Best books about woodwind instruments according to redditors

We found 424 Reddit comments discussing the best books about woodwind instruments. We ranked the 124 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Subcategories:

Books about bassoons
Books about clarinets
Books about flutes
Books about hramonicas
Books about recorders
Books about saxophones

Top Reddit comments about Woodwind Instruments:

u/YoungRaddish · 43 pointsr/offmychest

For the girl, consider this, it’s a learn how to play Flute with songs from Frozen.


Frozen - Recorder Fun!: Pack with Songbook and Instrument https://www.amazon.com/dp/1495013057/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fzo-BbF6N2GX0


u/lejazzvp · 28 pointsr/Saxophonics

Long tones. Overtones. Transcribing. Patience and perseverance.



For TONE, if you're on your own, I'd recommend using "A Complete Approach to Sound for the Modern Saxophonist". It takes the best of classic books like Rascher's "Top Tones", as well as adds its own exercises, but above all explains everything very clearly - that makes it easier to follow if you're practicing without guidance.

You can download demonstration sound clips of some of the exercises [HERE](http://www.benbrittonjazz.com/completeapproach/Complete%20Approach%20Sound%20Clips%20(Demonstrated%20on%20Tenor%20Saxophone\).zip "20MB zip file!!").

Ben Britton also wrote a follow up book for more advanced overtone exercises: A Complete Approach to Overtones: Vivid Tone and Extended Range.



BUT, "sound" is not just about "tone", it's also about articulation and time feel. You can have the most mind blowing harmonic approach and tone, if your time feel and articulation isn't solid, you will always sound like an amateur. A few things to work on to develop good time and articulation:

  • make your metronome your new best friend
  • slow scale practice with mixed articulation (fundamentals never stop being cool...)
  • transcribing and focusing on imitating articulation and time feel. Coltrane and Rollins had radically different approaches for example. Transcribe both guys and find out why and how.

    One of the best exercises for developing a solid time feel is to play bass lines on the saxophone. After all, if you can't play quarter notes with a solid time feel, with that forward momentum a good bassist has, how can you expect smaller subdivisions to sound better? It's also a fantastic voice leading exercise, and makes refreshing or learning tunes efficient and entertaining. I'd explain more of the concept, but I got it from a Will Vinson video lesson so I'm not sure it would be cool. This and the other lesson on melodic improvisation are well worth the price IMO (less than the price of a box of reeds...).
u/winslowyerxa · 14 pointsr/harmonica

Intensive practice can yield good results if you're sensible.

Temper your expectations.

  • You learn at the pace you learn; you won't get good overnight.

  • Treasure your victories, however small. A win is a win.

  • Be patient with yourself.

    Pace yourself.

  • Break up your practice into shorter sessions so you don't burn out.

  • Work intensively on one small thing at a time.

  • Break your learning into "chunks." It's easier to work on one chunk at a time and then string them together.

  • Work on something, go away for awhile, then come back again, but don't wait too long. Learning can evaporate if left too long, but can be strengthened by short intervals between working on the same thing.

  • Alternate practice with other activities so you stay fresh.

    Don't give up.

  • Frustration is always greatest just before a breakthrough.

  • Consistency will get you there in time.

    Learn from the best

  • Get a good harmonica book or video course. (I humbly submit that mine, Harmonica For Dummies, with 408 pages, tons of audio examples along with online videos and animations, is one of them).

  • Learn about good learning strategies. I recommend Daniel Coyle's The Little Book of Practice.
u/Jongtr · 9 pointsr/musictheory

[Mathieu - Harmonic Experience] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harmonic-Experience-Harmony-Natural-Expression/dp/0892815604/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536655213&sr=1-1)

"The rules of music--including counterpoint and harmony--were not formed in our brains but in the resonance chambers of our bodies"

NB: I've not read it, although I keep meaning to. The five reviews on Amazon may be revealing: four 5-star, one 1-star. Love it or hate it, no half measures....

u/tel · 9 pointsr/synthesizers

I pretty much agree with everything you've mentioned. I'll take it a step further though, too. Synthesis taught me an approach to music that's outside of the "standard, western canon" and in particular really opened my eyes to music just being "sound" instead of those notes we write down in black and white. This helped me appreciate music from other cultures more and helped me to appreciate that even harmony itself is just a fancy form of timbre. There's a lot of historical perspective to this which I was sort of unable to appreciate prior to really spending a lot of time thinking about timbre alone.

