The Basics of Live Sound: Tips, Techniques, and Lucky Guesses
The Basics of Live Sound is a complete introduction to live sound, from understanding microphones,
to the ins and outs of active and passive crossovers. It’s a handy reference targeted towards true beginners. Topics covered include microphones and their techniques, mixers, equalization, amplifiers, speakers, the audio chain, and even schools and universities for continuing education.
The Basics of Live Sound: Tips, Techniques, and Lu cky Guesses, by Jerry J. Stone, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2006.
Hal Leonard Recording Method Series
Venturing into the world of audio recordingcan be daunting for the hobbyist. The Hal Leonard Recording Method Series
is a comprehensive recording course written in a style that everyone from novices to expertscan understand.
Author Bill Gibson outlines and discusses everything from the fundamentals of recording to the minute details of laying
down and mixing tracks. From microphone placement and electrical grounding issues to next-generation industry standard software and waveform editing, and from sequencing and sampling to mixdown, mastering, and replication, both analog and digital, his years of experience provide the guidance needed to create superior recordings.
With accompanying DVDs and a companion website, there is virtually no question he leaves unanswered. The six books in the series—Microphones & Mixers, Instrument & Vocal Recording, Recording Software & Plug-ins, Sequencing, Samples & Loops, Engineering & Producing, and Mixing & Mastering—include hundreds of audio and video examples and full-color pictures, diagrams, and illustrations.
Hal Leonard Recording Method Series, Books 1-6, by Bill Gibson, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2007-2008.
The Remixer’s Bible: Build Better Beats
Record producer, remixer, and author Francis Preve has packed The Remixer’s Bible with tons of information on techniques the pros use to create world-class remixes and dance tracks. This comprehensive book of tips and interviews from Keyboard Magazine includes tips from a lawyer
on sample clearance, an introduction to loops, and sampling for beginners, as well as tips to help more experienced remixers learn how to craft infectious synth hooks and retro grooves, edit vocals, create loops, and compress bass tracks. An accompanying CD contains Mac and PC demo software of Ableton Live and actual session files from Gabriel & Dresden, Coldcut, Jacinta, and Meat Beat Manifesto, so you can get started remixing immediately.
The Remixer’s Bible: Build Better Beats, by Francis Preve, Backbeat Books, San Francisco, CA, 2006.
Home Studio Clinic: A Musician’s Guide to Professional Recording
Today, if you are serious about music, it is more important than ever to know the basics of how to capture your own music. Home Studio Clinic is written from a musician’s point of view, in plain language, without being bogged down by technology and will help you examine your own needs and create a studio to best serve your musical goals.
Writer and musician Emile Menasché examines topics such as different types of mics, effects, recorders, and mixers; how to record various instruments; and how to mix, master, and share your work. In addition to the more than 250 pages of information provided in the book, a website provides readers with additional tutorials, video lessons, samples, sounds, and more.
Home Studio Clinic: A Musician’s Guide to Professional Recording, by Emile Menasché, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2007.
Tipbook: Music for Kids and Teens: A Guide for Parents and 
Caregivers
Music for Kids and Teens: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers
n Have you been wanting to introduce the world of music to your children or grandchildren but you are unsure how to go about it? This new Tipbook is a handy and thorough guide that will answer all your questions. Music for Kids and Teens is relevant to children of every age and musical genre and includes numerous tips and thoughts applicable to other aspects of their upbringing as well.
The book is based on information gathered from the experiences of musicians, teachers, directors, parents, and other specialists and includes topics such as: why should we introduce children to music, choosing and instrument, practicing tips and tools, stage fright and audition anxiety, and much more.
Music for Kids and Teens: a Guide for Parents and Caregivers, by Hugo Pinksterboer, The Tipbook Company, Heemstede, The Netherlands, 2006.
The Frustrated Songwriter’s Handbook
Whether you are a total novice or a seasoned pro, The Frustrated Songwriter’s Handbook will revolutionize the way you write music and tap into your creative resources.
