The Brazilian "berimbau," a musical bow, is most commonly associated with the energetic martial art/dance/game of "capoeira." This study explores the berimbau's stature from the 1950s to the present in diverse musical genres including bossa nova, samba-reggae, MPB (Popular Brazilian Music), electronic dance music, Brazilian art music, and more. Berimbau music spans oral and recorded historical traditions, connects Latin America to Africa, juxtaposes the sacred and profane, and unites nationally constructed notions of Brazilian identity across seemingly impenetrable barriers.

"The Berimbau: Soul of Brazilian Music" is the first work that considers the berimbau beyond the context of capoeira, and explores the bow's emergence as a national symbol. Throughout, this book engages and analyzes intersections of musical traditions in the Black Atlantic, North American popular music, and the rise of global jazz. This book is an accessible introduction to Brazilian music for musicians, Latin American scholars, capoeira practitioners, and other people who are interested in Brazil's music and culture.

A group of resourceful kids start "solution-seekers.com," a website where "cybervisitors" can get answers to questions that trouble them. But when one questioner asks the true meaning of Christmas, the kids seek to unravel the mystery by journeying back through the prophecies of the Old Testament. What they find is a series of "S" words that reveal a "spectacular story!" With creative characters, humorous dialogue and great music, The "S" Files is a children's Christmas musical your kids will love performing.

In The New Guitarscape, Kevin Dawe argues for a re-assessment of guitar studies in the light of more recent musical, social, cultural and technological developments that have taken place around the instrument. The author considers that a detailed study of the guitar in both contemporary and cross-cultural perspectives is now absolutely essential and that such a study must also include discussion of a wide range of theoretical issues, literature, musical cultures and technologies as they come to bear upon the instrument. Dawe presents a synthesis of previous work on the guitar, but also expands the terms by which the guitar might be studied. Moreover, in order to understand the properties and potential of the guitar as an agent of music, culture and society, the author draws from studies in science and technology, design theory, material culture, cognition, sensual culture, gender and sexuality, power and agency, ethnography (real and virtual) and globalization. Dawe presents the guitar as an instrument of scientific investigation and part of the technology of globalization, created and disseminated through corporate culture and cottage industry, held close to the body but taken away from the body in cyberspace, and involved in an enormous variety of cultural interactions and political exchanges in many different contexts around the world. In an effort to understand the significance and meaning of the guitar in the lives of those who may be seen to be closest to it, as well as providing a critically-informed discussion of various approaches to guitar performance, technologies and techniques, the book includes discussion of the work of a wide range of guitarists, including Robert Fripp, Kamala Shankar, Newton Faulkner, Lionel Loueke, Sharon Isbin, Steve Vai, Bob Brozman, Kaki King, Fred Frith, John 5, Jennifer Batten, Guthrie Govan, Dominic Frasca, I Wayan Balawan, Vicki Genfan and Hasan Cihat A-rter.

The book shows the importance for parents to encourage a child's imagination. Imagination has a strong connection to language and logical thinking for a child in learning and it promotes their sociability where children are led to success. Presenting a Japanese-Austrian music-project that took place in Utsunomiya (Japan), the study offers a new view on children's imagination, their different family cultures and the role of parents in raising successful children.

This book provides the first scholarly history of the viola d'amore, a popular bowed string instrument of the Baroque era, with a unique tone produced by a set of metal sympathetic strings. Composers like Bach made use of the viola d'amore for its particular sound, but the instrument subsequently fell out of fashion amid orchestral standardisation, only to see a revival as interest in early music and historical performance grew. Drawing on literary accounts, iconography, and surviving instruments, this study examines the origins and development of this eye-catching string instrument in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It explores the rich variation of designs displayed in extant viola d'amore specimens, both as originally constructed and as a result of conversion and repair. The viola d'amore is then set into the wider context of Elizabethan England's development of instruments with wire strings, and its legacy in the form of the baryton which emerged in the early seventeenth century, followed by a look at the viola d'amore's own nomenclatorial and organological influence. The book closes with a discussion of the viola d'amore's revival, and its use and manufacture today. Offering insights for organological research and historical performance practice, this study enhances our knowledge of both the viola d'amore and its wider family of instruments.

The most in-depth, revolutionary presentation of the harmonic framework of music is applied to the guitar fingerboard ever presented. Leads to total mastery of harmonic and technical aspects of the guitar. The material in this landmark series of 3 massive volumes address virtually every aspect of playing jazz guitar representing the fruits of years of the author's investigation of harmony and fingerboard mobility. This series of books leads to total mastery of the harmonic and technical aspects of the guitar. In notation only.

