Entertainment Books

product was great and shipping was fast. tabs and chords are real easy to follow

I've read this book a handful of times, always interested, intrigued and educated. The author managed to squeeze tons of information, tidbits and facts into a book that appeals to both avid drummers and casual music lovers. Hopefully we'll see more books covering other drummers and styles in the future. A great writer and an excellent book!! It's no surprise that this book won the 2008 Readers Polls for the #1 Educational Book in both Modern Drummer and DRUM! magazines.

I was dissappointed in this product because I felt lead to believe that the transcriptions would be more than little "snippets" of songs. I wanted more transcription.

Great book. Good for teachers and students. Gives good insight into genres of music, and those who made the style theirs. Although there are some drummers who aren't in the book, e.g Jeff Porcaro, the reality is we all have personal tastes and its impossible to put everyone in! Will be a great reference book for all and won't date. Great value for money.

The author covers every popular style from Classic rock to reggae. I also like the fact that he takes a particular drummer and selects a beginner song, an intermediate song and then an advanced song. He also breaks down each rythim specifically which is very helpful.

I am a beginning, self-taught drummer who just does it for fun in my spare time. This is the only drumming book I've ever bought, though I've bought many guitar tab books in the past.

This book focuses on some of the most famous drummers of various genres, and beautifully deconstructs their styles, and even has drum kit layouts. Those blew me away! I don't know if such a thing is a standard for all drum instruction books, but if not, it should be.

Where a typical drum instruction book might be, "Here are some exercises. Do them. Now, do these slightly harder exercises." etc., this book is like, "Here is a famous drummer(Photos, bio, technical drum info). Here are three songs by them. Learn these songs by reading this sheet music and listening along to the CD."

As I read through the book, I realized that my view of drumming was a very narrow perspective: I was initially only interested in the guys I'd heard of: Neil Peart, Buddy Rich, etc. But as I read through the book, the author pulled me into the fascinating stories behind many other awesome drummers, which I would've never given proper homage to, and probably would've missed out on everything they have to offer. For instance, Carter Beauford, of the Dave Matthews band. I was never a DMB fan, but after reading about him in the "Progressive Rock" section, (Or was it the "Jam band" section?) I was intrigued, and found some videos that made me realize there was ONE reason to listen to DMB! The drummer!

I feel that with this book, I've got a very broad perspective on drumming, many choices of new techniques to learn, and it will be a long time before I outgrow this book.

However, if I did, I would like to see more from this author talking about more drummers, and more songs from the drummers presented within.

The CD which comes with this book has tracks which are the drum techniques highlighted from each artist, which you can set on repeat as you practice each of them.

I have all RenderMan books on the market.
This one is impressed me!
The authors explain step by step and that make readers understand RenderMan more.

Same as other reviews, lacking of CD is the shame.
However, overall still be very good to me.
And if you consider the price is very worth for money.
That's why I think this book should be given 5 stars.
Hopefully, There will be more good RenderMan books available soon.

Tee

The RenderMan Shading Language Guide is an excellent resource. It contains numerous examples of shader code, to help get you started with writing your own shaders. I was happy to see the robust section on illumination models, with some sl code provided for most of them. I found the section that had common functions (like gamma() and remap()) very helpful, and appreciated the disscussion on more sophisticated components of the shading language (like subsurface scattering and global illumination). In addition, for the user who is new to the process of writing and compiling shaders, a number of pages are devoted to explaining how to achieve these goals. All in all, I would highly recommend this book to any user who wants to learn how to write his/her own RenderMan shaders.

I caught wind that this book was coming out well before it actually came out and could hardly contain my excitement. I had it ordered before it was even off the press.

Let's face it, trying to learn Renderman online is like trying to ride a bike with a flat tire. You can go, but not very fast or very far. I own several other renderman books but found them to be a bit out of date and lacking in areas. Since leaving school and entering into the industry I had actually been considering writing a Renderman book myself. I am glad to say that now I don't have to!

I have been enjoying my copy of the book since december of last year. I admit that I was thrown off by all the refrences to the accompanying cd, as well as a few typos throughout. I was overjoyed however to find the website today! This is the book that I have needed for a long time. It is well worth what you pay for it.

