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.

Contents are: Long, Long Ago (T.H. Bayly) * May Time, Komm Lieber Mai (Longing for Spring) from Sehnsucht nach dem FrA1/4hlinge, K. 96 (W.A. Mozart) * Minuet No. 1, Minuett III from Suite in G Minor for Klavier, BWV 822 (J.S. Bach) * Minuet No. 3, Minuet in C, BWV Anh. II (J.S. Bach) * Chorus from Judas Maccabaeus (G.F. Handel) * Hunters' Chorus from 3rd Act of the opera Der Freischutz (C.M. von Weber) * Musette in G, Gavotte II or the Musette from English Suite III in G Minor for Klavier, BWV 808 (J.S. Bach) * March in G (J.S. Bach) * Theme from Witches' Dance (N. Paganini) * Tonalization: The Moon over the Ruined Castle (R. Taki) * The Two Grenadiers, Die Beiden Grenadier, Op. 49, No. 1 for Voice and Piano (R. Schumann) * Gavotte (F.J. Gossec) * BourrA(c)e from Sonata in F Major for Oboe and Basso Continuo, HHA IV/18, No. 8-EZ (G.F. Handel).

Learn the secrets to achieving your ultimate sound Whether amateur or pro, guitarists live for the ultimate sound. Guitar Amps & Effects For Dummies provides the information and instruction you need to discover that sound and make it your own! Written in the characteristically easy-to-read Dummies style, this book is ideal for beginners and experienced musicians alike, and can help all players expand their skill set with effects. Guitarists tend to be gearheads when it comes to sound, and this book provides guidance on topics ranging from the guitar itself to amps, pedals, and other sound technology. Amps and effects are the unsung heroes of guitar music. While most people recognize the more psychedelic effects, many don't realize that effects are often responsible for the unique quality of tone that can become a musician's trademark. Certain effects work on the volume or signal level, others work on the environment, and still others work on the bass and treble content. Guitar Amps & Effects For Dummies covers them all, and shows how effects can not only add something extra, but also "fix" problematic areas. Topics include: * Gain-based effects, like distortion, compression, volume pedals, and gates * Tone-based effects, including graphic and parametric EQ, and the wah-wah pedal * Modulation effects, like the flanger, phase shifter, and tremolo * Ambience effects, including reverb and delay The journey to incredible guitar music never ends. No matter how experienced you are with a guitar, there is always room for improvement to your tone and sound. Whether you're looking for the sound of angels or thunder, Guitar Amps & Effects For Dummies will help you achieve the music you hear in your dreams.

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.

EHow to Play Blues GuitarE gives you vital instruction in blues basics from top guitar teachers and reveals the screts of blues greats often in their own words. Revised and expanded with 32 pages of new lessons and packed with musical examples charts and photos this is your complete step-by-step course for learning acoustic or electric blues guitar. In-depth lessons with pros like Andy Ellis Jesse Gress and Arlen Roth teach you to build your own style while exploring the music of traditional bluesmen and modern stars. You'll learn the styles of B.B. King Eric Clapton John Lee Hooker T-Bone Walker Albert collins Michael Bloomfield Buddy Guy Hubert Sumlin Robben Ford and more.

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.

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.

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.

This is a collection of essential interviews and how-to articles from Guitar Player magazine. It is a must-have for serious guitarists and guitar aficionados, and for the 160,000 readers of Guitar Player magazine. A best-of collection from the magazine's four-decade history, the book gives guitarists invaluable information for improving their playing and understanding the instrument's history, construction, and care. The exclusive interviews include words of wisdom from past masters such as Chet Atkins, Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, and Frank Zappa, as well as from six-string stars like Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, Eddie Van Halen, Keith Richards, and B.B. King. Readers will sharpen their technique in master classes with players such as John Scofield and Larry Carlton, learn the basics of repair, get pro advice on recording guitar, and learn about the 50 greatest guitar tones of all time and the 101 greatest moments in guitar history.

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.

Metal is back! Dimebag Darrell is a walking textbook of modern metal guitar techniques, liberally spraying bone-crushing power chords, dissonant intervals, tremolo arm insanity, and a shredding lead voice worthy of the masters. Now all metal guitarists can go behind the scenes with Dimebag and Pantera. Here, he teaches the patterns and techniques that have driven Pantera to become one of the most successful heavy metal bands in rock history. A must-have, this book will go down in metal history as a classic.

Double Bass Basics is a landmark method by two of the leading figures in music education, Paul Harris and Jessica O'Leary. Comprising pupil's tutor book, free downloadable accompaniment parts and online audio, Double Bass Basics provides everything you need to get playing. The method presents a step-by-step technical progression supported by fun exercises and warm-ups with a wide range of imaginative repertoire. Helpful fact files, rhythm boxes, music theory and musicianship activities provide a holistic approach for beginners.

Tatjana Goldberg reveals the extent to which gender and socially constructed identity influenced female violinists' 'separate but unequal' status in a great male-dominated virtuoso lineage by focussing on the few that stood out: the American Maud Powell (1867-1920), Australian-born Alma Moodie (1898-1943), and the British Marie Hall (1884-1956). Despite breaking down traditional gender-based patriarchal social and cultural norms, becoming celebrated soloists, and greatly contributing towards violin works and the early recording industry (Powell and Hall), they received little historical recognition. Goldberg provides a more complete picture of their artistic achievements and the impact they had on audiences.

This book assesses the influence and reception of many different forms of guitar playing upon the classical guitar and more specifically through the prism of John Williams. Beginning with an examination of Andres Segovia and his influence upon Williams' life's work, a further three incisive chapters cover key areas such as performance, perception, education and construction, considering social and cultural contexts of the guitar over the past century. A final chapter on new directions in classical guitar examines the change in reception of the instrument from the mid-1970s to the present day, and Williams' impact upon what might be termed 'standard classical guitar repertoire'. With in-depth discussion of the cultural and perceptual impact of Williams' more daring crossover projects and numerous musical examples, this is an informative reference for all classical guitar practitioners, as well as scholars and researchers of guitar studies, reception studies, cultural musicology and performance studies. An online lecture by the author and a transcript of the author's interview with John Williams are also available as e-resources.

What does it mean to perform expressively on the cello? In Cello Practice, Cello Performance, professor Miranda Wilson teaches that effectiveness on the concert stage or in an audition reflects the intensity, efficiency, and organization of your practice. Far from being a mysterious gift randomly bestowed on a lucky few, successful cello performance is, in fact, a learnable skill that any player can master. Most other instructional works for cellists address techniques for each hand individually, as if their movements were independent. In Cello Practice, Cello Performance, Wilson demonstrates that the movements of the hands are vitally interdependent, supporting and empowering one another in any technical action. Original exercises in the fundamentals of cello playing include cross-lateral exercises, mindful breathing, and one of the most detailed discussions of intonation in the cello literature. Wilson translates this practice-room success to the concert hall through chapters on performance-focused practice, performance anxiety, and common interpretive challenges of cello playing. This book is a resource for all advanced cellists-college-bound high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, educators, and professional performers-and teaches them how to be their own best teachers.