3 comments about Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music.

1. complex, yet easy to understand. informative, yet exciting. i recommend this boook to anyone who feels an intense love for music and the history of sound and noise.



2. This is a very comprehensive guide on the different sides of "audio culture". Many of the authors and readings you'll find here are among the most influential on the subject...From Luigi Russolo's futurist musical manifesto to Brian Eno's ambient music, coming across Stockhausen, Steve Reich, Cage, Kim Cascone, etc. Very thought-provoking, it gives an interesting macro view of the world of audio as well as the different currents and inflexion points that have changed the way we perceive music and its context...
   
   I definitely recommend it, but beware: you'll want more!



3. My son is into "Modern Music" and said this was good, so I got it for him for Christmas.

4 comments about The Musician's Guide to Theory and Analysis.

1. Product arrived in great time and in great condition. Definitely an A+ seller!



2. I'm a college music student, and we're using this book in my first year theory classes. It is pretty in-depth and explains the material well. It has key points summaries throughout the chapter, which shortens the time one needs to take notes =P



3. I bought this book after thoroughly researching music theory book possibilities here. I have been studying music theory in a class with the Benward book, but I did not do well as I wanted on a placement test for university transfer, and I do not easily understand Benward. When this book arrived, it did not take me long to know this is just what I am looking for to review music theory on my own. I opened to figured bass and there were easy to understand verbal and musical explanations right there that took a year for me to understand in theory class. Wish I had this book last year, I would have understood the key concepts in a day. I like also that there are many exercises I can do to test my knowledge, and answers are in the back. Verbal explanations are clear, in a friendly, conversational style, there are many musical examples, key concepts are clearly indicated in blue, and each chapter has an outline right at the beginning indicating what is to be covered. This book is very well organized, there's an appendix of key definitions in the back, and it is easy to locate topics by accessing the index and the table of contents. Nothing dry about this book. The authors make reference to examples in the accompanying anthology and CD set. I do not have this, as I have access to many of these examples at another site, but I might also buy this for convenience. I also bought the workbook, but, with the opportunity to do assignments and have answers in the back of the book, I don't think I really needed the workbook. The layout is very pleasing, popular as well as classical music is referenced for examples, although this is more about classical musical theory, and the authors have done an exemplary job.



4. The book is fairly comprehensive, but it is rife with mistakes, both in the literature and the workbook. The authors also make use of non-standard terms frequently. You can certainly learn a great deal from the book, but it's not without obvious drawbacks.
   
   The Rutger's University faculty recently tested the book over a two year period and have discontinued its use due to student feedback and teacher opinion.

5 comments about Music in Theory and Practice Vol 1 w/ Anthology CD.

1. My class worked with Dr. Benward on this book--we were his test class. Although this may not be the best book for everyone, it is a very comprehensive text that requires the instructor's input. As Benward told us, if we were to teach theory we must work towards the student's understanding of the concepts and not allow the text to work magic. Hence, we must illustrate and re-inforce the principles with our examples and experiences.
   
   I hope I am lucid enough to help.
   
   Good book.
   
   Ian



2. Not a hardcore music analyst or anything. Just taking a music theory course with this text and it's not too shabby considering that other theory texts can be really vague. I wish in some ways there were more examples and actually that it was more clear in some areas but that's why we have a teacher to teach it to us.



3. I wouldn't recommend this book for self-study unless you are well acquainted with music theory and are using this as a review. Some of the concepts are not that well explained. However, it is designed as a classroom text, and for that and with a good teacher, it is excellent. Well organized and logical in it's progression. An intro to music notiation would be very helpful before taking a class using this book. It progresses very quickly. The accompanying workbook is highly recommended for reinforcement.



4. I have used this text successfully for several years with first-year college theory students, both in the classroom and in directed study. It offers many clear examples and a variety of exercises for students to complete. I intend to continue using it and would recommend it not only as a classroom text but as a vehicle for independent study for practicing musicians without an extensive knowledge of music theory.



5. This is a very helpful book for anyone looking at taking music theory class. It's simply a good reference point whether you have a good professor for the class or not.

2 comments about Studying Rhythm (3rd Edition).

