(Part 2) Best music reference books according to redditors
We found 369 Reddit comments discussing the best music reference books. We ranked the 103 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Firstly, you probably shouldn't assume everyone here is smart, or has all the answers! (and I include myself in that). We're all fallible, and opinion can sometimes get in the way.
I could be wrong, but it sounds like you're confusing the top number and bottom number of the time signature. The first (top) number number tells you how many beats are in the the bar, and you can have as many beats as you want, and group them whatever way suits. The second (bottom) number tells you what type of beats they are, and these are pretty much always numbers divisible by 2. Speaking in the most general sense (and simplifying a bit for the purposes of this) when it comes to irregular meters such as 13/? or 7/?, if you want a faster moving music, you'ld likely use numbers such as 8 or even 16 for the second number, whereas if you wanted something slower you'd perhaps use 7/2 or 7/4 or 13/2 or 13/4.
So the short of it is, you can have any number of beats in a bear from 1 to theoretically infininty, though in real life situations I've not seen anything much above 18 in a bar, which incidentally you can hear in the Mahavishnu Orchestra track Birds of Fire. So generally, if you want to do 13 in a bar, you should probably use 13/8 or 13/16, unless its slower, then use 13/4.
Now, I mentioned earlier that the second number is pretty much always divisible by 2. That doesn't mean some haven't experimented with trying other things with this. Let's explore how this might work. Suppose we have a 4/4 bar. That's 4 quarter notes to the bar. Now let's say that we have eighth note triplets right across the whole bar, so three per beat equals 12 in total. Now, by definition these are 12th notes, though no-one ever calls them that, because they're more readily understood as eighth note triplets. But they are 12th notes, in that 12 can fit within a whole note (or one bar of 4/4). So, theoretically there's nothing to stop us calling the time signature 12/12. Now we don't do that, because generally there's no merit to it. However, it's not that much of a conceptual leap to then think of bars where the first number is different that would result in time signatures that you couldn't get any other way. For example 11/12. That would be 11 x 8th note triplets, so one 8th triplet shorter than a 4/4 bar. So you'd perhaps count this as | 123 123 123 12 | . Taking this idea a bit further, if we used 8th note quintuplets, then we could (again theoretically) have time signatures such as 4/10.
The composer Henry Cowell went into this quite a lot in his 1930 book New Musical Resources, and which I'd thoroughly recommend. It's the book that in many ways spawned the entire career or Maverick composer Conlon Nancarrow.
Some composers have used these time signatures but they are fairly few and far between, so it's never really caught on in any wider sense, despite not being that conceptually or practically that difficult.
But to go back to my first point, you can have any number of conventional beats in a bar.
Source: Composition Lecturer, 16 years.
Without question, the best way to learn how to arrange is to put in the work transcribing some of your favorite arrangers and dissecting the way they approach things.
Study the chord progressions they use and analyze their voicing. Break down how they use counterpoint vs. countermelody. Pay attention to how they use every single voice, common articulations, and where in the range do they have each part "live" (1st vs. 2nd vs 3rd).
Write down what you observe about how they do things, try to put it into words. Compare/contrast between arrangers. This will help you better internalize what they are doing and help you to find your own style.
But...
Before doing any of this, however, I suggest to read, read, read. Here are a few books to get your started:
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The Study of Counterpoint - Johann Joseph Fux
https://www.amazon.com/Study-Counterpoint-Johann-Joseph-Parnassum/dp/0393002772/
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Contemporary Counterpoint: Theory & Application - Beth Denisch
https://www.amazon.com/Contemporary-Counterpoint-Theory-Application-Music/dp/0876391838
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Guide to the Practical Study of Harmony - Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky
https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Practical-Study-Harmony-Dover-ebook/dp/B00DGBMH06
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Principles of Orchestration - Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Orchestration-Dover-Books-Music-ebook/dp/B00DGBMDNM
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Essential Dictionary of Orchestration - Dave Black & Tom Gerou
https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Dictionary-Orchestration-Comprehensive-Orchestrators-ebook/dp/B00EUMY7LC
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Treatise on Instrumentation - Hector Berlioz & Richard Strauss
https://www.amazon.com/Treatise-Instrumentation-Dover-Books-Music-ebook/dp/B00DGBMN8C
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Arranging for Horns - Jerry Gates
https://www.amazon.com/Arranging-Horns-Jerry-Gates/dp/0876391455/
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Another excellent resource is Bandestration - https://bandestration.com/
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BONUS:
Another great read that is HIGHLY applicable to writing for marching music is:
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Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics
https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Musical-Acoustics-Second-Revised/dp/048626484X
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If you are interested to explore interplay between wind/percussion arranging and electronics:
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Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer - Andrea Pejrolo
https://www.amazon.com/Acoustic-MIDI-Orchestration-Contemporary-Composer/dp/113880150X/
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Isn't technology wonderful....