If this also sounds like you I'd recommend reading Harmonic Experience by W. A. Mathieu.

u/L-phant · 9 pointsr/saxophone

Easy answer: practice overtone exercises such as the classic:
fingering low Bb and changing your throat position to play a Bb up an octave, and then F a 5th above that, and Bb a 4th above that, etc.

Personal experience: what I found while developing my control of the altissimo register was that I often tried to capture higher overtones by biting more in my embouchure and blowing harder, when I needed to be utilizing throat positioning instead to reach higher overtones as well as to develop better control of them.

Check out these books for a much more comprehensive understanding of the altissimo register:

Top-Tones for the Saxophone: https://www.amazon.com/O2964-Top-Tones-Saxophone-Four-Octave-Range/dp/082582642X

Saxophone High Tones: https://www.amazon.com/Saxophone-High-Tones-Eugene-Rousseau/dp/158106005X/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=T61FKP0VVR5H1CHJRB5W

Beginning Studies in the Altissimo Register: https://www.amazon.com/Saxophone-Beginning-studies-altissimo-register/dp/B00072ZF9C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505855702&sr=1-1&keywords=rosemary+lang+altissimo

u/Yeargdribble · 7 pointsr/piano

> I have a good foundation in classical theory, and have a pretty basic understanding of jazz harmony, but what are some additional steps that I could take to improve?

I tend to tell people to start with this book. Mark Levine's "The Jazz Piano" is a great book and the most common recommendation, but I think it's a bit too dense and daunting to people transitioning from a classical background and not yet accustomed to being given a single example and then told "now just go play this progression in all 12 keys without music... then look up tunes and apply the concepts."

It's also not a book you can easily work out of without the guidance of a teacher. I think people who recommend it are often taking for granted their level of knowledge in the subject and not realizing how unapproachable it is to a fresh learner. Start with the Mark Harrison book and then move to the Levine book after you've gotten a primer.

>For example, what are some good beginner/intermediate piano performances I could transcribe?

Don't start with jazz. Start with nursery rhymes and traditional tunes you're already familiar with. Burt Ligon makes this suggestion in his Jazz Theory Resources book. If you can't transcribe Mary Had a Little Lamb, you can't transcribe most jazz performances, especially the intense ones. A good understanding of theory will really help you ear so that you're not just making blind guesses at things.

With simple children's songs, you can instantly apply your own theory knowledge. For many, you probably don't even need to listen to a recording. Just sit down and write out a lead sheet of something like Alouette or Twinkle Twinkle, or America. If you find that you can't hear the harmonic progression (I, IV, and V) of those, you certainly aren't going to be able to jump into jazz transcriptions.


I mean... you could, but I feel that people waste far too many hours taking that approach without the theory to help inform what they are hearing. When I hear a #9 chord, I know what it is because I know how it functions. It stands out to me and I'm not sitting down plinking at keys trying to guess the notes of the chord. I think "That's a dominant with a #9 coming from ii and going to I. I'm in X keys, so it's X7#9."

Once again, people who already have a solid grounding in jazz theory and a backing in ear will tell you to jump straight into transcription because they are taking for granted a huge amount of their own knowledge and not keeping in mind the numbers of steps behind them you might be.

>Are there any decent books of common jazz phrases?

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. I guess you mean like licks or comping patterns or something? Start with the one I mentioned above to actually learn the language so you know how things work. Once you do, you can grab transcription books, or make your own transcriptions. If you get a little backing in the theory you can steal ideas you like left and right very easily.

>How do you feel about using a real book?

It's useful, especially for applying concepts (like those in the Mark Levine book) to real tunes when your ear can't get there. Some would argue that you should evolve to the level where you never need a real book (relying entirely on your ear and memory) and that might be a fine goal, but it's a lofty one. Don't let the ultimate high end goal of very experienced players strongly discourage you from taking the steps you need to get there.

>What are some technical exercises I could practice?

Probably the most important starting exercise is in the "Intro to Jazz Piano" book I recommended... 3-7 voicings. They are written out in that book, but eventually being able to play them for ii-V-I in every key while just reading a lead sheet (you can scrawl your own) would be a good goal. Then applying that concepts to tunes is a good next step.