1. Chances are, if you're in the market to buy this book, it's because it's required for a class. This text provides a wide range of rhythmic exercises that are meticulously arranged in order to ease students through progressively harder territory. Indeed, there can be no doubt that a great deal of work was put into the creation of this book as a very useful pedagogical tool. (Though it should be noted that it is fairly useless for reference.) That said, it is a very slender volume for such a dear price--a very great expense for your average college student. Ms. Hall and her publishers should be truly ashamed to be driving such a hard bargain.



2. This book was loaned to me by my music theory teacher after I finished Ed Sueta's "Rhythm Spectrum". Unfortunately, I was practicing my rhythms, and laid the book on the floor in the basement so I could take a nap, and it, along with several other books, got ruined when the washing machine overflowed. So I inherited a good, but damaged book (I'm buying a new one for my teacher to replace the ruined one). And in the meantime, I'm reviewing the rhythms.
   
   The thing that makes this book challenging is that it progresses in many ways with each new rhythmic concept. The concepts are similar to Sueta's method, but they require you to change tempos, follow dynamic markings and phrasing, and use multiple limbs (up to both hands & both feet), as well as speaking rhythmic passages.
   
   The book advances quickly, and after completing Sueta's book (which is no walk in the park), the new challenges this book provide me are enough to make it a stretch to complete one unit a week.
   
   While I would not probably buy this particular book had it not been for the unfortunate accident, I am glad to have it (wrinkled & slightly mildewed as it is) in my growing music-resource collection. It's a technique book, not a reference book. And for that, it is useful.
   
   While the price is obscene, this is the sad fact with any textbook, and that is an issue that should be remedied through congress and your local schools. However, I do not try to make it a practice of rating books on the price. Since I rarely ever buy a book at the regular price (thanks to Amazon and my local used bookstores). So, my rating is despite the large price tag.

4 comments about Hal Leonard Pocket Music Theory: A Comprehensive and Convenient Source for All Musicians.

1. In few words, this book can thoroughly explain some of the most important fundamentals of music composition. I have been searching for a while for a book like this -- this one is great! Cheap and pocket-sized too!



2. I've always liked learning new things about music theory. But most of the books on the market only teach you so much. I found this little book in a music store one day, and decided to buy it. I've bought lots of other general music theory books before, but I've NEVER seen so much packed into such a small volume. On top of that, the book is written so precisely with the performer in mind, and with practicality as its main focus.
   
   I gave 5 stars to another book called "Music Theory Made Easy", and while I don't regret giving it that rating for its own reasons, "Pocket Music Theory" is about the same price yet covers three times as much material, including how all of it relates to the formal structure of sheet music notation. It also swiftly addresses the bogus argument that so many rock musicians use an excuse: the myth that learning music theory will limit your creativity. On the contrary, music theory facilitates communication and lets you better express the creative ideas you have in mind.
   
   Whether you're a beginner or advanced when it comes to music theory, you're bound to pick up something from this book. It starts with the most basic fundamentals of sound, and gradually builds off each previous section until coming to composition methods you might learn in a second or even third year course at a music college. For me, I already long-since knew my scales and modes, but I was still curious about why progressions that go beyond one scale could still sound "right". Why do we use a blues scale over dominant seventh chords? Why do those chord progressions of Beatles songs sound so good even though they go outside of the scale? This book analyzed the situations and answered those types of questions, and more.
   
   This little book is such an incredible reference manual, and no matter what instrument or what kind of music you play, you're bound to pick up something. I'm buying extra copies to give to the guys in my band. Regardless of whatever I reviewed before picking up this book, PLEASE - if you only buy one music theory book in your life, make it this one! $4.95 is an incredibly small price to pay for becoming a more knowledgeable musician!



3. This book is too simplistic. Every issue is approached superficially. If you are a beginner with very few knowledge about music theory then this book might be appropriate for you since I have detected no mistakes. Otherwise if you're looking for specifics and depth don't get it...



4. I am 35 yo woman JUST learning piano and music theory..cant tell you how wonderfully easy and helpful this little book has been...I bought this one and the Complete Idiots Guide to Music Theory...I use this one more or as often as the idiots guide..this one doesnt have extra info you dont want or need and thus makes it a handy reference and I love how small it is to carry around. I read it whenever I have to WAIT in line or in a drs office or DMV or other horrible place to sit around and wait. Well put together and easy to read. Would definately buy again, and would definately recommend.

