2 comments about HARMONICA METHOD BK/CD: FOR BEGINNERS (Progressive).

1. It was a great book. I had never picked up a musical instument or looked at a sheet of music before. Now I'm pretty good and can play Ode To Joy by Beethoven.



2. This is the forth harmonica book I have purchased and it is the best so far. The music is complete; not like other books with only parts of songs. The size of the book is good because the music is not compressed and allows easy reading. I also like the songs in it. I must say that I have no musical abillity and I was able to play songs in a short a time. If I were to buy one book this would be the one.

2 comments about New Orleans Jazz and Second Line Drumming w/CD (Dci Video Transcription Series).

1. JIM KELTNER: A great feast, the music and the players from New Orleans, a subject so near and dear to my heart, beautifully presented with lots of details and great pictures.
   
   JOSEPH "ZIGABOO" MODELISTE: Even growing up in New Orleans it was difficult to get this information. This book is a solid piece of work and I'm glad to see these influential players getting the recognition they deserve.
   
   STEVE SMITH: New Orleans is the foundation of all drumset playing period! In this well researched and clearly presented book, are the roots of modern day jazz, blues, R&B, and rock drumming (to name a few). Check it out!
   
   ADAM NUSSBAUM: This is not just a book about licks--it's about people. A great source from a deep well, New Orleans.
   
   CHRIS PARKER: Finally an informal, astute, and insightful look at the global and perennial influence of New Orleans music, especially its feel as originated and expounded on by its drummer/composers/arrangers. These are great men. What's not to love?
   
   ROYAL HARTIGAN: This work is a major contribution to the study of African-American heritage, New Orleans traditions, and the soul of 20th-century drumming. Through the photographs, conversations, transcriptions, and the CD, you feel the spirit of New Orleans music, from ragtime, brass bands, and gospel, through funerals, street beats, funk, rhythm and blues, to the modern scene.
   
   VAL WILMER: Just as the unsung denizens of Congo Square used the drum to remind them they had a past and a future, New Orleans music continues to be both historic and contemporary at the same time. Ideas of personal liberation that began with a reminiscence of an African homeland still inspire the city's drummers. Some are featured here. An invaluable and committed book.
   
   JEFF POTTER (Modern Drummer): More than a book/CD of transcriptions and patterns, this is a volume about history. Its two halves are based on videos from DCI's New orleans Drumming series: Herlin Riley's Ragtime and Beyond and Johnny Vidacovich's Street Beats: Modern Applications. Riley guides us through the evolution of New Orleans jazz drumming styles from their riverboat and brass band beginnings to swing, and Vidacovich demonstrates how he blends local traditions into his modern jazz and R&B drumming.
   
   Although writer Dan Thress receives second billing, he deserves equal praise for his knowledgeable interviews and well-researched articles on important Crescent city drummers such as Vernel Fournier, Baby Dodds, Ed Blackwell, James Black, Joseph "Smokey" Johnson, and David Lee.
   
   Also included are discographies and a pullout poster charting the lineage of influential and notable N'awlins drummers from 1873 to the present. Great to play through or just read, this is a cultural mini-encyclopedia.



2. This is THE book about the heart and soul of New Orleans druming styles.

5 comments about Bending The Blues (Harmonica).

1. If you are a beginning blues harp player, this is the book that you must have to learn how to bend. My bending has improved very much after reading and practising this book. Also a friend of mine uses the book and his bending is improving too.



2. I was a total absolute beginner when I met this book. After three weeks of practice following this book, I can draw-bend one note. I am still improving. This book is concise but very helpful for broad range of harpists from beginners to semi-professional. I am grateful for David Harp for this wonderful text.



3. This book could be great IF it had a CD with it.



4. Great book to learn how to bend notes on your harmonica. Was recommended to me by others.



5. This book was also given to the boys as additional emphasis on learning to play the harmonic and it also, is a great tool for this endeavor.

No comments about 2nd Book of Practical Studies for Cornet and Trumpet.

5 comments about Mel Bay Presents Advanced Modern Rock Guitar Improvisation.

1. Living here in Boston has given me the opportunity to study with great Berklee Professors (Tomo Fujita & Don Lappin)... never Jon though. He's too busy. I've seen Jon play in pretty small bars here in Boston and always asked myself how he does it. This book explains it all.
   
   This book is great for guitar players who are stuck in one position. I've been there and this book summarizes the fretboard geometry very well. Jon explains his approach to moving up and down the neck without being stuck in one position. It all makes sense.
   
