja was the album that made Steely Dan a commercial force on the order of contemporaries like Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, and Chicago. A double-platinum, Grammy-winning bestseller, it lingered on the Billboard charts for more than a year after its 1977 release and spawned three hit singles. Odd, then, that its creators saw it as an `ambitious, extended` work, the apotheosis of their anti-rock, anti-band, anti-glamour aesthetic. Including an in-depth interview with Dan co-founder Donald Fagen, this book - part of Continuum`s ongoing 33 1/3 series - by Canadian musician and music journalist Don Breithaupt paints a detailed picture of the making of a masterpiece. * Upper North Side *Don Breithaupt has crafted an informative book about Steely Dan's platinum sixth album, Aja—part of Continuum Press' 33 1/3 series on acclaimed albums in rock history. The author analyzes Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's cryptic word play and arty rock and West Coast studio contributions to the 1977 release and tried to build a case in support of his fervid-fan claim that Aja is ‘the best record in the solar system. * Downbeat Magazine *Aja is the first one [in the series] I've read, but I'll be checking out the others. Highly recommended. * Stereophile *

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1948, Structural Functions of Harmony is Schoenberg''s last theoretical work and contains his ultimate thoughts on classical and romantic harmony. The opening chapters are a resume of the basic principles of the early Theory of Harmony; the subsequent chapters demonstrate the concept of ''monotonality'', whereby all modulations to different keys within a movement are analysed not in relation to each other but in terms of the irrelationship to one central tonality (tonic) as the centre of all harmonic change. Schoenberg''s music examples range from the entire development sections of classical symphonies to analyses of the harmonic progressions of Strauss, Debussy, Reger, and his own early music.

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Book SynopsisThis work examines the actual songwriting techniques of John, Paul, George and, occasionally, Ringo. Packed with examples of The Beatles' music, it explains the chord sequences, structures and harmonies that created one of the most influential sounds of the 20th century.

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Book Synopsis20th-century science and music, argues Jamie James, have rejected the Romantic separation of the two. The book provides a survey of the history of science and music, a reassessment of Romanticism and the modernist reaction to it, and a radical intellectual journey.Trade ReviewAn unequivocal affirmation that music is no mere entertainment, but is vitally significant: an important adjunct in healing; an essential part of education. * SUNDAY TIMES *A learned, sophisticated book, full of surprises. * FINANCIAL TIMES *James probes deeply into an undervalued question and left me wondering at the extent to which our whole view of reality- and what may lie beyond it- is being revolutionised. * NEW SCIENTIST *Exuberant and witty. * NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW *

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Book SynopsisMarking down the complexities of musical pieces on paper allows them to become portable, shareable, and eminently teachable, but how are the simple geometries of a music notation unfolded into space and time?A music notation is an almost impossibly complicated bit of drawing. Calling it a map or a diagram does not quite do the trick. Its tracery supplies mechanisms for planning, composition, analysis, annotation, and performance of music. But how is it that we read that simple, strategic two-dimensional geometry and make such complex, four-dimensional performances? In this book David Griffin guides readers to a comprehensive understanding of the structural properties of music notations, with a particular focus on the standard Western staff notation system, looking at composers such as Bach, John Cage, Earle Brown and Stockhausen.Developed over a thousand years ago, the staff notation is a geometrical drawing method using dots and lines on a horizontal timeline

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Book SynopsisWhen Twin Peaks debuted on the ABC network on the night of April 8, 1990, thirty-five million viewers tuned in to some of the most unusual television of their lives. Centered on an eccentric, coffee-loving FBI agent's investigation into the murder of a small town teen queen, Twin Peaks brought the aesthetic of arthouse cinema to a prime time television audience and became a cult sensation in the process.Part of Twin Peaks' charm was its unforgettable soundtrack by Angelo Badalamenti, a longtime musical collaborator of film director and Twin Peaks co-creator David Lynch. Badalamenti's evocative music, with its haunting themes and jazzy moodscapes, served as a constant in a narrative that was often unhinged and went on to become one of the most popular and influential television soundtracks of all time. How did a unique collaborative process between a director and composer result in a perfectly postmodern soundtrack that ran the gamut of musical styles from jaTrade ReviewThe Soundtrack from Twin Peaks book is thoroughly enjoyable. It is music I know backwards, but it gives me all kinds of new trajectories and connections ... This is the strength of the [33 1/3] series. * Manchester Review of Books *Norelli clearly has an enormous love for the subject and is skilled in being able to identify how Lynch has used the music to heighten the emotional impact of his show. The book is as much for the film student as it is the music lover ... [It] offers an excellent way to find one’s way back into the woods and enjoy a truly unique and evocative aural experience. * We Are Cult *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Track Listing Welcome to Twin Peaks Beautiful Darkness There’s Always Music in the Air Falling Wrapped in Plastic She’s Full of Secrets Freshly Squeezed I’ll See You Again in 25 Years Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisPresents an illustrated oral history of the Magnetic Fields' 1999 triple album, "69 Love Songs" - an album that was afforded "classic" status - as told by participants, fans and others. It also includes studio anecdotes, performance notes from the album shows in New York and London, rare and unpublished images, personal memorabilia, and others.Trade ReviewLD Beghtol's 69 Love Songs provides a lovingly written account of the wonderful Magnetic Fields and their magnum opus. Beghol utilises an obsession to succint detail over 158 pages, which fits perfectly with the ethic of the group's two-and-a-half-minute pop masterpieces. -- Andrew Free * Record Collector *Regardless of your appreciation for the music, LD Beghtol's book is a fun, passionate, and wonderfully peculiar dissection of the excellent album it lovingly explores. -- Michael Keefe * Pop Matters *

