Your favourite books about music....????

[idioteque]

When I'm not listening to music, finding and buying new music or playing and making music I have a tendency to read books about........... music (because I have a broad range of hobbies you know! )

On my shelf to read next, when I eventually finish the Live 8 and Reaktor manuals are a couple of interesting looking tomes:

Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music - by Christoph Cox & Daniel Warner
The Computer Music Tutorial - by Curtis Roads
Energy Flash - by Simon Reynolds

What're your favourites and recommendations???

Doesn't have to be technical...books about the scene are always a great read.

[gjm]

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory

[8O]

Things the Grandchildren Should Know - > http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=131313

[AceLuby]

The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten

Honestly the most inspiring book I've read regarding music. I've taken quite a few of the ideas and they have dramatically improved my playing. I'm not Steve Vai yet, but every day I get a little closer

[loydb]

_Body and Soul_ by Frank Conroy.

edit: I'm a huge Victor Wooten fan, and didn't know his book existed. It's dl'ing to my Kindle now, thanks!

[AceLuby]

_Body and Soul_ by Frank Conroy.

edit: I'm a huge Victor Wooten fan, and didn't know his book existed. It's dl'ing to my Kindle now, thanks!

Seriously changed my thinking in the way I approach the guitar. Far less rigid and more fun!

[ThomasHelzle]

The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten

Honestly the most inspiring book I've read regarding music. I've taken quite a few of the ideas and they have dramatically improved my playing. I'm not Steve Vai yet, but every day I get a little closer

++++++++ 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Completely different from the "normal" stuff written about music.
Not only about Bass, but applies to all music, live and everything.
Those concepts really set your mind on a different track.
If you only read one book about music, make it this one
I already bought six of them and are giving them to all kinds of people who may enjoy them.

"Never loose the groove while searching for the key"

Good.

Very good.



Cheers,

Thomas

[akm]

http://castroller.com/podcasts/Tapestry/1038806
http://www.richardhaleshaw.com/rhsperso ... easure.pdf

[subunit23]

Ocean of Sound by David Toop

Microsound by Curtis Roads

[XPM]

The Curtis Rhodes books are interesting, although I found that 'The Computer Music Tutorial' was quite dated. I read some of 'Microsound', but had to take it back to the uni library, as I had graduated before finishing it! Need to get a copy of that at some point.
Electronic and Experimental Music: Technology, Music, and Culture by Thom Holmes is a good history of electronic music.

[junglist_matty]

Not really a music book, but I have just bought this book Ableton Live: Making Music On The Fly: Create, Produce, Perform

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ableton-Live-ma ... 024081228X


I'll have to write up a review after I've had a bit of a read through it - I couldn't find any reviews or opinions on the book, so kinda taking a bit of a gamble!

[junglist_matty]

Just out of interest, does anyone know of any good books regarding music theory that relate well to electronic music production and that would suit a complete beginner?

[pcasella]

I am addicted to music books. I have bought way too many but always come back to the same. Keep in mind that a lot of the content inside them is not understandable at first because either the terminology changes or its really hard stuff. The important is that each page you read you make sure you get some new idea that makes you want to go to the instrument (live included). It is from this urge and practice that true learning emerges. These are my suggestions:

> Bill Dobbins-A Creative Approach To Jazz Piano Harmony - The most comprehensive book on generic harmony... makes you understand why "automatic harmony patches" sound bad... 1 page keeps you busy for a month

> Bergonzi - vol 1 - 7 - The best well written books on music. Keeps you busy for 7 years. The one on pentathonics is absolutely essential.

> George Russell - the Lydian Chromatic Concept. Very hard (for me) but very interesting way of seeing things. It forces you to abandon the traditional music thinking and start addressing music in terms of forces and metric relationships (ex. the further away you move from the Bass (tonic) on a specific metric (scale) the less "consonant" you sound)

> search online book on drum rudiments & independence for drummers and apply them to your instrument (ex. MPD32). The best way to sound and think linearly about drumming.

> Bach - download bach scores (ex. cello stuff) and practice them on your instrument. What you get from it is flexibility and automatic rendering (from brain to hand) of all inversions. You also get to think linearly about chords.

> As a bassist, I think the best way to learn it is to play all day during a couple of years then stopping... listenint to sh*t loads of music... not including jaco (you already had too much of it everywhere else)... learning piano, guitar and drums, then go back to the bass.... forget the notes... focus on the silence, dinamics, duration and timbre... forget speed... just groove!

... When I get home I will try to remember more stuff . Hope This get's you started :-)

P!etro

[nylarch]

Miles Davis autobiography. Beautiful and twisted man.

[zeitgeist]

Just out of interest, does anyone know of any good books regarding music theory that relate well to electronic music production and that would suit a complete beginner?

Unlocking the Groove by Mark Butler uses music theory to analyze electronic music (mostly techno), focusing on theories of rhythm. You probably don't need much music theory background to understand it, but it'll help if you can read music.

I also second the recommendation of Simon Reynolds' Energy Flash (that's the British title--in the US you can get it under the name Generation Ecstasy).

Finally, Dan Sicko's Techno Rebels is the best book I've found on the history and development of Detroit techno.