I have read many technical manuals relating to the 3D Animation and Visual Effects industries, and I can honestly say that this is easily one of the best available.

Given the limited library of Renderman books, I'd call this an absolute must have for any Lighting/Rendering/Shader TD, or any artist or technical director involved in the look development and shot finaling pipelines.

Even if you haven't yet worked within a Renderman pipeline, this is the perfect publication to introduce you to, and bring you up to speed in, the Renderman Shading Language (RSL).

I've found that the majority of technical manuals suffer from a number of common flaws:

1. The information is presented chaotically, and with minimal use of examples or descriptions, resulting in a publication that would readable only by those that already know everything it has to teach.

2. The information is presented so laboriously that what should take a paragraph instead takes up three chapters.

The Renderman Shading Language Guide is perfectly paced for beginners and intermediate users alike, and indeed when I showed the book to a couple of highly experienced Renderman TDs, they were surprised by the sheer volume of information and ordered copies for themselves.

Everything is presented in short blocks with an easily readable description, examples, shortcuts and conclusions. There is no unecessarily complicated geek speek, and neither is the reader treated like a 4 year old.

Even though I barely remember my high school math, and in the most flattering estimation I'd be considered a competent beginner when it comes to the math involved in RSL, I found the examples relatively easy to follow for the most part. And in those parts where the math went well over my head, I found the simple descriptions and concise, well explained instructions to be all I needed to quickly understand the topic.

From cover to cover this book is crammed full of useful information. There is no wastage of space in these pages. It seems that every conceivable question is answered - every possible topic covered from introduction to an advanced level of understanding and a practical and immmediately useful conclusion.

And at the price? This book is a steal.

One very minor complaint I would make is in regards to the occasional typographical error. An equation or two is printed with "?" in place of "*" or another symbol, and there are a few spelling and grammatical errors. But as I said, it is a minor complaint.

Also, I would have liked to have seen more complete shader examples demonstrated in a step-by-step process, as while this book is overflowing with informative mini-tutorials, it all seems a little incongruous. It would have been good to see a few more examples where the information was brought together in real-world ways to create some amazing completed shaders. Perhaps in a sequel? ;)

All in all, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, from an industry Lead Lighting TD.

9.5/10

I'm quite pleased with the depth of this book. So many of the CGI titles I've bought that claim to be intermediate or advanced aren't. While the RenderMan Shading Language Guide assumes that you have no starting knowledge of RSL, it immediately dives into technical details without overwhelming the novice. For someone wishing to learn RSL (or even just shader theory), this book is wonderfully paced, containing a great depth of information, very well explained.

At the same time, this isn't a book for dabblers. To get much out of the RenderMan Shading Language Guide, you need to be willing to put some effort and practice into it. This is a textbook and needs to be treated as a subject of study, rather than a casual enhancement for playing with CGI. If RenderMan intrigues you, but you don't want to get too deep into the technical (and programing/scripting) aspects, you'd be better off getting Pixar's RenderMan for Maya and a Digital Tutors or similar training DVD. You'll learn more of the simple, day-to-day things and get started making renderings faster.

As another poster mentioned, the text mentions an included disk which isn't. The website doesn't have downloads either. That omission would knock the book down to 4.5 stars, but since I can't rate with half-stars, 5 stars more accurately reflects the value of the book than 4.

These are great stories. We listen to them when we travel in the car all the time. They are very profesionally done. It is the best radio theater we have heard in a long time anywhere. All the stories are family friendly and very encouraging in Christian values. Very highly recommended!!!

I'm so glad to see that AIO team can still keep me in anticipation. This album is in fact one of my favorite one. I look forward to see how the family is growing.

These cds have the best story lines. There is plenty of excitement and laughter. We have really enjoyed to story line about Eugene in this particular set. They really develope his character!

This is an excellent book with lots of interviews with Les Paul and others who were part of the development of the Les Paul guitar through the early years. The photography is excellent with photos of significant Les Paul guitars. It is a beautiful book with lots of inside scoop for the Les Paul aficionado.

