Product Description
This handbook for advanced students explains the various applications to music of analytical methods derived from linguistics and semiotics. The book is aimed at musicians familiar with the ordinary range of aesthetic and theoretical ideas in music: no specialized knowledge of linguistic or simiotic terminology is necessary. In the two introductory chapters, semiotics is related to the tradition of music aesthetics and to well-known works like Deryck Cooke's The Language of Music, and the methods of linguistics are explained in language intelligible to musicians. There is no limitation to one school or tradition; linguistic applications not avowedly semiotic, and semiotic theories not connected with linguistics, are all included. The book gives clear and simple descriptions of the ''neutral level'', ''semiotic analysis'', transformation and generation, structural semantics and narrative grammar, intonation theory, the ideas of C. S. Pierce, and applications in ethnomusicology, with ample diag ... Read more

Product Description
This book is the product of Mark Harrison's experience teaching hundreds of students at the world-famous Grove School of Music in Los Angeles. Suitable for instrumentalists, vocalists, composers and songwriters, this Level 3 course covers the chord tones, extensions and scale sources for all major, minor, dominant and diminished chords, and then applies the contemporary shape concept to create voicings, polychords, and to harmonize melodies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

For those who want to understand harmony
I've played music for years, and now that I'm retired, I wanted to understand more about what I was playing.I picked up Mark Harrison's Contemporary Music Theory Book level 2 and made my way through it.I was stunned to find that I had been instructed incorrectly on several points.That was one reason I purchased the book.I wanted to clean up some confusion I had with theory. Now I've just finished the level 3 book.Mark Harrison's books are structured with achievable learning steps.His lessons are followed up with exercises after the chapter to reinforce concepts taught in the chapter.The answers follow the exercises.This is greatly appreciated because it gives the reader immediately feedback.The reader can check the answers, and if there was an error made, the reader can go back and correct any misunderstanding before moving on.If you want to learn more about music structure and harmony, these books are an excellent source without having to go through music theory classes.The lessons are clearly written out and understandable.These books provide the reader with skills so they can not only understand the movement and progressions of chords, but be able to substitute chords in any key for harmonies they may want.Mark Harrison is an expert.This is the best set of theory books that I've ever seen.

A mediocre product
While Harrison has some good books on keyboard application, his approach to technique is cumbersome.The Contemporary Keyboardist by John Novello did more for me in two days than this series did for me in 2 months.
Jeremy ... Read more

Product Description
50 songs from top artists are featured in this updated edition, including: Awesome God * Can't Keep a Good Man Down * El Shaddai * The Great Divide * I Can Only Imagine * Jesus Freak * On My Knees * People Need the Lord * Testify to Love * Voice of Truth * and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Book does have melodies
I don't understand the previous reviewer's (Linda) comments. I did not buy this book but I looked at the sample pages. If all of the songs are like the example, they do include the melody and also a separate arrangement along with the lyrics. The arrangements are easier than I like, but I do like that there is a melody with chord symbols. I also prefer spiral bound books, which makes it easier for the book to lie flat.

A waste of Money
This book is a total waste of money for me.I tried to find a return address to send it back, but none is supplied.I guess they are keeping that a secret.It isn't entirely a "song" book or a recital playing book, but an accompaniment book that really doesn't have melodies as such, but is designed for use with other instruments. A real disappointment. ... Read more

Product Description
An incredible audio/book/charts package which features an all-star band including Dave, Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, John Patitucci, and Steve Lukather. A studio chart is included for each of the nine songs, plus a detailed book in which Dave describes his grooves and fills, and his analysis of each chart. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good practice for intermediate set players
Classic Weckl - great practice for intermediate set players of all styles. This book/CD needs to be updated and re-issued for download - both sheet music & audio. ... Read more

Product Description
A one-volume reference work designed to aid worship planners in the selection of contemporary song. Organized by the three- year lectionary cycle, this book also contains integrated scriptural, seasonal, and topical indexes. Song collections indexed include With One Voice; This Far by Faith; Worship & Praise; The Celebration Hymnal; Gather Comprehensive; Glory & Praise; Maranatha! Music Praise; Renew!; Spirit Calls, Rejoice!; and Worship Songs of the Vineyard. ... Read more

Product Description
If you ever need a quick reference on any recording artist from the last 60 years, here is your book. From the best source in the business, this handy bio book includes vital statson every artist who had even one hit on the Billboard charts. Over 8,000 entries! ... Read more

Product Description
The definitive guide to the meaning of today’s most popular praise and worship songs.
Few things influence Christians’ understanding of the faith more than the songs they sing in worship. The explosion of praise and worship music in the last fifteen years has profoundly affected our experience of God. So what are those songs telling us about who God is? In what ways have they made us more faithful disciples of Jesus Christ? In what ways have they failed to embody the full message of the gospel?