   It comes with a CD and DVD. Great Book, Great Player, Very Inspiring!!!



2. Wow, this book and DVD (not so much the cd for me) is really amazing, even for a beginner guitarist this put my soloing way above what i could do, 10x what i was able to do in 30 mins ago. I have tried many guitar methods and they all say the same thing and i was still confused about how to solo like my favorite guitarist and this book and dvd solved a lot for me, i also like it because its personal and funny, its not your standard how to learn ____ book. everything in here worked like a charm for me on the first try and blew my mind because of the simplicity. if your interested in actually playing nice melodies with your guitar and not just knowing theory about how guitar is played ( like other books), this is for you. this guy summed up in 2 mins what i have been trying to do for 3 weeks with my guitar teacher.



3. The pentatonics are absolutely essential for rock, blues/rock guitar. If you already know the 5 patterns of the major and minor pentatonic scale then this book would further increase your playing abilities.
   
   This book takes the 5 patterns (boxes) of the pentatonic scale and dissects them. He illustrates a very intelligent way to use patterns derived from the pentatonics. The result is you can break out of the patterns that you usually play and expand your playing anywhere on the neck in any key.



4. Hands down this is the best method ever in breaking down the scale patterns and learning to master the fingerboard.
   
   If your shakey on your scales or simply have trouble moving from postion to postion this book will show you the light.
   
   Even if your quite comfortable with your scales you'll learn to see things in a new light. You'll be breaking old ruts and treading new territory after some serious study.
   
   Even after all that you'll learn some new ways to use some old tricks like say, "Pentatonic Scales".
   
   Jon Finn is a Master Teacher.
   This is the Standard all Method Books Should Aspire to but few do. This was quite obviously written by someone who cares and someone with a strong desire to teach.
   
   BTW He's a killer Guitar Player as Well.



5. DVD QUALITY BAD NO WORKING SOUND.....TRY LEARNING MUSIC WITH NO SOUND
   JUST ANOTHER USELESS GUITAR BOOK TO GO IN THE BASEMENT THEN TRASH

2 comments about Organ Technique: Modern and Early.

1. In the last three years I have been learning the Organ, and this book is an excellent guide and tool for doing that. It is easy to read and easy to work with -- but to learn the organ, cotninues to demand lots of time for pracitice!



2. I have been using ORGAN TECHNIQUE: MODERN AND EARLY for less than a month with three students who are just beginning organ study. I am very pleased with the content of the book, and how it is laid out. There is attention to details that other organ books that I have used in the past do not include.
   
   I like the specific instructions on manual and pedal technique, and I am particularly pleased with the exercises and the selections of organ literature that have been included in this book.
   
   I am very pleased with this book.

3 comments about The Simple Flute: From A to Z.

1. I have gone through about 20 flute books in my quest for inspiration and tips about this wonderful instrument. This one is the best by far because Debost LOVES FLUTES, and he loves to play the flute. He refers to the sound that comes out of the instrument (when played well) as a "sensual pleasure" for the player (and listeners). He thinks "No pain, no gain" is unrealistic, and that more comfort equals more pleasure. Good point! When it comes to the rules of fingering, he maintains that if it isn't the "correct" fingering but doesn't hurt the music, and feels better or makes it easier, one should go ahead and do it. The idea that sticks out most is that playing the flute should be fun and richly rewarding. The A-Z layout of the book is totally reader-friendly. One can look at the list of topics and easily find exactly what is desired. I love this book. :)



2. This is a must for any flutist who trully cares for his craft! This book is trully a work of art! It explains everything from the reality of a sustained note to finger phrasing. It isn't one of those old texts that has absolutely no revalence to music. If you wish to play music it is one of the books you must read. With plenty of new ideas to try as you turn each page. It is trully mind-opening!!!



3. First the book did not appear as it does in the picture. Plain blue binding. A great deal of information from one of the famous flute teachers.

5 comments about The Devil's Horn: The Story of the Saxophone, from Noisy Novelty to King of Cool.

1. A great book about the history of the Saxophone. Was recommended to me by others.



2. Michael Segell's book on the story of the instrument I play, the saxophone, is a real page-turner, like a good novel that you can't put down. Unlike other tomes on the saxophone, Segell has taken more of a chatty, non-academic approach and interspersed between the fascinating study and interviews with some of the greats on the saxophone, is his own story of learning to play himself. This adds an extra dimension to the study and Segell comes across like your best friend, you really care how his playing is going and you feel by the end of the book that you know him personally.
   
