Music Education for the 21st. century

2012-02-08T05:27:00.000-08:00

Music is an important part of education in Turkey, and is a part of most or all school systems in the country. High schools generally offer classes in singing, mostly choral, and instrumentation in the form of a large school band or social clubs and communities for Turkish classical or folk music, known as cemiyets. Music may also be a part of theatrical productions put on by a school's drama department. Many public and private schools have sponsored music clubs and groups, most commonly including the marching band
that performs Mehter marches at school festivals.
Higher education in the field of music in Turkey is mostly based around large universities connected to state musicacademies and conservatories. A conservatory is usually a department of a university, not a separate institution. While many students join conservatories at the usual university entrance age, some conservatories also include a 'Lise' (Lycee), in effect a specialist music school for children aged 14 to 18 years. Conservatories often have a musicology department, and do research on many styles of music especially the Turkish traditional genres, while also keeping a database of sounds in their sound libraries.

PDF Books

2012-02-06T07:23:00.000-08:00

Tired of dealing with all those books ? Don't have enough book shelf space ? Switch to the diigital format and keep them on a hard drive or some portable device.
You can buy some very useful books at Digital Music Books

The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization

2012-01-26T07:38:00.001-08:00

George Russell's book, The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, first published in 1953, was the first theoretical contribution to come from jazz, and was responsible for introducing modal improvisation which resulted in the seminal recording of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue."
Since it's publication, there have been scores of books on the market which have "borrowed" bits of the Concept's information, but there is only one original.
"[The Concept] was the great path-breaker for Miles Davis and John Coltrane's modality."
- Joachim Berendt, The Jazz Book.

http://www.musicopedia.com/scales/6-guitar.php

2012-01-25T05:25:00.000-08:00

Six String Guitar Scales

Jill Barber

2012-01-24T05:33:00.001-08:00

She looks good , she sounds even better . An interesting take on music for 2012,Jill Barber.http://www.jillbarber.com/

"Boogie-Woogie and The Blues"

2012-01-23T09:29:00.000-08:00

This 64 page book is dedicated to all the great Blues and Boogie-Woogie pianists who Andrew has had the privilege of listening to over the last 40 years. His first recollection of being inspired to learn Blues piano was in 1968 when he heard the Blues piano solo by Nicky Hopkins on the song “Blues Deluxe” from Jeff Beck’s first album “Truth” Just as that piano solo inspired him, in turn he hopes these songs inspire you in the same way. The song “Boogie with Nicky” is dedicated to Nicky Hopkins. He hopes that you have the same enjoyment learning and playing these songs as he did creating them.
There are nine songs in this book which Andrew composed ranging from the slow Blues of L.S. Blues to the up-tempo Boogie-Woogie of Holly and Ben’s Boogie as well as the Ragtime feel of Raggedy Blues. Beside learning from this book it is important to listen to the masters of Blues and Boogie-Woogie piano styles, a discography on page 2 will get you started.
You can buy this book at Digital Music Books or ADG Productions

Good versus Bad

2011-12-08T06:39:00.000-08:00

I've heard comments from many older outstanding musicians, mostly from the Jazz genre , about the fact of the excellent technical ability of young musicians but lack of "feeling " or "soul ".

PDF books available

2011-12-07T05:32:00.001-08:00

PDF format with mp3's check out Digital Music Books

2011-12-06T06:33:00.001-08:00

This is a great affordable collection of Christmas duets for cello and guitar. The pieces are both addictive and playable. "I Saw Three Ships" is one of the best pieces Allan has ever arranged for cello and guitar, and "The Sussex Carol" will just charm you. Pata Pan is one of Allan's favorite Christmas pieces, and this arrangement of it rocks.
Song List: I Saw Three Ships God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Good King Wenceslas Unto Us Is Born a Son Ding Dong Merrily on High O Come O Come Emmanuel He is Born the Holy Child Pata Pan The Coventry Carol The Sussex Carol Christmas Bell.
You can buy this book from the ADG Productions website

2011-11-28T09:18:00.001-08:00

This handy little guide will help all musicians create their own catchy chord progressions on the fly! Included are two chord charts (one for major and one for minor) and a list of common progressions that you can make, referring the the charts to help you.Above is a chord chart for the 7 most used keys. To create a progression, simply follow a chord progression formula (I is always the key of the progression). For example, a very popular chord progression formula is I-IV-V, in the key of C, the chord progression would be C/F/G, in the key of D the progression would be D/G/A. Another extremely popular chord progression, arguably the most popular (used in hundreds of songs), is the I/V/vi/IV (one-five-six-four). In C the chords would be C/G/Am/F and in G it would be G/D/Em/C. While most chord progressions start with the key of the song (I), this is not always the case, for example the very popular jazz chord progression ii-V-I in the key of C would be Dm/G/C or Dm7/G7/Cmaj7. Even though the progression doesn’t start on the C major chord, it is still in the key of C.