Working with the lists of the most frequently sung praise and worship songs from recent years, the authors of this book offer an objective but supportive assessment of the meaning and contribution of the Christian music that has been so important in the lives of contemporary believers.

Customer Reviews (4)

Contemporary report, but lacking otherwise
I chose to purchase this book on account of the "VIEW NOW" feature on Amazon, which usually gives me a pretty fair chance to know what the book is about.The dazzling cover sure helped also.But, the majority of the content turned out to be empty stats on specific songs in Contemporary Christian Music. I was hoping for a message, as the first part of the title suggests, but it turned out to be much more geared towards the latter half of the title.For those desiring to dissect specific, popular, ACTUAL songs and lyrics in CCM, this is definitely the book for you. For instance, if a pastor isnt sure on playing specific songs like "Breathe" or "You Are My Life" in church, the book may prove of some value. But, if you are looking for a Biblical pro and con evaluating contemporary musical worship, its effects, origins and it's core value to Christians, I suggest you look elsewhere.Put it this way, the book focuses in on how a "donut" tastes, if it is sweet or sour, if it makes you cry or makes you happy, which is good to know, but fails to convince one whether or not that donut is healthy in the first place.

Correcting Deficiencies
The details are somewhat burdensome, HOWEVER they are a part of the book's strength. The 'scientific' approach lays a strong foundation for the conclusions reached vs. conclusions based on feelings and/or prejudices.
I sense that the writers were carefully chosen, so I trust that process and basically trust the writers. Thus the conclusion sections were valuable to me.
It is helpful to have the writers suggest how CWM composers could correct present deficiencies in current CWM.
John Witvliet's concluding chapter is meaty.

Balanced and Informative
This well edited publication put into words what I had often felt: something was missing or awry in our contemporary church music.The best part is that each author offered constructive criticism and suggestions.This should be in the hands of worship leaders and pastors across the country in all types of churches.What a gift to the Christian community!

contemporary praise and worship music
The Message in the Music: Studying Contemporary Praise and Worship
Brian Walrath and Robert Woods have brought together a series of essays on contemporary worship music.The ten essays are authored by knowledge-
able people from a variety of disciplines.The author of each section of the book gives a broad and honest appraisal of the history and the impact of contemporary Christian music.

The book gives the reader the feeling of attending a seminar on the subject of Christian music where the presenters deal with various aspects - both positive and negative - of contemporary Christian music and the influence of this music on the church.

The Message in the Music will be a great help to music students and to those who teach in the field of Christian music.Pastors, worship leaders, theologians, and writers and producers of Christian music will find this book a valuable resource.The book would also be very effective for small group discussion.

I found the book a very good read and most inspirational and informative. ... Read more

Product Description
In this comprehensive and definitive survey of current notation procedures, Kurt Stone has brought order to a field traditionally fraught with confusion and idiosyncrasy. He not only describes and recommends new methods for notating modern music, thereby establishing standard procedures for the present and future, but integrates them with traditional practices still in use. The result is a guide to all forms of notation used in serious music today.Stone is undoubtedly one of the world's leading authorities on contemporary music notation and its problems. As head of the Index of New Musical Notation, he collected and categorized the myriad new devices appearing in published music of this century. In collaboration with professional performers and conductors, he evaluated these devices in order to determine their effectiveness in practical application. At the International Conference on New Music Notation 1974, a consensus was sought from the eighty participating musicians from eighteen different countries. The results have been incorporated into this volume in the clearest and most direct way. Traditional notation is given detailed treatment, constituting, as it does, the basis for many of the innovative devices. The book is organized to facilitate the location of specific information and for easy reference. A minutely detailed index is provided as an additional and indispensable tool. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Wonderful Resource
Contemporary notation is in such flux, and as a composer we can't always keep abreast of it all. Sometimes we just need a starting point, or at least one way to accurately get across our intentions to the performers.This book is great - simply laid out, and a whole lot of effective notation. If you don't have anything (even if you do), get this book.