A friend give me this when I graduated. It was great, for its time: https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Musical-Themes-Music-More/dp/0517524465?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0517524465
I'd steer away from Norman.
Regardless of age, it's hard to beat Miles' biography of Paul - because we all know it's authorised.
https://www.amazon.com/Paul-McCartney-Many-Years-Now/dp/0805052496
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As for George there was a thread today: https://www.reddit.com/r/georgeharrison/comments/cjy3hf/best_biographies/
You might also take a look at this: https://www.amazon.com/George-Harrison-Soul-Man-Vol-ebook/dp/B07N11T8W9/ and volume 2, but this one I haven't read.
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\> What are the best books on them as a band
I think that mean's Hunter Davies original biography: https://www.amazon.com/Beatles-Updated-Hunter-Davies/dp/0393338746
And it has to mean the Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Beatles-Anthology/dp/0811826848
And it definitely has to mean Tune In: https://www.amazon.com/Beatles-These-Years-Extended-Special/dp/1408704781
Worth a look:
https://www.amazon.com/As-Time-Goes-Derek-Taylor/dp/0706700279
https://www.amazon.com/Magical-Mystery-Tours-Life-Beatles/dp/0312330448
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Me-Do-Beatles-Progress/dp/0140022783
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For John, I really enjoyed the 'Letters' book that Hunter edited - but I prefer first person material.
https://www.amazon.com/John-Lennon-Letters/dp/0316200808/
Also, you might look at https://www.johnlennonseries.com/ I've heard her speak and she knows her stuff - but its a long road she is hoeing.
https://www.amazon.com/Lennon-Remembers-Jann-S-Wenner/dp/185984376X
https://www.amazon.com/Daddy-Come-Home-Lennon-Father/dp/0207169969
In order starting with the book on the top left:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Keyboard-Chord-Piano-Method/dp/0793551447
http://www.amazon.com/Alfreds-Essentials-Complete-Training-Workbook/dp/0882848976
http://www.amazon.com/MIDI-Book-Syntharts-Steve-Furia/dp/0881885142
http://www.amazon.com/The-Total-Keyboard-Performing-Electronic/dp/1586637037
http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Theory-Volume-Sandy-Feldstein/dp/0882842161
http://www.amazon.com/Alfreds-Basic-Adult-Piano-Course/dp/0882846167
http://www.amazon.com/Welshs-Synthesizer-Cookbook-Programming-Universal/dp/B000ERHA4S
I am working my way through MI's Harmony & Theory and am finding the way it's laid out - logically and in modular format - fits the 'non textbook' style I was looking for to supplement my playing and theory. Also... it's fantastic to read and do the exercises (if you wish) on an airplane :)
Theory has always fascinated me, that there was a structured pattern underneath the music. There are tons of fantastic resources online and, as you've found, it can be a bit overwhelming.
I have always started my students off with how a major scale is constructed (theoretically) and how that leads to keys and chords.
You may find The Binary Language of Music a great place to start. It breaks everything into the simplest pattern (binary) and goes through the major scale and the fundamentals of triad chord construction.
Hope this helps my friend!
You can begin improvisation NOW. Don't wait until you're ready. You're plenty ready. Start with just the 1 and 5 chords of a key. Create a progression like (one measure each): 1--5--5--1. Use only chord tones in your RH, remembering to vary the rhythms and repeat notes, LH just playing chords at first.