Its immersion musical method is designed to help you smash through creative blocks, become recklessly prolific, and make quantum leaps in compositional skills. Co-authors Nicholas Dobson—who has been writing music since the age of 11—and Karl Coryat—author of Backbeat’s Guerrilla Home Recording—promise to help you eliminate your songwriting phobias, form a self-motivated group of composer friends, sort through your best ideas, concoct new musical styles, and use technology to increase your creativity.
The Frustrated Songwriter’s Handbook: A Radical Guide to Cutting Loose, Overcoming Blocks, and Writing the Best Songs of Your Life, by Karl Coryat and Nicholas Dobson, Backbeat Books, San Francisco, CA, 2006.
Shred! The Ultimate Guide to Warp-Speed Guitar
Shredding is a challenge, but Shred! breaks it down, demystifying guitar solos that sound intimidating on record. Lessons include Flex Builders to get your hands working, and Love + Loud exercises that can be heard on the CD packaged with the book.
Techniques examined in-depth include: speed picking, thrash chording and speed riffing, blues shredding, tapping, legato playing, and the whammy bar. The book’s introduction includes short biographies for the top 30 speed demons of rock guitar and throughout the book you’ll hear examples of the techniques used by them. Co-authors Richard Maloof and Pete Prown are shred masters themselves.
Shred! The Ultimate Guide to Warp-Speed Guitar, by Rich Maloof and Pete Prown, Backbeat Books, San Francisco, CA, 2006.
eMedia’s Instructional CD Software
eMedia’s Bass Method is a fun way to learn bass guitar step-by-step and at your own pace. Easy-to-follow lessons range from basics like tuning the bass and simple bass lines to using triads, fills, and syncopation. You will learn how to create a bass line for any song you like. More than 200 songs and exercises are accompanied by full-motion video and recorded audio, and an animated fretboard that guides you through fingerings.
Guitar Method has more than 160 comprehensive lessons covering basics through chord strumming, playing melodies, and fingerpicking. It contains more than 50 videos with close-ups of both hands. Songs and exercises can be heard as either live-recorded audio or variable-speed MIDI. Both guitar tablature and standard notation are taught in a way that’s easy to understand.
Guitar Songs for acoustic, electric, and classical guitars makes learning famous songs easy with its animated fretboard showing finger positions. Users can choose between guitar tablature or standard music notation in learning more than 20 rock, blues, country, classical, and folk songs.
With eMedia’s Blues Guitar Legends teaches guitarists to play 10 classic blues songs from the masters themselves, including “Statesboro Blues,” as performed by The Allman Brothers Band, and “Hoochie Coochie Man,” as performed by Muddy Waters. Music notation highlights notes as songs play, while an animated fretboard displays fingerings in real time.
Bass Method, Guitar Method, Guitar Songs, Blues Guitar Legends, eMedia, Seattle, WA, 2007.
GuitaRevolution: Lessons from the Groundbreakers and Innovators
GuitaRevolution shows guitarists how to take their playing to the next level by teaching them the techniques of groundbreaking players. The book features in-person lessons with great players, alongside solo transcriptions and lick-by-lick style instruction. Styles explored in the book include Duane Allman’s slide techniques; Jimi Hedrix’s “All Along the Watchtower” solo; Carlos Santana’s soulful phrasing; Muddy Waters’ Delta/Chicago sound taught by Johnny Winter; Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Texas blues; and the other worldly sonics of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.
All of the lessons featured in the book are available online, in audio MP3 format, for readers to download at no extra cost. Author Jesse Gress is a respected performer and music educator and is former music editor of Guitar Player magazine.
GuitaRevolution: Lessons from the Groundbreakers and Innovators, by Jesse Gress, Backbeat Books, San Francisco,
CA, 2005.
Analog Recording: Using Analog Gear in Today’s Home Studio
In today’s high-tech world analog recording might seem like a dinosaur, yet artists like Slash, Peter Frampton, and Tom Petty still swear by it. According to David Simons’ Analog Recording the warmth and feel of analog will never go out of style. He provides a complete guide to setting up a studio and choosing equipment from tape machines to mixing consoles.