EVERYONE MUST HAVE THIS BOOK
As a composer this book is getting worn out already! Kurt Stone compiled all agreed modern notation for things not seen before 1900, it also has all acceptable current forms of traditional notation. If there is a standard notation for something you are trying to do compositionally it is in this book.

Useful to expand one's knowledge of notation to include modernism, but unfortunately a bit dated
Kurt Stone was chief editor of Associated Music Publishers in the early 1950s when the first works by high modernists such as Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, and Luciano Berio appeared. The revolutionary new music of these modern composers called for new notational devices, and Stone knew that music engravers not only had to be brought up to speed, but also work to create some standards so performers wouldn't get frustrated by differing means of notation. He participated in a conference in Ghent in 1974, and then out of the work of the conference put together MUSIC NOTATION IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: A Practical Guidebook. Though Stone meant his work for engravers, the performer or simple fan of modernism will also find this an interesting work as well.

When it comes to the Darmstadt generation and early mature Elliott Carter, this is an excellent resource. Stone shows the notation of such concepts as microtones (in all their competing standards), aperiodic rhythms, tone clusters, and aleatorism. There are individual chapters for many instruments: harp, woodwinds, percussion, organ, etc. One form of notation that Stone does not cover is graphical notation, the scores-as-artwork approach by e.g. Cardew in his "Treatise". Stone explains that these scores intentionally avoid any standardization, but he does provide a few samples for the reader.

One does regret, however, that Stone's book was never updated after its publication in 1980. Indeed, much of the material dates back to the Ghent conference several years earlier. As a result, one misses notation like Per Norgard's golden section rhythms (which many find challenging when they first see them) and Stockhausen's continuing inventions. A second edition is vitally needed. Nonetheless, if you can read music and want to better understand the scores of the high modernists, Stone's book is very much worth a read.

The Definitive Music Notation text (well worth hunting down)
There are in exisstence a number of useful music notation texts.For quick reference, there is Tom gerou's 'Essential Dictionary of Music Notation'.For an in-depth examination of engraving conventions, there is Ted Ross's 'The Art of Music Engraving & Processing' (includes a history of the processes involved), and a number of titles by Gardner Read.But for all-round comprehensiveness (especially pertaining to contemporary music notation practice), Kurt Stone's book is without a shadow of a doubt the one to get.

A must have for a music engraver--too bad it's out of print
This book is very useful for the professional music engraver. It covers many topics that "traditional" engraving texts tend not to cover as far as 20th Century engraving practices are concerned. ... Read more

Product Description
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Product Description
Music of Yes examines the work of one of the most creative groups from the progressive rock period, Yes.

Unlike most books on rock music, Music of Yes does not focus on personalities, but instead on musical structures, lyrical vision, and cultural and historical context. The author situates Yes within the utopian ideals of the sixties and the experimental trend in rock music initiated by the Beatles and also taken up by groups such as King Crimson. Martin demonstrates the power of Yes's romantic, utopian, "Blakean", ecological, multicultural, and feminist perspective, showing how this vision is developed through ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

A Waste of Time
The title of this book uses the name of its subject primarily as a marketing tactic. The author is not a musicologist and the book contains no musical analysis worthy of the name. This book is an excuse for the author to present irrelevant philosophical opinions and attach them, no matter how unrelated, to the music - particularly the lyrics - of Yes.

If you enjoy untangling contorted prose - and numerous parenthetical qualifiers to such prose - buy this book; otherwise leave it where found and spend your time and money on something worthwhile.

This books gets one star only because it is not possible to assign it 0 stars.

Self-hampered criticism
Martin is good when he confines himself to considering music. He is himself a musician and understands nuances that have usually escaped the average rock critic over the years when they look at Yes music; those critics were often not real musicians.

