Music Book Books

I am currently reading Stephen King's memoir "On Writing". In it he describes "The Long Walk" as probably the best of his early books. He is absolutely correct.

This book gives just another example of what he is able to do with character development. He doesn't use them as simple plot tools, but creates actual people that we develop a relationship with while reading their story.

In this book the main characters are a group of young men who have entered a contest that sounds ridiculously heinous to us, but has become the norm to them. (the story is unofficially set in a future and place not too far from where we now live)

When I first heard the premise of this book I was immediately interested. The author did not fail to exceed the expectations of this "constant reader". Whether you are a Stephen King fan or not I would recommend this book to you. It's brief, to the point, and extremely good.

Blood and Rain
Blood for the Masses

The Long Walk
By
Stephen King

Reviewed By
B.L.Morgan

5 Stars

The Long Walk was a novel that I read as a part of a collection of four ealier books written by Stephen King and released as The Bachman Books. I hadn't read a Stephen King book for some years and actually forgot how good he really is.

This is the story of the ultimate marathon and what happens to the contestants on that marathon.

The rules are simple: You keep walking until you cannot go on. When you stop soldiers shoot you. The winner gets whatever his heart desires.

Sounds simple right? Well, in the hands of an author of the calibre of Stephen King he makes it into an epic of human endurance and shows just how far a man will go to to survive.

I highly reccomnd this book. It is STRONG! If you don't like gross scenes you should stay at least ten miles away from it. But King uses the greusomeness of some of the death scenes to illustrate just how high the stakes are in this contest to the death.

I absolutely loved this book. It was almost hynotic in its ability to keep me abosorbed in the characters struggle to survive. If you want to read a novel that is guaranteed to keep you glued to the pages this is the one to grab.

Long live The King!!!

This book is about a contest in an alternate world where young boys start walking once a year, and basically whomever is left standing at the end is the winner. This details one specific contestant as he is about to begin his trek along with the other boys. It is a great read, a very easy book to pick up and finish, and the whole concept of the thing will stick in your brain. If you like Mr. King's books than I would highly recommend this one.

I think King's greatest gift as a writer is that he often comes across as a good buddy telling you a wild story. The Long Walk is a perfect example of this. He excels at the detail level of character carmaraderie which pulls you into the story regardless of where it is headed. Here, it seems pretty clear, but we still don't want to stop listening.

Having grown up without the allowance of Stephen King within my household, I have only recently discovered the sheer genius of his writing. This one, written as an alter ego by the name of Richard Bachman (in the edition I read, there is an intro by King explaining this), strikes me as brilliant.
First, the way that King creates his character profiles ever so slowly, with foreshadowing of what is to come of each of them based on their personality but never revealing everything at once, is the perfect way to intrigue a reader and draw him or her into the story from the beginning.
King himself admits to having a dark side that he often represses when writing because in real life, so many things do have happy endings, and he wants his work to reflect real life. In reading this novel, which goes on and on at such a pace that you can't stand the thought of putting it down, you can see that happy ending from the very beginning.
The Long Walk can have only one winner, and since the story is told through the eyes of Ray, a single individual, you know who is going to win from the first, despite a couple of really good scares when you think you are wrong.
But remember, this isn't a King novel, it's a Bachman novel, and Bachman throws in a strange and incomprehensible surprise at the end. Well written as a King novel with the twist of a more morbid alter ego, The Long Walk is gripping and delightfully fear inspiring, and by far my favorite King read yet.

Overwritten by at least a third. No gig, no woman, no bar, no tall tale goes untold in this music bio. I found myself skimming many pages because the detail is so extraneous. You'll get the outline of Willie's life here, and the book is good on the lesser-known early years before "Stardust" made Willie big business. But it's just more than you'll want to know unless you are an absolute fanatic. The author did a much better, far more concise job on the Stevie Ray Vaughan story. Read this if you want to know about Willie's years as a drifter, dj, song plugger and big time booze, pill and women hound. Or you could just stare at Willie's weathered face because the same stories are all written right there.

