- Table View
- List View
Writing about Music
by D. Kern HolomanHow do you spell "Mendelssohn"? Where do you place the hyphen in "Beethoven" if it breaks between two lines? Is it "premiere" or "première"? The answers and much more can be found in this completely revised and updated resource for authors, students, editors, concert producers--anyone who deals with classical music in print. This essential volume covers some of the thorniest issues of musical discourse: how to go about describing musical works and procedures in prose, the rules for citations in notes and bibliography, and proper preparation of such materials as musical examples, tables, and illustrations. One section discusses program notes, another explains the requirements for submitting manuscripts and electronic files. A new section outlines best practices for student writers. An appendix lists common problem words.
Writing about Music
by D. Kern HolomanHow do you spell "Mendelssohn"? Where do you place the hyphen in "Beethoven" if it breaks between two lines? Is it "premiere" or "première"? The answers and much more can be found in this completely revised and updated resource for authors, students, editors, concert producers--anyone who deals with classical music in print. This essential volume covers some of the thorniest issues of musical discourse: how to go about describing musical works and procedures in prose, the rules for citations in notes and bibliography, and proper preparation of such materials as musical examples, tables, and illustrations. One section discusses program notes, another explains the requirements for submitting manuscripts and electronic files. A new section outlines best practices for student writers. An appendix lists common problem words.
Writing Better Lyrics Second Edition: Essential Guide To Lyric Form And Structure: Tools And Techniques For Writing Better Lyrics (Songwriting And Lyrics Ser.)
by Pat PattisonPattison presents a unique, in-depth approach to the process of lyric writing. Songwriters will examine 17 extraordinary songs and learn the distinct elements that make them so effective. Pattison then presents more than 30 lyric-writing exercises designed to achieve the same results. From generating lyric ideas and managing repetition to developing verses, it's all here. Songwriters will: find warm-up exercises that revolutionize songwriting imagery; use a rhyming dictionary and a thesaurus to generate ideas and find snappy rhyme; create meaningful metaphors and similes while avoiding cliches; develop verses by using or breaking conventional rules; experiment with point of view in every lyric to make a song stand out
Writing Gordon Lightfoot: The Man, the Music, and the World in 1972
by Dave BidiniFrom acclaimed musician and author Dave Bidini comes a brilliantly original look at a folk-rock legend and the momentous week in 1972 that culminated in the Mariposa Folk Festival.July, 1972. As musicians across Canada prepare for the nation's biggest folk festival, held on Toronto Island, a series of events unfold that will transform the country politically, psychologically--and musically. As Bidini explores the remarkable week leading up to Mariposa, he also explores the life and times of one of the most enigmatic figures in Canadian music: Gordon Lightfoot, the reigning king of folk at the height of his career. Through a series of letters, Bidini addresses Lightfoot directly, questioning him, imagining his life, and weaving together a fascinating, highly original look at a musician at the top of his game. By the end of the week, the country is on the verge of massive change and the '72 Mariposa folk fest--complete with surprise appearances by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and yes, Lightfoot--is on its way to becoming legendary.From the Hardcover edition.
Writing Interactive Music for Video Games: A Composer's Guide (Game Design)
by Michael SweetWritten by the developer of Berklee School of Music’s pioneering game scoring program, this guide covers everything professional composers and music students need to know about composing interactive music for video games, and contains exclusive tools for interactive scoring―tools that were previously available only at Berklee. <p><p> Drawing on twenty years of professional experience in the game industry, Michael Sweet helps you master the unique language of music storytelling in games. Next, he walks you through the entire music composition process, from initial conceptualization and creative direction through implementation. <p><p> Inside, you’ll find dozens of examples that illustrate adaptive compositional techniques, from small downloadable games to multimillion dollar console titles. In addition, this guide covers the business side of video game composition, sharing crucial advice about contracts, pricing, sales, and marketing.