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Book Synopsis"Songs in the Key of Life" is different from the four albums that preceded it; it's a maddeningly ambitious encapsulation of all the progress Stevie Wonder had made in that short space of time. This work covers Stevie Wonder's excessive work habits and recording methodology, his reliance on synthesizers, and other aspects.

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Book SynopsisThe Music Theory in Practice series has helped more than one million musicians worldwide to learn about the notation and theory of music. Now fully revised, this workbook remains the best way to prepare for ABRSM's Grade 3 Theory of Music Exam. Features a clear explanation of music notation, many worked examples and practice exercises, definitions of important words and concepts, specimen exam questions and helpful tips for students. As well as supporting the ABRSM Theory syllabus, this workbook also provides an excellent resource for anyone wishing to develop general music literacy skills.

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Book SynopsisLearn the basics of music theory in this comprehensive and easy-to-understand guide.From classical to hard rock, and jazz to hip hop, music is constantly evolving, but many of the basics have stayed the same. Understanding these basics is key to becoming a successful musician and well-rounded music lover. Music Theory 101 covers everything novice musicians and lifelong learners need to know, including: -How to read sheet music -Understanding the construction of chords and scales -The different rhythm and time signatures -How keys are identified and organized Full of music trivia, music history, comprehensive instruction, and visual aids of scales, music symbols, and chords throughout, Music Theory 101 is the essential guide you need for a crash course in music theory that even professional musicians would envy.Trade Review“Comprehensive and easy-to-follow.” —Cmuse

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is an impressive and invaluable book, and one I am sure scholars from numerous fields will be citing for years to come. * Music Theory Spectrum *Highly recommended. * Choice *This book puts forth a beautiful account of what it's like to listen to music. -- Elizabeth MargulisOne of the best studies on the role of conceptual metaphor in music comprehension and theory I've ever read. -- Mark Johnson * author (with George Lakoff) of Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Weste *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPart One: Theoretical BackgroundIntroduction1. Mimetic Comprehension2. Mimetic Comprehension of Music3. Metaphor and Related Means of ReasoningPart Two: Spatial Conceptions4. Pitch Height5. Temporal Motion and Musical Motion6. Perspectives on Musical MotionPart Three: Beyond Musical Space7. Music and the External Senses8. Musical Affect9. Applications10. Review and ImplicationsAppendix I. Mimetic Subvocalization and Absolute PitchAppendix II. Levels of Abstraction Among MetaphorsBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisFundamentals of Musical Composition represents the culmination of more than forty years in Schoenberg''s life devoted to the teaching of musical principles to students and composers in Europe and America. For his classes he developed a manner of presentation in which ''every technical matter is discussed in a very fundamental way, so that at the same time it is both simple and thorough''.This book can be used for analysis as well as for composition. On the one hand, it has the practical objective of introducing students to the process of composing in a systematic way, from the smallest to the largest forms; on the other hand, the author analyses in thorough detail and with numerous illustrations those particular sections in the works of the masters which relate to the compositional problem under discussion.

