So, have a tape, cd or book that is essential to your well being? Maybe just a favorite song that somehow reaches that place in your heart of hearts? A book that is dear to your soul? Is one of the most important and enjoyable possessions to the advancing artist their listening and written library? I've yet to read a biography of one of my musical heroes who did not listen to and emulate their heroes. This generational process is simply part of the nature of American music, and for that matter, musicians globally, who rely on the aural / oral traditions of passing on their histories, rhythms, songs and stories from one generation to the next. It has been done this way since the dawn of mankind, and will always continue somewhere, somehow.
For music theorists such as ourselves, written texts about music theory, history, acoustics, form in music, arranging, books of written sheet music, collections of songs all contribute to the theorists library of resource and reference. I guess collecting books is like collecting anything else, it just depends upon one's interests. I wonder what will happen in the decades to come with the advent of the digital age. This text currently would print out at about 750, 8 1/ 2" x 11" pages or so, and only 25% or so of the disc storage capacity is currently being used. So, I'd imagine down the road we might be able to get a disc version of the Harvard Dictionary of Music, a 10 or so volume set of a couple of thousand pages of text detailing most of what is known about our Western music. That would be cool huh? A welcome addition to any musicians library I'd dare to say. So, as the need arises and as books become available, we collect what we need eh?.
Since both the discography and bibliography are such a broad topics, the following links break things down by instrument to better dial in additional resources. Then below this menu is a listing of general music theory texts related to various aspects of the American / European musical styles, focusing in on the resources of equal temperament. If some of the discography listings are short in the following links, it's a due to thinking along the lines that one cd can make all the difference in a young players career, even just one song. I just hope that that one might be included here for each reader. And oh, if in need additional suggestions, just ask right?
An extensive on line resource for recordings is at Jamie Aebersold's "Doubletime Records." As a co-creator of the Charlie Parker Omnibook, Mr. Aebersold has been dedicated to jazz music and music educations for decades. Check out his jazz book library on line.
| guitar | piano / vibes | saxophone | trumpet / trombone | bass | drums | list of standard jazz tunes |
Music theory books. The following list of books are concerned with the various aspects of music theory and the styles it creates. Include in this list are cool historical music texts that give the creative musician the all important sense of historical perspective.
Aebersold, James and Slone, Ken. Charlie Parker Omnibook. New York : Atlantic Music Corp., 1978.
Appel, Willie and Ralph T. Daniel. The Harvard Brief Dictionary Of Music. New York: Pocket Books, a Simon and Schuster Division of Gulf and Western, 1960.
Baker, David N. The Jazz Style of John Coltrane. Miami, Forida: Belwin, Inc., 1980.
Berry, Wallace. Form in Music. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966
Dunbar, Ted. A System of Tonal Convergence for Improvisors, Composers and Arrangers. East Brunswick, New Jersey: Ted Dunbar, 1975.
Garcia, Russell. The Professional Arranger - Composer, Book One. Hollywood, California: Criterion Music Corporation, 19...?
Green, Douglass. Form in Tonal Music. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc., 1965.
Greene, Ted. Jazz Guitar, Single Note Soloing, Volume One and Two. Melville, New York: Dale Zdenek Publishing, Division of Belwin Mills Publishing Inc., 1981.
Greene, Ted. Modern Chord Progressions Volume One and Two. Miami, Florida: Belwin Mills Publishing Inc., 1981.
Hanek, Dr. Robert. Untitled Music Theory Treatise. Fairbanks, Alaska: self publish 1984.
Hearle, Dan. The Jazz Language. U.S.A.: Warner Brothers Inc., 1980.
Jaffe, Andrew. Jazz Theory. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Company, 1983.
Kennon, Kent, Wheeler. Counterpoint. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1959.
Kennon, Kent. The Technique of Orchestration, Second Edition. New Jersey: Prentice-hall, 1970.
Ottman, Robert. Elementary Harmony, Second Edition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1970.
Ottman, Robert W. Advanced Harmony. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1969.
Piston, Walter. Harmony, Third edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1969.
Russell, George. The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization. New York: Concept Publishing, 1959.
Schoenberg, Arnold. Theory of Harmony, translation based on third edition, 1922. Berkely and Los Angeles, California: University of Calfornia Press, 1978
The Real Book Volumes One, Two and Three.
Barzun, Jacques. From Dawn To Decadence, p. 639. HarperCollins Publishers Inc. New York 2000.
Burns, Ken and Ward, Geoffrey C. History of Jazz. New York: Random House, 2000.
Grout, Donald Jay. A History of Western Music, p. 10. W.W.Norton and Company Inc. New York, 1960.
Isacoff, Stuart. "Temperament ... The idea that solved music's greatest riddle." U.S.A. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 2001.
Schuller, Gunther. Early Jazz. New York: Oxford Press, 1968.