   Segell's section on the trials and tribulations of Adolphe Sax, although much already known by this reviewer is nevertheless interesting and comes across like a report in a newspaper, getting to the nitty gritty of the atempted murder of Sax.
   
   I have no hesitation in recommnending this book to my fellow musicians.



3. A fabulously enjoyable read! Terrific research and journalism!
   
   If I may suggest... anyone who finds this book flawed should presently consider completing their union with Sigurd Rascher and Marcel Mule in body and spirit.
   
   Great job, Mr. Segell! Thank you!



4. I bought a hardcover book a few years ago and read it during my holiday. I now bought it as a gift to surprise a sick colleage.
   It's a book that is written in a flexibel style and holds a lot of historic facts that I did not yet now....... a must have !



5. This is the best book I've read yet, concerning the actual saxophone and its characteristics. It's full of useful, original, amusing points and pieces, guaranteed to educate, inform and encourage the playing reader.

4 comments about Bass Guitar: Total Scales Techniques And Applications (Book & CD).

1. "Bass Guitar: Total Scales Techniques and Applications (2005, paperback with CD, 160 pp., $24.95) by Mark John Sternal is a complete resource for bassists. At the heart of the book are thirty scales, including major and minor scales as well as Hungarian, Japanese, And other versions. Playing techniques described include double-picking, hammer ons, string bending, string skipping, and harmonics. Every exercise is written in both standard notation and guitar tablature, and a note chart shows adaptations for four-, five-, and six-string instruments."
   D. Wagener, Assistant Editor, Teaching Music Magazine



2. I'm just beginning bass, but I'm already a musician so I've got a little insight into the process of learning a musical instrument. I play horns, so I have to learn guitar techniqe and reading bass clef to learn to play the bass. This book, by itself, really won't help you much, there's really no substitute for getting a professional music instructor and taking lessons. Now, in addition to lessons, this book is a somewhat useful reference, but here are some gripes: 1) it's a think paperback, the way it's bound, it won't stay open to a particular page on a music stand unless you pretty much destroy the back, then you have a bunch of loose pages. 2) The stress here is on basic techniques, not reading music. The techniques are useful, but the book isn't particularly good at helping a novice learn to read bass clef notation and play the notes on the bass guitar.



3. "Bass Guitar: Total Scales Techniques and Applications - "Total" is the key word in this improved version of MJS Publications' best-selling bass book. Bass Guitar: Total Scales, Techniques & Applications ($25 list and street) includes new sections on slapping and popping, pickstyle, and fingerstyle. That's in addition to lessons covering every position on the fingerboard, in every key, and different ways to use them."



4. This book does cover a lot of material, but I did not find it to be the mesiah of bass instruction books. A lot of the material is gone through rather quickly and it really seems to be an adaption from his quitar book. I definately would not recomend to a beginner.

5 comments about Sound the Trumpet: How to Blow Your Own Horn.

1. All you want to know about the trumpet. Not a method book, but a great reference book. It gives much information that method books leave out. Recommend for all trumpet players.



2. This book is not only enjoyable and info-packed it will remain in my music library as a great reference book. I have been buying a lot of trumpet books lately and, thanks to Amazon reviews, have been very fortunate in my selections. This one,though, is a standout.
   One of the threads through a number of the books I have read is that,as in this book, the writers realy project a love for the instument.



3. no question about it, this book is everything it's cracked up to be! i highly recommend the book for any player, young or old, beginner or in my case,a 35 yr comeback player.



4. I have played the trumpet, as an enthusiastic, largely self-taught amateur, for many years and own a whole variety of trumpet tutor books; most are incredibly daunting, immediately too demanding and are, all-in -all, not much fun!
   
   This book is quite different - it has a very attractive, friendly approach, is extremely well presented (although I do wish it had been spirally bound), deals with all the basics and more and has plenty of tips and simple, attractive 'how to do,' 'how to approach' ideas. The book is thorough and covers all the basic techniques of playing and the usual pitfalls and problems, but in an attractive, friendly way. There are also, within its pages, pentatonic chord charts, listening suggestions, further sources of study and music, suggested practice routines and charts etc. and even instructions on how to correctly clean and maintain the instrument!
   
   This book will be useful to both the beginner and the more experienced player, is excellent value, and I give it my highest recommendation, but do so wish that it had been in print 30 years ago!!



5. U sent me 2 books charged me twice and I was 2 lazy to raise a "STINK"