He can teach anybody."-- Gay Talese, bestselling author of "Honor Thy Father""Scott Speck is a great communicator of classical music.... Concert audiences and readers alike can't help getting caught up in the joy of his subject."-- David Styers, American Symphony Orchestra LeagueOpera is weird. Everybody wears makeup and sings all the time. Even when they're singing your language, which is rare, you still can't understand the words. Women play men, men play women, and 45-year-olds play teenagers. All the main characters seem to get killed off. And when somebody dies, he takes ten minutes to sing about it. Yet, for all its weirdness, an operatic experience is an experience in breathtaking beauty. When you hear a soprano float a soft high C, or a tenor singing a love song, or a full-throated chorus in the climax of a scene's dramatic finale, you can't help getting goosebumps.Want to experience all that beauty for yourself, but don't know where to begin? "Opera For Dummies" is an excellent place to start. Written by an acclaimed conductor and a musical director, this friendly guide tells you what you need to know to: Understand opera from the Baroque and Roman periods through todayInterpret characters, orchestra, chorus, and other playersUnderstand what's happening, both on stage and offChoose the best seatsIdentify famous operasBuild a great collection of opera recordingsLocate opera sites and chat groups onlineWhether you're interested in attending a live opera, want to build a collection of recordings, or just want to be able to talk about opera intelligently, "Opera For Dummies" is for you. Among other things, you'll explore: The words, the music, and the people who sing itThe history of opera and the lives of the great composersGoing to the opera -- including tips for getting tickets, preparing for the opera, dressing for the opera, and moreMusical and theatrical conventions used in operaIn-depth synopses of the world's most beloved operasOn the bonus CD you'll find: More than 60 minutes of music compiled especially for the bookA multimedia piece for PC or MACWonder what it is about opera that can make a grown person cry like a baby? Find out in "Opera For Dummies.

    With 150 stunning photographs of ballet stars Maria Riccetto and Benjamin Millepied demonstrating perfect execution of positions and steps, this elegant volume brims with everything today's dance student needs, including: Practical advice for getting started, such as selecting a school, making the most of class, and studio etiquette Explanations of ballet fundamentals and major training systems An illustrated guide through ballet class -- warm-up, barre, and center floor Guidelines for safe, healthy dancing through a sensible diet, injury prevention, and cross-training with yoga and Pilates Descriptions of must-see ballets and glossaries of dance, music, and theater terms Along the way you'll find technique secrets from stars of American Ballet Theatre, lavishly illustrated sidebars on ballet history, and tips on everything from styling a ballet bun to stage makeup to performing the perfect pirouette. Whether a budding ballerina, serious student, or adult returning to ballet, dancers will find a lively mix of ballet's time-honored traditions and essential new information.

    Its traditions serve as a record of our past. A ballerina dancing The Sleeping Beauty today is a link in a long chain of dancers stretching back to sixteenth-century Italy and France: Her graceful movements recall a lost world of courts, kings, and aristocracy, but her steps and gestures are also marked by the dramatic changes in dance and culture that followed. Ballet has been shaped by the Renaissance and Classicism, the Enlightenment and Romanticism, Bolshevism, Modernism, and the Cold War. Apollo’s Angels is a groundbreaking work—the first cultural history of ballet ever written, lavishly illustrated and beautifully told.Ballet is unique: It has no written texts or standardized notation. It is a storytelling art passed on from teacher to student. The steps are never just the steps—they are a living, breathing document of a culture and a tradition. And while ballet’s language is shared by dancers everywhere, its artists have developed distinct national styles. French, Italian, Danish, Russian, English, and American traditions each have their own expression, often formed in response to political and societal upheavals.From ballet’s origins in the Renaissance and the codification of its basic steps and positions under France’s Louis XIV (himself an avid dancer), the art form wound its way through the courts of Europe, from Paris and Milan to Vienna and St. Petersburg. It was in Russia that dance developed into the form most familiar to American audiences: The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker originated at the Imperial court. In the twentieth century, émigré dancers taught their art to a generation in the United States and in Western Europe, setting off a new and radical transformation of dance. Jennifer Homans is a historian and critic who was also a professional dancer: She brings to Apollo’s Angels a knowledge of dance born of dedicated practice. She traces the evolution of technique, choreography, and performance in clean, clear prose, drawing readers into the intricacies of the art with vivid descriptions of dances and the artists who made them. Her admiration and love for the ballet shines through on every page. Apollo’s Angels is an authoritative work, written with a grace and elegance befitting its subject.