The problem with Martin's book is he apparently has little or no comprehension to the messages that Yes music has projected through most of their life as a band: the outlook being communicated to the listeners besides the presentation of sound itself in what YES did. To make up for this, or perhaps because he has no other way of doing it, Martin looks at the lyrical product of Yes through the eyes of a Marxist economic philosopher. Viewing the Yes message of positive spiritual seeking in terms of such a materialistic and political philosophy is just not a compatible enterprise. And so it becomes apparent that Martin has never understood what Jon Anderson or Steve Howe or Chris Squire were talking about when they put pen to paper. As part and parcel of this we get Martin's predictable (it is predictable once one understands he is a Marxist) view that the music industry is criminally dominated by "market forces" which are evil and poisonous to music. In Martin's summary, then, Yes and other groups like Genesis attained success by virtue of a fluke atmosphere which prevailed in the late 60s and early 70s (almost like Yes 'fell through the cracks' of the market forces' roadblock to popular acclaim) and they have been fighting against those forces ever since 1973 or so. (When Actually, the cross which Yes has been bearing is that of getting reviewed constantly by rock and pop critics who should not be reviewing anything that has a musical validity beyond 12 bars or three chords).

But for a Yes fan, the book is worth it, because when Martin does confine himself to the substance of the music sound and the performance of it he has some good insights.

Yes, Squire, and "Das Kapital"
After buying the Rhino Yes re-issues, I was pleased by more than their superior sound quality -- I found myself charmed by the liner notes, written by one Bill Martin. It didn't take long until I ordered a copy of his book.

In "Music of Yes," Bill Martin makes a valuable contribution to the growing field of "serious" prog rock criticism. An analyses of their music from "Yes" to "Talk," the book focuses on "the main sequence," the series of remarkable albums from "The Yes Album" to "Going for the One." Martin's song-by-song look at these works forms the heart of the book, and his comments are generally both enlightening and enjoyable.

However, sad to say, his book as a whole suffers under several burdens. The first and foremost is Martin's political agenda. A committed Marxist, Martin can't help but see the music of Yes -- and the entire recording industry as well -- through a Marxist viewpoint. His constant tirades against capitalism, while certainly containing some thought-provoking critique, begin to grow tiresome very quickly. For the most part, the reader may just chuckle at Martin's tendentious attempts to shoehorn Yes into a Marxist mold; but when he begins to quote Mao and Lenin -- without irony! -- it's more difficult to indulge his polemical approach. Secondly, Martin feels the need to bring his topic under the full battery of modern academia. While I feel that the music of Yes is clearly worthy of critical discussion, Martin's attempt to drag Derrida, Benjamin and Kant into the analyses is often labored to the point of ridiculousness. (Though his comments regarding Blake and the English Romantics seem more on-target.) Finally, all too often, Martin comes across like yet another nostalgic and cranky Boomer, pining for the glory days of rock and roll while viewing the modern world with a school-marm's scorn. Endlessly lamenting the death of vinyl, Martin seems blissfully unaware of how silly he sounds at times, especially when he admonishes rappers with a sentence like "You can't change the world by dissin' the sisters."

If one is willing to overlook the many flaws and idiosyncrasies of the work, however, Martin does have some useful things to say, and his passion for his subject is beyond question. While I don't always agree to his interpretations of Anderson's lyrics, it's refreshing to hear them treated like something other than "nonsense." Being a bassist himself, Martin grants Chris Squire the lion's share of attention -- but then again, he makes a good case for the unique genius of Squire. While his apologies for Trevor Rabin left me baffled, I think Martin has a pretty good overall grasp on what works -- and what doesn't work -- in the important music of Yes.

If you like prog and Yes - buy it!
This is very good book for Yes and prog funs! Well, Bill sometimes likes to put some philosophy fog, but he is professor! What do you want from him? -:)
Anyway, I guess the most prog funs are ( at least) colledge graduate! So, the complains about complexity of some parts sound a little bit odd! This book isn't a comics, and the subject is not a music of KidR ock! -:) -:)
Seriously: the book is good written and has some interesting views from unususal angles on Yes music.