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Book SynopsisComposing with Constraints: 100 Practical Exercises in Music Composition provides an innovative approach to the instruction of the craft of music composition based on tailored exercises to help students develop their creativity. When composition is condensed to a series of logical steps, it can then be taught and learned more efficiently. With this approach in mind, Jorge Variego offers a variety of practical exercises to help student composers and instructors to create tangible work plans with high expectations and successful outcomes.Each chapter starts with a brief note on terminology and general recommendations for the instructor. The first five chapters offer a variety of exercises that range from analysis and style imitation to the use of probabilities. The chapter about pre-compositional approaches offers original techniques that a student composer can implement in order to start a new work. Based on lateral thinking, the last section of the book fosters creative connections with other disciplines such as math, visual arts, and architectural acoustics.The one hundred exercises contain a unique set of guidelines and constraints that place students in a specific compositional framework. These compositional boundaries encourage students to produce creative work within a given structure. Using the methodologies in this book, students will be able to create their own outlines for their compositions, making intelligent and educated compositional choices that balance reasoning with intuition.Trade ReviewComposing with Constraints is a serious primer for composers- an invaluable tool that can help them navigate their journey of personal musical development. In establishing artistic constraints through intriguing and imaginative exercises, Jorge Variego nurtures the seeds of creativity, enabling composers to sharpen and refine the focus that they need to succeed as artists. * JoAnn Falletta, Music Director, Buffalo Philharmonic *Composing with Constraints is a great book for composers and theorists and I highly recommend it for both composition courses at undergraduate and graduate courses as well as individual studies. What a joy to read! * David Cope, University of California, Santa Cruz *Table of ContentsIntroduction How to use the book Recommendations for the instructor Chapter I - Melody (exercises 1 - 20) Preliminary notes Melody 1 - focal point Melody 2 - using your own scale Melody 3 - using your own scale and a subset Melody 4 - using your own scale with a substitute pitch Melody 5 - a scale in a given order Melody 6 - a scale in a given order with ordered rhythm Melody 7 - concatenating triads Melody 8 - concatenating triads of any type Melody 9 - segments of equal duration Melody 10 - segments of unequal duration Melody 11 - the melody of an image Melody 12 - integer notation Melody 13 - integer notation collections and subsets Melody 14 - integer notation collections and transition subsets Melody 15 - simple probabilities Melody 16 - a twelve-tone row Melody 17 - a twelve-tone row in palindrome Melody 18 - intervallic content Melody 19 - leitmotifs Melody 20 - eliminations Chapter II - Harmony (exercises 21 - 40) Preliminary notes Harmony 21 - composing transitions Harmony 22 - using segments, melody becomes harmony Harmony 23 - axis of symmetry Harmony 24 - using the harmonic series Harmony 25 - using the harmonic series with a pedal tone Harmony 26 - just triads Harmony 27 - using integer notation Harmony 28 - diatonic? Harmony 29 - a twelve-tone row Harmony 30 - alla circle progression Harmony 31 - triads that move in thirds Harmony 32 - triads that move in thirds and progressions within a progression Harmony 33 - polychords, triads over triads Harmony 34 - polytonality Harmony 35 - pedal tones Harmony 36 - ideas using parallel modes Harmony 37 - clusters Harmony 38 - sequences and patterns Harmony 39 - implied harmonies Harmony 40 - contrafacts Chapter III - Rhythm (exercises 41 - 60) Preliminary notes Rhythm 41 - transformations using simple math Rhythm 42 - using segments Rhythm 43 - using segments per measure Rhythm 44 - non-retrogradable rhythms Rhythm 45 - patterns within patterns Rhythm 46 - extracting the rhythm of a text Rhythm 47 - why meter? Rhythm 48 - short, long, long, short - using Morse code Rhythm 49 - ostinato Rhythm 50 - playing with hemiolas Rhythm 51 - hemiolas and melodic construction Rhythm 52 - polymeter Rhythm 53 - metric modulations Rhythm 54 - using rhythmic motifs Rhythm 55 - motivic displacement Rhythm 56 - isorhythmic motets, talea and color Rhythm 57 - repeat signs, loops and internal spiraling Rhythm 58 - composing with unequal rests and pauses Rhythm 59 - eliminations, everything coming from the same tune Rhythm 60 - perceivable and non-perceivable pulse Chapter IV - Texture (exercises 61 - 80) Preliminary notes Texture 61 - analyzing Chopin Texture 62 - homorrythmic Texture 63 - leitmotifs Texture 64 - all the same but different Texture 65 - phasing Texture 66 - analyzing Debussy, plaining Texture 67 - Liszt, simple harmonies, complex texture Texture 68 - ostinatos Texture 69 - letting the performer make decisions Texture 70 - aleatoric counterpoint Texture 71 - micropoliphony Texture 72 - counterpoint, appropriating from Fux's species Texture 73 - counterpoint " to your music Pre-composition 97 - quotations as triggers Pre-composition 98 - drawing sketches Pre-composition 99 - oblique strategies by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt Pre-composition 100 - the computer as assistant Appendix A) Grading rubric B) Sample curriculums for group composition classes or individual lessons C) Select anthology of scales and musical examples D) Table of instrument ranges and transpositions