Scores of tips and hints are provided from analog experts, engineers, and producers who have worked with everyone from The Beatles, Phil Spector, and Sonny & Cher to Nirvana and Paul Westerberg. An accompanying audio CD demonstrates exactly what can be achieved with the use of analog equipment, including effects such as manually flanged electric guitar, compressed drums, drum tracks with heavy tape saturation, and vocals through a delayed echo chamber.
Analog Recording: Using Analog Gear in Today’s Home Studio, by David Simmons, Backbeat Books, San Francisco, CA, 2006.
The Complete Idiots's Guide to Music Composition
Even if you are not a complete idiot this guide will help you get started in music composition. It explains the logic behind writing music, and takes you step by step through the process of composing your own music. Whether you want to write a short song or long composition, techniques explored in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Composition will guide you through the process.
The book includes instruction on how to compose with chords-first or memory-first; methods for developing simple melodic motifs and themes into compositions; tips for creating chord progressions; advice for orchestrating and arranging; and tips on how to employ both traditional and contemporary compositional techniques. Not everyone can be a Beethoven or a Bernstein, but you can learn to create memorable compositions in your own style with a little music theory, a lot of work, and the information in this book.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Composition, by Michael Miller, Penguin Group, New York, NY, 2005.
All About Guitar
All About Guitar contains more than 40 rock, blues, folk, and country songs. The book also contains performance tips, background on various styles of music, and information about famous guitarists.
ALL ABOUT GUITAR A Fun and Simple Guide to Playing Guitar, by Tom Kolb, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2006
All About Bass
The All About Bass book has tips on finding the right instrument and gear, along with other bass information and more than 40 songs in many genres, including rock, country, blues, jazz, R&B, and funk. The book also has performance tips and career paths, along with information on famous bassists.
ALL ABOUT BASS A Fun and Simple Guide to Playing Bass, by Chad Johnson, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2006
All About Pianos
With All About Pianos you will learn about various keyboard instruments, including piano makes and models, care and maintenance, and other fun stuff, while learning to play many of your favorite songs. The book has instructions on how to read music, play by ear, and improvise, plus performing tips. More than 40 songs in various styles including boogie-woogie, rock ‘n’ roll, blues, jazz, pop, country, and classical are included.
All About Piano, by Mark Harrison, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2006.
All About Drums
All About Drums will help you finally start playing the beats and fills to your favorite songs, whether you want to learn to read music, play by ear, or create your own beats. You will also learn about drum set makes and models, care and maintenance, and other percussion instruments. The book includes more than 30 rock, jazz, blues, Latin, and funk songs.
All About Drums by Rick Mattingly, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2006.
Fingerstyle Guitar: 
Lessons in Technique and Creativity
Crafted by an expert guitarist, this unique approach to fingerstyle guitar does away with useless jargon and overly technical explanations, encouraging players to tap into their natural playing instincts and find their own voice. Covering topics ranging from technique to visualization, this is an indispensable guide aimed at teaching effective articulation, altered tunings, composition and structure, accompaniment patterns, and idea development. Lessons exploring motor memory, body awareness, concentration development, and anxiety control will maximize your growth, as will the many exercises that lead to original compositions. In interviews with guitarists such as Pierre Bensusan, Laurence Juber, Peter Finger, Don Ross and Dale Miller, the author explores such essential topics as tone, posture, hand position, and composition. And on the accompanying CD, Gore performs many of the book's exercises and etudes in his own captivating style.
Fingerstyle Guitar Lessons in Technique & Creativity, by Brian Gore, Backbeat Books, San Francisco
First Bass: The Ultimate Guide to Bass Guitar Fundamentals
First Bass is a comprehensive guide to the fundamentals of electric bass, designed to take you to the next level no matter what genre of music you want to play. The book starts with the basics of choosing the right gear, as well as proper hand positions.