Then try a 1--4--5--1 progression, again creating melodies with only chord tones at first. Then learn a blues in 2-3 different keys. Learn the blues scale and some simple LH patterns. Add a 7th to your chords. Then add chromatic and diatonic neighbor tones to your improvising.
Listen to great pianists like Wynton Kelly, Otis Spann, Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Bruce Hornsby, Billy Joel, Cory Henry, etc. and try to figure out parts of what they play that sounds cool to you. Write it down in a notebook and learn it in many keys and practicing applying it to everything. Then start sitting in on blues jams in your area. Most of those just are guitarists showing off all their pentatonic stuff, so they'll be happy to have a pianist, probably. Besides, you need performance opportunities to motivate yourself and learn. Record every performance you do.
Dave Frank's [Joy of Improv] (http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Improv-Book-Dave-Frank/dp/0793578779) book would be a great choice to build up your chops and improv abilities.
Besides those things, sightread through some pieces from Anna Magdalena Bach, lots of Martha Mier books (she write great pedagogical piano pieces), Bach 2-part inventions, maybe some Chopin mazurkas if you can handle it.
What is your goal? To play with blues bands? Pop/Rock groups? Jam bands? Classical solo piano? Worship pianist at church? Your practice division will depend on what you want to accomplish.
Looks like your boyfriend is interested in two different things: music history and music theory. I don't have any references for music history, unfortunately. I know a lot of that stems back to the ancient Greeks. There is also some decent math involved to explain why we have octaves, why certain intervals sound more consonant than others, etc.
As far as music theory goes, I picked up this book at Barnes & Noble and have been quite happy with it. Although, now that I think about it, it probably isn't a good fit for your boyfriend since it takes a no-fluff, minimalist approach to teaching music theory.
I am an elementary music teacher, and I strongly believe that the earlier you introduce your kids to music the better. You should read this short, but life changing book:
http://www.amazon.com/Ability-Development-Suzuki-International-ebook/dp/B004HHOH1A
It's basically about how children can learn music the same way they learn language (completely naturally) if they are taught from the very beginning. Good luck!!
A great tip from the book Get More Fans is to set up Google Alerts with bands in your genre. That way you can see where they are being covered (and so should you!)
I'm not affiliated with that book, but it is full of awesome ideas like this. Highly suggested.
The Soundcloud Bible - This is written by Budi Voogt, he helped break San Holo. I haven't read it yet, but I have read a couple of the articles on his site (The same link, under articles) and those were great! So I would recommend checking out the book.
All You Need to Know about the Music Business by Donald S. Passman is probably the most famous. (I'm waiting for the 10th edition so I haven't read it yet.
Get More Fans - I have read this and I wasn't too impressed, but it is also a highly recommended book on music marketing so check it out. (I didn't like it, because I felt like I had already learnt a lot of what is mentioned and the layout of the book isn't that great in my opinion. The writers have their own blog as well and the book seems like a collage of blog posts. But that is just my opinion.)
If you're a parent looking into Suzuki, Ability Development From Age Zero. It's aimed aimed at parents looking to better their child through music. Because I'm not a parent, this is the one book I don't own
If you're interested in his philosophy, Nurtured by Love. The above book is the sequel to this one. This one's about the process through which he developed his philosphy.
They're all fairly short books, about 100 pages each.
Nurtured by Love the Classic Approach to Talent Education by Shinichi Suzuki.
For improvisation, Dave Frank's Joy of Improv books are good for working through. Here's his full DVD going over the very basics.
For comping and jazz harmony in general, Matt Levine's Jazz Piano Book.
A lot of it is just stuff I've learned in conversations with people more experienced than me, but in terms of books, I used Green's Form in Tonal Music in a theory class, and it was pretty solid!
I remember thinking that The Phishing Manual was pretty good back in the day, though it's probably been eclipsed by others by now?
Oh, man, the synching is completely off.
One of the reasons Biggie is so popular for mashups is because his flow is incredibly rhythmic. It's very easy to beat-match the a capella.
Take his chorus on The Notorious K.I.M. for example:
"It's the en-OH. Tee-OH. Ar-eye, OH. You-ES. You JUST. Lay down. SLOW"
On your mash, it's a bit of a train wreck. His rhyming syllables are sometimes in the middle of a beat, then on the end. ^^^Eugh.
