You Are the Music


Book Description

'You are the music / While the music lasts' T.S. Eliot, The Four Quartets Do babies remember music from the womb? Can classical music increase your child's IQ? Is music good for productivity? Can it aid recovery from illness and injury? And what is going on in your brain when Ultravox's 'Vienna', Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht or Dizzee Rascal's 'Bonkers' transports you back to teenage years? In a brilliant new work that will delight music lovers of every persuasion, music psychologist Victoria Williamson examines our relationship with music across the whole of a lifetime. Along the way she reveals the amazing ways in which music can physically reshape our brains, explores how 'smart music listening' can improve cognitive performance, and considers the perennial puzzle of what causes 'earworms'. Requiring no specialist musical or scientific knowledge, this upbeat, eye-opening book reveals as never before the extent of the universal language of music that lives deep inside us all.




We Are Music


Book Description

From the author of Music Is... Brandon Stosuy comes a second pitch-perfect board book that’s a kid-friendly music history lesson—perfect for the little record collectors in your life. From music writer and The Creative Independent/Kickstarter Editor in Chief, Brandon Stosuy, comes a new board book called We Are Music that dives into the history of music. It starts with clapping, tapping, and drums, and from there the music moves in many different directions. From classical to blues to jazz to country to rock to punk to rap to hip hop, there is one important thread that weaves through every song that has ever been created: us.




If You're Happy and You Know It!


Book Description

A little girl and various animals sing their own version of this popular rhyme.




Music Is . . .


Book Description

From music writer and The Creative Independent/Kickstarter Editor in Chief Brandon Stosuy, comes an entertaining new board book that introduces the many moods, styles, and senses of music to the youngest audiophiles—because music is for everyone, and music is for you. Featuring Amy Martin’s dynamic art style, Music Is… explains music through our eyes and ears so that the sense of hearing is transformed into a visual experience. A pitch-perfect board book that is sure to strike a chord with readers of all ages.




The Music Lesson


Book Description

From Grammy-winning musical icon and legendary bassist Victor L. Wooten comes an inspiring parable of music, life, and the difference between playing all the right notes…and feeling them. The Music Lesson is the story of a struggling young musician who wanted music to be his life, and who wanted his life to be great. Then, from nowhere it seemed, a teacher arrived. Part musical genius, part philosopher, part eccentric wise man, the teacher would guide the young musician on a spiritual journey, and teach him that the gifts we get from music mirror those from life, and every movement, phrase, and chord has its own meaning...All you have to do is find the song inside. “The best book on music (and its connection to the mystic laws of life) that I've ever read. I learned so much on every level.”—Multiple Grammy Award–winning saxophonist Michael Brecker




Hand to Hold


Book Description

This heartwarming picture book reassures children that a parent’s love never lets go—based on the poignant lyrics of JJ Heller’s beloved lullaby “Hand to Hold.” “May the living light inside you be the compass as you go / May you always know you have my hand to hold.” With delightful illustrations and an engaging rhyme scheme, this book offers the promise of security and love every child’s heart longs to know. From skipping stones and counting stars to climbing trees and telling stories, every moment is wrapped snugly in the certain warmth of a parent’s presence and God’s blessing. With poignancy and joy, this bedtime read captures the unconditional love parents want their children to know but so often fail to express amid the chaos of daily life.




The Cricket in Times Square


Book Description

After Chester lands, in the Times Square subway station, he makes himself comfortable in a nearby newsstand. There, he has the good fortune to make three new friends: Mario, a little boy whose parents run the falling newsstand, Tucker, a fast-talking Broadway mouse, and Tucker's sidekick, Harry the Cat. The escapades of these four friends in bustling New York City makes for lively listening and humorous entertainment. And somehow, they manage to bring a taste of success to the nearly bankrupt newsstand. Join Chester Cricket and his friends in this classic children's book by George Selden, with illustrations by Garth Williams. The Cricket in Times Square is a 1961 Newbery Honor Book.




Bad Music


Book Description

Why are some popular musical forms and performers universally reviled by critics and ignored by scholars-despite enjoying large-scale popularity? How has the notion of what makes "good" or "bad" music changed over the years-and what does this tell us about the writers who have assigned these tags to different musical genres? Many composers that are today part of the classical "canon" were greeted initially by bad reviews. Similarly, jazz, country, and pop musics were all once rejected as "bad" by the academy that now has courses on these and many other types of music. This book addresses why this is so through a series of essays on different musical forms and performers. It looks at alternate ways of judging musical performance beyond the critical/academic nexus, and suggests new paths to follow in understanding what makes some music "popular" even if it is judged to be "bad." For anyone who has ever secretly enjoyed ABBA, Kenny G, or disco, Bad Music will be a guilty pleasure!




Don't Die with Your Music Still in You


Book Description

In 2001, Dr. Wayne Dyer wrote a book called 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace, based on the most important principles he wanted his children to live by. Serena Dyer, one of those children, has contemplated these ideas throughout her life. "Don’t die with your music still in you" has been the most important principle for Serena: to her, it means that you don’t allow yourself to live any life other than the one you were born to live. In this book, Serena sets out to explain what it was like to grow up with spiritual parents. She touches upon all ten of her dad’s original secrets, imparting her own experiences with them and detailing how they have affected the way she approaches various situations in life. She shares stories, struggles, and triumphs—and Wayne, in turn, contributes his own perspective. This unique father-daughter collaboration will warm the hearts of all parents . . . and inspire anyone who is looking to find the "music" inside themselves.




All You Need to Know About the Music Business, Seventh Edition


Book Description

No one understands the music industry--from the technology, to the legalities, to the new industry practices--better than veteran music lawyer Donald Passman. In this completely revised and updated seventh edition of All You Need To Know About the Music Business, which the Los Angeles Times called “the industry bible” and which has sold hundreds of thousands of copies, Passman offers executives and artists, experts and novices alike the essential information they need not only to survive in these volatile and exciting times, but also to thrive. Drawing on his unique, up-to-the-minute experience as one of the most trusted advisors in the business, Passman offers advice concerning: - The Copyright Royalty Board’s latest decisions regarding online transmissions. - The developing new customs concerning new technologies such as streaming on demand, ringtones, and digital downloads. Passman also gives guidance on other fundamental issues such as how to: - Select and hire a winning team of advisors--personal and business managers, agents, and attorneys--and structure their commissions, percentages, and fees in a way that will protect you and maximize these relationships. - Master the big picture and the finer points of record deals. - Navigate the ins and outs of songwriting, music publishing, and copyright law. - Maximize concert touring and merchandising deals. Almost everyone in the music business, from musicians and songwriters to entertainment lawyers and record company executives, are scrambling to sort out what is going to happen next, and Passman is right in the thick of these changes. Here is a book for anyone interested in a music career: a comprehensive and crucial guide to making it in one of the world’s most dynamic industries.