2011-11-23T06:43:00.001-08:00

Learning the Basics of Blues Improvisation Lesson 1. 12 Bar Blues Progression

click here

2011-11-22T06:43:00.001-08:00

The Real Latin Piano authored by Kiki Sanchez teaches how to play the most important Latin rhythms on the piano such as: Salsa, Cumbia, Gaujira, Timba, Cumbia, Bolero and other styles. In addition the book explains clearly how to perform Latin piano grooves on clave 2-3 and 3-2 as well as showing the traditional Salsa arranging structure and how to perform piano montuno's using American Jazz Harmonies.
Sanchez's vision is to expand your musical abilities and have a better understanding about how to play several Latin rhythms on the piano. These will not only help you with your piano abilities, but will enrich your musical knowledge as a producer, arranger and educator. In this book Kiki introduces a montuno from his native Peru called the Peruvian Festejo. As an educator Kiki has been working with Pati Vargas on the Latin America Musical Journey, teaching music and the different cultures of Latin America in several public schools and colleges in the South Florida area.

The CD that accompanies the book includes 50 audio tracks, 114 mp3 files and 114 MIDI files
You can buy this book from the ADG Productions website

2011-10-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

12 Bar Blues Bible PDF Version --
This book includes over 50 examples that cover a range of styles, (blues, jazz-blues, minor-blues, funky-blues, country-blues, rock-blues, Latin-blues, gospel-blues), tempos, rhythms and key signatures. There is a brief description, followed by each of the examples perfectly notated, along with the chord symbols.

The latter part of the book contains a chapter on the "Basics Of Blues Improvisation" for anyone who is just starting out in the world of Improvising using the Blues as a starting point.

At the end of the MP3 FILE there are seven jam - along tracks, each about three minutes in length so that you may try out examples in the book or your own improvisational ideas along with a rhythm section of organ, bass and drums.
You can buy the electronic version of this book/mp3 at Digitalmusicbooks.com

2011-10-24T09:25:00.001-07:00

The Bluesier Side Of Jazz for Piano/Keyboards

The Bluesier Side of Jazz by Andrew D. Gordon was inspired by the piano students he teaches at Shepherd University School of Music in Los Angeles and is dedicated to those students: Jungwon, Yumiko, Yoko, Eunice, Sooji, Hae Ji and Ok Kyu. As with many students that come from a classical background (including himself) it is a difficult transition to learn to play Blues & Jazz.When a musician improvises they usually play a variety of riffs or phrases that they have developed and learnt over a period of time and can access these phrases instantaneously whatever key they are playing in to create a seamless improvised solo from the phrases they have learnt.
Andrew's idea for this book is to create phrases or riffs over two measures of various Blues progressions. He sub-divided each of the 12 Bar Blues progressions used in this book (the chord progression for Watermelon Man is a 16 measure progression) into six sections (two measures each) and within each of the six sections created four different phrases or riffs so that the student has a choice of four different phrases to play over every two measures. They can then create a solo based on which phrase they choose for each two measures. By breaking down these phrases to two measures each, he has found that the students have an easier time of learning to improvise than by trying to transcribe a whole solo from an audio recording or leaving them to their own devices in trying to play a solo based on the Blues scale or other related scales.
Each of the ten examples are based on common Jazz/Blues chord progressions from Jazz songs such as "Watermelon Man", "Blue Monk", "Tenor Madness", "Route 66", "Blue Trane", "Bag's Groove" starting off with basic I-IV-V chords and increasing in complexity throughout the book. There are over 200 phrases/riffs to choose from that can be learned and applied to many types of jazz songs.
The package includes:
Book or PDF file
30 audio tracks to play on your CD player or computer
Over 200 mp3 files
Over 200 MIDI files
To buy this book go to ADG Productions

2011-10-20T05:25:00.001-07:00

 Sailin' Shoes--is this a GREAT SONG ?

Ab7                 A7           Ab7     A7

There's a lady in a turban and a cocaine tree

        Ab7    A7       E7       A

And she does a dance so rhythmically

      Ab7        A7          Ab7      A

She's crying and singing and having a time

 Ab7      A       E          A

Gee, that cocaine tree looks fine, you gotta

(CHORUS)

A                                              E7

Put on your sailing shoes, put on your sailing shoes

Dsus4  D        A                                   E7      A

Every one will start to cheer when you put on your sailing shoes

(VERSE 2)

Ab7  A7   Ab7        A7

Jedediah, he's got a dime

Ab7             A7        E7    A

Says he catch a more fish every time

      Ab7     A7        Ab7       A

Well, I got a line, and you got a pole

Ab7        A               E       A

Well, I'll meet you at the fishing hole, but you gotta

(CHORUS)

A                                               E7

Put on your sailing shoes,  put on your sailing shoes

Dsus4  D        A                                   E7      A

Every one will start to cheer when you put on your sailing shoes

(VERSE 3)

Ab7     A7        Ab7     A7

Doctor, doctor, I feel so bad

Ab7         A7              E7   A

This is the worst case I've ever had

          Ab7           A7           Ab7       A

He said, "Have you this misery for a very long time, cause

Ab7    A                 E       A

If you live, I'll lay it on the line. You gotta

(CHORUS)

