Each piece in the Solo Books coordinates page-by-page with the Lesson Books, reinforcing newly learned concepts presented at the lesson. Includes adorable full-color illustrations that enhance each piece.

Prosody as a system of suprasegmental linguistic information such as rhythm and intonation is a prime candidate for looking at the relation between language and music in a principled way. This claim is based on several aspects: First, prosody is concerned with acoustic correlates of language and music that are directly comparable with each other by their physical properties such as duration and pitch. Second, prosodic accounts suggest a hierarchical organization of prosodic units that not only resembles a syntactic hierarchy, but is viewed as (part of) an interface to syntax. Third, prosody provides a very promising ground for evolutionary accounts of language and music. Fourth, bilateral transfer effects between language and music are best illustrated on the level of prosody. Highlighting the first two aspects, this book shows that it is a fruitful endeavor to use prosody for a principled comparison of language and music. In its broader sense, prosody as sound structure of communicative systems may be considered a "meta"-language that formalizes the way of "how music speaks to language and vice versa". Prosody is firmly established within linguistic theory, but is also applied in the musical domain. Therefore, prosody is not just a field of inquiry that shares elements or features between music and language, but can additionally provide a common conceptual ground.

Overturning the inherited belief that popular music is unrefined, Form as Harmony in Rock Music brings the process-based approach of classical theorists to popular music scholarship. Author Drew Nobile offers the first comprehensive theory of form for 1960s, 70s, and 80s classic rock repertoire, showing how songs in this genre are not simply a series of discrete elements, but rather exhibit cohesive formal-harmonic structures across their entire timespan. Though many elements contribute to the cohesion of a song, the rock music of these decades is built around a fundamentally harmonic backdrop, giving rise to distinct types of verses, choruses, and bridges. Nobile's rigorous but readable theoretical analysis demonstrates how artists from Bob Dylan to Stevie Wonder to Madonna consistently turn to the same compositional structures throughout rock's various genres and decades, unifying them under a single musical style. Using over 200 transcriptions, graphs, and form charts, Form as Harmony in Rock Music advocates a structural approach to rock analysis, revealing essential features of this style that would otherwise remain below our conscious awareness.

The Recital Books congratulate students for a job well done by providing correlated repertoire to their Lesson Books that are based on concepts they've already learned. As a result, the pieces are quickly mastered. Recital Book Level 4 comprises mostly arrangements of familiar tunes like "'Country Gardens" and "Amazing Grace," and a few new originals as well.

In popular music, live performance is one of the most important points of contact between artist and audience. However, this crucial part of the creation and reception of popular music has not received the attention it deserves. "Rock Music in Performance" aims to fill this gap. Focussing on one type of popular music - rock - it will trace the evolution of rock performance styles from the late 1960s to the present, and discuss the paradoxical nature of performance in popular music.

Students are drawn to mobile technologies such as iPads and smartphones because of the sheer endless possibilities of the digital worlds they hold. But how can their potential for stimulating the imagination be effectively used in the music classroom to support students' development of musical thinking? Countering voices that see digital technologies as a threat to traditional forms of music making and music education, this collection explores the many ways in which hand-held devices can be used to promote student learning and provides teachers with guidance on making them a vital presence in their own classrooms. Creative Music Making at Your Fingertips features 11 chapters by music education scholars and practitioners that provide tried-and-true strategies for using mobile devices in a variety of contexts, from general music education to ensembles and from K-12 to college classrooms. Drawing on their own experiences with bringing mobile devices and different music apps into the classroom, contributors show how these technologies can be turned into tools for teaching performance, improvisation, and composition. Their practical advice on how pedagogy and mobile technologies can be aligned to increase students' creative engagement with music and help them realize their musical potential makes this book an invaluable resource for music educators who want to be at the forefront of pedagogical transformations made possible by 21st-century technologies.

Strum a tune on your ukulele--no Hawaiian shirt required! Picture it now: the sun sets over the shimmering sea, and, as the beach bar falls quiet, you begin strumming Queen Liliuokalani's "Aloha 'Oe" to a mesmerized crowd. ... Okay, while this doesn't happen every day for ukulele-players, you'll still have a lot of fun learning your favorite tunes on your ukulele. Widely associated with Hawaiian music, the ukulele has exploded in popularity in recent years as kids and adults alike have started their music education with a uke or added it to their collection of instruments. Learning to play this versatile instrument is made easier for the experience and inexperienced alike with this new edition of Ukulele For Dummies. Following its straightforward instructions, you'll pick your way from the basics of purchasing your ukulele and accessories to confidently strumming through simple chord progressions and jamming through various styles and standards, including pop, folk, and those much-loved holiday favorites. Aloha, Santa Claus! Buy the right ukulele for you Perfect your pick and fret Practice with downloadable audio Get the best ukulele apps Whatever you want from your ukulele adventure--strumming on the beach or adding its island style to your distinctive new pop sound--Ukulele For Dummies will have you making a big splash with this tiny instrument in aloha no time at all!