5 comments about Practice Books For The Flute: Omnibus Edition (Books 1-5).

1. This book covers almost everything there is when it comes to developing tone, technique and skill. I'm really enjoying it. I think it is a must for beginners, and also really useful for the developing-intermediate flutist that needs a little more to get to the advanced level. my tone is better allready...



2. I purchased the omnibus version after buying the single publication on tone. The Omnibus edition comes spiral bound and the pages can be sometimes unruly...slipping out of the slots of spiral binding and giving an untidy look to your sacred sheets of flute wisdom(which is rather annoying to this already disorganized musician).
   
   I refer to the information in the tone section more than any other. The other 'books' in the omnibus were a bit sparse in terms of content. I am glad I spent under 30.00usd on the omnibus instead of buying each book individually.
   
   For those musicians with a sense of humor, the writing style of the author is quite fun to read. His discussions are loaded with flute-specific musings, puns, and other subtle rhetoric. His writing style is ingenious...and a relief from the monotoned, sedate style we usually encouter in method publications.



3. 4 stars instead of 5 only because I haven't gone through the whole book yet. The exercizes on tone and breathing are really helpful. It is well written, easy to understand, and realistic as far as goal setting.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone getting back into playing on their own or an experienced musician.



4. For anyone that plays the flute, especially those that need guidance for practicing, this is a fantastic resource. When using this collection, you should have a metronome and tuner at your disposal, especially for the volume on intonation.



5. The book was in excellent condition, exactly what we needed and $10.00 cheaper than anywhere else.

5 comments about The Practice Revolution: Getting great results from the six days between lessons.

1. Johnston has some good suggestions on the important topic of practicing, especially helping students with time management issues, and the importance being absolutely clear in their weekly assignments. But I think the author is too quick to recommend too many games, with their tendency to distract students from the joy and responsibility of making music.
   
   He's very weak in the area of solving technical problems and memorization issues with MUSICAL solutions. "Hear it, Visualize it, Play it" seem to be not in his vocabulary.
   
   Overall -- too wordy, to mechanistic, not sufficiently musical in its approach.



2. I returned to piano lessons about 16 years ago after being away for nearly 20+ years. It wasn't until about 6 years ago I was able to find a teacher who, while technically skilled, is a remarkable musician and from whom I've learned A LOT really didn't help me address my practice problems. After reading your section on "Common Practice Flaws" I saw myself with at least six of them. No wonder I had been giving serious consideration to quitting...I just felt like my playing was not improving like it should.
   
   I'm going to take your book with me to my next lesson and, together, we'll map out a plan for my future. I am really inspired that I can fix these problems and start to make some real progress with my playing and learning.
   
   BTW, I spent about 20+ years in the sales field...I really think these concepts could apply to virtually any field of endeavor, particularly sales!
   
   I am really excited about the ideas presented in the book, and, more importantly, about it injecting new life into my learning process.



3. This book is chock-full of great ideas. I'm renewed for the new teaching year with good methods of organizing the students' practice time, and for inspiring them to discover the music and the discipline within themselves.
   I thank Mr. Johnston for making the art of teaching music his top priority and for sharing his very intelligent ideas with us.



4. If you are a teacher, you must have this book. If you ever aspire to teach music lessons on your own, you must have this book. If you are a parent of a frustrated child in music lessons, you must have this book. After six years with my own studio, this book has given my students a new life. I wish I would have read this book in college; it has a mature outlook on practicing and how to sell it to kids. I've only tried a few techniques on my students and already I see marvelous improvements. Johnston is witty, funny, experienced, and practical. I love his stuff.



5. The Practice Revolution gives the reader a chance to take a rest from their current methods of helping their students improve and enjoy their music worlds and evaluate their priorities. It also lets me consider the ways I have used and/or do use to learn or perfect a piece of music. Certainly a good read for a teacher of 30 plus years of experience with students.

5 comments about Music, The Brain, And Ecstasy:How Music Captures Our Imagination.

1. The first page and a half of this book combined with the curious use of the word ecstasy in the title nearly made me put his book down for good but I'm incredibly glad that I didn't because the writer quickly drops his attempt to be evocative and the book becomes interesting and very readable. Even the use of the word ecstasy is normal and informative when it is finally described.
   