For a lot of pure technical stuff, you could look at some John Valerio books. I'd recommend this one as a pure technical manual. It's aimed at developing the type of facility that you might need to be able basically get anywhere from anywhere the way improvising pianists need to do when they can't always plan out every fingering.

This one is slightly more directly practical conceptual stuff for comping and realizing lead sheets which might be a better place to start considering improvisation at this point should be very little of your focus.

There's also Jazz Chord Hanon which I'm very uneasy recommending. It might provide you a lot of the technical facility used in jazz, but without any of the context. It doesn't make you actually know what you're playing and why. It might help your playing, but I think the John Valerio books would be a much better option as would just making up tons of your own exercises. However, the Hanon could be useful in just letting you find and clean up some technical limitation on your part.

There's also the companion book to Burt Ligon's theory book (Comprehensive Technique for Jazz Musicians), but this one is quite high level and deep in the weeds. Also, since it's not a piano specific book, you might want to be more comfortable working in abstract theory concepts before you jump in, but it's an absolutely magnificent book.

u/[deleted] · 7 pointsr/Jazz

forums.allaboutjazz.com

jazzguitar.be/forum

Learn how to use google site search to search those forums for topics that you're currently working on.

musictheory.net - use the lessons and exercises because you have to know the basics of reading and memorize the key signatures, etc.

I urge you to check out Hal Galper and Mike Longo's books/videos. They are at the forefront of Jazz Education and their material is a rite of passage for beginning jazz musicians.

Here's a playlist of Galper's masterclass videos:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7iWyGibrnPOQPEuUL4O3s5E0qdPj-cqs

The best general jazz chord-scale theory text I've seen (I've seen them all) is probably the Berklee book,
Chord Scale Theory and Jazz Harmony;
However, even better would be the Bert Ligon books, because they go into more detail about how to actually put it into practice:
Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony
Jazz Theory Resources Volume 1
Jazz Theory Resources Volume 2
Comprehensive Technique for Jazz Musicians


P.S. this subreddit is geared more towards jazz listeners and may not have that many musicians.

u/Dr_Legacy · 6 pointsr/harmonica

Look for Winslow Yerxa's Harmonica for Dummies.

In the meantime there's this list.

u/dragontamer5788 · 6 pointsr/harmonica

I'm at the advanced beginner / early intermediate level. Blues is notoriously hard, and no offense... but I don't think that unstructured listening would be useful to the beginner or intermediate.

Here's what I'm planning to work on, using 100 Authentic Blues Harmonica Licks as my guide.

Beginner
===========

Nothing in the book I linked to is easy or beginner level. But lick 1A can be grossly simplified by removing the Tongue Blocks. If you wanna feel groovy, play:

  • 6 (6) (7) (8) 8 9 9
  • 6 (6) (7) (8) 8 9 9
  • 6 (6) (7) (8) 8 9 9
  • 6 (6) (7) (8) 8 9 9 9

    https://soundcloud.com/user-434354875/blues-lick1a-no-block

    Simple enough, eh?

    Unfortunately, that's not the real thing. To play the real thing, look at the intermediate section.

    Beginner #2 Start of the Boogie Woogie
    ===============

  • (2) (2) (3) (3) (4) (4) 5 5 (5) (5) 5 5 (4) (4) (3) (3)
  • (2) (2) (3) (3) (4) (4) 5 5 (5) (5) 5 5 (4) (4) (3) (3)

    The Boogie Woogie is actually three times longer than this, but I can't adequately play the next 8 measures. So here are the first four measures that a beginner can start to learn how to "swing" notes.

    The Boogie Woogie is supposed to be played "swung". I'm not exactly an expert at this, but here's my attempt at this. https://soundcloud.com/user-434354875/boogie-woogie-start

    Try to feel the "doo-da-doo-da", the swinging rhythm. A lot of blues have this syncopated "swung" feel.

    Intermediate
    =============

    Lets add those tongue-block chords back in, now shall we?

  • 6 (6) (7) (8) 8 9 9
  • 6 (6) (7) (8) 8 9 9
  • 36 (6) (37) (48) 58 69 69
  • 36 (6) (37) (48) 58 69 69 69

    No samples boys. Sorry, I'm not good enough for this (I just got this book in the mail two days ago. I need some practice before actually doing something... lol). Now time for some tongue-block practice. This lick is still above my level, and is where I'll be practicing.

