Experience Music w/ 2 Audio CDs and CD-ROM Review

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(More customer reviews)If you teach music appreciation courses, or are simply a curious, music hungry student, either way you'll benefit from the excellent coverage and pedagogical approach of this text. The chapters are about 10 pages long and extremely well-written, with lively descriptions and eye-catching illustrations that bring to life the concepts under consideration. The recorded music that comes with the text is marvelous--Naxos recordings--that also serve to highlight period style in grand style. Whether for study or pleasure, this text, with its 2 CD's, is hard to top.

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Experience Music! provides an innovative approach to the fundamental challenge of the music appreciation course: the development of real listening skills in each student. With its unique three-part chapter structure in which one piece of music is experienced three times over the course of the chapter, this new text offers a fresh, exciting, and more effective way to help students appreciate and understand great music of all kinds.. .
.Experience Music! incorporates additional features providing other frameworks for listening. In Hearing the Difference students are challenged to compare two contrasting works and understand their similarities and differences. The Live Experience exposes students to the role of performers in shaping the music we hear...
.A program of well-crafted supplementary material serves the needs of students as well as instructors using the text. Each new text is packaged with a set of two audio CDs featuring key works addressed in the text and an interactive CD-ROM; additional musical selections are also available for optional purchase. Within the text itself and in the audio CD and CD-ROM components, Experience Music! provides the tools that help students listen more actively and appreciatively..

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America's Musical Landscape Review

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(More customer reviews)This was a great deal on a new book that came with the cds. It came packaged great and came fast. Highly recommend.

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America's Musical Landscape addresses the broad range of music in the United States from early periods to today.This comprehensive yet accessible text offers an elegant and readable introduction to the fundamentals of music, assuming no prior music experience for the student. Frequent connections to other arts, particularly the visual arts, add to the book's appeal and enhance understanding of core musical concepts. The sixth edition emphasizes vernacular over classical music and recent examples over early music, while offering generous coverage of the complete American musical landscape.

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Adventures in Singing: A Process for Exploring, Discovering, and Developing Vocal Potential Review

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(More customer reviews)The book had a lot of information on the importance of voice. It taught an individual how to develop and how to effectively use one's voice to it's fullest potential. It made the ability to develop one's talent much easier that what was atually thought by many people, especailly me.

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ADVENTURES IN SINGING combines a thorough introduction to the singing process with an anthology of 60 songs that are perfect for the beginning singer. The text offers a clear introduction to the basics of how the voice works along with medical voice-building techniques. Within each chapter, exercises help students explore their vocal potential and develop performance skills. Self-assessment questions at the end of each chapter help the students relate the content to their own experiences. Throughout, the text takes a holistic approach, reflecting the view that the study of singing helps students develop greater self-awareness of body and mind. The author views learning to sing as one of the best self-improvement courses one can undertake. The anthology in the second half of ADVENTURES IN SINGING consists of 60 songs - many in both high and low keys - representing art songs, arias, folk songs, hymns, musical theatre hits, and group songs. The anthology represents songs of different nationalities, historical periods, subject matters, moods, and styles. A bargain pre-pack of ADVENTURES IN SINGING with 2 cassettes of piano accompaniments is available.The cassettes include all of the songs in the anthology, so that students can rehearse outside of class.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Music: An Appreciation Brief Edition with 5-CD Set Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this for my music appreciation class, so I was required to make the purchase....but I have to say that I am enjoying the class and this book. The book covers music, starting with the basics of music, then on into Middle Ages Music, Renaissance music etc. The CDs that come with this book offers a very nice collection of music.

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Whether from a concert stage or in front of a classroom, Roger Kamien knows how to connect with an audience. It is his unique combination of a performer's musical sensibility and a teacher's understanding of what works with students that has made that has made the Brief Edition of Music: An Appreciation the most widely-used text of its kind. The book's impeccable scholarship, clear presentation of musical elements and history, carefully chosen repertoire of musical selections, and insightful listening guides have been its hallmarks from the first edition.The revision adds a new text feature designed to help students connect their classroom experience to a wider listening world, and an exciting new online component.