Author Josquin des Pres covers basic skills like scales, modes, sight reading, and finger dexterity, and he shows you the chord progressions that drive today’s musicians. Through user-friendly lessons and exercises, First Bass explores all of the techniques, concepts, and styles that you’ll need to play bass and advance to create your own unique style. On the included MP3 CD, des Pres demonstrates the exercises.
First Bass: The Ultimate Guide to Bass Guitar Fundamentals, by Josquin des Pres, Backbeat Books, San Francisco, CA, 2005.
Monster Guitar Method [DVD]
The Monster Guitar Method interactive instructional series is designed to give the most complete guitar lessons possible, in a setting where you learn on your own schedule. It provides the knowledge of a seasoned professional, while utilizing tools such as on-screen graphics, split screen viewing of right and left hand close-ups, color-coded strings, and “follow the bouncing ball” style graphics. Monster Guitar students need not feel isolated studying at home as online help is available with direct access to an instructor and other students.
Monster Guitar Method, by Green Monster Music, Ardustry Home Entertainment, Woodland Hills, CA, 2005.
How Nashville Became Music City USA: 50 Years of Music Row
The history of Music Row began over half a century ago when bandleader Owen Bradley joined forces with guitarist Chet Atkins and cut records in a Quonset hut. How Nashville Became Music City USA is expertly written by Nashville insider Michael Kosser, himself a songwriter, and contains authentic voices of the professionals who created Music City.
How Nashville Became Music City USA: 50 Years of Music Row, by Michael Kosser, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2006.
Music Notation
The symbols used in music notation are unique and drawing these symbols requires specialized skills. Music Notation provides readers with both an understanding of the notation theory, as well as a guide to creating professional manuscripts. It is an excellent resource for both handwritten notation and computer software programs.
Author Mark McGrain includes clear examples of correct and incorrect notation and practice exercises after each lesson.
Music Notation: Theory and Technique for Music Notation, by Mark McGrain, Berklee Press, Boston, MA, 1986.
Rhythm: What It Is and How to Improve Your Sense of It
Percussionist Andrew Lewis is devoted to teaching rhythm and metronome study. His book Rhythm is a one of a kind guide designed to benefit every musician (not just drummers) at all levels of play. Contents include: insightful explanations of core concepts such as pulse, pattern, polyrhythm, and phrasing; and exercises to improve feel, sense of time, and overall accuracy.
Lewis’s career has ranged from working with the San Francisco Symphony to work with such greats as Leonard Bernstein, Frank Zappa, and others. In addition to developing his own line of innovative metronomes, he has taught rhythm and percussion for 30 years.
Rhythm: What it Is and How to Improve Your Sense of It, by Andrew C. Lewis, EighSeigh Press, San Francisco, CA, 2005.
Maran Illustrated for Guitar and Piano
Maran Illustrated Guitar and Maran Illustrated Piano are perfect introductory books, covering all the basics that new players need to know, yet are also well-suited for casual instrumentalists who want a handy reference guide to help improve upon what they already know. 
The books feature clear step-by-step instructions, accompanied by colorful photos and illustrations.
Maran Illustrated Guitar makes learning to play the guitar both fun and easy, including such basic information as how to read chord diagrams, tablature, and written music; articulation techniques; sections on playing blues, rock, country, and classical guitar; and guitar maintenance. Other topics range from holding a guitar and positioning the fretting hand, to more complex movements such as bending and vibrato and other articulation techniques.
Maran Illustrated Piano takes learning out of the classroom and puts it firmly in the hands of the reader. It covers everything a budding pianist needs to know, including how to read music; playing scales and chords; and special playing techniques. There are plenty of engaging pieces to help develop new skills and sections devoted to playing classical, rock, jazz, blues, and pop music. Other subjects range from improvising and playing with others to buying and caring for a new piano or keyboard.
Special sections of the MaranGraphics websites (www.maran.com/guitar and www.maran.com/piano) allow readers to download MP3 samples of scales, chords, and specialty techniques featured in the books.