Joe Nick Patoski has exhaustively researched the Man, and the book reflects his efforts. It's an entertaining read. Well worth the money.

I can understand that the reason for this book's existence may coincide with the fact that Willie Nelson recently turned 75. Unfortunately, with the glut of other Willie books currently on the market, the best part of this one is the picture on the cover. The cast of characters are all familiar to the hard-core fan by now, and the story has been told in half a dozen other books before - including Willie's own autobiography and Graeme Thomson's "Willie Nelson: The Outlaw" that only just came out in 2006. Even the picture section is pretty thin, with many already-familiar images, none of them in color. For someone who does not currently own a book on Mr. Nelson it would definitely be a good buy, as it certainly is comprehensive and a good effort; I personally checked this out of the public library to preview it before making the decision whether or not to part with $30.00, but I have to say that with five other Willie Nelson books already in my collection, I will skip this one.

Joe Patoski's book on Willie Nelson is full of information not only on willie, but many other interesting places and people.

I had the good fortune to not only live in Austin during the 70's "Willie" years but to have also been to his 3 day 1976 Gonzales picnic and to his 1980's picnic at his Pedernales place. I've also seen him play golf which is a site to behold. I'd always heard about his womanizing, drug use, and epic struggle to be a star but didn't know if all of it or even part of it, was true. This book puts all of those myths and rumors to rest. Yes indeed his first wife did beat him with a broom stick while he was passed out drunk! This book shows all of Shotgun Willie sitting around in his underwear. He's a mean drunk and a loyal friend. He's a drug abuser and a philanthropist. He's a "not there" father but a raiser of funds for churches, farmers, and friends with unpaid tax bills.

At times this book can be tedious with detail particularly about Willie's early music life. And, as another reader said,overloaded with compound sentences. But strap yourself in, get your beverage of choice, and enjoy reading about this true Red Headed Stranger.

We first saw this book in a kindermusik class this previous winter, and my two-year-old son seemed to enjoy when it was read aloud. We decided to order the book to help our son get into the habit of bedtime stories. Now this is his number one favorite book to have read at bedtime. Our son loves being able to interact with the lyrics as we sing. The book is very durable and has held up well to a lot of abuse. I couldn't recommend this book more.

My grandchild has known the "wheels on the bus" song since she was a baby. Now 2 1/2 I bought her this book because of that and because I know Paul Zelinsky's work. She absolutely loves it. It is clever and interactive, colorful and wonderful and fun.

This is a most beautifully illustrated book. It turns a song that can become boring for adults after singing it 100 times into a beuatiful story about a dog chasing a bus, a lost kitten, crying babies, soothing mothers, and wheels that literally turn round and round. There are hidden stories within the story. A wonderful investment for a child's library.

OUr 2.5 son received this for Christmas, we have read it several times each day since. He loves the moving parts!!

My 22 month old, loves this book. He actually is obsessed with it, demanding "BUS" several times a day. He laughs hysterically at the interactive driver saying 'move on back, move on back" and finds it exciting to spin the wheels on the bus.

This is wonderful resource to deal with bullying. I use it both in my classroom and with my own children.

This is a powerful book. I'm an elementary school music teacher and we're using this song as our school song this year in an effort to raise our students' awareness that ALL people are special. EVERY child in the world should hear this read or sung over and over until the whole world gets it!

I say individuality and not bullying, or self-esteem, because kids that face adversity become interesting, dynamic adults. This book is conceptually excellent, beautifully written and illustrated. My only negative (because I am an illustrator) is that Glin Dibley's style is a blatant 'borrowing' of Joe Sorren. Look it up. But to Glin's credit, he does do a wonderful job, and the style fits the subject perfectly.

I was introduced to this book (and song) by a music teacher at a school where I was substituting. It is an appeal for children (good for adults, too) to not make fun of those who are different from them. I was so impressed with it that I went home and ordered it immediately. It is a wonderful tool to bring up discussions about how it makes you feel when someone makes fun of you. The book comes with a CD which has the song with vocals and instrumentals only. This is perfect for teaching the song, and then for performing if that is desired. I think the content of the book is fabulous!! The pictures are excellent, too.