    I think the Boogie Woogie (Lick #4) is also intermediate level and within my reach with practice. (Requires 2', 3'', 3' bends). But I like the sound of this tongue block.
u/Retro-Squid · 6 pointsr/offmychest

Frozen play along recorder set!!!

Edit: Found it

u/letsallbecalm · 5 pointsr/saxophone

In terms of horns, you should go with which one captivates you the most. For me, the tenor is remarkably close to the human voice and it feels more personal.

Once you get the horn, you'll obviously have to run through fundamentals. There's a good book in our sidebar called The Art of Saxophone Playing which I highly recommend you read through. I also suggest you grab a copy of the Rubank Elementary Method Saxophone to work through to build up some technique and understanding. The Basic Jazz Conception in the sidebar is also a great resource to build technique and work on jazz fundamentals. After you get going, you're going to want to start transcribing (I suggest starting with Young, Hawk, or Webster) as you'll want to begin learning the jazz language.

Also, I highly recommend that you get a good teacher (in your case someone specialized in jazz) who can keep you pointed in the right direction.

u/BeowulfShaeffer · 4 pointsr/piano

If you want to play "combo style" just don't play the root at all. The LH plays chords with at least the guide tones (3 and 7) and the RH plays melody, The root is left for other instruments to play. It's not uncommon at all for a jazz pianist to play something like EGBD for a CMaj7. In fact my teacher would scold me for being too square if I played that and would want me to play something more like EABD. I the bass plays a C you're now playing a C6/9 between the two of you. If you use "band in a box" software you can let it play the bass for you for practice.

Incidentally Levine is great and all but I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Phil DeGreg's book Jazz Keyboard Harmony. Levine covers a lot of theory but DeGreg is a lot more hands-on useful.

I also recommend Bert Ligon's book which is very thorough to the point of intimidation but wow holy fuck is it good.

Oh, and get yourself a real book, of course.

u/AKPIPE · 4 pointsr/Accordion

I purchased "The Mighty Accordion" from Amazon. It's a book just for learning the Stradella bass system. I'm still a beginner in general, but the book seem very helpful for positioning, and slowly learning the layout.

https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Accordion-David-DiGiuseppe/dp/0786688394

u/Edgefish · 4 pointsr/childfree

Better this one

u/AgentAway · 4 pointsr/GiftIdeas

She might be too young for this but it still promises to be very annoying. Frozen Recorder Set

u/Galexy320 · 4 pointsr/saxophone
u/Delta_Eridani · 3 pointsr/childfree

Speaking of recorders and kids: welcome to hell

u/KnockMeYourLobes · 3 pointsr/breakingmom

When my son was in 5th grade and had to buy a $5 recorder (which we never saw again after they were done with that unit..I wonder where the damn thing went?), I almost bought myself one from Amazon.

I still kind of want this, too. LOL

u/AussieBeltane · 3 pointsr/childfree
u/swamiOG · 3 pointsr/Jazz

You should read Stephen Rush's "Free Jazz"
It's a great book on Ornette Coleman and goes deep into his philosophical and theoretical ideas.

u/_joesavage · 3 pointsr/compsci

I'd suggest looking at Harmonic Experience by W. A. Mathieu. Although it could be considered a little pseudoscientific in places, it presents a theory of music across many cultures and time periods that I think is well worth a read. It starts from the very basics of the harmonic series, which I think you will appreciate. That being said, it's somewhat non-standard, and I'd recommend contrasting it with more standard western music theory — e.g. via Michael New's excellent video series.

