All children must have an opportunity to share the joy of choral music participation - whether in school, church, or community choirs. What happens before the singing begins, is critical to supporting, sustaining, and nurturing choirs to give every child the opportunity to experience the wonder of choral singing. Based on years of experience conducting and teaching, Barbara Tagg brings a wealth of practical information about ways of organizing choirs. From classroom choirs, to mission statements, boards of directors, commissioning, auditioning, and repertoire, Before the Singing will inspire new ways of thinking about how choirs organize their daily tasks. The collaborative community that surrounds a choir includes conductors, music educators, church choir directors, board members, volunteers, staff, administrators, and university students in music education and nonprofit arts management degree programs. For all these, Tagg offers a wealth of knowledge about creating a positive environment to support artistry, creativity, dedication, and a commitment to striving for excellence.

Perspectives on the Performance of French Piano Music offers a range of approaches central to the performance of French piano music of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The contributors include scholars and active performers who see performance not as an independent activity but as a practice enriched by a wealth of historical and analytical approaches. To underline the usefulness of contextual understanding for performance, each author highlights the choices performers must confront with examples drawn from particular repertoires and composers. Topics explored include editorial practice, the use of early recordings, emergent disciplines such as analysis-and-performance, and traditions passed down from teacher to student. Themes that emerge demonstrate the importance of editions as a form of communication, the challenges of notation, the significance of detail and of deeper continuity, the importance of performing and teaching traditions, and the influence of cross disciplinary frameworks. A link to a set of performed examples on the frenchpianomusic.com website allows readers to hear and compare performances and interpretations of the music discussed. The volume will appeal to musicologists and analysts interested in performance, performers, students, and piano teachers.

Examines the relationship between the structures provided by tradition, and the actual performance in reconsideration of the nature of 'tradition' in dhrupad. Includes a transcription of a compete dhrupad performance. First book-length study of an Indian vocal genre to be co-authored by an Indian practitioner and a Western musicologist

The transition from the valveless natural horn to the modern valved horn in 19th-century Paris was different from similar transitions in other countries. While valve technology was received happily by players of other members of the brass family, strong support for the natural horn, with its varied color palette and virtuoso performance traditions, slowed the reception and application of the valve to the horn. Using primary sources including Conservatoire method books, accounts of performances and technological advances, and other evidence, this book tells the story of the transition from natural horn to valved horn at the Conservatoire, from 1792 to 1903, including close examination of horn teaching before the arrival of valved brass in Paris, the initial reception and application of this technology to the horn, the persistence of the natural horn, and the progression of acceptance, use, controversies, and eventual adoption of the valved instrument in the Parisian community and at the Conservatoire. Active scholars, performers, and students interested in the horn, 19th-century brass instruments, teaching methods associated with the Conservatoire, and the intersection of technology and performing practice will find this book useful in its details and conclusions, including ramifications on historically-informed performance today.

In recent years, scholars and musicians have become increasingly interested in the revival of musical improvisation as it was known in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. This historically informed practice is now supplanting the late Romantic view of improvised music as a rhapsodic endeavour-a musical blossoming out of the capricious genius of the player-that dominated throughout the twentieth century. In the Renaissance and Baroque eras, composing in the mind (alla mente) had an important didactic function. For several categories of musicians, the teaching of counterpoint happened almost entirely through practice on their own instruments. This volume offers the first systematic exploration of the close relationship among improvisation, music theory, and practical musicianship from late Renaissance into the Baroque era. It is not a historical survey per se, but rather aims to re-establish the importance of such a combination as a pedagogical tool for a better understanding of the musical idioms of these periods. The authors are concerned with the transferral of historical practices to the modern classroom, discussing new ways of revitalising the study and appreciation of early music. The relevance and utility of such an improvisation-based approach also changes our understanding of the balance between theoretical and practical sources in the primary literature, as well as the concept of music theory itself. Alongside a word-centred theoretical tradition, in which rules are described in verbiage and enriched by musical examples, we are rediscovering the importance of a music-centred tradition, especially in Spain and Italy, where the music stands alone and the learner must distil the rules by learning and playing the music. Throughout its various sections, the volume explores the path of improvisation from theory to practice and back again.