Maran Illustrated Guitar and Maran Illustrated Piano, MaranGraphics, Mississauga, ON, Canada, 2005.
Rudiment Grooves for Drum Set
Rudiments represent the basic vocabulary of rhythms that drummers arrange and rearrange when they play grooves, solos, and fills. Rudiment Grooves for Drum Set shows you how to apply the rudiments to the drum set in all styles of music and every facet of drumming including single and double strokes; stroked rolls; drags; flams; paradiddles, double paradiddles, paradiddle grooves, and fills; and combinations.
The 50 illustrated grooves are reinforced with the accompanying CD, allowing readers to hear how the rudiments sound when applied to the drum set.
Rudiment Grooves for Drum Set, by Rick Considine, Berklee Press, Boston, MA, 2003.
The Bass Player’s Handbook
This guide for contemporary bassists provides a great start for beginners, as well as a helpful reminder for professionals. Author Greg Mooter helps readers understand the origins and workings of the bass and also outlines fundamental concepts such as proper fingering, tone production, and effective practice habits. In this comprehensive volume readers also learn how to care for, adjust, and tune a bass and maintain their own physical health as musicians.
The Bass Player’s Handbook, by Greg Mooter, Berklee Press, Boston, MA, 2002.
Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer
Vocal exercises are key to a healthy and powerful singing voice. Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer provides complete exercise circuits to match all voice types and levels. Grounded in tradition, yet updated for singers of rock, R&B, hip hop, and other contemporary styles, these 26 exercises will help expand your technique, power, stamina, range, and expressive breadth. The accompanying sing-along CD makes vocal exercises and practice always accessible.
The book also includes routines to organize practice time according to your skill level and schedule, as well as detailed descriptions and helpful tips for how to develop and maintain your voice. This comprehensive singing guide also offers advice on vocal study and auditioning.
Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer, by Anne Peckham, Berklee Press, Boston, MA, 2006.
Preparing for Your Concert [DVD]
Preparing for Your Concert is an instructional DVD designed to build performance confidence with a foundation of creative exercises and techniques. No matter what instrument you play this Berklee Workshop DVD will show you how to hit the stage with the confidence you need. The practical exercises, warm-ups, and practice tips build on your playing foundation, whether you’re playing a formal set, improvising, or going solo.
Author JoAnn Brackeen is widely considered one of the most inventive, accomplished pianists and composers of modern jazz.
Preparing for Your Concert: Build Your Performance Confidence with a Foundation of Creative Exercises and Techniques, by JoAnne Brackeen, Berklee Press, Boston, MA, 2004.
Slide Guitar: Know the Players, Play the Music
The latest title in Backbeat Books’ Fretmaster series, Slide Guitar: Know the Players, Play the Music teaches both the history and technique of slide guitar masters, from Robert Johnson, Son House, and Sol Hoopii through George Harrison and Leo Kottke. Guitarist, teacher, and author Pete Madsen gives his recommendations on choosing and using different types of slides.
The book is spiral-bound to conveniently lay flat on music stands, and features a play-along CD covering all of the exercises contained in the book, plus backing tracks in blues, country, and rock styles for perfect practice sessions.
Slide Guitar: Know the Players, Play the Music, by Pete Madsen, Backbeat Books, San Francisco, CA, 2005.
Reading Keyboard Music [DVD Package]
From the age of 11 until his death in 1959, C.W. Reid dedicated his life to sharing his joy of playing piano by teaching others. However, like many would-be musicians, Reid struggled at learning to read music and almost quit altogether.
In the end, his love for playing music prevailed and he eventually became chairman of the music department at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and later a professor of music at the McCune School of Music in Salt Lake City.
When Reid began to teach others, he was determined to spare his students frustration. As a lifelong project he developed and perfected a method for teaching piano. Now, his method—Reading Keyboard Music (RKM)—is taught by professional instructors around the world, and it is also now available on a new DVD package from Reading Keyboard Music, LLC.