The Unorthodox Guitar: A Guide to Alternative Performance Practice is a comprehensive resource for experimentally minded guitarists and composers wishing to write for or perform on the instrument in new ways. The book focuses primarily on unconventional approaches to guitar performance, which include alternative tunings, extended techniques, instrumental preparations, electronic augmentations, and issues related to performing and recording with a computer. Embracing all guitar types-nylon, steel-string acoustic, and electric-techniques and examples are culled from a broad range of musical genres, including blues, contemporary classical, country, folk, jazz, rock, and non-Western idioms. While the writing offers a treasure trove of possibilities for experimental improvisation, it is oriented towards formal composition, and to that end details the controllable dimensions of the techniques and preparations at hand, along with strategies that might be adopted to notate them. Conventional guitar amplifiers, effect pedals, and pedalboards are examined, along with a discussion of analog signal chains, rig design, and best practices for the preservation of tone. In addition, possibilities afforded by the addition of a computer to the guitar rig are explored, including signal processing, sensor augmentation, and score following. The writing is paired with a companion website that contains an abundance of audio, video, and software materials to supplement the ideas presented. This information is intended to serve as a guide, reference, and source of inspiration for those wishing to compose and/or perform on the instrument in innovative ways.

Stringtastic Book 1: Viola teaches through playing in an engaging exploration of musical styles. Part of the fully integrated Stringtastic series in which violin, viola, cello and double bass can all learn and play together in any combination. Learn as you play through the world of Stringtastic, with 57 imaginative pieces that have been specifically designed to establish a secure playing technique and build confidence one step at a time. Following on from Stringtastic Beginners, this book takes the student from playing the notes of the D major scale to Grade 1 (Early Elementary). Featuring equal-level duets for all instruments, the pieces are ideal for individual and group tuition as well as flexible ensemble and classroom settings. Every piece is supported by an exciting backing track plus a piano-only track for practice, all available to download. The Stringtastic Book 1: Teacher's Accompaniment book provides the complete piano score which works with any combination of the instrumental parts.

Gretsch electric guitars have a style all their own a a glitzy wacky retro charm that over the years has drawn players from all kinds of popular music from timeless stars to unknown teens. The Beatles Chet Atkins Duane Eddy and Brian Setzer all made their mark with Gretsch and new bands continually discover and fall in love with the Falcons Gents 6120s Jets and the rest.THEThe Gretsch Electric Guitar BookE comes right up to the present including Gretsch's alliance to the powerful Fender company a move that has done wonders for the reliability and playability of the modern Gretsch axe. Every great model is here but the book also tells the story of the lesser-known guitars and the projects that almost never happened. There are archival and fresh interviews with Gretsch personnel over the years and with many leading Gretsch players including Chet Atkins Billy Duffy Duane Eddy and Brian Setzer.THIn the tradition of Tony Bacon's best-selling series of guitar books his updated and revised story of Gretsch is three great volumes in one: a compendium of luscious pictures of the coolest guitars; a gripping story from early exploits to the most recent developments; and a detailed collector's guide to every production electric Gretsch model ever made.

Building an Award-Winning Guitar Program is a practical guide to assist secondary and post-secondary music educators with the tasks involved in establishing a successful music program. With the rising interest in guitar, Mariachi, rock band, handbells, bluegrass, music technology, and so on, more and more music educators are being asked to teach innovative music classes. Author Bill Swick has crafted this book to help these educators build such innovative music programs from the ground floor, based on his years of experience as a music educator specialized in guitar. The book will assist music educators with classroom management, scheduling, structure, organization, fund raising, festivals, travel, and other subjects related to teaching guitar in the classroom, but its principles are broadly relevant to any and all music educators hoping to create a unique program that stands out within their school district and state, attracting students, parents, educators and administrators alike.

No band would be complete without a bass element giving depth and unity. "How to Play Bass Guitar" contains everything the new or intermediate bass player needs to perfect their playing of this vital instrument. Highly practical, the book leads you from the basics of how to hold, fret, pluck and play scales through to playing chord-framing patterns and muted percussive rhythms - understanding how the bass underpins the harmonies of a band. The clear text is accompanied by illustrative photos and diagrams, and the guide is complemented by a chord finder, scales and modes finder, a glossary and further reading.

This volume makes available Rodrigo's writings to English-speaking readers throughout the world. The generous selection reveals an outstanding critical mind, equally illuminating on the main developments in the history of classical music and its most important composers, from Bach and Mozart to Verdi and Puccini, as well as Rodrigo's contemporaries. Rodrigo's writings also cover many aspects of the culture and music of Spain and the country's major composers, as well as being an invaluable guide to an understanding and appreciation of Rodrigo's own works. The composer's style of writing is extremely varied: by turns incisive, eloquent, poetic, or delightfully humorous. Given the world-wide fame and popularity of his music, the availability in English of a large number of the composer's many articles and critical reviews will be of the greatest interest to musicians, scholars, music critics, and music-lovers alike.

