Arts & Music Books > Classical Music Arts & Music Books

Advantages: Clear definitions and analysis
Disadvantages: May go into too much depth for everyday reader

Dance and the Music of J. S. Bach: Expanded Edition Written by: Meredith Little, Natalie Jenne Published By: Indiana U.P. Published: May 2001 Price: £20.50 The Authors Meredith Little and Natalie Jenne are eminently qualified and experienced to write this book. Little is an attorney practicing law. She taught at Stanford University and Aston Magna Academy and is an author of several articles on Baroque music and dance. Jenne is the Professor ...
...in 1991 detailing the stylized dance pieces of the baroque period and the English and French Suites of Johann Sebastian Bach. In the expanded version published in 2001, Meredith Little and Natalie Jenne study further examples of Bach's works that show identifiable dance rhythms but do not have a specific dance title. The book firstly examines the French dance practices of the period established in the court of Louis XlV. The authors then look in ... Read review

Advantages: Covers all aspects of playing/history of clarinet
Disadvantages: May be too in depth for the average player!

If you play the clarinet and interested in finding out a little more about it than the fact that it’s black, about 2 feet long with a single reed, try Jack Brymer’s “Clarinet” from the Yehudi Menuhin Series. If you don’t play the clarinet, may I ask why not?! You can pick one up quite cheaply and they are as easy to learn in the early stages as the recorder, but sound a lot cooler-go on- I dare you! Once you’ve mastered the basics this book will ...
...the author- Jack Brymer was clarinet king. His recordings of the Mozart clarinet concerto and quintet will be digitally re-mastered for many years to come. He was largely self-taught and an inspiration to clarinet players everywhere. Sadly he passed away earlier this year, but he was prolific enough in his recordings for you to be able to listen to his clarinet playing for years to come. He was passionate about single reed instruments, (clarinets ... Read review

Advantages: excellen as an insight to flamenco guitar
Disadvantages: flamenco is hard! not reccomended for beginners

...book is that this is PLAY flamenco guitar, not LEARN flamenco guitar. There is not much teaching of the techniques that are used in flamenco guitar (if you watch the dvd really closely you may be able to pick some up for yourself), therefore i would reccomend this only to players with experience (not neccesarily in the flamenco style but with a good grounding in playing accoustics and having some ability to play fingerstlye). There are only about ... Read review

Advantages: Effortlessly knowledgable and unfailingly entertaining.
Disadvantages: Landon is a prolific writer, so if you get hooked the addiction could be seriously expensive.

In the final month of 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the greatest star in the story of Western music blinked out, amidst a storm of controversy and speculation. It was this intrigue, which has sparked debate ever since, especially following the impact of the play and film of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus. So was it really Salieri in the drawing room with the poison? Eminent musicologist H.C.Robbins Landon thinks not. His gripping ‘1791: Mozart’s ...
...prodigiously gifted, drunken buffoon and casts doubt on the rumours which circulated after Mozart’s death that he was poisoned by his rival, Antonio Salieri. Landon is one of the most prominent scholars in the field of 18th Century music. Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1926, in 1949 he founded the Haydn Society, which set out to issue the Collected Edition of Haydn’s music and also make a number of recordings. More recently he participated ... Read review

Advantages: vital factors covered
Disadvantages: not to much detail

...: 1. Notes on the Fretboard (very important factor to learn) 2. The major scale 3. Two movable chord Shapes 4. The 1st 3rd and 5th chord families 5. The DAF Roadmap 6. Chord Fragments/families 7.The circle of Fifths 8. Variations on two movable chord shapes 9. movable major scales 10. Movable blues scales 11. sliding pentatonic scales 12. A Movable double note lick Over all the book provides strong key information into building your knowledge ...
...much detail in each section but provides good step by step instructions to give the basic understanding of the theories. I would recommend this to players who want to get a quick grasp of alot of different basic skills without having to read hundreds and hundreds of pages. In fact the whole book only has 64 and it covers all of the above. All in all a good little book for beginners especially and intermediate players wouldn't be sorry for reading ... Read review