   In this book Robert Jourdain covers a lot of ground on all aspects of sound, music, the brain and how they all interact and he does it well. The book is ten years old at the time of this review and it remains quite current, detailed but not overburdened, enjoyable to read, and a valuable resource for anyone with an interest in the mind, the brain, music, music theory, musical instruments, sound or noise (acousticians should however note that words are used with their psychology meanings rather than their accoustics meanings).
   
   Robert Jourdain spends rather more time describing the effect of music on the brain than he does effect of music on the mind. This isn't the problem that it might seem and is easily turned to advantage by reading it in conjunction with a book that favours the mind over the brain such as David Levitin's "This Is Your Brain on Music" which also has the advantage of describing the most interesting experiments that have done since the publication of this book.
   
   If you want one book to explain what music is and why we like it then this is that book. If you want an introduction to the subject then this is an excellent place to start and nine pages of bibliography offer plenty of suggestions for further reading. I heartily recommend this book for pleasure, knowledge or study - once you get past the first page and half that is.



2. I purchased this book for my 14 year old son who wants to be a musician. I read it and found so many interesting facts and it truly increased my knowledge base significantly. Besides I enjoyed it so much I could not and did not want to put it down. I am not that interested in music myself, but after reading this book, I feel that I can understand Classical as well as all music so much better. It is like a fundamentals of music 101 in paperback. I think I will read it again because I am sure I will get more the second time.



3. Music, as an experience of the human mind, is a complex sequence of sound first sensed by the auditory and somatic systems of the human body and then processed and interpreted by the human brain. Music, as a human construct involving both the experience of music and its creation, is a configuration and arrangement of sound towards aesthetic or pragmatic goals. This book [Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy] looks at music as a phenomenon of the human brain in its relation to the physical world. The author proceeds analytically from sound to tone to melody to harmony to rhythm to composition to performance to listening to understanding to ecstasy, devoting a chapter to each.
   
   Sound: sound, ears, the inner ear, hearing loss, localizing sound, primitive hearing.
   
   Tone: tones, resonance, loudness, the evolution of instruments, concert halls, how a brain hears tones.
   
   Melody: how children hear music, categorizing tones, cutting up pitch space, building scales, non-western scales, what makes melodies work?, melody and the brain, the ideal melody.
   
   Harmony: the birth of harmony, dissonance, tonality, relative pitch and absolute pitch, what more can harmony be?
   
   Rhythm: chunking, meter, phrasing, the perceptual present, temporal resolution, tempo, origins of rhythm, left brain dominance for rhythm, rhythm wars.
   
   Composition: child prodigies, auditory imagery, musical memory, inspiration, improvisation, composing at the piano, working methods, sketches, the score, musical creativity, composers' brains, composer IQ, the composer's personality.
   
   Performance: musical savants, musicianship, hands, making hands move, planning movements, sensation, reading music, virtuosity, memorization, talent.
   
   Listening: concerts, changing technology, hearing and listening, attending to music, cognitive preference, musical preference, expert listening.
   
   Understanding: meaning, parallels between music and language, mapping music in the brain, watching music in the brain, amusia, musical meaning.
   
   Ecstasy: the origins of music, emotion, pleasure, music and the body, ecstasy, what might music yet become?



4. This work is older than the presently popular Musicophilia, and from a different venue. Sacks' book is basically a compendium of anecdotes from a very observant guy with an opportune position and a great memory. Jordain's is more objective, looking for the physics of the responses to frequencies, resonances and meter. Its kind of a look at the brain as a "machine". In my view, it has less sizzle and more steak. Jordain's work is much more influential in how I think about my own pleasure from and addiction to music, and explains part of my joy in the symmetries and patterns of ballet and in the visual arts, even suggesting what makes me like modern sculpture. The insights from this book increased my wonderment at the magic in our bodies and the great, great beauty in nature. Its on my list of important books: I bought it for my library.



5. This is a good book! An informative page-turner. I recommend it to anyone who needs to research this topic. I am a composer, performer, theorist, multi-approach science and religion enthusiast. Several times I was positively shaken by some of the music/brain knowledge revealed. And despite the high level of detail (for a "layperson"), essentials of the topic are stressed clearly. This book seems to be influenced in part by two of my favorite works, COSMOS by Carl Sagan, and WHAT TO LISTEN FOR IN MUSIC by Aaron Copland.
   
