Book picks similar to
Elementary Training for Musicians by Paul Hindemith
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Writing to Learn: How to Write--And Think--Clearly about Any Subject at All
William Zinsser - 1988
This is an essential book for everyone who wants to write clearly about any subject and use writing as a means of learning.
The Inner Voice: The Making of a Singer
Renée Fleming - 2004
In "The Inner Voice," this great singer shares what she has learned from her experience as an inspiration for those contemplating a career in the arts. From struggling to get a career under way to dealing with her own personal doubts, Fleming is wonderfully candid and articulate about her art - especially the little discussed heart-throat-mind connection -and childhood influences, formal education, mentors, preparation, and mental and physical discipline. Here is a look at the real life of an artist today, a life confronted by the loneliness of touring, the need for resilience, the desire for creativity in the face of overwhelming commercial pressures, coping with business issues, and, most important, balancing personal and professional fulfillment. "The Inner Voice" adds its distinctive voice to works such as Eudora Welty's One Writer's Beginnings and Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting, teaching by example and the hard-won human lessons all artists must learn. It will be eagerly awaited not only by her legion of fans, but will also be required reading for anyone contemplating a career in the arts.
How to Keep a Naturalist's Notebook
Susan Leigh Tomlinson - 2009
Pages from actual field notebooks clearly illustrate what works and why. Hints and advice for outdoorspeople with even limited artistic skills. For nature-lovers, birders, and students of wildlife and biology, keeping a field notebook is essential to accurately recording outdoor observations. This unique guide offers instruction on how to do it--what to look for, what information should be recorded and how to organize it, basic drawing skills using line and color, and incorporating maps and charts, as well as advice on equipment to take in the field and using conventional field guides. A colorful book that will teach and inspire.
The Gift
Lewis Hyde - 1979
. . . A masterpiece.” —Margaret Atwood“No one who is invested in any kind of art . . . can read The Gift and remain unchanged.” —David Foster WallaceBy now a modern classic, The Gift is a brilliantly orchestrated defense of the value of creativity and of its importance in a culture increasingly governed by money and overrun with commodities. This book is even more necessary today than when it first appeared.An illuminating and transformative book, and completely original in its view of the world, The Gift is cherished by artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers. It is in itself a gift to all who discover the classic wisdom found in its pages.
The Wall (Pink Floyd)
Roger Waters - 1982
All songs are arranged with standard notation and tab for guitar, with chord symbols, full lyrics and chord boxes. Includes a generous selection of color photographs of the band in action and Gerald Scarfe illustrations. Songs include: Another Brick in the Wall * Comfortably Numb * Hey You * In the Flesh? * Is There Anybody Out There? * Mother * Run Like Hell * Young Lust * and more.
User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play
Cliff Kuang - 2019
Spanning over a century of sweeping changes, from women's rights to the Great Depression to World War II to the rise of the digital era, this book unpacks the ways in which the world has been--and continues to be--remade according to the principles of the once-obscure discipline of user-experience design.In this essential text, Kuang and Fabricant map the hidden rules of the designed world and shed light on how those rules have caused our world to change--an underappreciated but essential history that's pieced together for the first time. Combining the expertise and insight of a leading journalist and a pioneering designer, User Friendly provides a definitive, thoughtful, and practical perspective on a topic that has rapidly gone from arcane to urgent to inescapable. In User Friendly, Kuang and Fabricant tell the whole story for the first time--and you'll never interact with technology the same way again.
Belle and Sebastian: Just a Modern Rock Story
Paul Whitelaw - 2005
Intelligent and sensitive, witty and original, beautiful and bold, their music inspires the kind of devotion not seen since the The Smiths. Their continuing desire to push the boundaries of their vision has resulted in some of the most essential and idiosyncratic records of recent times. In this, the first biography of Belle and Sebastian, Paul Whitelaw traces their unpredictable personal and creative curve. With all original interviews and personal photos from the band Belle and Sebastian: Just A Modern Rock Story is the definitive account of the clandestine world and continuing rise of the unique and fascinating musical phenomenon that is Belle and Sebastian.
The Truth About Statins: Risks and Alternatives to Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs
Barbara H. Roberts - 2012
Now, the Director of the Women’s Cardiac Center in Providence, Rhode Island uses case studies and anecdotes to discuss the uses, misuses, dangers, and benefits of statins, enabling you to make informed decisions on how and when to use them. Including information on when statins help and when they don’t, common side effects, gender differences and drug use, as well as tips and recipes that promote heart health, The Truth About Statins is a timely and invaluable tool for improving cardiovascular health and helping you meet your lipid-lowering goals.
Music Habits - The Mental Game of Electronic Music Production: Finish Songs Fast, Beat Procrastination and Find Your Creative Flow
Jason Timothy - 2015
The goal of this book, is to cover music production from many different angles in a way that will change your thinking on the subject and build your confidence. Music making is a very mental and psychological game, and more often than not, all the technical stuff can hold you back from achieving your goals if you don't have the right creative habits in place first. With all the information available with a simple Google search, I wanted to really get to the heart of things that aren't being discussed nearly enough. I want to clear out all the garbage you may have been told and replace it with the essentials you can put to immediate use. Many people new to music may dive into forums and mindlessly watch video tutorials attempting to gather more and more information until they think they have enough to get going (hint: you never feel like you know enough). That would be like reading a whole encyclopedia and then being asked to recall only the important things that will get you from point A to point B. Even worse, much of the information you get will contradict the last thing you read. It's like finding a needle in a haystack only to be told it's the wrong needle. There is a much better approach. It's an approach that doesn't require you to know a lot to get started. You only need to know enough to get to the next step in your process. There is truly nothing stopping you from becoming a music producer. The ones who are successful now are the ones who started from nothing and chipped away at it until they found a way to express their unique voice. There are no gatekeepers making decisions on who is worthy and who isn't. The determining factor is you, your habits and your confidence in yourself. This book can be read from start to finish, or as a “choose your own adventure”, going directly to what you think can help you most right now. Don't get caught up thinking you have to devour everything before getting started. That isn't necessary, and isn't the point of the book. The core concepts in the book will come up time & time again which should help you retain them & be able to recall them when the need arrives. By exploring these concepts from several angles you should gain a broad view of their many uses. My hope is that this book is used as a toolbox. You simply find the right tool that moves you forward and get back to work. So few people, who have more than enough information in their heads, ever start. Of those who do start, even fewer finish what they started and are satisfied with the results. I want you to be in that small group of finishers. Let's get started.