Tour-de-force book on Yes
Yes burst onto the musical scene in the early 1970's with a string of remarkably creative musical works.Radio hits like "Roundabout," and the epic "Close to the Edge" exhibited that instrumentalvirtuosity, esthetic merit, and commercial appeal could co-exist in Rockmusic. As the decade progressed even more ambitious works were attemptedsuch as "Tales from Topographic Oceans" and "The Gates ofDelirium" showing that Yes was willing to take risks in the pursuit ofa genuinely artistic vision.The Times of London even went so far as tosuggest that Yes' music would be played and studied for centuries to come. But many Rock critics were unconvinced and outright dismissive.Yes fans,however, knew better, hoping that serious criticism and evaluation wouldeventually arrive.Bill Martin, a philosopher, musician, and socialcritic, provides just such a fascinating, thought provoking examination ofYes' music in his "The Music of Yes."Martin delves into avariety of aspects of Yes' music including: 1) the utopian character of Yesmusic. 2) He situates Yes in the context of the Romantic tradition (Blakeand Wordsworth) of which they are a part. 3) And as a musician he discussesYes' classical influences and considerable theory behind their music. Martin handles all these topics with passion, intelligence, and he rises tothe occasion with vivid, rich, and suggestive descriptions and analysis ofYes' best works.Martin's style is often digressive, but the range oftopics discussed, and the richness of his associations, make for a veryedifying experience.The more the reader puts into this engaging book, themore he or she will benefit.Martin's book, is in many ways, similar tothe best of Yes' music: it is long, eclectic, idiosyncratic, ambitious,often brilliant, occasionally awkward, but ultimately a mesmerizingtour-de-force. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Nice Potpourri of Musical Scholarship
I found Makujina's book to be a nice potpourri of musical scholarship. He explains how the various artistic styles found in music and the arts are each connected to a cultural philosophy. He alerts the audience that he has read and will review the arguments made in all the major books written on CCM, books from both camps of the CCM argument. He catalogues the arguments for and against the CCM movement using these previously written books and then plunges into a nice high-level view of some of the most convincing arguments used from both camps, while comparing them to Scripture and scholarship. The book concisely and accurately measures the CCM industry for what it is -- a money-making industry owned mainly by secular companies using a music medium that was developed by pagan tribes for pagan practices. I thought Makujina presented the facts in a very scholarly manner, although I'm sure the blind will remain blindly loyal to their CCM music regardless of how factual his arguments.

Author in error
While John Makujina purports to have written a scholarly text, he is guilty of the same sins that he assigns to many CCM artists. He quotes Biblical passages to suit his own purposes, invoking the passage's cultural situation only when he can twist it to support his point.My favorite was his "proof" that in the natural (God-given) order of things, women have long hair while men have short hair.(Makujina does not, however, explain the origin of scissors and barbershops).The section in which he denounces all African dancing as "horizontal desire embodied in the vertical" and claims that African American influence has led to a desire for rhythmic, pelvic-thrusting, morally decrepit dance was also quite entertaining. (He assures us that this is not meant to be racist as many African American Christians are above that sort of behavior). While he makes some decent points about the excesses of some CCM artists, Makujina does not see the causal forest for the trees, focusing his energy on surface details rather than tackling the deeper issues that spurr on CCM.It is far easier to decry artists' spiky pink hair than it is to try to understand what creates cultural and theological differences.May some scholar from Makujina's end of the spectrum rise to the task.

CCM debate brought to new level of discourse
Makujina identifies Rock and avant garde music as musical movements with an agenda. The former comes from the emotional side and the latter the intellectual, but the agenda is the same: the promotion of intellectual and moral nihilism.Speaking as one with an academic background in classical music, I find Makujina's treatment of music history in general and avant garde in particular impressively broad and accurate, especially considering that his professional specialty is Old Testament Scholarship.I cannot verify the quality of his treatment of Rock music and Contemporary Christian Music, but if he is notably informed and meticulous in other aspects of music, he is probably comparable with Rock and CCM.Makujina brings skill in Scriptural exegesis and abundant rigorous argument into his writing, and surprises one with being highly conversant in diverse areas of thought.Some will not accept that the musical style of Rock is inseparable from its agenda.If it is inseparable, as Makujina argues, then what he discloses about that agenda casts doubt on its usefulness in musically articulating the Christian religion.In any case, the connection he draws between Rock and avante garde, as well as his quality of scholarship, is worth the reading. ... Read more

Product Description
This work presents 12 of the most volatile ethical issues facing the music industry. Real-life examples depict both sides of each controversy, and the list of resources provides tools for readers who wish to pursue the controversies further. Primary sources including court cases and excerpts from speeches help students build critical thinking skills in current issues, persuasive writing, and debate classes. ... Read more

Product Description
Sampler 2 is far more than just a remix. Like its predecessors, it captures and celebrates some of the most innovative and challenging graphic design work from the contemporary music scene, yet offers an even more penetrating and comprehensive examination of radical music packaging. Traditionally occupying the margins of graphic design practice, the record cover is increasingly recognized as a testing ground for innovative visual expression, inspired by, and amplifying our enjoyment of, the music itself. Sampler 2 features the best graphics from cutting edge designers who boldly reject the notion of the record sleeve as ephemeral packaging in favor of creating memorable works of art.