This is a great book that you can use to discuss the power of differences with kids. It seems to ellicit good responses, even when used with my fourth graders!

Highly recommend.

This book does not come with the CD's that most college students will need. I returned the book because it did not have the disks with it and was able to find a book locally thru my college book store that came with the 3CD student disk set for less money than I paid for it with out the disks thru Amazon.com

This is a very enjoyable and most importantly, readable book. Who would have thought Dylan could write so well, be such a good story teller in straight forward language? After spending years listening to his lyrics I have to admit that I was surprised by how well this is written. Surely songwriting and penning an autobiography are very different arts, but Dylan does it. Apparently sans the ghost writer.

This book is full of the early years in NY, sleeping in other peoples places, working his way into the in-crowd, meeting his hero, Woody Guthrie. Be sure to pick up this gem as well! Bound for Glory (Penguin Modern Classics) Great stuff. He does get a little off-track with the making of a particular LP, "Oh Mercy" but works his way back round to the before time.

Was he really asked to join Peter, Paul and Mary?
We got a look at girlfriend Suzy that appeared on an album cover, very interesting.
And between the lines you can sense the pressure of being the spokesman for a generation.

If you're not very familiar with Bob Dylan and want to learn more about the man this is really not the book for you. I suggest you read Clinton Heylin's tome, "Behind The Shades, Take 2" which compiles just about every known fact about Dylan from the people who have known him - an excellent book in every way. Chronicles is a different animal. I think you are more likely to appreciate it if you are a fan of Dylan's work. I'm in the process of going through it for the second time and have realized that I am enjoying it more after I have cast aside all notions of what I want the book to be. WHAT THIS BOOK IS NOT: 1. It's not a tell all biography. You won't find out much information that's not out there already. There are no intimate revelations of Bob's love affairs or anything sensational. 2. It doesn't cover Bob's whole career, just 3 brief periods. 3. It's not necessarily all true. Dylan often paints himself in the best light, as a normal guy. I have my doubts. 40 years of unabated idolatry will screw anyone up to some extent. You'll read about the pressure he's under, but don't expect specific revelations about a dysfunctional Dylan. WHAT THE BOOK IS: A fascinating discourse on specific times in Bob's life. I don't know why it was such a surprise to me but Bob is a great writer. Whatever percentage is BS I don't care; I enjoy it anyway. He has an amazing attention to detail and I was able to lose myself in descriptions of places and situations. Plus he does reveal his thoughts on songwriting and many things. When I stopped hoping for him to discuss something specific I was able to sit back and enjoy whatever he gave me. Again I shouldn't be surprised; it's always been that way with his music also. I hope he does continue this series and give us another book or two, whatever he chooses to write about. I will surely go along for the ride.

Bob Dylan takes his prodigious talents for language and turns out one of the most remarkably honest rambles of raggle-taggle prose since Jack Kerouac. From the first few pages, describing an ambitious but reserved young man whose future role had not yet been defined, I was willing led down memory alley. The artistic subworlds of New York, with its hanger-onners and would-bes. invoke countless anecdotes about the creative lives of others. Remarkably sketched, and poignantly personal, I never felt the usual strain that often comes with more self-important memoirs. Dylan's voice remains remarkably rough and earnest, glissing between gorgeous metaphors and cowboy expletives . . . but always uniquely his own. His own assessment of his artistry, usually inferred than described in achingly obvious detail, lure the reader into a smoky area in between the lines. Simply one of the best autobiographies I've ever read . . . by no means intended only Dylan mavens, this work will readily appeal to anyone who knows that the music industry involves a lot more than what 'American Idol' has led us to believe. Here's a real damn American Idol, from what I think at least. This book packed more punches than five years worth of New Yorker short stories.