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Book SynopsisDescribes Master of Reality in the voice of a fifteen-year-old boy being held in an adolescent psychiatric centre in southern California in 1985.Trade Review[T]he focus of Darnielle's fans has always been on his lyrics and the stories contained within them. Now he's stepped off the stage and sat down at is typewriter to deliver Master of Reality, his first novel and a stunning piece of rock criticism and appreciation. Readers are likely to come to Master of Reality from a variety of backgrounds. Some will come as Mountain Goats fans wanting to see Darnielle tackle a novel, others as Black Sabbath fans wanting to read about a favorite album. Some will simply be fans of the cult-popular 33 1/3 series, which has now grown to dozens of books, yet kept its level of quality very high. Hopefully, there will be others who will pick it up as novel first, because it truly is a first-rate story, full of moments that will pluck at your heartstrings as you're brought back to the moment you first fell in love with a piece of music, when an album provided not just the soundtrack to your life but also the meaning behind it. If, by some strange chance, none of this happens, well, you're probably going to at least dust off your old Sabbath vinyl, and there's nothing wrong with that either. * NewPages.com *[Darnielle] straightjackets the essence of Black Sabbath where 40 years of music musings and cultural damnation have failed. -- Raoul Hernandez * Austin Chronicle *Total affection for, and strong identification with, music is a cross-generational experience, and though the motivation behind the 33 1/3 series meshes nicely with a post-Generation X obsession with the minutiae of personal experience, it's also immediately accessible to anyone who's ever written favorite lyrics on her algebra notebook. While nostalgia runs thick in Darnielle's book (the nature of the series essentially demands this), there's a greater point about music and memory to be found in Roger's story. Indulgence in the memory of intense feelings can be strangely comforting, and perhaps even necessary. Or, as Roger puts it: 'It doesn't have to mean that to everybody, and it means more no matter what... -- Thea Brown * The L Magazine *Darnielle, singer and songwriter for the much-loved band The Mountain Goats, cuts right to the chase in his short novel, the blunt, direct tone of his adolescent protagonist Richard Painter perfectly encapsulating the enduring appeal of metal's great progenitors. It's all about the Mighty Riff when it comes to Sabbath; everything else is secondary, and while one could easily make a case for at least half a dozen albums that deserve the 33 1/3 treatment, the riffs that define this particular album are, to echo young Roger's sentiment, unfuckwithable. -- Adrien Begrand * Popmatters.com *Mountain Goat John Darnielle's off-stage literary proclivities are no secret, which makes us all the more excited for his first novel, a paean to Black Sabbath's Master of Reality. The book is the latest in Continuum's 33 1/3 series ultrasmart series of elegant, pocket-size appreciations of rock albums as diverse as the Beatles' Let it Be and My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. Darnielle unpacks the classic, riff-erific album as a scrabrous series of diary entries written by a teenager in a Southern California mental institution. Those curious to see the budding rock critic off-stage or who are simply bonkers for Sabbath are advised to check out this reading. -- Tayt Harlin * New York Magazine *Written keenly and with great generosity. * Idolator *Darnielle-- who worked as a nurse in a mental hospital and presumably met quite a few smart, lost kids like Roger-- speaks to the soul-damaging aspects of locking up problem teens and offers a piece of music criticism that illuminates the edifying qualities of heavy metal. * Pitchfork feature "Our 60 Favorite Music Books" *John Darnielle is the single constant behind the group the Mountain Goats and arguably the most rewarding lyricist working today. Taking into account his prolific wordsmithery ("Laugh lines on our faces / scale maps of the ocean floor") and affinity for horror both cinematic and literary ("Heretic Pride," the most recent Mountain Goats album, has song titles naming Fu Manchu creator Sax Rohmer and H.P. Lovecraft), it shouldn't come as a surprise that he'd contribute to Continuum's "33 1/3" series of short books pegged to iconic albums. But "Master of Reality" departs brilliantly from the typical "33 1/3" format, not just by choosing fiction over criticism or recording history, but in its structural gambits and unwavering sense of purpose. -- Ed Parks * Los Angeles Times *I'd like to give a special shout-out to John Darnielle's book about Black Sabbath's Master of Reality, published as part of Continuum's 33 1/3 series of album-themed books...If you like the band, you'll like this book. If you like intense young-adult takes like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, you'll like this book. No matter what, by the end, you'll be racing to purchase Master of Reality, which is a beautiful thing. * USA Today, PopCandy *Forget the other 33 1/3s, this belongs next to The Catcher in the Rye. * Decibel Magazine *Darnielle's novella is not only a touchstone in the series, it is a powerful and potent book in its own right. Utterly compelling. -- David Hemingway * Community Care, UK *This is a masterly look at the corrosive emotion of youth, and the invaluable solace that music gives. Read it, even if you'd rather stick knitting needles in your ears than listen to the album in question. Because its about you. -- James Mann * The Big Takeover magazine *This is not the first time Darnielle explores these dark waters. In fact the text is a retelling, if not an extension of " The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton," the first track on the Mountain Goats' 2002 album, All Hail West Texas. As both the text and the song are meditations on the redemptive aspects of heavy metal, the depravity of institutional authority and the refusal to forgive, the reader who is familiar with either Darnielle's musical work or Black Sabbath will find the text particularly rewarding. -- Christian * enoughcowbell.com *With his short stories masquerading as songs, John Darnielle-founding member of the Mountain Goats-has crafted a wide range of off-kilter characters. He continues this tradition with Roger, a fifteen-year-old patient in a psychiatric hospital and the protagonist of Darnielle's first book, a loving diary-style exploration of Black Sabbath's Master of Reality, part of Continuum's 33 1/3 series...Inspired by his real-life experiences as a psychiatric nurse (and love of all things metal), Darnielle's literary debut is a fast, addictive read that also tugs on the heartstrings of sensitive Ozzy fans. * Exclaim magazine *The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle Is Good At Writing! People love The Mountain Goats because all their songs contain SAT vocab words and are like little stories. So it's unsurprising that John Darnielle can also work up some music-free compositions, like his contribution to Continuum's 33 1/3 series of books inspired by classic albums, a novel about Black Sabbath's 'Master of Reality.' He also recently wrapped up a stint of guest blogging at Powell's excellent blog, which is worth revisiting if you're curious about his feelings about heavy metal (he likes it! and is very knowledgable about it!). And if you live in New York, you can come to a reading of the Black Sabbath book next Saturday at Housing Works and witness his non-singing talents in person. * MediaBistro's Galleycat *Just like Black Sabbath throws big rocks at subtlety and Roger's manifesto-journal channels anger towards the mental health establishment, Darnielle's book obliterates the sterility of music criticism. I imagine him reading reviews of his work and building up all of this disdain, deciding finally that he's going to do it better. Ultimately, Master of Reality critiques criticism itself, an institution that encourages us to thrash apart the art of others - without offering any blood of our own. * Tiny Mix Tapes *’Master of Reality’ is no straightforward critical assessment of Black Sabbath’s album, a sludgy doom-rock classic. It’s fiction that peels thrillingly off into music writing. The book is written from the point of view of a teenage boy in a mental hospital who explains why Black Sabbath and its lead singer, Ozzy Osbourne, meant so much to isolated kids like himself. It’s about how rock music can express not only liberating joy but, conversely and perhaps more importantly, also speak to bottomless misery and pain. The book is funny, too. Its narrator observes that you never feel that you might hang out with Robert Plant, the Led Zeppelin singer, at a video arcade. But Mr. Osbourne, “he sounds like the guy who changes your quarters". * The New York Times *Darnielle wrote his entry in the 33 1/3 series (slim, hip flask-sized volumes of criticism focused on individual albums) on Black Sabbath’s Masters of Reality as a novella, an impassioned riff on identifying with art from the perspective of an institutionalised teenager. -- Caitlin Welsh * Junkee *Darnielle spent his early teens feverishly typing 'awful' short stories and collecting rejection slips from sci-fi magazines before turning to poetry and then songwriting. His interest in prose only revived years later when he began writing music criticism and considered submitting a proposal for Continuum’s 33 1/3 series about classic albums. Master of Reality, his 2008 novella named after Black Sabbath’s 1971 album, takes the form of diary entries written by an institutionalised teenage heavy metal fan, who finds solace in extolling the virtues of Sabbath ... the novella form allowed Darnielle to play with timeframes and expand on what the songs only implied. -- Dorian Lynskey * The Guardian *There are several 33 1/3 titles that mix fiction and criticism, with varying degrees of success. Of them, John Darnielle’s novella about Master of Reality may be the best. Drawing on his experience as a psychiatric nurse before he found a steady day job with the Mountain Goats, Darnielle approaches the album through a fictional character—a patient who is keeping a journal of his therapy sessions. What could have been a gimmick instead proves both critically engaging and emotionally harrowing, as the lively, angry, intelligent narrator voices his rage and confusion through his love for Ozzy. -- Stephen M. Deusner * Pitchfork *