The book includes work by leading graphic designers such as Stefan Sagmeister, Designers Republic, Farrow Design, Peter Saville, and Rudy Vanderlands, as well as showcasing some of the most groundbreaking designs for small underground labels from around the world. In an introductory essay, Intro co-founder and Creative Director Adrian Shaughnessy identifies and evaluates recent trends in music graphics, examining the position of small labels in relation to the commercial imperatives of large, monolithic record companies. He explores the idea of 'authenticity', revealing how sleeve designers are departing from mainstream imagery and digital technology, in a return to the 'real'. Issues also addressed include the convergence of graphic design and contemporary art practice, and the role of the musician in the sleeve design process.

Sampler 2 is an inspirational resource for graphic designers and those working in visual communication, as well as appealing to anyone within the record industry and to music fans worldwide.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

contemporary grafik-bites
This is the latest book in the Sampler series and it presents a contemporary collection of the style of graphics used in music design in the past year. It's an excellent resource book for designers, and the collation of the original styles from designers worldwide in this book makes it the best book on music graphics out in 2001 so far. ... Read more

Product Description
The Music Theory series is designed from the ground-up to explain the terminology and musical structures needed for modern applications. Level One is an introductory course which covers music notation, key signatures, basic scales, intervals, modes, diatonic relationships and 3-and 4-part chords. Level Two is an intermediate-level course covering larger chord forms, "definitive" chords in major and minor keys, substitutions, analysis of key centers in tunes, "upper structure" chords, voiceleading, and pentatonic and blues scale applications, a complete glossary of terms, and hundreds of written theory exercises with answers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Music Theory Without the Classes
I've played music for years, and now that I'm retired, I wanted to understand more about what I was playing. I picked up Mark Harrison's Contemporary Music Theory Book level 2 and made my way through it. I was stunned to find that I had been instructed incorrectly on several points. That was one reason I purchased the book. I wanted to clean up some confusion I had with theory. Now I've just finished the level 3 book. Mark Harrison's books are structured with achievable learning steps. His lessons are followed up with exercises after the chapter to reinforce concepts taught in the chapter. The answers follow the exercises. This is greatly appreciated because it gives the reader immediately feedback. The reader can check the answers, and if there was an error made, the reader can go back and correct any misunderstanding before moving on. If you want to learn more about music structure and harmony, these books are an excellent source without having to go through music theory classes. The lessons are clearly written out and understandable. These books provide the reader with skills so they can not only understand the movement and progressions of chords, but be able to substitute chords in any key for harmonies they may want. Mark Harrison is an expert. This is the best set of theory books that I've ever seen.

Contemporary Music Theory Level 2 - Mark Harrison
Mark continues from Contemporary Music Theory Level 1 to take you through chapters on 'II-V-1' progressions, 5-part chords, substitutions, harmonic analysis, voiceleading, 'upper structure' chords, and pentatonic& blues scale applications in this Level 2 continuation. Again, likethe Level 1 book, Contemporary Music Theory Level 2 has very detailedexplanations and exercises to test what you've learnt. An excellent seriesof books by Mark Harrison. ... Read more

Product Description
Global Pop examines the rise of "world musics" and "world beat", and some of the musicians associated with these new genres such as Peter Gabriel, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Johnny Clegg. Drawing on a wide range of sources--academic, popular, cyber, interviews, and the music itself--Global Pop charts an accessible path through many of the issues and contradictions surrounding the contemporary movement of people and musics worldwide. Global Pop examines the range of discourses employed in and around world music, demonstrating how the central concept of authenticity is wielded by musicians, fans, and other listeners, and looks at some of these musics in detail, examining ways they are caught up in forms of domination and resistance.The book also explores how some cross-cultural collaborations may fashion new musics and identities through innovative combinations of sounds and styles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Unique Perspective On World Music Phenomenon
The book is full of insight into "world music," which is mainly a marketing concept but also encompasses most of the world's popular music! This is an academic work that is also enjoyable to read and complementswell those studies that focus on the artists and music, such as "WorldMusic: The Rough Guide" and "The Brazilian Sound." ... Read more