Bigger picture: once you have a good foundational understanding — through reading, listening, and a whole lot of deliberative practise and experimentation — analyse some songs you like. Figure out what it is that you like about them, then imitate and improvise around those ideas to work them into your repertoire.

u/tallpapab · 3 pointsr/harmonica

Take a look at the sidebar. There are pointers to web sites that can get you started. Or you could go old school and pick up a book like Jon Gindick's Country and Blues Harmonica or Harmonica for Dummies. The dummies author, Winslow Yerxa, also has a good Blues Harmonica for Dummies. Or you could just start playing with it. Good luck! Have fun!

u/alephnul · 3 pointsr/harmonica

Harmonica for Dummies is a pretty good place to start. I don't usually like the "for Dummies" books, but this one is a gem.

u/jazzadellic · 2 pointsr/musictheory

There's nothing controversial about the fact that jazz is an extremely demanding style of music which requires a higher level of chord & theory mastery than most other styles of music. There is also a different approach to improvising then is used in other styles like rock, metal & blues. So yes it will push you towards a very in depth knowledge of the guitar, but it certainly won't make you an expert at playing every style. If you were able to get through one of Leavitt's books in 6 months on your own, then you are doing better than most of my students. But on the other hand, I can't tell you how many times I've had someone come in who has played guitar for many years and has terrible technique. Once you've been playing with bad technique for years, it can be difficult to impossible to correct it. It can be good to have another pair of eyes & ears to look at and listen to you play, they can spot problems in your playing that you won't. That would assume they are highly skilled and knowledgeable with their own technique, which unfortunately is not always the case with everyone who offers their services as a guitar teacher. But it's not hard to spot the difference between a high level guitar player and not so high level.

Jim ferguson makes some very well organized entry level jazz guitar books with standard notation and TAB. A little more advanced, but excellent jazz style book is Bert Ligon's Comprehensive Technique for Jazz Musicians . It's standard notation only.

u/skybrian2 · 2 pointsr/Accordion

I haven't been playing much longer than you and there's no way I'd play in public, but here's what I have:
For jumps, it can be frustrating but I don't think there's any real trick other than to practice until the muscle memory gets you there. Like any difficult passage, you want to practice that particular part in a loop sometimes, rather than playing the whole song which is less efficient. Consistency comes pretty gradually but it does get easier. Also, I find that after a while, I know immediately what I did wrong and can recover more easily, so maybe it's not too noticeable.

I'm not sure how you manage to look at what you're doing on the left side; are you using a mirror? In any case, that's no good, you want to get used to navigating by feel. It helps if the buttons feel different. If your accordion only has an indentation on C, maybe mark the A-flat and E somehow so they feel different? (See chart at [1].)

For exercises, "Melodic Adventures in Bassland" [2] is fun and helps quite a bit for sight-reading bass notes and for remembering where the buttons are and their relationships to each other. There are also a lot of exercises in "The Mighty Accordion" [3] but I found them too boring to use much since they're not really songs. It has fingering and exercises for advanced chord combinations, though, so it might help later.

[1] https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Accordion/Left_hand

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Palmer-Hughes-Accordion-Melodic-Adventures-Bass-Land/dp/0739021729/

[3] https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Accordion-David-DiGiuseppe/dp/0786688394/

u/DieAllRight · 2 pointsr/Saxophonics

"Sorry nobody is answering your question..." Kind of discouraging. Here is an answer! I've been experimenting with making my own reeds for about a year now. As far as resources are concerned here's what I've discovered. Obviously the majority of the materials that cover reed making are meant for double reeds and clarinet reeds.

  • Reed Making Method
  • Clarinet Reed Making
  • "Handbook for Making and Adjusting Single Reeds" - Kalman Opperman (This book is kind of hard to find)
  • The Art of Saxophone Playing - Larry Teal - A general account of saxophone technique and practice. Takes some reed making and adjusting into account.
  • Trial and Error!

    In my experience reed making is kind of expensive to get into as far as getting a good reed knife (around $100) but buying the cane in the form of pre-cut blanks, is relatively cheap (about $1.20 per blank). Getting into making your own blanks would more or less require a small mortgage. Keeping your knife sharp is very important so it's usually good to invest a sharpening stone. I use a water stone which is great for reed knives because they only need very fine honing.

    I would also research specifically where reeds and cane from, which is mainly France, South America, and now China/other Asian countries. It's good to know about what reeds are (from the plant Arundo Donax) and how they react to environmental changes and whatnot.

    The general process takes some getting used to and a lot of practice but after a bit of work it gets easier to see exactly which areas of the reed need to be adjusted. I'm not at the point where reed making is economic because it does take a lot of time (however gives you 100% control over the reed) and energy. What I have gotten out of learning all of this stuff is how to adjust reeds to my liking when I don't get one that plays well out of the box.