Writing Sounds in Carolingian Europe: The Invention of Musical Notation (Cambridge Studies in Palaeography and Codicology #15)
by Susan RankinMusical notation has not always existed: in the West, musical traditions have often depended on transmission from mouth to ear, and ear to mouth. Although the Ancient Greeks had a form of musical notation, it was not passed on to the medieval Latin West. This comprehensive study investigates the breadth of use of musical notation in Carolingian Europe, including many examples previously unknown in studies of notation, to deliver a crucial foundational model for the understanding of later Western notations. An overview of the study of neumatic notations from the French monastic scholar Dom Jean Mabillon (1632–1707) up to the present day precedes an examination of the function and potential of writing in support of a musical practice which continued to depend on trained memory. Later chapters examine passages of notation to reveal those ways in which scripts were shaped by contemporary rationalizations of musical sound. Finally, the new scripts are situated in the cultural and social contexts in which they emerged.
Writing the Record: The Village Voice and the Birth of Rock Criticism
by Devon PowersDuring the mid-1960s, a small group of young journalists made it their mission to write about popular music, especially rock, as something worthy of serious intellectual scrutiny. Their efforts not only transformed the perspective on the era's music but revolutionized how Americans have come to think, talk, and write about popular music ever since. In Writing the Record, Devon Powers explores this shift by focusing on The Village Voice, a key publication in the rise of rock criticism. Revisiting the work of early pop critics such as Richard Goldstein and Robert Christgau, Powers shows how they stood at the front lines of the mass culture debates, challenging old assumptions and hierarchies and offering pioneering political and social critiques of the music. Part of a college-educated generation of journalists, Voice critics explored connections between rock and contemporary intellectual trends such as postmodernism, identity politics, and critical theory. In so doing, they became important forerunners of the academic study of popular culture that would emerge during the 1970s. Drawing on archival materials, interviews, and insights from media and cultural studies, Powers not only narrates a story that has been long overlooked but also argues that pop music criticism has been an important channel for the expression of public intellectualism. This is a history that is particularly relevant today, given the challenges faced by criticism of all stripes in our current media environment. Powers makes the case for the value of well-informed cultural criticism in an age when it is often suggested that "everyone is a critic."
The Writings and Letters of Konrad Wolff (Contributions To The Study Of Music And Dance Ser. #No. 48)
by Ruth Gillen"[Wolff] is a remarkable pianist, an excellent theoretician, a learned teacher, a brilliant thinker and writer." --Artur Schnabel"This collection of [Wolff's] writings and letters should bear ample testimony to a musician who happily combined the artist, the teacher, the musicologist, and the charm and integrity of a human being." --Alfred Brendel"Konrad Wolff writes about music with the verve and enthusiasm of a great teacher who has never lost his sense of music as an adventure. To read him is to enter into a lively dialogue with a superior musical mind and a buoyant spirit." --Richard GoodeThis collection provides elegant and thorough portraits of an important 20th-century performer and lover of music, as well as of his greatest influences.
Written in My Soul
by Bill FlanaganWritten in My Soul, first published in 1986, is a snapshot of some of rock & roll's most iconic artists at the same moment. Bill Flanagan, who would go on to create VH1 Storytellers and CMT Crossroads, spoke about songwriting and creativity with Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Joni Mitchell, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Bono and nineteen more music legends. Long a collector's item, second hand copies of Written in My Soul have sold for over a hundred dollars. It is a look at rock & roll history from inside the heads of the people who made it. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bill Flanagan is executive vice president and editorial director of MTV Networks. He is also the author of A&R, New Bedlam, U2 at the End of the World, Last of the Moe Haircuts, and the novel Evening's Empire. Flanagan has written for several magazines, including Esquire, GQ, Rolling Stone, Spy, and Vanity Fair.