    Written for the nearly 30,000

    S. Bach in countless performances and recordings, the composer himself still comes across only as an enigmatic figure in a single familiar portrait. As we mark the 250th anniversary of Bach's death, author Christoph Wolff presents a new picture that brings to life this towering figure of the Baroque era. This engaging new biography portrays Bach as the living, breathing, and sometimes imperfect human being that he was, while bringing to bear all the advances of the last half-century of Bach scholarship. Wolff demonstrates the intimate connection between the composer's life and his music, showing how Bach's superb inventiveness pervaded his career as musician, composer, performer, scholar, and teacher. And throughout, we see Bach in the broader context of his time: its institutions, traditions, and influences. With this highly readable book, Wolff sets a new standard for Bach biography.

    It is the product of preparation and effort, and it's within reach of everyone who wants to achieve it. All it takes is the willingness to make creativity a habit, an integral part of your life: In order to be creative, you have to know how to prepare to be creative. In The Creative Habit, Tharp takes the lessons she has learned in her remarkable thirty-five-year career and shares them with you, whatever creative impulses you follow -- whether you are a painter, composer, writer, director, choreographer, or, for that matter, a businessperson working on a deal, a chef developing a new dish, a mother wanting her child to see the world anew. When Tharp is at a creative dead end, she relies on a lifetime of exercises to help her get out of the rut, and The Creative Habit contains more than thirty of them to ease the fears of anyone facing a blank beginning and to open the mind to new possibilities. Tharp's exercises are practical and immediately doable -- for the novice or expert. In "Where's Your Pencil?" she reminds us to observe the world -- and get it down on paper. In "Coins and Chaos," she provides the simplest of mental games to restore order and peace. In "Do a Verb," she turns your mind and body into coworkers. In "Build a Bridge to the Next Day," she shows how to clean your cluttered mind overnight. To Tharp, sustained creativity begins with rituals, self-knowledge, harnessing your memories, and organizing your materials (so no insight is ever lost). Along the way she leads you by the hand through the painful first steps of scratching for ideas, finding the spine of your work, and getting out of ruts into productive grooves. In her creative realm, optimism rules. An empty room, a bare desk, a blank canvas can be energizing, not demoralizing. And in this inventive, encouraging book, Twyla Tharp shows us how to take a deep breath and begin!

    278 color photos. 185 drawings.

    Rather than hop in the car and hope you can find the courthouse of the county where your great-grandmother grew up before it closes, you can relax and research in the comfort of your own home, at your convenience. The only problem is where--and how--do you start? Genealogy Online For Dummies, 4th Edition is a great starting point. Written by genealogists who manage and maintain several online genealogy services, this guide helps you make sense of the vast array of resources on the Web. It shows you how toSearch online databases Explore genealogical societies Use geographic tools Research ethnic roots Validate your findings Share your research So you don't waste time and effort wandering all over the Web, Genealogy Online For Dummies, 4th Edition shows you how to set up your own personal database first, using information you already have from family members. Then it helps you make your search productive byChoosing the right government resources to help locate your ancestors Fleshing out the statistics with personal information from geographical, ethnic, and religious sources Cooperating with other researchers, sharing information, and coordinating efforts with societies and research groups Providing proven tips, reminders, suggestions, and lists of online databases Offering suggestions for developing your own genealogical Web site, and more To get you started in style, the bonus CD-ROM includes the full version of Family TreeMaker and Legacy Family Tree freeware, a tryout version of Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 2.0 for preserving treasured family photos, and lots of other valuable techno-tools. And it all comes with a warning: genealogical research can become addictive!

    A volume which no teacher, scholar, or student of the dance can afford to miss. "A serious, indeed indispensable, textbook." -Clive Barnes

