Required reading for all HS music students and their parents
926866
both a good story and well researched.  The editing is a little uneven but such a unique book i have to forgive that.
1744798
As a high school theatre director, I have enjoyed the excitement that this amazing musical had created. I purchased this for my drama students, and they LOVE it! The annotations are interesting and add so much more to their understanding of the process of writing. Every line of the show is here - and with the added research, quips, and insights, this book is a must read.
3320915
A fine piece of biograhy. Excellent research and
fantastic career of a pioneer music educator and
performer. Many letters of thanks for his work and lots of photos. Eastman School was fortunate to have him at a crucial period in the schools history.
Required reading for music teachers and college bound students
1837483
Fleming's "......Making of a singer"  should, and probably will be required reading for students in every music department, school and conservatory everywhere.  It is a masterclass for any musician, not just singers' , and a life lesson for anyone else. For fans of Fleming the soprano there are many insights into the woman, not just the diva. Readers will find themselves wanting to take notes.  If the intricate details of vocal production are beyond some readers' understanding, they serve as vivid reminders that no great vocal artist simply takes a breath and lets loose a glorious torrent of magical sound.  Fleming's writing introduces fans to the "Working Mother"  who takes audiences on her magic carpet on stage and jots down her grocery list in her dressing room.  Brava Fleming !
4291797
Practicing with Purpose is the most thorough and exhaustive book for teaching students HOW to practice that I have ever read in my 45 years in music education. It is sure to become a classic/go-to resource and I highly recommend it to ALL novice and veteran instrumental teachers as well as for undergraduate and graduate college/university methods courses. It truly deserves a rating of TEN stars!
2677379
I was told about this book by my voice teacher and could not wait to be able to purchase it for my self.  The information in this book is extremely useful to music students so I would recommend every student should get a copy.  The best part is this book does not cost a lot of money that is probably the most appealing aspect.
2254192
I'm still reading this wonderful book but I savor every page, every insight!  I wish I had written it--it's just the way music should be taught: alive and new!  Music is a LIVING language, not a dead language that's frozen and that we must only imitate. This books helps inspire me as a public school teacher to set challenges up for my students, to let go of setting everything up FOR them and instead, inviting them to share with me, what would you do?  What would your music sound like for this?  Thank you Maud Hickey!
4914007
If you are a serious musician or even thinking about becoming a full time musician/artist/band, then you need to purchase this book! It's an easy read and can be used as a great reference on the "do's and do not's" in the music industry. Even though it was published in the early 2000's, all of the content is still relevant. After reading the Musician's Handbook, you will know if you've got what it takes to make it.
697373
Being a musician for many years, and admiring Steve Vai, Mr. Bungle, and a lot of other groundbreaking artists, I was already aware of Carl King's musical work on various commercially successful albums as well as a ton of avant garde, or/and experimental albums he's been on with many of my heroes.
  I saw this ebook advertised through word of mouth on Facebook and was pretty excited to get a perspective from him.  I've been playing guitar and writing music for around 22 years and I wish this was one of the earlier books I got my hands on instead of at this point.  The power of his ability to express ideas about music, art, and guitar is really exciting to me.  The words he writes in this short book become tools to liberate, and empower you.  This is not a book about playing a billion notes per second, or how to use the Hungarian scale properly.  This is like a Bill Of Rights for any musician.  It is a clear, and very inspiring teaching that will help you feel confident in yourself as an artist, a musician, and a guitarist.  At the same time, I could see this as an invaluable book for a musician of any instrument.  Musicians long to find themselves, and then express themselves to the whole world.  With so many genres, molds, models, and preconceived notions, one forgets the real reason we ever picked the guitar up in the first place.  Carl King swiftly, bluntly, and poetically pulls all of this back in focus so we can free ourselves from musical slavery, and hone our own musical identities as ARTISTS.  Best book I've read in a long, long time about how to play guitar.  Thanks Carl :)