A celebration of the harp in Wales, an instrument as symbolically key to a Welsh identity as the flag itself. Bruce Cardwell provides a history of the harp in Wales, including how it grew to prominence, its evolving role in Welsh culture, how it became a central symbol of Welshness, how it has developed as a musical instrument in response to changing musical taste, and the booming harp business today. He also explores the craft of harp-making, including the variety of construction, materials, designs and aesthetics, issues of 'playability' and tone, and the fusion of craft skills with art sensibilities. The book also has a section on thirty-six contemporary Welsh harpists, with portraits and a narrative on their perspective on their personal instruments, their individual repertoires and how they see their place in the continuing tradition. These harpists include Catrin Finch, Elinor Bennett, Delyth Jenkins, Robin Huw Bowen, Twm Morys, Gwenan Gibbard, Harriet Earis and Llio Rhydderch.

In The Art of Listening, Anthony Arnone interviews 13 of the top cello teachers of our time, sharing valuable insights about performing, teaching, music, and life. While almost every other aspect of twenty-first-century life has been changed by technological advancements, the art of playing and teaching the cello has largely remained the same. Our instruments are still made exactly the same way and much of what we learn is passed on by demonstration and word of mouth from generation to generation. We are as much historians of music as we are teachers of the instrument. The teaching lineage in the classical music world has formed a family tree of sorts with a select number of iconic names at the top of the tree, such as Pablo Casals, Gregor Piatigorsky, and Leonard Rose. A large percentage of professional cellists working today studied with these giants of the cello world, or with their students. In addition to discussing the impact of these masters and their personal experience as their students, the renowned cellists interviewed in this book touch on a variety of topics from teaching philosophies to how technology has changed classical music.

Stringtastic Book 1: Violin teaches through playing in an engaging exploration of musical styles. Part of the fully integrated Stringtastic series in which violin, viola, cello and double bass can all learn and play together in any combination. Learn as you play through the world of Stringtastic, with 57 imaginative pieces that have been specifically designed to establish a secure playing technique and build confidence one step at a time. Following on from Stringtastic Beginners, this book takes the student tfrom playing the notes of the D major scale to Grade 1 (Early Elementary). Featuring equal-level duets for all instruments, the pieces are ideal for individual and group tuition as well as flexible ensemble and classroom settings. Every piece is supported by an exciting backing track plus a piano-only track for practice, all available to download. The Stringtastic Book 1: Teacher's Accompaniment book provides the complete piano score which works with any combination of the instrumental parts.

"Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars" is the most extensive and detailed list of specifications ever published for identifying, dating, and establishing the authenticity of an instrument. This new edition is enlarged and updated, making it once again the essential guide enabling collectors, dealers, players, and fans to determine the authenticity, rarity, and relative value of vintage acoustic and electric guitars, basses, mandolins, banjos, and amps. "Gruhn's Guide"'s thoroughness, detail, and clear organization have made it without peer, the must-have tool for discerning an instrument's manufacturer, model, and date - and most importantly, whether it is in original condition. Quote: 'you will not find a better guide, nor one that is so easy to use' - "Vintage Guitar" magazine.

Growing from a small custom shop in the early 1970s to the only new brand to have challenged the traditional Big Three of American acoustic guitars (Gibson Guild and Martin) Taylor has effectively changed the marketplace for acoustic steel-string guitars and influenced every other maker of acoustic stringed instruments.THBut Taylor's influence in the guitar market goes far beyond the guitars themselves. Having pioneered the use of modern building techniques a such as utilizing CNC machines UV-finishing etc. a the company has been an undisputed leader when it comes to innovation. Taylor's latest efforts are concentrated on wood conservation and again the company is setting the example that the industry is following.THEThe Taylor Guitar BookE combines a historical story line with useful hands-on information about model changes over the years a to help readers learn how to identify and date a Taylor a and features shop and factory photos (both historical and current) as well as full-color images of guitars.

Improve your sight-reading! Guitar Grades 1-3 is designed to help classical guitarists overcome sight reading problems, especially in the context of graded exams. Step by step you build up a complete picture of each piece, firstly through rhythmic and melodic exercises related to specific technical issues, then by studying prepared pieces with associated questions, and finally 'going solo' with a series of meticulously graded sight-reading pieces. Written to support the ABRSM's sight-reading requirements.