The Wu-Tang Manual
by The RZA Chris NorrisThe Wu-Tang Manual is The RZA&’s first written introduction to the philosophy and history of Hip-Hop&’s original Dynasty, the Wu-Tang Clan.Written in a style that is at once personal and philosophical, The Wu-Tang Manual unravels the intricate web of personalities (and alter egos), warrior codes, numerological systems, and Eastern spiritual ethics that define the Wu-Tang dynasty. Packed with information that reflects the breadth and depth of the RZA&’s — and rest of the Clan&’s — intellectual interests and passions, The Wu-Tang Manual is divided into four books of nine chambers each, for a total of 36 chambers. All together, the book provides the breakdown of essential Wu-Tang components, from basic information about each of the nine core members of Wu-Tang Clan to deeper explorations of the key themes of the Wu-Tang universe, a dictionary-like Wu-Slang lexicon, and an entire section of Wu-Tang lyrics with densely annotated explanations of what they mean. For the hardcore Wu-Tang disciple and the recent initiate alike, The Wu-Tang Manual is the definitive guide to the essence of Wu, one of the most innovative hip-hop groups of all time.The RZA's most recent book, The Tao of Wu, is also available from Riverhead Books.
Wurlitzer of Cincinnati: The Name That Means Music To Millions
by Mark PalkovicEstablished in Cincinnati in 1856 by German immigrant Franz Rudolph Wurlitzer, the music dealer became the largest outlet for band instruments in the United States by 1865. During the silent film era in the early twentieth century, Wurlitzer manufactured nearly 2,250 theater organs, affectionately dubbed "Mighty Wurlitzers." Many of these instruments still provide concert music today. During the Big Band era of the 1930s to 1950s, the company's colorful coin-operated jukeboxes were such popular fixtures in bars and dance halls that the U.S. Postal Service honored them with a commemorative stamp. Although the company was sold in 1988, the Wurlitzer name continues to be held in high esteem by the city of Cincinnati.
X: Straight Edge and Radical Sobriety
by Gabriel KuhnStraight edge—hardcore punk's drug-free offshoot—has thrived as a subculture since the early 1980s. Its influence has reached far beyond musical genres and subcultural divides. Today it is more diverse and richly complex than ever, and in the past decade alcohol and drug use have become a much-discussed issue in radical politics, not least due to the hard work, dedication, and commitment to social and environmental justice found among straight-edge activists.X: Straight Edge and Radical Sobriety is Gabriel Kuhn's highly anticipated follow-up to his critically acclaimed Sober Living for the Revolution. In this impressive volume, Kuhn continues his reconnaissance of straight edge culture and how it overlaps with radical politics. Extensively illustrated and combining original interviews and essays with manifestos and reprints from zines and pamphlets, X is a vital portrait of the wide spectrum of people who define straight edge culture today. In the sprawling scope of this book, the notion of straight edge as a bastion of white, middle-class, cis males is confronted and challenged. X takes a piercing look at religion, identity, feminism, aesthetics, harm reduction, and much more. It is both a call to action and an elaborate redefinition of straight edge and radical sobriety. Promising to inspire discussion, reflection, and unearth hidden chapters of hardcore punk history, X is of crucial importance to anybody interested in the politics of punk and social constructive thought.
X-Ray: The Unauthorized Autobiography
by Ray DaviesThe shocking and edgy memoirs of a dedicated enemy of fashion and the lead singer of The Kinks. This subversively brilliant, one-of-a-kind rock autobiography ingeniously styled as a biography, is written by a nameless, faceless writer hired by an Orwellian entity called "the Corporation" to capture the essence of Ray Davies, lead singer and songwriter of The Kinks and one of the greatest rock and rollers of all time. The Kinks front man reveals his life and times to the young writer, often seemingly passing his stories directly into the writer's consciousness. Carnaby Street, "Top of the Pops," the Cavern Club, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and other fixtures of the times fade in and out of this compelling narrative. Part autobiography, part social history, part psychological thriller, this elusive and daring book exposes rock stardom as the heaven, hell, and purgatory it is.