Skipping all over the place, definitely not a chronological account of Dylan's rise, but more of a stream of consciousness series of the highlights, lowlights, or significant moments in the life of a true artist. Chronicles volume 1 is accessible and an interesting read to anyone who loves to read, the flow of words very easy. They just pull you along. I for one wasn't sure how good a writer Dylan is, but he's pretty good. I recommend this book to all Dylan fans, and anyone who likes to read a good autobiography.

Count me as one of the skeptics who felt positive that they wouldn't like this memoir. And, please, now feel free to point out how snotty and wrong I was for feeling like that.

To say Bob Dylan has written something great is not an unusual thing to do in most situations, but to say he wrote a great book, about himself no less, does seem surprising. It is surprising because of both the candidness Dylan shows in this book and the right level of self-examination that doesn't cross the line into plain ol' weirdness or didactic ramblings. What comes through is that Robert Zimmerman seems to know exactly who Bob Dylan is, and he appears to have a more measured respect for the complications of his inseparable doppelganger than any of his cultish fanbase could ever hope to have.

There are two other things that really delighted me about this book. The first is how Dylan is a very accomplished writer...not just of lyrics, but of prose. From reading his vivid descriptions of something as simple as the snow falling, I realize that in another time, had his life pointed him in another direction, this guy would have been a top-notch novelist, right up there with the best. The other thing that I loved, and perhaps the thing I would most expect from him, is the non-linear approach he took to telling his story. Chapters jump around in time, and large portions, decades even, are left out of the story. With a lesser writer this would have been a real distracting way to go about business, but in Dylan's capable hands it becomes stylistic, mirroring the way the mind works, in which connections aren't always made from one moment to the next, but, rather, from one moment in time to another moment years earlier...or later.

Even if you are, like me, not a major Dylan fan, I still suspect you would be hard pressed not to admire the writing here, or the manner in which the story is told like scattered scenes from a disorganized scrapbook that suddenly come to life so as to show the fleeting facets of one unknowable person. Very recommended.

I'm surprised by the large number of positive reviews for this book, as I consider it one of Janet Evanovich's most disappointing works thus far. The characters had no chemistry, the plot was ridiculous, and I actually felt disgusted reading about their "romance", as the leading man was a compulsive liar and creepy stalker in a completely uncharming way! Stick with Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series!

Laugh out loud FUNNY!
I found myself laughing out loud so much while reading this book. Good thing I was not out in public!
I loved it!
I love Janet's style of writing. Even this is pre-Plum you can feel her writing style in the characters.
It was a fast, funny and easy read.
Just the kind of book you need for a quick pick me upper.
It features just the types of characters you have come to expect and hopefully love from Janet.
The dog, Bob, is so much like the dog named Bob in the Plum series.
Great book for vacation or the beach.

This book is alot of fun to read. It goes fast and it's funny. Altho a bit of fantasy goes on in this book. Steve walks in to the pound to get a dog and 10 min he's outta there. Nowadays, MOST shelters want 25 pages of documents to prove you can take care of this dog (this is a GOOD thing); then in a car dealership and walks out in less then 30 min (or so) with a new SUV.. it CAN happen, but the odds are unlikely; Drives down to a realtors and within 30 min or an hour, has talked to the realtor, picked out and bought a house, arranged for a move that will have your house set up the next day in this house you just purchased, maybe without seeing, inspecting, etcc. Now really, they don't even turn the water or gas on for a few days. LOL

Over all, Yes I would buy this book again and I loved reading it. The sawed off shotgun toting granny reminds me of me; Bob, the dog, is just too cute and wonderful; and the sex in this book wasn't as explicit as people say.
You want good ole smutty sex? Read Skye O'Malley by Bertrice Small. You get the good stuff. hehehe

I love Janet Evanovich's writing style and her keen ability to create humorous characters and engaging dialogue. Clearly, "The Rocky Road to Romance" was pre-Stephanie Plum period and the characters and dialogue are not nearly as developed. However, for a quick, mindless read for pure escapism, it definitely delivers.