   Go buy it, then come back to read the following criticisms:)
   
   It is difficult to write so fluidly about such a complicated subject, and this book carries some such difficulties. Even though the author is adept in considering and distinguishing the validities of multiple possibilities, several times after reading a passage, I said to myself, "well, maybe..." thinking of alternative explanations.
   
   Two more criticisms:
   
   Yes, like Copland in his earlier work, while respecting other cultures this author is very Euro-Ameri-centric in his perspective.
   
   The author really likes to use examples, perhaps too extensively. He generally picks a very specific one out of very multiple possibilities. Nearly every time he makes a point, he follows it with a "far-out" example. Not to knock the importance of examples, but I'll bet if you took all of them out of this book, it would be about half its original weight.
   
   Here's an example demonstrating a combination of the two above criticisms:
   
   "Nor does the right brain show any particular talent for melody when it encounters an unfamiliar harmonic system, such as Indian sitar music" (p. 282).
   
   Keep these comments in mind, and read this book!
   
   Jeremy Jarvis
   www.myspace.com/jwjarvislisten

4 comments about Musimathics, Volume 1: The Mathematical Foundations of Music.

1. After about a ten year hiatus on books of this type being published, this is one of several new books combining mathematics, music, and programming aimed at musicians who want to know more about the math behind their musical compositions and are not content to just know what drop-down windows to click on using the latest musical software. The book starts with the basics of music and sound and works up to basic music theory, physics and sound, and acoustics and psychoacoustics. The final chapter of the book is the most interesting, since it concerns mathematics and composition techniques using the author's C++ based library "Musimat". Both this book and Musimat have companion websites, although the Musimat site is the most interesting with plenty of downloads in case you are interested in how to use this compositional library. There is a volume two scheduled for release in Spring 2007 that gets into signal processing, the role of digital signals, and the wave equation, so together they are a very complete treatise on math, music, and programming aimed at the musical composer. I highly recommend it. Of course, if you want to dig deep into individual subjects such as acoustics and psychoacoustics, you are going to need additional references. But this text is clear enough to get you started. The following is the table of contents:
   
   1 Music and Sound 1
   1.1 Basic Properties of Sound 1
   1.2 Waves 3
   1.3 Summary 9
   
   2 Representing Music 11
   2.1 Notation 11
   2.2 Tones, Notes, and Scores 12
   2.3 Pitch 13
   2.4 Scales 16
   2.5 Interval Sonorities 18
   2.6 Onset and Duration 26
   2.7 Musical Loudness 27
   2.8 Timbre 28
   2.9 Summary 37
   
   3 Musical Scales, Tuning, and Intonation 39
   3.1 Equal-Tempered Intervals 39
   3.2 Equal-Tempered Scale 40
   3.3 Just Intervals and Scales 43
   3.4 The Cent Scale 45
   3.5 A Taxonomy of Scales 46
   3.6 Do Scales Come from Timbre or Proportion? 47
   3.7 Harmonic Proportion 48
   3.8 Pythagorean Diatonic Scale 49
   3.9 The Problem of Transposing Just Scales 51
   3.10 Consonance of Intervals 56
   3.11 The Powers of the Fifth and the Octave Do Not Form a Closed System 66
   3.12 Designing Useful Scales Requires Compromise 67
   3.13 Tempered Tuning Systems 68
   3.14 Microtonality 72
   3.15 Rule of 18 82
   3.16 Deconstructing Tonal Harmony 85
   3.17 Deconstructing the Octave 86
   3.18 The Prospects for Alternative Tunings 93
   3.19 Summary 93
   3.20 Suggested Reading 95
   
   4 Physical Basis of Sound 97
   4.1 Distance 97
   4.2 Dimension 97
   4.3 Time 98
   4.4 Mass 99
   4.5 Density 100
   4.6 Displacement 100
   4.7 Speed 101
   4.8 Velocity 102
   4.9 Instantaneous Velocity 102
   4.10 Acceleration 104
   4.11 Relating Displacement,Velocity, Acceleration, and Time 106
   4.12 Newton's Laws of Motion 108
   4.13 Types of Force 109
   4.14 Work and Energy 110
   4.15 Internal and External Forces 112
   4.16 The Work-Energy Theorem 112
   4.17 Conservative and Nonconservative Forces 113
   4.18 Power 114
   4.19 Power of Vibrating Systems 114
   4.20 Wave Propagation 116
   4.21 Amplitude and Pressure 117
   4.22 Intensity 118
   4.23 Inverse Square Law 118
   4.24 Measuring Sound Intensity 119
   4.25 Summary 125
   