Product Description
A great collection of 50 favorites by top artists. Includes: Awesome God * El Shaddai * Father's Eyes * Friends * God Is in Control * The Great Divide * His Strength Is Perfect * How Beautiful * In the Name of the Lord * Jesus Freak * People Need the Lord * Place in This World * Serve the Lord * Thank You * Thy Word * more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Book does have melodies
I don't understand the previous reviewer's (Linda) comments. I did not buy this book but I looked at the sample pages. If all of the songs are like the example, they do include the melody and also a separate arrangement along with the lyrics. The arrangements are easier than I like, but I do like that there is a melody with chord symbols. I also prefer spiral bound books, which makes it easier for the book to lie flat.

A waste of Money
This book is a total waste of money for me.I tried to find a return address to send it back, but none is supplied.I guess they are keeping that a secret.It isn't entirely a "song" book or a recital playing book, but an accompaniment book that really doesn't have melodies as such, but is designed for use with other instruments. A real disappointment. ... Read more

Product Description
T.C. Boyle’s riotous first novel—now in a new edition for its 25th anniversary

Twenty five years ago, T.C. Boyle published his first novel, Water Music—a funny, bawdy, extremely entertaining novel of imaginative and stylistic fancy that announced to the world Boyle’s tremendous gifts as a storyteller. Set in the late eighteenth century, Water Music follows the wild adventures of Ned Rise, thief and whoremaster, and Mungo Park, a Scottish explorer, through London’s seamy gutters and Scotland’s scenic highlands—to their grand meeting in the heart of darkest Africa. There they join forces and wend their hilarious way to the source of the Niger. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

I am a new fan of Boyle
This was the first book I have read by T.C. Boyle but it will certainly not be the last. I would have never expected a semi-historical account of the exploration of the Niger River to be so entertaining.An excellent read.

Not Exactly Handel...
A note to the putative reader who is not already enraptured by Boyle and his writings (as many of the reviewers here are), it's going to take a bit of getting used to, to put it mildly.Boyle comes at you full throttle from the first chapter with his, at first, somewhat, disorienting take on Mungo Park and his journeys.What may hold you back from continuing with the book is its nonpareil emetic effect.As other reviewers have asserted you will need an unabridged dictionary of the normal sort, but also, it wouldn't hurt you to have a medical dictionary as well to cover all the diseases, infestations, degenerations, suppurations etc. to which our mortal coils are heir, not only the diseases that might afflict one in the African wasteland, but (perhaps) even more so, in Eighteenth Century London itself, where the streets reeked of excrement.You may be tempted by this onrush of man's inhumanity to man topped off my other critters' inhumanity to him (It is no accident that Boyle begins the book with a quote from Burns' "To A Louse".) to give up on the book in disgust, as I very nearly did.This would be a very serious mistake, gentle reader, because somewhere along the way, I'm not exactly sure where it happened for me, the book becomes VERY, VERY funny. You begin to notice how the chapter headings resemble titles or lines from your favourite books or poems.It is no mere sop to the book's title to say that you actually begin to FLOW along with the ribaldry, bawdiness, humanity, inhumanity and literary retakes - I, purposefully, do not call them send-ups because I don't think that's what Boyle's about here - of your favourite works.Rather, these constitute a rethinking of what your favourite works perhaps left out, in a very comic mode, yes, but also, it will strike you, in a very realistic manner as well.All this you will see typified toward the end of the book in Park's absurdly whitewashed account of what you know all too well to be a perfectly mad, afflicted, disease and disaster ridden affair.I think I knew I was immune to the gruesomeness of the book and more in key with its music, so to speak, when I merely chuckled when one of the explorers on the second voyage went mad and tore off the end of a four foot parasitic worm nestled in a vein of his leg, which he very well knew would kill said worm, causing gangrene and death.His body is unceremoniously dumped over the boat shortly thereafter.