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The World of Music Review

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(More customer reviews)The previous editions were actually better. They contained a better variety of music, listening and topics. The new edition has blatant errors... ie page 60, the performer is misidentified as Huddie Ledbetter, it is Taj Mahal. Pat Metheny is misidentified as "Bob Metheny" p. 133. There are more errors and shortcomings but the worst part is the brevity. Can you imagine the only listening examples of American popular music include Ethel Merman, Bob Wills, Ricky Skaggs, Gretchen Wilson, Little Richard, the Allman Bros, and Toni Braxton?
World music topics are arbitrary and spotty. There is no mention of Arabic music, Flamenco, and other important and influential traditions.
Only a passing reference is given to Latin Jazz, Jobim's music has been eliminated from the current edition of CDs even though his Girl from Ipanema is one of the greatest selling jazz records of all time. The French Gypsy Jazz of Django Reinhardt and Stephan Grappelli is not even mentioned.
Overall, a great concept but needs augmentation.

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The World of Music is a music appreciation book designed for instructors who want to focus on listening to music as it exists in the real world of their students. Expanding the traditional repertoire used for music study, this popular text begins with American folk, religious, jazz, popular, and ethnic music before introducing some world music and concluding with a thorough overview of Western classical music. The approach captures the essence of each repertoire, and equips students to recognize different styles, appreciate their different functions, and possess a solid foundation for a lifetime of musical appreciation.

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Music: An Appreciation Review

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(More customer reviews)I have used this text and earlier editions teaching music appreciation at community college and have found it to be the best yet so far. The most useful part of the text for the [before class] non-active listener are the listening outlines, with very detailed descriptions of what to listen for in various pieces of music. Kamien includes very early musical selections up to the very recent. Also included are some non-western music examples. This text could be very beneficial to musician and non-musician alike. There is great detail in his explanations of how various musical forms are put together. There is just enough history included in the text to avoid the boredom of the purely historical perspective of music appreciation.

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Through eight editions, Roger Kamien's Music: An Appreciation has become the most widely used text for Music Appreciation and Introduction to Music Literature courses. The author has approached his new ninth edition with the goal of re-examining the scholarship and refreshing the repertoire while maintaining the strengths that have made the book number one--the clear presentation of musical elements, the vivid depiction of music history, the carefully chosen musical examples, the detailed and informative Listening Outlines, and the unsurpassed supplements package.

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Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm currently a PhD student in music education (and, also, a Band director). I've been required to read several books on the Foundations of Music Education for my course requirements. Compared to the others I've studied so far by Mark, Abeles, Reimer, and Swanwick, Music Matters is by far the most intelligent and comprehensive. It's more challenging to read than any of the others, but it's worth the effort.

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There is a mystery about music. On one hand, music making and music listening have occupied a prominent place in every culture since the dawn of recorded history and people everywhere continue to engage in a variety of musical experiences as part of their daily lives. Yet questions about the nature and value of music and its importance as a subject of education remain perplexing to many thinkers and are still hotly debated, even today. As a result, while music has been part of the school curriculum since antiquity, its profound contribution to general education has never been harnessed--until now.What is music? Does music deserve a place in general education? If so, why? Music Matters builds new answers to these basic questions through a wide-ranging examination of music as a diverse human practice. The result is a ground-breaking philosophy of music education that provides critically reasoned perspectives on the nature and significance of performing, listening, musicianship, multiculturalism, creativity, consciousness, curriculum development, and more. Indeed, Music Matters is exceptional for the attention it pays to many aspects of music and education that previous music education doctrine either misses or ignores altogether. Following an incisive critique of past thinking, this important text develops a multidimensional concept of music that explains why music making and listening are unique forms of thinking and unique sources of the most important kinds of knowing that human beings can gain. In a richly detailed narrative that examines a wealth of recent philosophical and psychological research, the author constructs a compelling philosophical foundation that allows teachers to affirm to themselves and others that music deserves a central place in the education of all people. Among the many working ideas of this new philosophy is a distinctive concept of "curriculum-as-practicum" that explains how music educators can fulfill their educational mandate.Invaluable as a core text for courses on foundations of music education or philosophy of music education at both the undergraduate and graduate level, Music Matters provides educators with critically reasoned perspectives on the "why, what, and how" of music teaching and learning, arguing convincingly that music is one of the most vital, dynamic, and practical pursuits in the human repertoire and, therefore, fundamental to the full development of the individual and collective self.