   5 Geometrical Basis of Sound 129
   5.1 Circular Motion and Simple Harmonic Motion 129
   5.2 Rotational Motion 129
   5.3 Projection of Circular Motion 136
   5.4 Constructing a Sinusoid 139
   5.5 Energy of Waveforms 143
   5.6 Summary 147
   
   6 Psychophysical Basis of Sound 149
   6.1 Signaling Systems 149
   6.2 The Ear 150
   6.3 Psychoacoustics and Psychophysics 154
   6.4 Pitch 156
   6.5 Loudness 166
   6.6 Frequency Domain Masking 171
   6.7 Beats 173
   6.8 Combination Tones 175
   6.9 Critical Bands 176
   6.10 Duration 182
   6.11 Consonance and Dissonance 184
   6.12 Localization 187
   6.13 Externalization 191
   6.14 Timbre 195
   6.15 Summary 198
   6.16 Suggested Reading 198
   
   7 Introduction to Acoustics 199
   7.1 Sound and Signal 199
   7.2 A Simple Transmission Model 199
   7.3 How Vibrations Travel in Air 200
   7.4 Speed of Sound 202
   7.5 Pressure Waves 207
   7.6 Sound Radiation Models 208
   7.7 Superposition and Interference 210
   7.8 Reflection 210
   7.9 Refraction 218
   7.10 Absorption 221
   7.11 Diffraction 222
   7.12 Doppler Effect 228
   7.13 Room Acoustics 233
   7.14 Summary 238
   7.15 Suggested Reading 238
   
   8 Vibrating Systems 239
   8.1 Simple Harmonic Motion Revisited 239
   8.2 Frequency of Vibrating Systems 241
   8.3 Some Simple Vibrating Systems 243
   8.4 The Harmonic Oscillator 247
   8.5 Modes of Vibration 249
   8.6 A Taxonomy of Vibrating Systems 251
   8.7 One-Dimensional Vibrating Systems 252
   8.8 Two-Dimensional Vibrating Elements 266
   8.9 Resonance (Continued) 270
   8.10 Transiently Driven Vibrating Systems 278
   8.11 Summary 282
   8.12 Suggested Reading 283
   
   9 Composition and Methodology 285
   9.1 Guido's Method 285
   9.2 Methodology and Composition 288
   9.3 Musimat: A Simple Programming Language for Music 290
   9.4 Program for Guido's Method 291
   9.5 Other Music Representation Systems 292
   9.6 Delegating Choice 293
   9.7 Randomness 299
   9.8 Chaos and Determinism 304
   9.9 Combinatorics 306
   9.10 Atonality 311
   9.11 Composing Functions 317
   9.12 Traversing and Manipulating Musical Materials 319
   9.13 Stochastic Techniques 332
   9.14 Probability 333
   9.15 Information Theory and the Mathematics of Expectation 343
   9.16 Music, Information, and Expectation 347
   9.17 Form in Unpredictability 350
   9.18 Monte Carlo Methods 360
   9.19 Markov Chains 363
   9.20 Causality and Composition 371
   9.21 Learning 372
   9.22 Music and Connectionism 376
   9.23 Representing Musical Knowledge 390
   9.24 Next-Generation Musikalische Würfelspiel 400
   9.25 Calculating Beauty 406
   
   Appendix A 409
   A.1 Exponents 409
   A.2 Logarithms 409
   A.3 Series and Summations 410
   A.4 About Trigonometry 411
   A.5 Xeno's Paradox 414
   A.6 Modulo Arithmetic and Congruence 414
   A.7 Whence 0.161 in Sabine's Equation? 416
   A.8 Excerpts from Pope John XXII's Bull Regarding Church Music 418
   A.9 Greek Alphabet 419
   