Archaic Bamboo Instruments explores how current residents of Bandung, Indonesia, have (re-) adopted bamboo musical instruments to forge meaningful bridges between their past and present-between traditional and modern values. The book grapples with ongoing issues of global significance, including musical environmentalism, heavy metal music, the effects of first-world hegemonies on developing countries, and cultural "authenticity." Bamboo music's association with the Sundanese landscape, old agricultural ceremonies, and participatory music making, as well as its adaptability to modern society, make it a fertile site for an ecomusicological study.

- An important and timely volume, presenting and delivering a much-needed (and inclusive) counter-narrative in the field of Community Music - Chimes with the International Society of Music Education's World 2020 Conference theme on celebrating equity and diversity in music education (including Community Music) research and practices - Appropriate and required reading for a large range of readers including (but not limited to) undergraduates, graduate students, academics, scholars, university professors, practitioners, and researchers

Camille Saint-Saëns 1835-1921: A Thematic Catalogue of his Complete Works defines the achievement of this great French composer. All his musical works are presented: the well-recognized masterpieces, the childhood sketches, the unpublished compositions, and the previously unknown pieces now revealed for the first time. This comprehensive collection fully documents the composer's extraordinary contribution to the musical world. Volume 1 concentrates specifically on his instrumental output, while the two later volumes will cover Dramatic Works and Choral & Vocal Works respectively.

This study of American liberty and war songs is among the first to examine them in a historical and literary context and to focus almost exclusively on the lyrics. Unlike other works that are primarily songbooks, this book provides a fresh view of an important aspect of American culture and offers new insight into the thoughts and feelings of Americans during periods of crisis. Special attention is given to the songs that emerged from the early American wartime experiences, including those written before and during the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War, with an emphasis on the similarities and differences in song themes, techniques and styles.

The work of French musicologist, ethnologist, curator, and critic Andre Schaeffner (1895 - 1980) grew naturally out of his first organological studies of the history of Western classical instruments in the late 1920s and came to be encapsulated in his monumental and wide-ranging Origine des instruments de musique, the fruit of labour in Paris and in the field between 1931 and 1936. Almost 80 years after its first publication, the scientific relevance and influence of Schaeffner's primary hypothesis - that the origins of music can be traced to the human body through gesture, dance, and the movements involved in the use of musical instruments and their ancestor tools - remains pertinent in fields which have returned to informed speculative and empirical research on the origins of music. This first English edition is accompanied by editorial footnotes and introductory texts, and the influence of Schaeffner's thought on several generations of musicologists makes his work an essential piece of reading for ethnomusicologists, music psychologists, organologists and musicologists interested in the history of their field. Schaeffner's text is an intellectual link between the studies of Hornbostel and Sachs and the contrasting research of later generations, notably figures with which he had direct contact, such as John Blacking and Simha Arom. More than a simple field guide and system of classification, the Origin of Musical Instruments is also a profound reflection on the nature and origins of music and musical activity, as well as the place of that activity in human society.

Musical Instruments presents the first comprehensive survey to explain how Western musical instruments work, how they developed historically, how they are manufactured, and how they are used to make music. After introducing the nature of sounds and production mechanisms, the authors survey each family in turn, covering acoustical features, historical development of instrument forms, sizes and shapes in current use, the manufacturing processes, and commonly-used playing techniques. The full index and glossary also contain definitions of technical terms and notes on instruments not included in the text, making this the essential reference for everyone researching and working with musical instruments and performance.

The transition from the valveless natural horn to the modern valved horn in 19th-century Paris was different from similar transitions in other countries. While valve technology was received happily by players of other members of the brass family, strong support for the natural horn, with its varied color palette and virtuoso performance traditions, slowed the reception and application of the valve to the horn. Using primary sources including Conservatoire method books, accounts of performances and technological advances, and other evidence, this book tells the story of the transition from natural horn to valved horn at the Conservatoire, from 1792 to 1903, including close examination of horn teaching before the arrival of valved brass in Paris, the initial reception and application of this technology to the horn, the persistence of the natural horn, and the progression of acceptance, use, controversies, and eventual adoption of the valved instrument in the Parisian community and at the Conservatoire. Active scholars, performers, and students interested in the horn, 19th-century brass instruments, teaching methods associated with the Conservatoire, and the intersection of technology and performing practice will find this book useful in its details and conclusions, including ramifications on historically-informed performance today.

