Cowfingers Posted January 19, 2003 Posted January 19, 2003 Ive just been given an amazon voucher, so can anyone recommend some decent books on music taht i should buy? I read here a couple of days ago that 'Music, The brain and ecstacy' is a worthwhile buy, so i'll probably pick that up - anything else worth getting? thanks Visit my band : www.neonfleacircus.net or www.myspace.com/neonfleacircus
george costanza Posted January 19, 2003 Posted January 19, 2003 Fred Wesley, the trombonist & arranger with many funk/soul bands from James Brown to PFunk, has recently published his autobiography. I haven't read it (waiting for the cheap paperback) but it's bound to have some good stuff.
-_dup1 Posted January 19, 2003 Posted January 19, 2003 If you're into arranging music for pop/jazz/etc, Henry Mancini's "Sounds and Scores" is superb... It comes with a CD of the music featured in the book. The focus of the book is on combining different orchestral instruments and the effect it has on the listener.
-_dup1 Posted January 19, 2003 Posted January 19, 2003 Oh, and if you're a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fan... "Look, Listen, Vibrate, Smile" is the closest thing the Beach Boys have to the Beatles' "Anthology" book... It's an account of the years 1966-1968 (the making of the infamous aborted followup album to "Pet Sounds") told in scrapbook style, with lots of articles from the music publications of the era. I got LLVS for Christmas and it was one of my favorite presents... maybe even moreso than the RNC, which is really saying something! :D
halljams Posted January 20, 2003 Posted January 20, 2003 [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671725823/qid=1043018405/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/002-0983106-0312061]definatley[/url] [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071360972/qid=1043018452/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-0983106-0312061]and this[/url] [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961454733/qid=1043018747/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-0983106-0312061]this too[/url] [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140137874/qid=1043018553/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_8/002-0983106-0312061?v=glance&s=books]if you are ambitious[/url] [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060903252/qid=1043018596/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-0983106-0312061]if you like to think[/url] [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1585421464/qid=1043018817/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-0983106-0312061]this is good[/url] [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671708635/qid=1043018878/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-0983106-0312061]most of all this[/url] They all pertain to music. Check out SUPERVIBE
Jotown Posted January 20, 2003 Posted January 20, 2003 The Motown book,"Standing in the shadows" is a good one also. Jotown:) "It's all good: Except when it's Great"
Zweite Version Posted January 20, 2003 Posted January 20, 2003 I just ordered Quincy Jones' autobiography, looking forward on reading it. Miles Davis' autobiography is essential reading IMHO, not just for Jazz-musicians. "Ya gots to work with what you gots to work with". - Stevie Wonder
Salyphus Posted January 20, 2003 Posted January 20, 2003 It's a pretty broad subject, what are your specific interests? I think one of the best investments I ever made was The Beatles Fake Book. Every song is on 1 or 2 facing pages, and all the transcriptions are correct and in the right key. What more could you want? ;)
Jotown Posted January 20, 2003 Posted January 20, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by sunsetman: [b]I just ordered Quincy Jones' autobiography, looking forward on reading it. Miles Davis' autobiography is essential reading IMHO, not just for Jazz-musicians.[/b][/quote]That is an excellent book, not just about music, but about life. Q has always been one of my hero's. I saw the movie, "The life and times of Quincy Jones" and it changed my life. When I saw the adverse effect's of his ambition on his many children I realized that I would from them on be a father first, and an artist second. And I have no regrets for making that decision. Jotown:) "It's all good: Except when it's Great"
-_dup1 Posted January 20, 2003 Posted January 20, 2003 I thought of another good music-related book... "Songwriters on Songwriting"... Lots of interviews with top-notch songwriters, mostly pertaining to how they get their ideas. Even though I've read this book a million times, I still go back to it when I want to feel inspired...
Jedi Posted January 20, 2003 Posted January 20, 2003 If you want a book dealing with the subject on why it's so hard to make art these days, and what you can do about it get "ART & FEAR" by David Bayle and Ted Orland. Excellent book for artists who don't want to quit. Great Book. I've been plugging for a while here. Lincoln Ross Dead BLack Jedis "All conditioned things are impermanent. Work out your own salvation with diligence." The Buddha's Last Words R.I.P. RobT
Cowfingers Posted January 21, 2003 Author Posted January 21, 2003 Theres some excellent suggestions there - thanks everyone. Halljams; That The Mechanism of Mind by Edward De Bono looks pretty damn facinating. The only problem is the last time i looked at a De Bono book it blew me away with its complexity! Though that Miles Davis book shall be mine! [quote] It's a pretty broad subject, what are your specific interests? [/quote]Good point! well, the science of music and the brain (though only on an elementary level), biographies of jazz and funk artists (and i guess 60's soul) and music technology are my main subjects. i was gonna pick up a load of CDs as well, but after this i think i'll get more books! thanks again Visit my band : www.neonfleacircus.net or www.myspace.com/neonfleacircus
surfmonkey Posted January 21, 2003 Posted January 21, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by Cowfingers: [b] Though that Miles Davis book shall be mine! [/b][/quote]If you like the Miles auto-biography, you should check out the Charles Mingus auto-biography "Beneath the Underdog". It's got even more B.S. than the Miles book, but it's equally entertaining. I have no homepage.
Mats Olsson. Posted January 21, 2003 Posted January 21, 2003 You like funk? Do you have Dave Thompson's book " [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0879306297/qid%3D1043107491/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-5081382-8847243#product-details]Funk[/url] "? /Mats http://www.lexam.net/peter/carnut/man.gif What do we want? Procrastination! When do we want it? Later!
Zweite Version Posted January 21, 2003 Posted January 21, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by Jotown: [b] I saw the movie, "The life and times of Quincy Jones" and it changed my life. [/b][/quote]Where did you see that movie? Was it on TV? I'd love to see that. I'm a big fan of his because of the many different styles he covered during his carrier. An excellent composer/arranger/pop-songwriter/producer. "Ya gots to work with what you gots to work with". - Stevie Wonder
Tusker Posted January 22, 2003 Posted January 22, 2003 "How to listen to music" by Aaron Copland was a stunner for me. The link is here .... http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451528670/qid=1043229754/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-7318782-9005510 It's very practical and has broad application for people making music in any genre. It does focus on classical music examples in places, but it's so practical and [i]wise[/i] that the messages come through anyway. It's based on a series of talks he gave so it's lighter reading than you might expect. Cheers, Jerry
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