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Book SynopsisThis best-selling text gives music majors and minors a solid foundation in the theory of music. It strengthens their musical intuition, builds technical skills, and helps them gain interpretive insights. The goal of the text is to instruct readers on the practical application of knowledge. The analytical techniques presented are carefully designed to be clear, uncomplicated, and readily applicable to any repertoire. The two-volume format ensures exhaustive coverage and maximum support for students and faculty alike. Volume I serves as a general introduction to music theory while Volume II offers a survey of the theoretical underpinnings of musical styles and forms from Gregorian Chant through the present day. The supplemental instructor''s materials provide clear-cut solutions to assignment materials. Music in Theory and Practice is a well-rounded textbook that integrates the various components of musical structure and makes them accessible to students at the undergraduaTable of ContentsPreface Introduction: The Materials of Music: Sound and TimePart A: The Fundamentals of Music 1 Notation2 Scales, Tonality, Key, Modes3 Intervals and Transposition4 ChordsPart B: The Structural Elements of Music 5 Cadences and Nonharmonic Tones6 Melodic Organization7 Texture and Textural Reduction8 Species Counterpoint9 Voice Leading in Four-Part Chorale Writing10 Harmonic Progression and Harmonic Rhythm11 The Dominant Seventh Chord12 The Leading-Tone Seventh Chords13 Nondominant Seventh Chords14 Secondary Dominants and Leading-Tone Chords15 Modulation16 Two-Part (Binary) Form17 Three-Part (Ternary) FormAppendix A Summary of Part-Writing PracticesAppendix B Macro Analysis SymbolsAppendix C Popular Music Chord SymbolsAppendix D Expression MarksAppendix E Instrument Ranges, Transpositions, and Foreign NamesAppendix F HistoryCreditsIndexesMusical ExamplesSubject Index