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Jazz Review

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(More customer reviews)Who would have the "chops" to write the definitive textbook on Jazz? How about a musician/composer/arranger who played with just about every Jazz great, with some notables being Glenn Miller and Tex Beneke? How about a man who has arranged, composed, and performed with everyone from A (Arturo Toscanini) to Z (Zubin Mehta)? Want more chops? How about the guy who invented (and played) a musical instrument (the electro-theremin or "Tannerin") that creates those wonderful weird glides you hear on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" or the them song to My Favorite Martian? Experience not enough? How about academics: an author with both Masters and Doctorate degrees who became a Distinguished Professor at UCLA teaching about Jazz for over 20 years? The person with that experience, who definitely has the chops, is Paul Tanner, the lead author of this book.
I had the good fortune to be one of Dr. Tanner's students eons ago at UCLA. Beyond his ability to entertain was his ability to teach the principles, theory, and practice of Jazz, especially to non-musically inclined students. In his 90's today, according to IMDB, he still lectures writes.
Yes, Dr. Tanner and colleagues have the chops, and you can count on this book being the most definitive of its kind. The book is a textbook, to be sure -- meant to be used in conjunction with study, and priced as textbooks are priced, which ain't cheap. But because the online media lets you hear the topics not just read about them, I would recommend it for anyone with disposable income who is interested in the history of Jazz, understanding the different flavors of Jazz, and appreciating the musical tricks of the trade.
NOTE: While not necessary, I would recommend that you have a little knowledge of music to best enjoy the book. You don't need to be a music major, and you do NOT have to play an instrument or know how to read musical notation, but you will get a bit more out of the book if you are familiar with terms like 4/4, 2/4 and chord progressions.

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The eleventh edition of this trusted text takes students on an extraordinary musical journey through the changing styles and the fascinating history of jazz. With a strong emphasis on listening and an outstanding photo program, Jazz offers an insider's view of the most important music, artists, clubs, and precursors in jazz history. Personal accounts by major players ("Witness to Jazz") take students inside sessions, giving them a firsthand view of the lively context surrounding the growth of this uniquely American art form.

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Music: An Appreciation, 6th Brief Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)I've seen the unabridged version of this book and it's as big as an encyclopedia. The Brief Edition does well to summarize the important points in music history; though the meat of the book is centered in the classical (Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic, Classical, Opera) and merely touches on the more modern componets like jazz and rock. Still, the book and accompanying CD are excellent for those wanting to get a light but informative immersion in the classic music world and learn a little bit about its most famous composers.

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Whether from a concert stage or at the front of a classroom, Roger Kamien knows how to reach an audience--blending intelligence and passion to lift music from the page and bring it to life. His unique combination of artistic and teaching skills makes Music: An Appreciation, Brief Edition an invaluable tool for students wanting to learn more about music.
This best-selling textbook introduces students to perceptive listening and provides an engaging introduction to musical elements, forms, and stylistic periods. It is organized chronologically, but individual sections can be addressed in any order, for a variety of teaching approaches. Musical notation is included but is not required to understand the popular listening guides featured in the text, which focus students' attention on musical events as they unfold.
The Online Learning Center for this text provides open access for all students to many activities and video instrument demonstrations in addition to quiz and study materials for each chapter..

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