Daisy Adams is a very busy lady, but she thinks it may be her lousy time management. When she gets up in the morning she delivers papers, then is a crossing guard to protect children on their way to school. She has a temporary job at WZZZ Radio Station doing traffic reports, after which she waitresses at Rogers Steakhouse part-time, and then she moonlights as a taxi cab driver! In her spare time, she wrote a doggie cookbook called Bones for Bowser and has been asked to write another. On top of all her other commitments, she is working on her doctorate in geriatric psychology, and has an internship at a nursing home. Her little brother Kevin is also staying with her while their parents are out of town.

Steve Crow is the owner of WZZZ, and although he hired Daisy to do Bowser spots on Mondays, he had really not noticed her until he hired her to do the traffic reports. Now that he has he wants her bad, but she has no time for anything or anyone. Daisy does need a dog to do taste tests on her doggie meals, so Steve does the only thing he can think of to be near her - he gets a dog named Bob. When Daisy unintentionally hits a drug dealer with her car while doing the traffic report, she is targeted for retribution. Steve has fallen for Daisy, and takes it upon himself to protect her.

This was a fun read. Steve and Daisy have chemistry, are good together, and Bob is just loveable. Who wouldn't be absolutely smitten with a dog that requires pop tarts as motivation to go running in the morning?

Do not expect to enjoy reading this book. It almost seems to be an expansion of the most chilling crime headlines in a large city paper.The unrelenting climate of the north-central states serves as background to this bleak story of sudden sociopathic rage. Characters suffering from weak personalities and poverty are sucked into a tornado of violence which spreads outward to encompass the innocent bystanders at scenes of crime and police families who are targets of revenge by criminals who blame specific police officers for the deaths of friends and relatives caught in sting operations. Behind it all is a primitive sense of justicereminiscent of the "kicked dog" which remembers the black boot and consequently bites any boot wearer who is unlucky enough to stumble into sight.Of course all is evntually resolved, but the picture of corruption, threats, and fear is chilling. Sandford has dealt with a number of tricky issues in this series, for example means and ends, but this terror defies logic. Can we ever logically understand madness?

This is another page turning installment in John Sandford's Prey Series. In the beginning, the "prey" seems to be a pair of female bank robbers. Suddenly, the "hunters" become the prey and are hunted in a cruel, quick and shocking fashion. The family of the bank robbers hunt down the police responsible for their demise. Add into the mix a "bad" cop, and nobody is safe. The ending has a major impact on the next book in the series. If you are a fan of action and suspense, you won't be disappointed.

I've read several of the later books in the Prey series, and am going back and reading the ones I've missed. I only wish I had started in the beginning. It's a great series.

#8 of the Davenport series-From the book jacket "It begins with a death and ends with one". This was a fantastic book, full of suspense. This is probably the best of the series so far. It took off right from the start with the death of two thiefs. The brother and husband of the criminals, escapes from jail and goes after the cops that killed them. I think Sandford did a great job keeping the action going in this one. It never let up. I stayed up late to finish it. Davenport's character was not as stellar as previous books. Davenport is known to be on top of his game, always one step ahead of the criminal. In this book, you see a more vulnerable side of Lucas. I like the fact that Sandford showed this side. It is a nice change. Looking forward to continuing this series.

When the attempted arrest of bank robbers goes awry - leaving Georgie and Candy LaChaise dead in a shoot-out - it turns out the media firestorm resulting from it is the least of Minneapolis PD's concerns. Dick LaChaise - Candy's husband and Georgie's brother - has decided to make a break out of jail while attending their funeral and get revenge with the help of a couple of his friends by the name of Crazy Ansel Butters and Bill Martin. And they are going to begin with the spouses of the officers involved in the shooting.

As Lucas and Co. scramble to find LaChaise and his men, they are constantly thwarted - unaware that LaChaise has a man on the inside feeding him information.

Unremitting tension and an unrelenting pace make this a book that is almost impossible to put down once you pick it up. Each of the characters introduced is eventually humanized - although they are completely sociopathic, you get to the point where you feel a bit sorry for them toward the end; doesn't mean you don't want them put down like dogs, but you can't help but feel a little bit sorry for them at the same time.