    I realize this is a bit of long post, but I could provide some more information if you all would find it useful!
u/lostmykeysonbroadway · 2 pointsr/Music
  1. Always have a harmonica in your pocket. Always. You never know when you'll have 5 minutes to blow a tune.

  2. Go on walks through your neighborhood and play every night. It's the perfect practice environment (especially when you're just learning)... by the time anyone cares to look outside and see who's making the noise you'll already be down the street!

  3. Play any simple song you can and play it repetitively. I started with Amazing Grace, The Man on the Flying Trapeze, Dixie Land, and a bunch of church hymns I remember from when I was young. They aren't suppose to impress anyone... they're supposed to teach your mouth what happens when you blow through your harmonica. They will also teach your ear how to hear the harmonica and you'll get used to where the holes are and what the pitches are relative to one another.

  4. Don't only play slow songs.

  5. Don't only play fast songs.

  6. Change keys. Sometimes when you're practicing in a C, stop and play the exact same thing on an A. It will teach you the differences in how the keys play and it will help you further get used to the sounds and placement of the intervals.

  7. Don't be afraid of repetition. It's okay, for example, to practice a single train chug on a 6 block walk. Also, play scales often as warm-ups.

  8. Record yourself. I have recordings dating back to my first week on the harp. It's good to be able to listen to yourself and hear what you sound like. Also, you'll occasionally record a gem that's worth sharing with friends and Redditors.

  9. Search YouTube and try to emulate people you hear. Some favorites of mine are Sonny Terry, Buddy Greene and G Love.

  10. Even if you can't come close to copying them, you can listen to harp music all the time to get it stuck in your soul. I got a hold of a copy of A History of Blues Harmonica and never stopped listening to it. I also got heavily into listening to Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Big Walter, Howlin Wolf and the whole Chicago Blues scene.

  11. I almost forgot that when I first picked up a harp I went to the library and checked out Rock n' Blues Harmonica by John Gindick. It's as good an introduction to the harmonica as your going to get in a book.

  12. Blow, baby, blow! It is a quick learning curve but it won't feel like it sometimes. Just play and keep on playing!

u/duus · 2 pointsr/harmonica

I learned on this. I swear by it.

u/englishamerican · 2 pointsr/saxophone

I'd suggest getting a practice book! It doesn't have popular songs or anything, but they're challenging and fun.

Here's one of mine

u/belly917 · 2 pointsr/Bass

I picked up a used mint condition Ibanez SR500 after seeing it constantly recommended here.

I've been playing piano (poorly) for 30 years and always wanted to play bass.. so here we go.

My wife picked me up 2 books to start learning:

Hal Leonard Bass Method - Complete Edition: Books 1, 2 and 3 Bound Together in One Easy-to-Use Volume!

First 50 Songs You Should Play On Bass

I also picked up a Vox Bass headphone amp to practice while the kids are asleep.

Finally, my late grandfather played bass in many jazz bands, both electric and upright. My father still has all of his instruments. But I just inheirited his Polytone Brute Mini III amp.

So, I'm all set with equipment, now I just need to learn & practice!

u/DunnoWhyIamHere · 2 pointsr/funny
u/K_Rayfish · 2 pointsr/musictheory

Also check out Harmonic Experience by W.A. Mathieu for more on this topic.

u/Kuugz · 2 pointsr/malaysia

Buy it from Amazon instead? They ship to Malaysia.

u/pedro6285 · 2 pointsr/Saxophonics

There's a great book by Dr Rousseau that goes over some good fingerlings for all saxophones. Also there are some good exercise to get your embouchure like it should be in order to play altissimo. Here's the book - https://www.amazon.com/Saxophone-High-Tones-Eugene-Rousseau/dp/158106005X

Once you get comfortable with using the front fingerlings for E, F, and F#, you'll be able to seamlessly go to G.

u/CaPTaIn_Chemistry · 2 pointsr/Saxophonics
u/greatjasoni · 1 pointr/slatestarcodex

Check out this book, it's very in depth. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IUOGV6K/

u/abyl · 1 pointr/Saxophonics

The Rubank Method books are a great place to start. Some may suggest Essential Elements and Accent on Achievement books, but for independent study I wouldn't bother.

u/SaxSalute · 1 pointr/Saxophonics

Try Selected Studies. It's the All County and All State book for where I'm from and my teacher uses it as his main classical book. It will last you a long time and it goes through all major and minor keys with a slow and a fast song for each.