340719
This is a book that MUST, yes, MUST be read by parents, teachers, and counselors of gifted kids. It is the most relevant book of the last ten years in terms of understanding gifted kids and adolescents and what they are going through. Building on the work of Viktor Frankl and Dabrowski and others James Webb has brought together a concise, succinct book that explains much of the " sturm und drang " that gifted kids experience.  The " bright mind " of the gifted child sees the injustices, the wrongs, the problems in the world- and is depressed that they can do so little about it. There is hope though that they might be able to make some small contribution, and in Webb's words- create a " ripple effect " that may bring about some good- and help them to maintain a semblance of sanity in a somewhat insane world. Any therapist working with gifted kids or adolescents needs to read this book and alert parents to it's importance. Teachers too, would benefit from understanding the feelings and issues that are going on in the mind of the gifted individual.
4570539
Aliki provides a broad synopsis of music-its place in history, cultures and the human heart-in this inspirational, informative volume. Each page consists of a collage of images united by a concise narrative.
 What is especially refreshing about this mini-encyclopedia of music is that Aliki "bookends" the mechanics and  "hardware"- types of instruments, who's who of Western composers, time lines of jazz and pop music - with "software," placing music's emotional and social value into perspective for the child.  She shows how music is the background of everyday life, for example, with this definition, "Rhythm is a marching-band beat, a puffing-train beat, a beating-the eggs beat, a heart beat."
 The book closes with a panoply of pictures demonstrating how music comforts and inspires, by helping people to relax, calm anger, cheer low spirits, and create or perform work.
4250674
This book by Kay Hymowitz is excellent and should be read by all parents and educators.  It explains just how far society has strayed from giving our children the guidance they need to succeed.
I picked up the book with  the hope of understanding some of the disturbing changes in the students  entering graduate school.  I was not disappointed.
The author's insight,  views and interpretations of the ideas and the events taking place in our  society and how they are affecting the current generations are right on the  mark.  All the consequences discussed by Ms. Hymowitz confront me every  day.  Most notable is the general lack of maturity and discipline in their  lives.  This lack of discipline extends from their social behavior and  dress to their study habits and commitment to learning.  Preparing for a  professional career takes desire, dedication and hard work.  To many  students this is a foreign concept.  They are truly lost souls, and  "Ready or Not" by Kay Hymowitz explains extremely well why this  is so.
49976
This is the book we all wish our parents had had when we were in middle school. The author manages to write this for parents, from the perspective of an educator well-versed in the research, and yet she includes the young person in the conversation. It's as though she's never forgotten what it was like to be the child in this "in-between," sometimes awkward, sometimes empowering, stage of life. The book breaks down the "us" and "them" mentality that's seen so often in books about parenting pre-teens and teens and reminds us that we're all on the same side. In addition to the excellent advice about how to help middle-schoolers navigate the world of social media, bullies, the ever-changing drama of the dress code, and their emerging independence, the author makes sure we don't miss out on all the fun of parenting a middle-schooler. After reading this, I think I will stop rolling my eyes whenever anyone asks how middle school is going for my daughter.
1935279
When musician, parent, and music educator Philip Sheppard undertook the writing of Music Makes Your Child Smarter his working title was Can Music Make Your Child Smarter? Though already intensively involved in music in all areas of his life, Sheppard wanted to explore the question from a position of skepticism. As he researched and wrote, however, he came to the undeniable conclusion that forms the book's current title.