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Book SynopsisWInner of the Best First Book from the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Winner of the Labriola Center American Indian National Book Award Winner of the Ann Saddlemyer Award from the Canadian Association for Theatre ResearchReimagining how we understand and write about the Indigenous listening experience​Hungry Listening is the first book to consider listening from both Indigenous and settler colonial perspectives. A critical response to what has been called the “whiteness of sound studies,” Dylan Robinson evaluates how decolonial practices of listening emerge from increasing awareness of our listening positionality. This, he argues, involves identifying habits of settler colonial perception and contending with settler colonialism’s “tin ear” that renders silent the epistemic foundations of Indigenous song as history, law, and medicine. With case studies on Indigenous participation in classical music, musicals, and popular music, Hungry Listening examines structures of inclusion that reinforce Western musical values. Alongside this inquiry on the unmarked terms of inclusion in performing arts organizations and compositional practice, Hungry Listening offers examples of “doing sovereignty” in Indigenous performance art, museum exhibition, and gatherings that support an Indigenous listening resurgence.Throughout the book, Robinson shows how decolonial and resurgent forms of listening might be affirmed by writing otherwise about musical experience. Through event scores, dialogic improvisation, and forms of poetic response and refusal, he demands a reorientation toward the act of reading as a way of listening. Indigenous relationships to the life of song are here sustained in writing that finds resonance in the intersubjective experience between listener, sound, and space. Trade Review"In this brilliant and wide-ranging work, Dylan Robinson refuses to write about anything. Instead he demonstrates what it means at the practical, ethical, and political levels to write relationally with other living beings, including music, sound, belongings, languages, lands, ancestors, and readers. In method and content, Hungry Listening is a challenge to settler colonial sensory and political orders as well as a powerful affirmation of Indigenous thought, practice, and art."—Beth Piatote, author of The Beadworkers and Domestic Subjects"Hungry Listening is a necessary and creative confrontation of the consequences of settler colonialism for Indigenous music and sound territories. Offering a robust critique of inclusionary performance as settler mis-audation, Dylan Robinson forwards a transformative politics of listening, a practice of guest listening that refuses capture and certainty. At once playful and intensely serious, Hungry Listening experiments with affective event scores and forms of direct address to allow readers to imagine approaches to visiting with Indigenous sound and performance."—Eve Tuck, University of Toronto"Dylan Robinson employs a xwélméxw (Stó:lō) reading, listening, and thinking practice to enact a decolonial critique of the ‘sonic encounters’ between Indigenous vocal traditions and Western classical and popular music. Hungry Listening, by one of the field’s most generous, perceptive, visionary, and generative scholars, will be a game changer in the areas of Indigenous, sound, and performance studies."—Michelle Raheja, author of Reservation Reelism: Redfacing, Visual Sovereignty, and Representations of Native Americans in Film"As a form of address, Hungry Listening is profoundly conscious of its multiple audiences, and enacts ethics of appropriate relationship, modeling to readers how musical scholarship can approach Indigenous creators, performers and musics in ways that respect Indigenous sovereignty and value Indigenous creations on their own terms."—Amodern"Robinson manages to pose compelling arguments as to how much first needs to be unsettled whilst establishing the new ground needed for Indigenous sound studies to flourish."—Feminist Review "An exemplary text which forges space for Indigenous epistemological and ontological existence through decolonial critique in the realm of sound studies."—Canadian Association of Music Libraries "Hungry Listening is a powerful piece of listening through reading that not only critiques settler listening but also candidly address the ways in which settler colonialism has impacted Indigenous sonic spaces."—MUSICulturesTable of ContentsContentsIntroductionWriting Indigenous Space1. Hungry ListeningEvent Score for Guest Listening I2.Writing about Musical Intersubjectivityxwélalà:m, Raven Chacon’s Report3. Contemporary Encounters Between Indigenous and Early Music Event Score for those who hold our songs4. Ethnographic Redress, Compositional ResponsibilityEvent Score for Responsibility: “qimmit katajjaq / sqwélqwel tl’ sqwmá:y”5. Feeling ReconciliationEvent Score to ActAcknowledgmentsConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Part 1: Starting on a Good Note 5 Chapter 1: Introducing GarageBand for Macs and iDevices 7 Chapter 2: Equipping and Setting Up Your Recording Space 25 Chapter 3: Introducing Multitrack Recording with GarageBand 49 Part 2: Making Music on a Mac 77 Chapter 4: Getting Started 79 Chapter 5: Using Loops to Make Music 93 Chapter 6: Recording with MIDI and Software Instruments 113 Chapter 7: Recording Vocals and Acoustic Instruments with a Mic 139 Chapter 8: Recording Electric Guitars and Other Electronic Instruments 159 Part 3: Postproduction: Finishing Songs on a Mac 175 Chapter 9: Editing and Polishing Tracks 177 Chapter 10: Mixing Tracks into Songs 203 Chapter 11: Mastering Mastering 217 Part 4: Making Music with Your iDevice 229 Chapter 12: Getting Started 231 Chapter 13: Making Music with Live Loops 247 Chapter 14: Laying Down Software Instrument Tracks 263 Chapter 15: Recording Vocals and Acoustic Instruments with a Mic 279 Chapter 16: Recording Guitars and Basses 297 Part 5: Postproduction: Finishing Songs on an iDevice 313 Chapter 17: Editing and Polishing Tracks 315 Chapter 18: Mixing Tracks into Songs 333 Chapter 19: Mastering Mastering 347 Chapter 20: File Compression and Your Music 353 Part 6: The Part of Tens 365 Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Improve GarageBand’s Performance 367 Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Take Your Recordings to the Next Level 377 Chapter 23: Ten Useful Websites 385 Index 391