u/nsxt · 1 pointr/Saxophonics

There are some really nice/challenging etudes in this book: http://www.amazon.com/Selected-Studies-Saxophone-Educational-Library/dp/1423445279

u/zinniyaaa · 1 pointr/Clarinet

I would say the Rubank Intermediate Book would be at your level and a solid boost to your technique. For solo work, I would check out the Concert and Contest Collection book (https://www.amazon.com/Concert-Contest-Collection-Clarinet-Educational/dp/1423445449), which has about 10 short solos with piano accompaniment. The Scherzo in C Minor from that book would be a great place for you to start. The Gade Ballade is also gorgeous for a slow option.

I second the comment about private lessons, though! Not only will a private teacher be able to give you personalized feedback and advice, they will also be able to make sure you are learning your solos correctly and provide you more audition/performance opportunities :) Check with your band director! They may be able to find you a private teacher nearby.

Good luck!

u/MenacingSailboat · 1 pointr/Saxophonics

As somebody who taught himself, developed a bad habit or two, and corrected them with the help of a book (that is to say, no actual teacher), I'd say it's neither hard to teach it to yourself nor hard to correct bad habits on your own, given the right materials.

It's not that I wouldn't have preferred a teacher; I just wasn't ever in a position where I could learn from one. Probably the best book I ever bought was A Complete Approach to Sound for the Modern Saxophonist, by Ben Britton. If you wind up teaching yourself, regardless of what other books you work from, you should pick that one up. It takes all of the "this is what to do to play with proper technique" advice that you see in so many books and gives you much better explanations for how to achieve these things, what to listen for, etc. etc., and it happens to be the sole reason I recognized and corrected my bad habits.

u/Easy75 · 1 pointr/harmonica

Some other books that have both sheet music and tabs that I've bought and would recommend:

https://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Blues-Harmonica-Licks-Book/dp/1480312916/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0793516005/

u/iComeInPeices · 1 pointr/harmonica

Been dealing with this issue on my secret santa, what to get someone, when by the things that they like they probably have stuff they need. If he's interested in harmonica's and doesn't have one, then a C special 20 would be good. If hes like me, I have everything but a few odd keys, and some duplicates (with broken reeds)
If they have harps, then maybe some books:
These are a few I don't have... ya know, if my Santa comes by

http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Harmonica-Collection-Leonard-Corp/dp/0793516005

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1480312916/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687642&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0793516005&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1QZN7YP1JS15KEWNTYAX

u/Reptyler · 1 pointr/Parenting

Haven't read all the comments to see if this has been mentioned, but I'm definitely using this on my least favorite sister-in-law:


https://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Recorder-Pack-Songbook-Instrument/dp/1495013057

u/byzantinebobby · 1 pointr/pics

My sister threatened to get my son a drum set. I told her I would get 3 of this for her girls if she did. My son never got a drum set.

u/squabzilla · 1 pointr/AskMen

I know someone mentioned a recorder earlier, but did they mention THIS!?!?

u/scubasurprise · 1 pointr/Accordion

I picked up the accordion relatively easily having played classical piano as a kid/teen. I would definitely recommend trying it if you have an accordion available and you're interested, It's such a fun instrument! I bought this book after someone recommended it on here. It's great for pianists cause it focuses on the left hand and doesn't waste time going over beginner music theory.

u/everythingerased · 1 pointr/Accordion

You're going to love it! When you get some experience under your belt, it's not an informational book, but this guy's books come with a CD, and I find it really helpful to hear a song when I'm learning it https://www.amazon.com/Klezmer-Sephardic-Tunes-Traditional-Performances/dp/1847612563/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543119702&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Klezmer+accordion

He has books for different types of music, you may or may not like it. Last up, it's super in depth, but if you want to master the left hand, this book is the gold standard as far as I'm concerned : https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786688394/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1543119891&sr=8-1

u/TheColorBrown · 1 pointr/Accordion

I also mainly play the piano and would highly recommend The Mighty Accordion. Someone recommended it on this sub and it's perfect for piano players; it focuses on the left hand and eases you into it.

u/tipsyopossum · 1 pointr/IWantToLearn

Here is a little Harmonica Curriculum from someone who has bounced around nearly every instrument for a time or three.