RKM teaches note reading using place specific names and pictures that relate visual and tactile patterns on the keyboard to patterns on the staff, reducing the number of mental steps required to master note replacement. Students are able to learn songs and actually read and play most of the notes on the treble clef in the first lesson. Each lesson then adds several new concepts and encourages above and below the staff reading much sooner than other methods.
This well organized DVD course for beginners makes learners feel they are actually participating in a class led by veteran music teacher Merrilee Webb. The lessons are fun and have the distinct advantage of allowing you to pause, replay, and enjoy every minute of the class, at your own pace, and from the comfort of your home.
Webb, whose enthusiasm for playing and teaching piano is contagious, began studying piano at age five using the RKM method. She holds bachelor and master degrees in Music Education from Bringham Young University, started her own studio at age 16, and has traveled the world teaching music to people of all backgrounds. The RKM Learning to Play DVD package includes 16, 50-minute lessons on DVD, a book, and supplementary materials. Students can expect to learn all the notes on the piano, basic music theory, technical exercises, and how to figure out a new piece of music by the end of the course.
Reading Keyboard Music Learning to Play DVD Course, led by Merrilee Webb, Reading Keyboard Music, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2006.
How to Write Songs on Keyboards
How to Write Songs on Keyboard teaches both guitarists and keyboardists the basics of writing. It provides guidance to those who have never written a song, and helps all song writers improve song structure and lyrics.
The book is laid out in easy-to-follow diagrams, and every music example and technique can be heard on the accompanying 90-track CD. Even aspiring tunesmiths with no previous keyboard experience will be able to find effective and inspiring chords for their songs. The book covers simple major and minor chords, inversions, chord sequences, and harmonies.
How to Write Songs on Keyboards: A Complete Course to Help You Write Better Songs, by Rikky Rooksby, Backbeat Books, San Francisco, CA, 2005.
Mandolin Method Book 1
The Mandolin Method Book 1 is an updated second revision to the classic mandolin method book by Rich DelGrosso. This comprehensive and easy-to-use beginner’s guide includes many fun songs of different styles to learn and play.
DelGrosso, who has been teaching the instrument for many years, starts with the basics of selecting an instrument, the proper way to hold a mandolin, and how to tune it.
DelGrosso stresses the importance of learning to read music and even includes instructions about music symbols and tablature. The accompanying CD includes 43 tracks of songs from the book for demonstration and play along.
Mandolin Method Book 1, Second Edition, by Rich DelGrosso, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2005.
NoExcuses (CDs & DVDs)
Have you dreamed of picking up another instrument, but have no idea how to get started without investing time and money in lessons? With NoExcuses guides you can easily start to play guitar, bass, drum, keyboard, harmonica, and even didgeridoo. Other guides cover singing, jamming, and Celtic music. All of the CDs are PC and Mac compatible, and many come with bonus Jam Academy DVDs that give you the chance to jam along with professional musicians.
The NoExcuses Guitar Guide includes a chord finder with hundreds of commonly used chords, transposer, and tuner, plus more than 140 jamming tracks in 12 musical styles. Other topics covered include music theory, scales, tabs, chord progressions, and alternative tunings.
The NoExcuses Harmonica Guide includes a “Kick Start” section for novices. Topics covered include choosing the right harmonica and how they work, plus basic music theory. It provides more than 140 backing tracks to jam along with.
The NoExcuses Keyboard Guide is a valuable tool for keyboard players at every level, whether they are using a grand piano or hi-tech synthesizer. It delivers expertise in all the essentials, including 300 chords for both hands, scales in 14 different keys, transposing, musical theory, jamming tracks, a glossary, and the “Jargon Buster.”
NoExcuses Guides, DVDs and CD-ROMs in Mac/PC format, Moonroller, 2004.
Singing Salsa: Techniques, Traditions, and Applications
In this 43-minute DVD professional salsa singer Willy Torres teaches the techniques and secrets of traditional and modern salsa singing.