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Book SynopsisABRSM's official Music Theory Sample Papers are essential resources for candidates preparing for our Music Theory exams. They provide authentic practice material and are a reliable guide as to what to expect in the exam. * Essential practice material for the new format ABRSM Grade 2 Theory exams * Model answers also available * Includes four sample papers

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Book SynopsisThe Oxford Companion to Music is one of the most famous music reference works of all time. This invaluable Companion now reappears in a completely new edition. Over a million words in length, it is the biggest, most authoritative, and most up to date single-volume music reference book available. The new edition draws on both the classic Oxford Companion to Music by Percy Scholes, first published in 1938, and the two-volume New Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Denis Arnold (1983), but is thoroughly revised and reimagined for the 21st century. Alison Latham has assembled a distinguished team of over 120 international contributors, bringing their distinctive voices to an exceptionally broad sweep of musical subjects ranging from composers, performers, conductors, individual works, instruments and notation, and forms and genres, to music scholarship and aesthetics, music education, broadcasting and publishing, all aspects of music theory, and performance practice, as well as jazz, popuTrade ReviewA well-loved friend returns ... The latest incarnation is in one volume, sports a stellar contributors' list and more than matches the authority of its immediate predecessor ... probably the best one-volume music reference book going. * Times Educational Supplement *Table of ContentsPreface ; Acknowledgements ; Contributors ; Abbreviations ; Oxford Companion to Music ; Index of people