Then there are Lucas' "women" - Jennifer and Weather. Often throughout the book I was left to wonder just how intensely stupid they could be. They were aware that these guys were gunning for the spouses of the officers they felt were "responsible" in the shooting deaths of Candy and Georgie; they knew that LaChaise and his men were aware of their existence. Yet they refused to change their habits and go into hiding. And it almost gets one of them killed (won't tell you which!) - because it is "boring" in the hotel and she has to do her job. Pfft. Then again, I suppose the plot line demanded it - not like this is real life, right? :-)

Any rate, a definite recommend from me for this most excellent addition to the Lucas Davenport adventures.

SUDDEN PREY is the eighth book in the "Lucas Davenport" series by John Sandford. The book is enjoyable, but is not the best entry in the series.

The plot of SUDDEN PREY is a little different from the other Prey books. Normally in these novels, Lucas is on the hunt after the killer. But in this book, the killers are after Lucas, out of revenge for a prior killing that Lucas was involved in. As always, the plot is lightning fast, and Lucas has to race against time and capture the killers before they attack him and members of his family.

If you've read other books in this series, you probably won't be disappointed in SUDDEN PREY. You get the same tight plotting, witty dialogue, and smooth writing that Sandford is famous for. In my opinion, this novel isn't one of the best ones, largely due to the stupidity of the villains -- they were ultimately more pathetic than threatening. I also found the whole "crooked cop" subplot to be a rehash of stuff I've seen in earlier books by Sanford.

If you've never read a Prey book before, my advice is to start with the very first one, RULES OF PREY, and then move on to EYES OF PREY, WINTER PREY, and MIND PREY. Those are probably the best four entries in the series.

The main reason that I want to write a review here is on the off-chance that any AP music theory teachers or students are coming across this and are considering buying the book. My teacher made the mistake of using this as our primary textbook for the year, hoping that it would cover the AP curriculum. Well, it doesn't. It only helps on about 20% of the test, and for the rest you will be dead in the water.

That said, it does a pretty good job introducing and expanding the concept of basic four-part voice leading. It doesn't expend very many pages teaching the absolute basics like major and minor chords, so it helps to approach the book with some understanding of chords, intervals, and the like.

The progressions and rules that it allows do seem a little bit stringent and antiquated considering the many changes in classical music over the past century, but at least you can voice-lead like Bach after reading this!

One thing to understand about this book - it was not written with amazon.com beginners in mind. It is a college-level theory textbook, and is probably one of the few books that present basic theory concepts in a coherent, unified fashion. The "restrictions" some reviewers complain about, are actually part of a time-honored approach to teaching theory (think "species counterpoint"). To understand the book, a teacher needs to understand something of the ideas and approach of Heinrich Schenker (Schachter was one of Schenker's students). Unlike many theory books, which are into quick summaries and labels, this book is based on a deep understanding of how western tonal music works (at least from the Schenkerian perspective). Even basic concepts like scale degrees, intervals, and triads, are presented in such a way that important relationships among tones become evident. Chords are not merely chunks of notes that deserve a label, but are part of a larger, contrapuntal whole. Sticking with the early chapters, and especially getting a good grasp of the contrapuntal nature of even the most basic chords (insights gained into the similar "passing chord" functions of the V4/3 and viio6 chords, for example) are well worth the effort. Upon successful completion of the first 10 or 11 chapters, a student should have a new understanding of how tonal music works.

I agree with the positive comments in the reviews but no one has mentioned the feature of the book that I like the best...the table of keyboard progressions in the back of the book. The progressions increase in difficulty and they illustrate perfectly the concepts presented in the text. I am finding the best way to proceed is to play them, and once you have started getting them into your ears and fingers, analyze the details of their voice leading and turn back to the text for a theoretical explanation.