Xenakis: His Life in Music
by James HarleyXenakis: His Life in Music is a full-length study of the influential contemporary composer Iannis Xenakis. Following the trajectory of Xenakis’s compositional development, James Harley, who studied with Xenakis, presents the works together with clear explanations of the technical and conceptual innovations that shaped them. Harley examines the relationship between the composer and two early influences: Messiaen and Le Corbusier. Particular attention is paid to analyzing works which were vital to the composer’s creative development, from early, unpublished works to the breakthrough pieces Metastasis and Pithoprakta, through the oft-discussed decade of formalization and the evolving styles of the succeeding three decades.
Xenakis Creates in Architecture and Music: The Reynolds Desert House
by Roger Reynolds Karen ReynoldsXenakis Creates in Architecture and Music describes the collaborative interaction of internationally acclaimed composer Roger Reynolds, musician Karen Reynolds, and musically inspired composer, engineer, and architect Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) to create a house design, The Reynolds Desert House. The process combined aesthetics and intuition with mathematical systems, showcasing how art and science are balanced—by way of music and architecture—to address the essential technical aspects of music along with the role of emotion and energy. The book analyzes three representative chamber works and presents a trove of primary sources: letters, diaries, notes, photographs, sketches, and person-to-person conversations. What emerges are patterns of direct parallels between how Xenakis characterized the process of musical creation and his design of The Reynolds Desert House. Xenakis Creates in Architecture and Music is a testament to the singularly innovative and creative mind of Iannis Xenakis. Supplementary materials—including color reproductions of black and white images in the book—can be found at: www.rogerreynolds.com/xenakisreynoldsroutledge.html
XOMG Pop! Sparkle Queens: This is who we are!
by Maria S. BarboMeet pop's newest superstars! This official guide to XOMG Pop has all the stats and facts kids want to know about the musical sensation.Discover the true story behind XOMG Pop -- the rising stars and teen music sensations -- in this full-color photographic memoir!Learn everything there is to know about Brooklynn, Dallas, Tinie T., and Penelope! Find out how these four future superstars decided to follow their singing and dancing dreams. With exclusive content and full-color photos on every page, this biographic scrapbook is a must-have for XOMG Pop fans everywhere!
Y'all Eat Yet?: Welcome to the Pretty B*tchin' Kitchen
by Miranda LambertFrom country music sensation Miranda Lambert, comes a gorgeous cookbook sharing a wide array of tasty favorite recipes, straight outta Texas and collected from all the fabulous women who helped make Miranda who she is today. If you’re going to have a Bitchin Kitchen, you’re going to need a few things—plenty of room, plenty of good food for sharing, high spirits (in both senses) and all the friends and family you can fit. For Miranda Lambert, a good time means sharing a great meal with the women who helped raise her back in Texas—her mom and a colorful bunch of best friends who could raise the roof, come through in a pinch, celebrate, cry, and really, really cook. Miranda Lambert invites readers into this special circle of sisterhood with collection of recipes and stories. Y’all Eat Yet? is full of recipes for meals that fill your belly, and your soul, food meant to be shared, meant to be eaten with your fingers off of paper plates, or on your fanciest antique China. Some were handed down to Miranda from her mom and grandma, some come from the circle of cherished friends who helped raise her, and all of them are meant to be easy to prepare and shared with those you love. True to Miranda’s personality, Y’all Eat Yet? is sassy and inviting. Whether she’s cooking up omelets in her tricked-out Airstream to serve with Mimosas or laying out the Whiskey cupcakes next to Nonny’s Banana pudding, Y’all Eat Yet? delivers food you want to make alongside charming stories that show just why Miranda Lambert is one of the most beloved artists in country music today.