Classical Concert Studies: A Companion to Contemporary Research and Performance is a landmark publication that maps out a new interdisciplinary field of Concert Studies, offering fresh ways of understanding the classical music concert in the twenty-first century. It brings together essays, research articles, and case studies from scholars and music professionals including musicians, music managers, and concert designers. Gathering both historical and contemporary cases, the contributors draw on approaches from sociology, ethnology, musicology, cultural studies, and other disciplines to create a rich portrait of the classical concert's past, present, and future. Based on two earlier volumes published in German under the title Das Konzert (The Concert), and with a selection of new chapters written for the English edition, this companion enables students, researchers, and practitioners in the classical and contemporary music fields to understand this emerging field of research, go beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries and methodologies, and spark a renaissance for the classical concert.

The garamut is a log idiophone that is found in many of the coastal and island areas of Papua New Guinea. The instrument's primary use is as a speech surrogate and in some regions the garamut is also used in large ensembles to play complex music for dancing. In Baluan Island, within the Manus Province, this style of garamut playing is comparatively highly developed. This book follows the author's processes and methods in learning to play the music of the garamut, to the level at which he became accepted as a garamut player by the people of Baluan. Lewis argues that analysis is essential in learning to play the rapid tempi and complex rhythms of Baluan garamut music, in a cultural context where there is no formal teaching process for the music. The transcription and analysis of the Baluan garamut repertoire is the centrepiece of this study, reflecting the cognitive structures of the learning process, and revealing the inner workings of the music's complexity as well as a striking beauty of form and structure. The book concludes with reflections on the process of a 'cultural outsider' becoming a garamut player in Baluan and on the role of musical analysis in that process, on the ethnomusicologist's role in transmission of the music, and on the nature of continuity and change in a musical society such as Baluan.

The violinist Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) is considered among the most influential performers in history and still maintains a strong following among violinists around the world. Dario Sarlo contributes significantly to the growing field of analytical research into recordings and the history of performance style. Focussing on Heifetz and his under-acknowledged but extensive performing relationship with the Bach solo violin works (BWV 1001-1006), Sarlo examines one of the most successful performing musicians of the twentieth century along with some of the most frequently performed works of the violin literature. The book proposes a comprehensive method for analysing and interpreting the legacies of prominent historical performers in the wider context of their particular performance traditions. The study outlines this research framework and addresses how it can be transferred to related studies of other performers. By building up a comprehensive understanding of multiple individual performance styles, it will become possible to gain deeper insight into how performance style develops over time. The investigation is based upon eighteen months of archival research in the Library of Congress's extensive Jascha Heifetz Collection. It draws on numerous methods to examine what and how Heifetz played, why he played that way, and how that way of playing compares to other performers. The book offers much insight into the 'music industry' between 1915 and 1975, including touring, programming, audiences, popular and professional reception and recording. The study concludes with a discussion of Heifetz's unique performer profile in the context of violin performance history.

Learning was never so much fun! If you're looking for a revolutionary band curriculum that builds solid musicianship while motivating your students to practice throughout the year, then you've found it! This full band curriculum is sound in its pedagogy, written by leading young band composers and educators, including Robert W. Smith and Michael Story. The integration of important songs from the band world, that are both familiar and fun to play, is one of the stellar aspects of this course. Throughout the book, students experience music from a veritable "who's who" list of great band composers. They'll discover the musical contributions of Percy Grainger, Gustav Holst, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, John Williams and John Philip Sousa as well as classical composers. Some of the notable features include: A wonderful variety of melodies that span various styles and periods, including many popular themes students will know: -A 96-track CD in each student

Robert M. Garcia, a professional drummer from the age of 17, attended Florida A&M University (FAMU), in Tallahassee, and later studied at the Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts. During his freshman and sophomore years at FAMU (1968-1970), he was on the drum line of the world famous band, the FAMU Marching 100. Through the years, Garcia became widely known as a master drummer. However, later in his life, for reasons revealed in this book, he switched his focus from drums to the grand harp. Robert Garcia became a skilled and versatile harpist. His music was a joy to the many people who saw and heard him perform. . . . The fact that Robert was able to move over to the harp is a sign that he always had a pitched-instrument player nestled within his musical gift. It is a great blessing that he was able to express this part of his musical personality later in his career. The fact that he enjoyed such success at this is clearly a testament to the versatility and depth of his musical talent. -Vern C. Falby, Ph.D. Faculty, Music Theory Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University