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Book SynopsisDiscovering Music Theory is a suite of workbooks and corresponding answer books that offers all-round preparation for the updated ABRSM Music Theory exams from 2020, including the new online papers. This full-colour workbook will equip students of all ages with the skills, knowledge and understanding required for the ABRSM Grade 5 Music Theory exam. Written to make theory engaging and relevant to developing musicians of all ages, it offers: - straightforward explanations of all new concepts - progressive exercises to build skills and understanding, step by step - challenge questions to extend learning and develop music-writing skills - helpful tips for how to approach specific exercises - ideas for linking theory to music listening, performing and instrumental/singing lessons - clear signposting and progress reviews throughout - a sample practice exam paper showing you what to expect in the new style of exams from 2020 As well as fully supporting the ABRSM theory syllabus, Discovering Music Theory provides an excellent resource for anyone wishing to develop their music literacy skills, including GCSE and A-Level candidates, and adult learners.

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Book SynopsisABRSM's official Music Theory Practice Papers 2023 are essential resources for candidates preparing for our online Music Theory exams. They provide authentic practice material and are a reliable guide as to what to expect in the exam. *Essential practice material for ABRSM Grade 3 Theory exams *Model answers also available

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Book SynopsisThe classic sight-singing anthology, updated and expanded

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Book SynopsisHeiner Ruland charts a practical path towards a deepened musical understanding, illuminating the panorama of humanity's musical past. Indicating what may happen - and needs to happen - to music in the immediate and more distant future, the implications of this book for composition, musical education and therapy are immense. The author shows how the fundamental elements of music embody distinctive modes of consciousness. He examines the musical systems of ancient humanity and goes on to draw a vivid picture of our contemporary musical situation. This seminal work is more than a theoretical treatise on the nature of music, but a book to be understood and experienced through musical practice. With the help of the monochord, the reader, with a minimum of technique, is able to explore new and unfamiliar musical realms. 'Rudolf Steiner believed that an expansion of our tone-system was a necessity...In this book of Ruland's, we have for the first time an account that is penetrating enough and of sufficiently large scope to enable us to understand why.' - Jurgen Schriefer

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Book SynopsisMaking its first huge impact in the 1960s through the inventions of Bob Moog, the analog synthesizer sound, riding a wave of later developments in digital and software synthesis, has now become more popular than ever.Analog Synthesizers charts the technology, instruments, designers, and musicians associated with its three major historical phases: invention in the 1960s1970s and the music of Walter Carlos, Pink Floyd, Gary Numan, Genesis, Kraftwerk, The Human League, Tangerine Dream, and Jean-Michel Jarre; re-birth in the 1980s1990s through techno and dance music and jazz fusion; and software synthesis. Now updated, this new edition also includes sections on the explosion from 2000 to the present day in affordable, mass market Eurorack format and other analog instruments, which has helped make the analog synthesizer sound hugely popular once again, particularly in the fields of TV and movie music.Major artists interviewed in depth include: HansTable of ContentsAcknowledgements About the author Introduction: what’s so great about analog? Chapter 1 What is analog? Sound Frequency Amplitude Wave shape Harmonics and overtones Noise Phase Synthesizer components Circuit design Sound design Chapter 2 Aspects of analog sound Voltage-controlled oscillator Voltage-controlled filter Envelope generator Voltage-controlled amplifier Low-frequency oscillator White noise source Sample-and-hold Wave shaper Ring modulator Subharmonic oscillator Resonator Frequency shifter Morphing filter Vocoder Sequencer Keyboard MIDI interface Assorted modules Chapter 3 The birth of analog, the manufacturers and the artists Moog ARP EMS Oberheim Sequential circuits Yamaha Korg Roland Chapter 4 The growth of analog Italy France The Netherlands Japan United Kingdom Germany USA Chapter 5 Using and programming analog Classical and avant-garde programmers Jazz programmers Pop and TV music programmers Rock programmers Pure synthesizer programmers Techno-pop programmers Programming for orchestral imitation Programming rock, pop and electric sounds Programming abstract sounds Ten great analog sounds Chapter 6 The analog revival, 1980s–2000s Chapter 7 Programming and using virtual analog hardware and software Virtual analog programming Virtual oscillators Virtual filters Virtual LFOs Virtual envelopes Virtual controllers Alternative applications Analog software Chapter 8 2013-2019 updates: new instruments, Eurorack and movies/TV Obituaries New instruments, 2013 onwards Modules 2013–2019: the Eurorack explosion Analog goes to the movies Appendix A Classic instruments: specifications and values Appendix B Analog and virtual analog instruments: currently or recently in production Appendix C Purchasing guide for analog instruments Appendix D Bibliography Appendix E Discography Appendix F Contacts Appendix G Website content: www.routledge.com/cw/jenkins Index

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