Yankee Twang: Country and Western Music in New England (Music in American Life)
by Clifford R. MurphyMerging scholarly insight with a professional guitarist's keen sense of the musical life, Yankee Twang delves into the rich tradition of country & western music that is played and loved in the mill towns and cities of the American northeast. Clifford R. Murphy draws on a wealth of ethnographic material, interviews, and encounters with recorded and live music to reveal the central role of country and western in the social lives and musical activity of working-class New Englanders. As Murphy shows, an extraordinary multiculturalism informed by New England's kaleidoscope of ethnic groups created a distinctive country and western music style. But the music also gave--and gives--voice to working-class feeling. Yankee country and western emphasizes the western, reflecting the longing for the mythical cowboy's life of rugged but fulfilling individualism. Indeed, many New Englanders use country and western to comment on economic disenfranchisement and express their resentment of a mass media, government, and Nashville music establishment they believe neither reflects nor understands their life experiences.
Yé-Yé Girls of '60s French Pop
by Lio Jean-Emmanuel DeluxeThis delightfully illustrated exploration into '60s French pop, and the women who built it, reveals yé-yé music's hip sensuality, humor, style and wit. We hear from and about Françoise Hardy, France Gall, Brigitte Bardot, Sylvie Vartan and dozens of other modern Lolitas, and the recklessly naughty Serge Gainsbourg. Modern-day yé-yé avatar Lio has written the book's Foreword.
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!: The Beatles, Beatlemania, and the Music that Changed the World
by Bob SpitzIt starts in the housing projects and school playgrounds of Liverpool, where four boys would discover themselves--and a new form of music called rock 'n roll. It takes us from the famous first meeting between John and Paul, to the clubs of Liverpool and Germany when George and Ringo join the band, down Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields, to America and the height of the Beatles' success--when they were still teenagers. In Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!, Spitz recreates the thrills, tears and magic of his New York Times bestselling adult biography, but in a style and format that's accesible for young readers. This book includes photos, sidebars and graphic elements. It's a book about teens who changed the world.
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyoncé
by Bob StanleyAn addictively readable, encyclopedic history of pop music in chapters as short and adrenaline-fueled as the best pop songs themselves. <p><p> As much fun to argue with as to quote, Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! is a monumental work of musical history, tracing the story of pop music through individual songs, bands, musical scenes, and styles from Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock around the Clock" (1954) to Beyoncé's first megahit, "Crazy in Love" (2003). It covers the birth of rock, soul, R&B, punk, hip hop, indie, house, techno, and more, and it will remind you why you fell in love with pop music in the first place. <p> Bob Stanley--musician, music critic, and unabashed fan--recounts the progression from the Beach Boys to the Pet Shop Boys to the Beastie Boys; explores what connects doo wop to the sock hop; and reveals how technological changes have affected pop production. Working with a broad definition of "pop"--one that includes country and metal, disco and Dylan, skiffle and glam--Stanley teases out the connections and tensions that animate the pop charts and argues that the charts are vital social history. <p> Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! is like the world's best and most eclectic jukebox in book form. All the hits are here: the Monkees, Metallica, Patsy Cline, Patti Smith, new wave, New Order, "It's the Same Old Song," The Song Remains the Same, Aretha, Bowie, Madonna, Prince, Sgt. Pepper, A Tribe Called Quest, the Big Bopper, Fleetwood Mac, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," Bikini Kill, the Kinks, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, and on and on and on. This book will have you reaching for your records (or CDs or MP3s) and discovering countless others. <p> For anyone who has ever thrilled to the opening chord of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" or fallen crazy in love for Beyoncé, Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! is a vital guide to the rich soundtrack of the second half of the twentieth century.
A Year at the Met
by Patrick J. SmithA study of the Metropolitan Opera presents a behind-the-scenes look at its public, private, artistic, financial, and organizational operations and discusses the traditions, achievements, and innovations of the opera company.