Part One
The Harp Handbook

Rock 'n Blues Harmonica

Part 2
Building Harmonica Technique

Blues Harmonica Collection

Part 3
Just listen to everyone you can, analyze how they play (transcribe solos if you can) and work on developing your own style, learning songs and learning how to play with others.


Listen To- Little Walter, Big Walter, Sonny Terry, Carey Bell, John Popper and Howard Levy so you don't trick yourself into feeling "limited" by harmonica.

Learning a bit extra of music theory wouldn't hurt either, especially if you want to play with bands.

You are absolutely going to need multiple harmonicas if you want to play with other bands- other instruments tend to get tired of always playing in G. If you're just playing by yourself, though, all you need is one in C (or whatever key works best for your voice) to work most harmonica books.

u/rverne8 · 1 pointr/saxophone

If you have the Universal Method for Saxophone, by Paul Deville, that is the Bible. Here are some more suggestions. The Ferling is tough.

The Ten Best Saxophone Books Ever

48 Famous Studies op 31 by Ferling

Technique of the Saxophone: Scale Studies by Joe Viola

The art of Saxophone Playing by Larry Teal

u/thamiam · 1 pointr/Jazz

Larry Teal is the best (IMO) place to start. Get The Art of Saxophone Playing, work it diligently, and you will make measurable and immense progress.

u/Adhvaga · 1 pointr/india

If anyone is interested in this topic I highly recommend the book Harmonic Experience. The author is an American pianist/composer who has practised Hindustani music for over 25 years.

u/glideguitar · 1 pointr/Guitar

i already gave you a book to read. check it out.
https://www.amazon.com/Harmonic-Experience-Harmony-Natural-Expression/dp/0892815604

the short answer is that in five-limit harmony, every interval is a combination of fifths and major thirds, over tonal and reciprocal. major seventh? a fifth and a third up. minor third? fifth up, third down. like that.

whole steps and half steps come after the fact. that's not what a major scale is built out of.

i know what you think you're saying, but you're way off here.

u/upvotz4u · 1 pointr/musictheory

as the sign in my car repair shop reads:

you can have it done: fast, cheap, right... choose 2

with that said

http://www.amazon.com/Harmonic-Experience-Harmony-Natural-Expression/dp/0892815604

compared to the multi-hundreds of dollars price point of so many college "text books" this one provides a massive "bang for the buck"

u/gilmore606 · 1 pointr/NoStupidQuestions

The book Harmonic Experience answers this question thoroughly and deeply. If you love music it is a must-read.

u/elihu · 1 pointr/Guitar

This isn't guitar specific, but maybe something like this would be of interest to you: https://www.amazon.com/Harmonic-Experience-Harmony-Natural-Expression/dp/0892815604 (Though it does cover just intonation extensively, and while that's something I find very interesting, it's not really directly applicable to guitar, except as a way of understanding equal temperament.)

The music book that I wish someone would write is to take the general idea and structure of this amazing book: https://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construction-Environmental/dp/0195019199, and apply it to music instead of architecture.

u/harmonicaben · 1 pointr/harmonica

Thanks for your feedback - I think you're right in thinking now is the time to focus on your breathing, because breathing leads directly into your tone. I remember when I was starting out, after I had gotten a grip on how to isolate notes and move around the harp, I focused a lot on breathing from my stomach. This gives you a deep and full bodied tone, especially from the lower notes. You don't want to "chirp" them. Here is a video that really helped me with this concept starting out.

I think it would also be useful to start thinking about different positions on the harp over the next few months. I'm not sure how familiar you are just yet, but depending on where you start and what notes you stick to, you can play different styles easily. First position lets you play basic melodies, but when you move into second and third position you can really start feeling the blues. This is a book that really helped me.

Finally, I really like your idea of an overarching song when you're first learning. It would be cool to break it down into different exercises and riffs, then build it up to a full song at the end. I'll definitely keep this in mind when building the site.

u/sincinnatislink · 1 pointr/IWantToLearn

Look in used bookstores:
http://www.amazon.com/Country-Harmonica-Musically-Hopeless-Cassette/dp/0932592082

This got me where I was going, anyway, and ultimately gave me a pretty good basis to teach myself guitar a couple years later . . . and then make fumbling attempts at counterpoint later.