   Appendix B 421
   B.1 Musimat 421
   B.2 Music Datatypes in Musimat 439
   B.3 Unicode (ASCII) Character Codes 450
   B.4 Operator Associativity and Precedence in Musimat 450



2. If you are to really understand what is going on in this book you need volume one where the foundations are discussed. Likewise, volume one of Musimathics will often stop short of a truly complete explanation and say that further study will be picked up in volume two. Thus, these two volumes are actually just the halves of one book. However, if you are interested in musical signal processing, you probably need to read volume two. It covers much ground in depth, and gives numerous examples that are very practical and accessible for people who are working with musical and audio signals. The appendix has some useful tutorials and tables involving mathematics if you happen to be rusty. The following is the table of contents:
   
   1 Digital Signals and Sampling 1
   1.1 Measuring the Ephemeral 1
   1.2 Analog-to-Digital Conversion 9
   1.3 Aliasing 11
   1.4 Digital-to-Analog Conversion 20
   1.5 Binary Numbers 22
   1.6 Synchronization 28
   1.7 Discretization 28
   1.8 Precision and Accuracy 29
   1.9 Quantization 29
   1.10 Noise and Distortion 33
   1.11 Information Density of Digital Audio 38
   1.12 Codecs 40
   1.13 Further Refinements 42
   1.14 Cultural Impact of Digital Audio 46
   
   2 Musical Signals 49
   2.1 Why Imaginary Numbers? 49
   2.2 Operating with Imaginary Numbers 51
   2.3 Complex Numbers 52
   2.4 de Moivre's Theorem 62
   2.5 Euler's Formula 64
   2.6 Phasors 68
   
   2.7 Graphing Comlpex Signals 86
   2.8 Spectra of Complex Sampled Signals 87
   2.9 Multiplying Phasors 89
   2.10 Graphing Complex Spectra 92
   2.11 Analytic Signals 95
   
   3 Spectral Analysis and Synthesis 103
   3.1 Introduction to the Fourier Transform 103
   3.2 Discrete Fourier Transform 103
   3.3 Discrete Fourier Transform in Action 125
   3.4 Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform 134
   3.5 Analyzing Real-World Signals 138
   3.6 Windowing 141
   3.7 Fast Fourier Transform 145
   3.8 Properties of the Discrete Fourier Transform 147
   3.9 A Practical Hilbert Transform 154
   
   4 Convolution 159
   4.1 Rolling Shutter Camera 159
   4.2 Defining Convolution 161
   4.3 Numerical Examples of Convolution 163
   4.4 Convolving Spectra 168
   4.5 Convolving Sigals 172
   4.6 Convolution and the Fourier Transform 180
   4.7 Domain Symmetry between Signals and Spectra 180
   4.8 Convolution and Sampling Theory 187
   4.9 Convolution and Windowing 187
   4.10 Correlation Functions 191
   
   5 Filtering 195
   5.1 Tape Recorder as a Model of Filtering 195
   5.2 Introduction to Filtering 199
   5.3 A Sample Filter 201
   5.4 Finding the Frequency Response 203
   5.5 Linearity and Time Invariance of Filters 217
   5.6 FIR Filters 218
   5.7 IIR Filters 218
   5.8 Canonical Filter 219
   5.9 Time Domain Behavior of Filters 219
   5.10 Filtering as Convolution 222
   5.11 Z Transform 224
   5.12 Z Transform of the General Difference Equation 232
   5.13 Filter Families 244
   
   6 Resonance 263
   6.1 The Derivative 263
   6.2 Differential Equations 276
   6.3 Mathematics of Resonance 280
   
   7 The Wave Equation 299
   7.1 One-Dimensional Wave Equation and String Motion 299
   7.2 An Example 307
   7.3 Modeling Vibration with Finite Difference Equations 310
   7.4 Striking Points, Plucking Points, and Spectra 319
   
   8 Acoustical Systems 325
   8.1 Dissipation and Radiation 325
   8.2 Acoustical Current 326
   8.3 Linearity of Frictional Force 329
   8.4 Inertance, Inductive Reactance 332
   8.5 Compliance, Capacitive Reactance 333
   8.6 Reactance and Alternating Current 334
   8.7 Capacitive Reactance and Frequency 335
   8.8 Inductive Reactance and Frequency 336
   8.9 Combining Resistance, Reactance, and Alternating Current 336
   8.10 Resistance and Alternating Current 337
   8.11 Capacitance and Alternating Current 337
   8.12 Acoustical Impedance 339
   8.13 Sound Propagation and Sound Transmission 344
   8.14 Input Impedance: Fingerprinting a Resonant System 351
   8.15 Scattering Junctions 357
   