When I was a student at the University of Michigan School of Music in the late seventies and early eighties, we used the then brand new first edition of this book. I thought it was quite good then, and I believe this third edition to be an even better book. It treats the subjects of tonal harmony and voice leading quite well. There have been some solid improvements in the way a few things are explained and some changes in the musical examples. However, it is still fundamentally the same sound course for undergraduate music theory it has been since 1978. However, it now comes in one volume instead of the two volumes of the first edition.

The text begins with a quick review of the basics of musical grammar, a brief introduction of the rudiments of musical notation, intervals, rhythm (and meter), chords, and four-part harmony. Part II talks about the powerful relationship between the tonic and dominant chords, chord progressions elaborating that relationship, and even the dominant as a key area (whether you call it tonicization or modulation is up to you). Part III discusses the implications of root position, first inversion, and second inversion chords in elaborating harmonies and in sequences. Part IV is actually about contrapuntal issues, but is framed in a discussion of melodic figuration. Part V introduces chromaticism, modal mixture, and extends the discussion on uses of seventh chords. Part VI extends the discussion of chromaticism and includes ninth and eleventh chords, Phrygian II (Neapolitan chords), augmented sixths, and more types of mixture. There is also important discussion of the implications all this has for voice leading and modulation to other key areas.

Some might wish that it contained some treatments of graphical (Schenkerian notation), and I am one of them, but that is a quibble compared to this book's many strengths. The counter argument is that until the students really have a handle on the basics of harmony and how voice leading is handled through the music of the early twentieth century, there really isn't a way for them to grasp the meaning of the larger structures Schenker's graphical notation was created to represent. I think that is a fair point, but still think there are some basics in notation that could be introduced early in the process when talking about the basic structure of melodies and supporting harmonies and candential formulas.

The explanations are clear and the musical examples apt. In fact, someone could actually work through this book on his own and grasp what is being presented. Of course, an instructor is helpful to check work and explain things that remain unclear in the student's mind, but that is really true for any book on any subject.

There are some wonderful materials to supplement this text. The most important are the two work books (WB I - ISBN 0-15-506226-3 / WB II - ISBN 0-15-506234-4. They are useful exercises that help the student learn the material by actively working through the application of the materials discussed.

Another resource that should not be overlooked is the two-CD set (ISBN 0-534-52216-5) that contains performances of the hundreds of musical examples in the textbook (not the workbooks). It can really help a student to listen to examples that are unclear. If a student can play them herself or hear them in his head, so much the better, but these discs can enrich reading through the textbook and making sure that you understand what is being presented to you.

Kudos to Professors Aldwell and Schachter for this wonderful text and supporting materials.

I've yet to find an alternative to the Roger Sessions, HARMONIC PRACTICE, which I believe to be the best theory text ever written. However, the teaching of theory has changed over the past forty years since my first "date" with Sessions and his text... and students have changed as well. Hence, I find Messrs Schachter & Aldwell have done a commendable job (a nearly impossible job, I think) in writing this new, single volume edition. Whilst I never expect to find the perfect text, this one will do nicely.

The text clearly cannot stand apart from a good theory teacher. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), a credible do-it-yourself theory text has yet to be written.

This pamphlet is very well written and a bit fun learning to use! It arrived in a very thoughtful bubble wrap envelope that made sure it arrived to me in a flat and unbent condition. I used right out of the package. Yep after I learn all these chords the ladies are gonna be lining up to talk to PeNName!

Just started using it and so far it is helping my daughter and I learn basic guitar

I was very disappointed with this product. It has VERY FEW chords listed; and for the price, I expected at least a book of chords. I would hardly call this a booklet!

This is a great tool for the very beginning guitar learner.
When I have more time to devote to guitar playing I will use this product a great deal.

This booklet (only 8 pages long) is ok for giving you some starting chords to play simple tunes with. In fact, there are only 3 pages of chords and 5 pages of information about guitar tuning, guitar fret notes, common chord combo's, and basic guitar positioning.

You can easily get this info on the internet. I'd suggest getting a more comprehensive book on chords or a guitar method book.