No doubt, ahem, deeper things are at play here.But I'm not writing a dissertation.Water Music is fun, fluent, fissiparous. I'll just quote here from one of the more reflective passages:

"A year is nothing: a feather in the breeze, a breath of air.Turn around and it's gone. Ice, bud, leaf, twig.Geese on the pond, stubble in the field.Three hundred sixty-five mornings, three hundred sixty-five nights.Minor lacerations, a sprained ankle, runny nose, the death of a distant relative.There's a squirrel in the attic, a tree down in a storm.The clock in the hallway cranks round seven hundred and thirty times.Windows are raised, shades drawn, dishes, cups and spoons dirtied and scrubbed, dirtied and scrubbed.Thunder hits the hills like a mallet, snow climbs the fenceposts, sunlight burnishes the windows like copper. A year. One of how many: fifty? Sixty? The days chew away at it, insidious." P.187

So please read this book before the days gnaw you down.

This book rocks!
I think it may be the best of all Boyle's books.It's a little long, but (with the exception of a few unneccesary detours) it definitely holds your interest from beginning to end.Few authors have the talent to mix comedy and tragedy like T.C. Boyle, and "Water Music" is Exhibit A.

Sing me a river...
Water Music by TC Boyle is about the songs of life. There are several melodious ways to get through life; rise above your less than ideal beginnings, navigate unknown territory, or spend your whole life waiting. Boyle brilliantly succeeds in portraying these lifestyles with his main characters and does it in a way that is darkly humorous and never dull. The reader will snigger their way through this uniquely creative tale.Outstanding!

best work (along with World's End)
I've read all the novels he's written.I fell in love with this one right away, and ended up re-reading it at least three times that I remember.It's just a pleasure to read.It is a kind of very sophisticated literary candy; I think that World's End is probably a better overall book but Water Music is just fun.

That said, a warning:anything after World's End is bound to be a disappointment after these two gems.He's mastered a cynical tone that just doesn't sound real.I found the other books tough to read b/c I wasn't "living" the story, but rather found myself outside looking in.

Why have I read all the novels?I keep hoping that something will approach the quality of the first two.Riven ROck comes the closest (though still far away) IMO, though this could use a heavy-handed editor. ... Read more

Product Description
Writing and Performing Christian Music: God's Plan & Purpose for the Church, is for songwriters, worship leaders, musicians, composers, church leadership, radio station programmers, and record company executives. Foreword by TV composer Robert Kral (Angel, Miracles and Superman Doomsday). Introduction by Dr. William L. Hooper, former Dean, School of Church Music, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Covers: What is Christian Music; God's Organizational Model for the Church; The First Formal Purposing of Song; The Prophetic Song; How God Uses Music to Edify; 22 Types of Biblical Songs by Content; Thanks, and the Three Types of Praise Songs; Eight More Types of Biblical Songs; Biblical Techniques of Lyric Writing; Standards and Performance Practices; Music Leadership and the Large Church; Basic Performance Considerations; Wisdom's Role; Picking Music for the Western Church Service.Peter Lawrence Alexander writes the Music Technology & You column for Film Music Weekly. Many of his music books have been endorsed by winners of the Academy®, Grammy® and Emmy® Awards.A Christian, Mr. Alexander's books include: The Street SmartT Guide to MIDI and Home Recording, Applied Professional Harmony, Professional Orchestration, How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite, Counterpoint by Fux, Writing for Strings, The Prayer That Gets Results, and The Business Parables. His historical fiction works include: The Good Samaritan, and The Unfaithful Wife: The Story of Hosea and Gomer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Alexander's Perspective will Stimulate Fresh Creativity
Songwriters and artists thrive on creativity, and an essential component of creativity is being able to view what everyone else is looking at from a fresh perspective.For all of us who desperately need fresh, God-inspired perspective, Peter Alexander has done a great service.Addressing the very complex subject of Christian music, Peter Alexander combines a hefty analytical ability with the conviction that God is the ultimate Creator and the Bible, the narrative of His unfolding creativity, to offer a new way of looking at how Christians do music.Finding clues where you may think you have already explored, and connecting dots between what may still remain unconnected in your thinking, Peter gives a view of music that is driven by mission and sustained by character.Eager to have your own creativity stimulated?Open these pages.

Gerrit Gustafson is a songwriter (Only by Grace, Mighty is Our God), worship teacher (worshipschools.com) and author (The Adventure of Worship) ... Read more