The exciting bilingual DVD covers breathing, warm-ups, and three-part harmony. Bolero, son, guaracha, salsa, and other forms are explained in detail. Torres also discusses improvising techniques and gives performance tips. The DVD features full-band demos from some of the hottest players of Latin music.
Singing Salsa: Techniques, Traditions, and Applications, featuring Willy Torres, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2004.
Jazz Saxophone Etudes
Greg Fishman, tenor saxophonist and author, has produced a saxophone etude book complete with a two play-along CDs. Says Fishman, “This book of etudes was created to fill a gap in the musical resources available to the aspiring jazz musician. Its purpose is to demonstrate the concepts of soloing to those students who know their chords and scales but lack the musical vocabulary to create professional-level solos.” The 12 etudes are based on familiar chord progressions including blues, rhythm changes, and a variety of common standard 32-bar forms.
Jazz Saxophone Etudes, by Greg Fishman, Greg Fishman Jazz Studios, Evanston, IL, 2005.
Guitar Chord Encyclopedia [DVD]
For guitarists often the most difficult aspect of learning to play is the extensive cache of chord phrasings. Numerous books illustrate the various guitar chords, but they can’t fully demonstrate what is a visual issue. That’s why the Guitar Chord Encyclopedia is such a useful tool for teachers and students alike.
Regardless of whether you’re just learning or are an experienced guitarist, the Guitar Chord Encyclopedia will work for you. The DVD with its easy-to-navigate chord finder is a complete aural and visual package featuring the barebones breakdown of more than 2,600 chords alongside corresponding photos, diagrams, audio samples, and video fingering demonstrations. The DVD also includes a booklet to give beginners basic chord theory.
Guitar Chord Encyclopedia DVD, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2005.
Music Theory: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask
There are many books on the market about music theory that focus on the piano keyboard or the grand staff. Author Tom Kolb provides a unique learning tool in that every concept, exercise, and musical example in his Music Theory for the guitarist is guitar-specific. Kolb is a writer and instructor at the Musicians Institute (GIT) and veteran of more than 6,000 live performances and recording sessions.
Although the first few chapters deal with fundamental terms, the book is designed for use as a reference guide with an index to help find explanations of unfamiliar terms. It is a handy supplement for any of the Hal Leonard Guitar Method books. Quizzes and ear training drills appear periodically throughout the book to reinforce the information in the chapters. Many of the examples in the book are demonstrated on the accompanying CD.
Music Theory: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask, by Tom Kolb, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2005.
How to Make a Living Teaching Guitar (and Other Musical Instruments)
If you are toying with the idea of teaching, Guy Lee’s How to Make a Living Teaching Guitar can help you determine if you have what it takes to teach and also put you in touch with the necessary organizational and business skills. Lee covers such topics as managing money, what to teach, promotion, individual lessons, group lessons, and scheduling.
His insight will help you maintain a teaching business either as a full or part-time endeavor.
How to Make a Living Teaching Guitar (and Other Musical Instruments), by Guy Lee, Guytar Publishing, Hurricane Mills, TN, 2005.
Bunny Brunel’s Xtreme! Bass: Ideas and Exercises to Unlock Your Creativity
Designed for bass players who feel they are no longer progressing and are weary from playing the same boring exercises, Bunny Brunel’s Xtreme! Bass will breath new life into practice sessions. Brunel has recorded with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter, among others, and his own recordings include the Grammy-nominated CAB 2. A pioneer, inventing new fingerings and techniques, he developed new ways to play intervals and phrases that sound closer to the sax or the piano.
Xtreme Bass will teach you some of Brunel’s unique scales, fingerings, patterns, and ideas, helping you to master phrases that seemed impossible on the bass. Brunel’s approach will get your fingers “thinking” in new ways on the fretboard, allowing you to explore different modes and arpeggios for fresh sounding solos.
The book includes a CD that illustrates the exercises with all tracks recorded in both MP3 and WAV formats so it can be played with audio applications or disc players.
Bunny Brunel’s Xtreme! Bass: Ideas and Exercises to Unlock Your Creativity, by Bunny Brunel, Backbeat Books, San Francisco, CA, 2005.