Some songs just don't fit. And that's okay. Keep practicing. Have fun. And don't take it too seriously. Try and get hold of "Audio Mashup Construction Kit" by Jordan "DJ Earworm" Roseman. It'll teach you a lot.
He explained some of these concepts in his book New Musical Resources (1930).
Sorry about the prices of those books on form. That's pretty typical for forms & analysis books since they're primarily text books.
Apparently this is one of the better instruction books out there. I believe it assumes you have Acid audio editing software, though.
For what it's worth, it's written by DJ Earworm, who does some of the best mashups I've ever heard
I'm going out on a limb to guess that "folk guitar" in Edinburgh is largely in the Celtic tradition. What follows is based on that assumption, sorry if I'm wrong.
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I don't know of any comprehensive books covering technique and repertoire without any tabs, but here are a couple suggestions that might help. Check out Glen Weiser's Celtic Guitar Encyclopedia. He's a classically trained guitarist working in the folk tradition, and I've read that his arrangements reflect that in relying more on standard tuning than some. So it might be a good fit for you. Alongside standard notation, he does give tabs however. You might just have to ignore that.
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If you're willing to look beyond books, check out Tony McManus's courses on Truefire.com. The sight offers a really good free trial that doesn't require a credit card, so no risk to checking it out.
I recommend this book 👇🏽. Check it out.
It’s written in a way that is easy to understand and logical. Definitely helped me a lot.
The Everything Essential Music Theory Book: A Guide to the Fundamentals of Reading, Writing, and Understanding Music (Everything®) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N59A5LM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nlB8BbXDSYWDY
Liz Kershaw, the book is available here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bird-Beeb-Facts-Life-ebook/dp/B00IXYOT4S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423010105&sr=8-1&keywords=liz+kershaw+autobiography
My parents have this, which I think is great. I tried using musipedia a while ago to find out what that one piece (probably from suzuki) which everyone plays as a kid was, without any results.
Was that series based on these books by Pete Frame?
https://www.amazon.com/Pete-Frames-Complete-Family-Trees/dp/0711904650
If so, I will need to track it down. I love these books
Try this instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Pete-Frames-Complete-Family-Trees/dp/0711904650
I actually have Basics and The Violin Lesson - my understanding had been that The Violin Lesson was mean to replace Basics and Practice but I'm happy to pick them up. Warming Up isn't on Amazon currently but I'll check Shar, etc. I'll also take a look at Scales when I get a chance.
The biggest problem is lack of time or more accurately lack of uninterrupted time but if these are smaller chunks hopefully it will work out.
I've also already got Wolfhart's 60 Studies and I'll look into Kayser and Sassmanhauses' books as I've never heard of them.
I also have Galmanian and Carl Fischer's method books.
My other best friend is The Rhythm Bible.
If you were designing a fairly simple program for beginner student who could only read music on a very basic level what would it look like?
I was self taught theory. I went to a local music store and bought a theory book.[This one to be exact] (http://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Complete-Training-Workbook/dp/0882848976). I have been able to pass this book on to friends and they all pick up music theory fairly well with it. I prefer having an actual book as opposed to a website or someone on youtube teaching me. I just learn better that way. Just for reference, I teach lessons now that use theory as a big part of it's curriculum and I also was tested on theory for the job and I did fine from this book
Hadn't seen the paperback cover design before - it's far better than the hardcover design for the same book.
I too was given this as a gift, but never really gave it a fair shot - maybe having already read The Phish Book by Richard Gehr and the band and also The Phishing Manual by Dean Budnick, what I saw retread a bunch of what I had already read before, and the writing didn't exactly impress. (I highly recommend the first book, by the way)
Maybe I should give it another shot to see what it says about 2.0 and the dawn of 3.0. The books I linked came out in '99 and '96, so there's a good bit of history not covered by those. But I think when I tried reading those in Puterbaugh's book I felt I already had an understanding of those events just because I was paying close attention to the band during those times.
Literally, the first result on Google for "rhythm counting book"