I really wish it were possible to review products at Amazon without assigning a rating, because pinning a number of stars on The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy: 1915-1963 is no easy task.

It must be said right off the bat that the book is a veritable treasure trove for fans of Les Paul and the famous solidbody guitar that bears his name. The images alone are worth the price of admission, and the author brings a unique perspective to the book that's deeply appreciated. The book is extremely well-written; there's no denying it.

Unfortunately, though, it's extremely poorly edited. I searched for an editor to blame -- it's hard to fault Robb Lawrence, because even the best of writers need an editor -- but I could find no such credit. As a result, newer fans will often find themselves lost in the course of reading the text. Sometimes lesser-known information is presented matter-of-factly on one page, only to be explained sufficiently four pages (or two chapters) later, as if it were being introduced for the first time. It's as if Lawrence wrote the book in chronological order, then someone else cut-and-pasted paragraphs into chapters by subject, without ever going back to tidy up the text.

Honestly, though, that's the only blemish on an otherwise brilliant and one-of-a-kind book. None of the other texts on Les or the Les Paul model guitar come close. The layouts are unparalleled, the images are simply breathtaking, and the personal anecdotes are priceless.

Seriously, though, Robb? If you're reading this, please find an editor before releasing the second volume! The quality of work you're putting into this project deserves that last 5% of polish.

Anything written on the grand master of the guitar is worth reading. This book has plenty of pictures and interesting history on Les. I'd recommend it if your a fan of Les Paul or of the guitar that bears his name.

A long awaited insightful look into the legend and his famous axe. I have several books on vintage guitars, as well as ones specifically on the Les Paul. This one is my favorite. I think this is a great book full of tons of facts and an enourmous amount of eye candy. This is the type of book I keep around close and look at again and again.
A great job done, and I cannot wait for part two!!

This is the definitive must have book for any Les Paul fan. Thoughtfully written and well researched, this book has it all. Information about the man, the history and the guitars. Tons of photos, facts, trivia and details. Do not pass this one by! Great job Robb!!!

robot # 4 is a unique book , filled with mini stories from japan's top artist
the art in unbelibleby good, thought some can be quite abstract , the stories dont make much sense but are a fun read
recomended for aspiring artists and lovers of japanize anime culture

"I can't imagine how much more fun learning the guitar could be... 'Complete Guitar By Ear' is like having the best and most patient teacher ever--you'll learn the guitar and ear training at your own pace."
Barry Rudolph, Music Connection Magazine

"Where was this product years ago when I had no comprehension of intervals, pitch or a true practice regimen? Once again the savvy folks at MJS have produced a wonderful product designed pure and simply to help guitarists become better players."
Chris Armold, Writer/Photographer, Guitar Digest

The advert is better than the product. Having bought two guitar tutorials on the same day along with a number of other pieces of material, in comparison, this was not one of the better purchases.

I recently finished a ten lesson special at the local extension school, Beginning Guitar. I have other books and a nice DVD but Complete Guitar By Ear fills a nice gap for me. Ripped to my MP3 player I can go through the exercises pretty much anywhere I happen to be at the time. Also, since I have a poor ear I do thing the repetitive listening help more than reading from a book.

The title of this course is very misleading. It is far from "complete". The author simply plays each interval, one kind at a time, in different places on the guitar and you find them. It does not have anything about relating a note to a key center/note, or anything about chords (type & function). I recommend Ear Training from Hal Leonard for a more complete course.

These 2 cds are very simple. He plays various interval starting at the minor second. In the second cd he plays the same intervals only faster. The tracks never contain more than one interval so you cannot test yourself. For chords he says "just combine a major with a minor 3rd and thats all you need to know". Clearly, there are many fingerings etc that you need to know. In short, no beginner could ever use these CDs to learn to play guitar. No intermediate player could use these CDs to learn ear training because they likely already know the names of the intervals and these teach nothing else.
Ear Training for the contemporary musician by Keith Wyatt et al is a book an intermediate player can use for ear training that really works but represents weeks or more of hard work.