The Beginner’s Guide to Computer-Based Music Production
If you have been thinking of jumping into music production, The Beginner’s Guide to Computer-Based Music Production will help you get started. Author Zack Price demystifies the recording process and provides simple instructions on a wide array of topics, including choosing equipment, MIDI recording and editing, effects, equalization, virtual instruments, software, mastering, and CD production.
The Beginner’s Guide to Computer-Based Music Production, by Zack Price, Cherry Lane Music Company, New York, NY, 2004.
Melody: How to Write Great Tunes
Melody is the vital ingredient in any popular song. It’s as simple as those three repeated notes from a jingle that you just can’t get out of your head. And it serves as the heart and soul of music—making music live on through the ages. Whether you are a professional or amateur, Melody: How to Write Great Tunes will help you compose effective tunes and explain what makes a good melody and why.
Starting with the essentials, Melody builds on the basics of rhythm, intervals, scales, and harmony to offer a wealth of advanced techniques and tricks to understand how melody works. Written by composer/songwriter Rikky Rooksby, this step-by-step guide examines the central craft of songwriting. Each musical example featured in the book can also be heard on the 90-track CD. This allows musicians to increase their awareness of melody through both sight and sound. Also included is a special section of melodies in the style of famous songwriters.
Rooksby has written several books on music and has worked as a guitar teacher, songwriter, and music journalist. Some of his books include: How to Write Songs on Guitar, Riffs, and Chord Master.
Melody: How to Write Great Tunes, by Rikky Rooksby, Backbeat Books, San Francisco, CA, 2004.
The Billboard Illustrated Home Recording Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Making Music on Your Computer
The digital recording revolution means that anyone with a computer can produce fantastic results for anything from sketch-pad stuff to full band recording. You can make an MP3 file, then use it on the web, and e-mail it—The Billboard Illustrated Home Recording Handbook shows you how to do it all.
The book includes sections on getting started, explaining basic equipment and necessities; an exhaustive reference section covering resources and technical information; and a comprehensive practical section on how to distribute and promote recordings. There are hundreds of color images and instructions for both Mac and PC users throughout.
Written by experts in the field, this handbook combines authority with accessibility, making it the ideal book for both beginners and professional musicians and a perfect reference. It simplifies the jargon and clearly shows you how to tackle the new technology necessary to release your creativity and concentrate on music making.
The Billboard Illustrated Home Recording Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Making Music on Your Computer, edited by Ronan MacDonald, Billboard Books, New York, NY, 2004.
Sight-Read Any Rhythm Instantly
If you’ve ever looked at a complicated rhythmic figure and had no idea how to play it, this book is for you. Author Mark Phillip, former ear-training instructor at Northwestern University, writes, “the only way to sight-read rhythms fluently is to think not in terms of how long individual notes last, but in terms of what sound (or combination of sounds) might occur within each beat.” This book teaches how to memorize the sound of each combination of notes that commonly occur within one beat. Phillip’s trick is to play by beats and not think in terms of counts per note.
The book assumes a reader plays an instrument and already understands the terms bar line, measure, time signature, and meter and also understands the values of notes. But if you’re not quite sure, or need refreshing, refer to the included glossary of musical definitions and diagram of note values.
Also available by Phillips is Sight-Sing Any Melody Instantly.
Sight-Read Any Rhythm Instantly, by Mark Phillips, Cherry Lane Music Company, New York, NY, 2002.
Pocket Manual Series: How to Read Music
If you long to learn how to read music, Len Vogler has put together the guide for you. The book starts off simple covering the basis of pitch, notes, and octave, and covers sheet music expressions that even professionals may not know. Three appendices cover musical terms, scales, and ranges of instruments and voices.
The book professes to contain all you need to know about major and minor key signatures; tempo and dynamic markings; ornaments, accents, and articulations; and much more.
Pocket Manual Series: How to Read Music, by Len Vogler, Music Sales Corporation, 257 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010