Presented in two parts, Sheppard lays out the evidence for the effect of music upon the developing minds of children, with a particular focus on those ages seven and under. Sheppard isn't talking about a Mozart Effect approach, which Sheppard points out is founded upon questionable research data. The evidence he shares about the effects of music upon the growing mind are most evident when music is actively explored, played with, and experienced first hand -- not through passively listening to classical music in the background.

The first half of the book, wherein Sheppard lays out his arguments, combines research findings with his own personal anecdotes as teacher, musician, and parent. I found the writing in this section to be somewhat choppy, at times repetitive, and, due to the lack of footnotes, sounding more like personal conviction than a quantitatively measured argument.

The book does include a research list and bibliography in the appendix, but without end notes it is difficult to line up research papers with the points that Sheppard has made in the text. Still, no parent reading his arguments will be able to walk away without a niggling feeling that they must do something to encourage the development of their child's natural capacity for music before the crucial age of seven.

The second half of Music Makes Your Child Smarter explores activities from pre-birth to early elementary (up to age nine), with a brief introduction to the options available for formal music lessons as children grow.

Eschewing the popularly held belief that passively listening to the classics will somehow make your baby smarter, Sheppard's goal is to instead encourage parents to step up and fill the role as first music teacher by engaging children in active music making, musical play, integration with art, and a wide array of other simple activities.

Broken into age groups, Sheppard starts with simple lullabies sung by parents to unborn children, moves into musical games, finger plays, and motion songs, then into homemade instruments, spontaneous composition games, body percussion, and children increase in age. A parent armed with the suggested activities found within the pages of the book and the samples on the included CD (with cello performances by Sheppard himself) will be able to jump in with only this resource at their disposal and start enjoying music with their children.

An oddity that I noticed was that some of the longer songs in the book -- some with several pages of lyrics -- were not included on the CD, though the tunes were unfamiliar to me. In many cases the tunes are provided, and, for some that are very well known, the lyrics serve as a reminder to parents who may have forgotten classics from their own childhoods -- no tunes necessary.

For parents whose children are ready to move into formal instruction, Sheppard provides a breakdown of the most popular instruments, along with ratings for "startability," expense, and his own commentary about versatility, transition to other instruments, and any special considerations to take into account. Sheppard also moves far beyond the classical range with suggestions for additional listening from genres ranging from jazz, rock, disco, and the classics, too, of course.

The combination of Sheppard's text with the accompanying 53 track CD provides a comprehensive introductory-level overview to early-childhood music education for parents. Any parent who puts the exercises held within to use with their children is sure to be met with an enthusiastic response from their little ones and lay the foundation for a life-long appreciation of music.
3806799
Great book that ties together a lot of what it takes to be a great musician! I just wish I had read it my first year in college!
14017
I discovered this book when a chapter was featured in Musician magazine, and recommend it to anyone who aspires to be a good songwriter, musician, or performer. It's written in a very clear, straight-forward way and presents a sincere, insightful account of the search for authentic self-expression.

Boyd has a unique perspective in that she has both a PhD in psychotherapy and been married to professional musicians. She knows both sides, the intellectual and the emotional/spiritual, and here bridges the gap. She'll quote Rilke on one page and Keith Richards on the next.

The book began out of her own search for understanding creativity, and the musicians, many of whom are her friends, knew she understood and confided openly about their own experiences and processes. In fact, almost half the book is quotes. Boyd simply sets up the themes of each chapter and then lets the musicians speak for themselves.

The chapters cover many areas, including early exposure to music, dedication, inspiration, composing, performing, and connecting to both the collective unconscious and with one's audience. There's also a clear-eyed view of drinking and drugs, and how the best parts of performing are not about impressing people, but when you disappear into a song.

First published in 1992, the book focuses on musicians of the late `80s. They cover folk, pop, rock, blues, and jazz, and the same insights would apply to any musical field you're interested in. There's decades of wisdom collected here.

Finally, when I went to buy a copy for my nephew, I noticed there's a new edition out, with the same material, called&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/It-s-Not-Only-Rock-n-Roll-Iconic-Musicians-Reveal-the-Source-of-Their-Creativity/dp/1782194622/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">It's Not Only Rock 'n' Roll: Iconic Musicians Reveal the Source of Their Creativity</a>, and I've posted some photos there so you can read for yourself how good it is.
3138834
It is time for all of us to first read a book before making judgement based on critics from the WSJ or the NYT.
Ms Chua is making some very sound comments on education. If we took some of the determination expressed in her book maybe US students might be able to rank higher on International testing. Our students suffer from over exposure to too much technology and outside interests. Alaa! the day still only has 24hours and students need to rearrange their priorities with help from educators and parents. Excellence can be reached with patience and hard work. Why is it that so many young musicians nowadays are by large of Asian background. Because they practise every day.
Everybody should read this book we all might learn something.