    It not only covers the broad spectrum of ballet vocabulary but also gives sound, practical advice to aspiring dancers. The clarity of the writing, in a field notorious for its opaqueness, is in itself a major achievement."--Merrill Ashley, Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet"An excellent, comprehensive guide to ballet pedagogy valuable to teachers and students alike. For many years Gretchen's has been a major voice in the dance community, and this extensive work details the study of classical ballet from her unique and expert point of view. I applaud her, and I heartily recommend Classical Ballet Technique."--David Howard, International Ballet Master and Master Teacher"Gretchen Warren has undertaken a monumental task and has completed it with distinction. Obviously a labor of love, this book's attention to detail and the clarity of its text and photos make it a valuable contribution to the lexicon of ballet. I recommend it to every serious student and teacher."--Thalia Mara, Founding Director, Ballet Repertory Company and National Academy of Ballet; Artistic Director, U.S.A. International Ballet Competition"Congratulations to Ms. Warren for her authoritative book on classical ballet. Thanks are in order too from the many professional teachers, dancers, and students of the art form who will benefit from this book-an essential addition to any dance lover's library."--Lawrence Rhodes, Artistic Director, Les Grands Ballets CanadiensGretchen Ward Warren studied at London's Royal Ballet and the National Ballet School of Washington, D.C. She was soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet for eleven years and ballet mistress of American Ballet Theatre II from 1978 to 1983. She is professor of dance at the University of South Florida and frequently appears as a master teacher on the national and international circuits.Susan Cook has photographed the performing arts for the past fifteen years. Her work has appeared in Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, and many dance books. Her own books of photographs include In a Rehearsal Room and The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

    Peterson stresses the importance of metering the subject for a starting exposure, and then explains how to use various exposure meters and different kinds of lighting. The book contains lessons on each element of the exposure-aperature, shutter speed, iso-and how it relates to the other two in terms of depth of field, freezing and blurring action, and shooting in low light or at night. A section on special techniques explores such options as deliberate under- and overexposures, how to produce double exposures, bracketing, shooting the moon, and the use of filters. Understanding Exposure demonstrates that there are always creative choices about how to expose a picture-and that the decision is up to the photographer, not the camera.

    Helpful diagrams show you how to shape sounds using your tongue, throat, and hands. Before you know it you'll be playing melodies, chugging out rhythms, and bending notes with ease. You'll also pick up some basics of music theory and learn how to read the notation and tablature for all the music in the book. Discover how to: Play right out of the box with little or no experience using an inexpensive diatonic harmonica in the key of CMake that wonderful wailing soundCreate exciting rhythms and play soloUnderstand how the harmonica worksPlay all of the music on the Bonus CDRead tablature, educate your eye, and develop your earBreath correctly while playingBend notes up and downPlay one harp in many keysDevelop your style in blues rock, country, folk, and morePlay with other musiciansWork with a microphone to create great soundsSo stop dreaming and start playing "Harmonica For Dummies" will get you wailing in no timeNote: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

    Written by a group of music industry pros, this practical guide shows you how to develop your songwriting skills and successfully utilize the Internet to promote and market your work!Whether you?re a first-time songwriter or songwriting vet looking for a fast-track into the recording industry, this friendly, easy-to-follow guide is the source for you. Using well-known tunes as examples, the authors walk you through everything you need to know to write hit singles, catchy jingles, and everything in between.25% new and updated content, including information on social media networks YouTube, Twitter, Viddler, and Digg Coverage of the latest music industry trends and techniques Tips and tricks to combat songwriter's block Whether you want to know how to compose a love song for that special someone or you?re looking break into the industry Songwriting For Dummies, 2nd Edition is a gold mine of inspiration and how-to information.

    Only recently has science sought in earnest to understand and explain this impact. One remarkable recent study, analyzing the cries of newborns, shows that infants' cries contain common musical intervals, and children tease each other in specific, singsong ways no matter where in the world they live. Physics experiments show that sound waves can physically change the structure of a material; musician and world-famous conductor Daniel Barenboim believes musical sound vibrations physically penetrate our bodies, shifting molecules as they do. The Power of Music follows visionary researchers and accomplished musicians to the crossroads of science and culture, to discover: how much of our musicality is learned and how much is innate? Can examining the biological foundations of music help scientists unravel the intricate web of human cognition and brain function? Why is music virtually universal across cultures and time-does it provide some evolutionary advantage? Can music make people healthier? Might music contain organizing principles of harmonic vibration that underlie the cosmos itself?

    17 selections from the critically acclaimed musical about Alexander Hamilton which debuted on Broadway in August 2015 to unprecedented advanced box office sales. Our collection features 17 selections in piano/vocal format from the music penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda, including: Alexander Hamilton * Burn * Dear Theodosia * Hurricane * It's Quiet Uptown * My Shot * One Last Time * Satisfied * That Would Be Enough * Washington on Your Side * You'll Be Back * and more. Also includes a biography of Miranda.