Rough Ideas: Reflections on Music and More
Stephen Hough - 2019
He is also a writer, composer and painter and was recently described by the Economist as one of '20 Living Polymaths'.As an international performer he spends much of his life at airports, on planes, and in hotel rooms - and this book expands notes he has made, in his words, 'during that dead time on the road'.He writes about music and the life of a musician, from exploring the broader aspects of what it is to walk out on to a stage or to make a recording, to specialist tips from deep inside the practice room: how to trill, how to pedal, how to practise. He also writes vividly about people he's known, places he's travelled to, books he's read, paintings he's seen; and touches on more controversial subjects, such as assisted suicide and abortion. Even religion is there - the possibility of the existence of God, problems with some biblical texts and the challenge involved in being a gay Catholic.
Capturing Music: The Story of Notation
Thomas Forrest Kelly - 2014
But before this instant accessibility and dizzying array of formats before CDs, the eight-track tape, the radio, and the turntable there was only one recording technology: music notation. It allowed singers and soloists to travel across great distances and perform their work with stunning fidelity, a feat that we now very much take for granted. Thomas Forrest Kelly transports us to the lively and complex world of monks and monasteries, of a dove singing holy chants into the ear of a saint, and of bustling activity in the Cathedral of Notre Dame an era when the only way to share even the simplest song was to learn it by rote, church to church and person to person. With clarity and a sense of wonder, Kelly tells a story that spans five hundred years, leading us on a journey through medieval Europe and showing how we learned to keep track of rhythm, melody, and precise pitch with a degree of accuracy previously unimagined.Kelly reveals the technological advances that led us to the system of notation we use today, placing each step of its evolution in its cultural and intellectual context. Companion recordings by the renowned Blue Heron ensemble are paired with vibrant illuminated manuscripts, bringing the art to life and allowing readers to experience something of the marvel that medieval writers must have felt when they figured out how to capture music for all time."
The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students
Tom Kealey - 2005
The handbook includes profiles of fifty creative writing programs, guidance through the application process, advice from current students and professors including George Saunders, Aimee Bender, Tracy K. Smith, and Geoffrey Wolff, and the most comprehensive listings of graduate writing programs in and outside the United States. The handbook also includes special sections about Low-Residency writing programs, Ph.D. programs, publishing in literary journals, and workshop and teaching advice.In a remarkably concise, user-friendly fashion, The Creative Writing MFA Handbook answers as many questions as possible, and is packed with information, advice, and experience.
The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Trance: The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age
Mark Prendergast - 2000
The 20th Century saw two revolutionary changes in music. First music was deconstructed from its previously strict form, moving from formal constraints to more accessible melodies. Second, the way in which music was generated radically changed as new electronic equipment inspired experiments with sound divorced from traditional acoustic instruments. More and more, innovative musical ideas became intertwined with technological change. Multi-track recording, editing, and improved microphones allowed for quieter, experimental elements to gain prominence. And with the advent of digital synthesizers, new music could be made by anyone and sound like almost anything.The Ambient Century is the definitive chronicle of a century of musical change. It reveals the drift from composers to non-musicians, from the single note to the sample. Encyclopedic, yet with a strong narrative, The Ambient Century covers hundreds of artists, including such diverse artists as Gustav Mahler (the pioneer of modern music), Phillip Glass, New Order, and Moby. Lively, compelling, and authoritative-and boasting an unmatched discography. The Ambient Century is a treat for music lovers of all kinds.
The Art of Piano Playing
Heinrich Neuhaus - 1958
His mother, Olga Blumenfeld, was sister of Felix Blumenfeld, a distinguished pianist, conductor and teacher. Horovitz was one of his most famous pupils. Through his maternal grandmother he was related to Karol Szymanowski who became a lifelong friend.Heinrich Neuhaus was, strictly speaking, self-taught, and the main formative influence on his musical development came from Felix Blumenfeld. He made his first public appearance at the age of eleven, playing some Chopin Waltzes and an Impromptu. In 1902 he accompanied Misha Elman in a recital in Elisavetgrad. His first solo recitals took place in Germany and Italy while studying under Godowsky, in Berlin and Vienna. He returned to Russia at the outbreak of the First World War.In 1922 he began teaching at the Moscow Conservatoire and helped to create in 1932 the famous Moscow Central Music School for specially gifted children. From 1934 to 1937 he was Director of the Moscow Conservatoire, a post he relinquished so as to be able to devote himself entirely to teaching. Amongst his pupils were Radu Lupu, Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter who called him an artist of unique genius, a great teacher and friend. Seldom have artistic gifts been so closely matched by the qualities of selfless devotion, deep humanity, true culture and a great capacity for bestowing and winning friendship. He died on 10th October 1964. This book bears witness to his achievements as a man, musician and teacher.