   9 Sound Synthesis 363
   9.1 Forms of Synthesis 363
   9.2 A Graphical Patch Language for Synthesis 365
   9.3 Amplitude Modulation 384
   9.4 Frequency Modulation 389
   9.5 Vocal Synthesis 409
   9.6 Synthesizing Concert Hall Acoustics 425
   9.7 Physical Modeling 433
   9.8 Source Models and Receiver Models 449
   
   10 Dynamic Spectra 453
   10.1 Gabor's Elementary Signal 454
   10.2 The Short-Time Fourier Transform 459
   10.3 Phase Vocoder 486
   10.4 Improving on the Fourier Transform 496
   10.5 Psychoacoustic Audio Encoding 502
   
   A.1 About Algebra 513
   A.2 About Trigonometry 514
   A.3 Series and Summations 517
   A.4 Trigonometric Identities 518
   A.5 Modulo Arithmetic and Congruence 522
   A.6 Finite Difference Approximations 523
   A.7 Walsh-Hadamard Transform 525
   A.8 Sampling, Reconstruction, and Sinc Function 526
   A.9 Fourier Shift Theorem 528
   A.10 Spectral Effects of Ring Modulation 529
   A.11 Derivation of the Reflection Coefficient 530



3. The book is simply useful. Musicians and teachers can review their knowledge base. Novices have the possibility to learn the math-based laws of music by means of a non-academic language. Above all, the book is extended into a second volume for an in-depth learning.



4. The book is simply useful. Musicians and teachers can review their knowledge base. Novices have the possibility to learn the math-based laws of music by means of a non-academic language. Above all, the book is extended into a second volume for an in-depth learning.

5 comments about The Everything Reading Music Book: A Step-By-Step Introduction To Understanding Music Notation And Theory (Everything: Sports and Hobbies).

1. I really hate wading through reviews on Amazon. Some folks come to wax for no reason at all. This is actually my first ever review, so here goes. This book is perfect. It's a book on learning how to read music. It starts very basic so that any Joe can learn it. Once the author gets you started with the basics of notes and rhythm, you get some music theory. It's not a hardcore theory bok, but the author does go into enough detail to get you through just about any situation you may encounter. What I think is more important toa dd is that once you're done with the book, you can go to ANY other higher level theory book and learn there. So many books simply start TOO hard for the average user. The book is very approachable and the explanations are great. I can't reccomend this one enough!
   
   I looked up the author, who has a few other book on Amazon, and according to his website, there will be a Music Theory book for this same company -- I can only suppose it will take off where this book left off.
   
   The book reads very clean and the many musical examples make the book a pleasure to look at (as i think written music is beautiful). There is an audio CD, which is also excellent.
   
   I hope this helps someone get a grasp on what this book is about. I have bought a few theory type books over the years to help with my piano playing (self taught). This is simply the only book that has started at a spot where I can "jump right in". Well done!



2. I've never seen the difficult subject of learning to read music so clearly explained. If you are interested in learning to read music, and then moving beyond the basics into music theory, this is the book. Most other books that I have seen on this subject, including the are just terrible; too complicated or not clearly written. This one provides lucid writing and clear visual examples. Highly recommended!



3. I am new to learning music, but have the desire. WHat I needed was a book that would cover the very basics and ramp up from there without insulting my inteligence. This is exactly what I got! A great book for someone who essentially knows nothing about music. It starts out with notes and scales and builds from there. The book is easy to read, has plenty of diagrams, etc, plus came with a very helpful CD so not only do you see the musical notations, but you get to hear what those notations sound like.
   
   It won't be the last music book I buy, but it certainly is a great place to start!



4. This book has been such a help to me as I started my journey and note reading and piano playing. The explanations, examples, and accompanying CD are all excellent. Mr. Schonbrun's book is a keeper!



5. Great book. I am a newbie at music and this is helping me incredibly. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to further their education in the new language of music. I love it.