Year of the Monkey
by Patti SmithFrom the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train, a profound, beautifully realized memoir in which dreams and reality are vividly woven into a tapestry of one transformative year. <P><P>Following a run of New Year's concerts at San Francisco's legendary Fillmore, Patti Smith finds herself tramping the coast of Santa Cruz, about to embark on a year of solitary wandering. Unfettered by logic or time, she draws us into her private wonderland with no design, yet heeding signs--including a talking sign that looms above her, prodding and sparring like the Cheshire Cat. <P><P>In February, a surreal lunar year begins, bringing with it unexpected turns, heightened mischief, and inescapable sorrow. In a stranger's words, "Anything is possible: after all, it's the Year of the Monkey." <P><P>For Smith--inveterately curious, always exploring, tracking thoughts, writing--the year evolves as one of reckoning with the changes in life's gyre: with loss, aging, and a dramatic shift in the political landscape of America. <P><P>Smith melds the western landscape with her own dreamscape. Taking us from California to the Arizona desert; to a Kentucky farm as the amanuensis of a friend in crisis; to the hospital room of a valued mentor; and by turns to remembered and imagined places, this haunting memoir blends fact and fiction with poetic mastery. The unexpected happens; grief and disillusionment set in. <P><P>But as Smith heads toward a new decade in her own life, she offers this balm to the reader: her wisdom, wit, gimlet eye, and above all, a rugged hope for a better world. Riveting, elegant, often humorous, illustrated by Smith's signature Polaroids, Year of the Monkey is a moving and original work, a touchstone for our turbulent times. <P><P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Year of the Monkey
by Patti SmithFrom the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train, a profound, beautifully realized memoir in which dreams and reality are vividly woven into a tapestry of one transformative year.Following a run of New Year's concerts at San Francisco's legendary Fillmore, Patti Smith finds herself tramping the coast of Santa Cruz, about to embark on a year of solitary wandering. Unfettered by logic or time, she draws us into her private wonderland with no design, yet heeding signs--including a talking sign that looms above her, prodding and sparring like the Cheshire Cat. In February, a surreal lunar year begins, bringing with it unexpected turns, heightened mischief, and inescapable sorrow. In a stranger's words, "Anything is possible: after all, it's the Year of the Monkey." For Smith--inveterately curious, always exploring, tracking thoughts, writing--the year evolves as one of reckoning with the changes in life's gyre: with loss, aging, and a dramatic shift in the political landscape of America.Smith melds the western landscape with her own dreamscape. Taking us from California to the Arizona desert; to a Kentucky farm as the amanuensis of a friend in crisis; to the hospital room of a valued mentor; and by turns to remembered and imagined places, this haunting memoir blends fact and fiction with poetic mastery. The unexpected happens; grief and disillusionment set in. But as Smith heads toward a new decade in her own life, she offers this balm to the reader: her wisdom, wit, gimlet eye, and above all, a rugged hope for a better world.Riveting, elegant, often humorous, illustrated by Smith's signature Polaroids, Year of the Monkey is a moving and original work, a touchstone for our turbulent times.
Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day
by Clemency Burton-Hill“Year of Wonder is an absolute treat—the most enlightening way to be guided through the year.” — Eddie RedmayneA unique celebration of classical music that showcases one inspirational piece each day of the year, written by an award-winning violinist and BBC Radio personalityClassical music has a reputation for being stuffy, boring, and largely inaccessible, but Burton-Hill is here to change that. An award-winning writer, broadcaster and musician, with a deep love of the art form she wants everyone to feel welcome at the classical party, and her desire to share her passion for its diverse wonders inspired this unique, enlightening, and expertly curated treasury. As she says, “The only requirements for enjoying classical music are open ears and an open mind.” Year of Wonder introduces readers to one piece of music each day of the year, artfully selected from across genres, time periods, and composers. Burton-Hill offers short introductions to contextualize each piece, and makes the music come alive in modern and playful ways. From Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Puccini to George Gershwin, Clara Schumann, Philip Glass, Duke Ellington, and many remarkable yet often-overlooked voices, Burton-Hill takes us on a dazzling journey through our most treasured musical landscape. Thoughtfully curated and masterfully researched, Year of Wonder is a book of classical music for everyone. Whether you’re a newcomer or an aficionado, Burton-Hill’s celebration will inspire, nourish, and enrich your life in unexpected ways.