A                                               E7

Put on your sailing shoes,  put on your sailing shoes

Dsus4  D        A                               E7      A

Every one will hip-hooray when you put on your sailing shoes

2011-10-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

Christmas Lute--

This is the collection of Christmas Music you have been looking for. Once you have played the exciting “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” or the haunting “We Sing in Celebration,” you will know that will you have hours and hours of great playing ahead of you. There are twenty two great pieces in this collection, most with variations to fill out the pieces and make them perfect as solos. You will also find these pieces which have been recently revised lay very well on the lute. There is over an hour of music on the CD which includes all the pieces in the book in the order in which they appear in the table of contents. They are beautifully rendered in French Tablature and this edition will be a lasting addition to your collection of lute tablature which you will come back to every year.
The song listI Saw Three ShipsA Babe is Born Blessed Be That Maid Marie The Coventry Carol Down in Yon Forest The Holly and the Ivy Let it Sound St Basil's Hymn Pata Pan What is that Perfume So Appealing The Sussex Carol Unto Us is Born a Son Good King Wenceslas O Come O Come Emmanuel14th Century Greensleeves Greensleeves Pudding Pie Greensleeves Three Greensleeves Two We Sing in Celebration Ding Dong Merrily on High Cordes Natus
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK AT ADG Productions

2011-10-13T11:54:00.001-07:00

Learning and Loving Music Theory

2011-10-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

Christmas Music for Violin-

Christmas Music for Violin by Allan Alexander contains 21 pieces for solo violin. This great collection includes tunes from the 10th to 18th centuries. The music was chosen from more than eight hundred years of Christmas music. Most of the pieces have been extended with variations, which makes the tunes a more suitable length for performances and are a joy for a violinist to play. With Allan's extensive knowledge of music, you are assured to have a great collection. The music is presented in crisp notation.
Every piece in the book is included on the digitally mastered CD. Allan and Andrew Bonner have played these pieces artfully, and the result is a really lovely CD which is a pleasure to listen to. For the player who is new to violin music, the recording will give insights into the music and will be a pleasure to hear for anyone whatever their experience in music.

Contents: Let it SoundWe Sing in CelebrationA Babe is BornI Saw Three ShipsThe Holly and the IvyHere Between Ass and Oxen MildPata PanWe Wish You a Merry ChristmasBring a Torch, Jeanette, IsabellaThe Coventry CarolDing Dong Merrily on HighDeck the HallsO Come O Come EmmanuelGood King WenceslasUnto Us is Born a SonGod Rest Ye Merry GentlemenI Saw Three ShipsDown in Yon ForestHe Is Born The Holy ChildCorde NatusSaint Basil's Hymn
To buy this book please click here--Christmas Violin

2011-09-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

Christmas Music for Piano Book/CD Allan Alexander

I Saw Three Ships - Traditional
What Child is This (Greensleeves) - 16th Century
The Sussex Carol
Ding Dong Merrily On High - 16th Century
We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Traditional English
The Holly and the Ivy - 18th Century
Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head - Appalachian Carol
Deck The Hall - Traditional
Coventry Carol - Traditional
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - English Traditional
O Come O Come Emmanuel - Latin 13th Century
Joy to the World - Traditional Christmas Hymn
Pata Pan - 17th Century English Traditional
Good King Wenceslas 16th Century
Unto Us is Born a Son - 16th Century
He is Born the Holy Child
Blessed Be That Maid Marie - 16th Century---CD tracks performed by Jordane Lafitte.You can buy this book atADG Productions

2011-09-28T11:40:00.001-07:00

Practice Practice Practice

2011-09-26T06:07:00.001-07:00

We , as musicians , are influenced by the great music we have access to and can enjoy from various storage media--vinyl records, c.d.s mp3's etc .and the thousands of sites on the internet.

2011-09-22T06:36:00.001-07:00

Advanced Concepts for Blues Guitar Soloing

Advanced Concepts for Blues Guitar Soloing the next level up from Barry Levenson’s first book Exciting Concepts for Blues Guitar Soloing. In the first book, Barry explored motific development, conceptual playing over chord changes, phrasing, target notes, bending techniques and advanced position playing. In this volume Barry has transcribed ten solos from his Storyville CD’s Heart To Hand, Closer to the Blues and Hard Times Won. He has analyzed key concepts and techniques in these solos by isolating specific measures and going into in-depth explanations of the more pertinent concepts that comprise these solos. Also, at the end of the book Barry have included a brief discography of CDs and/or songs that will help shed light on these concepts. The solos are the result of all the years of playing, learning, studying, and more playing. Barry hopes that they can be useful in some small way to help others to find their own means of self-expression. PDF FILE

2011-09-21T02:33:00.000-07:00

Two of the world’s greatest blues musicians, Eric Clapton and Wynton Marsalis have released a live, collaborative CD and DVD.

‘Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues – Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center,’ shows highlights of the duo performing in front of two sold-out audiences, at New York’s Rose Hall, in April of this year. “We wanted these concerts to sound like people playing music they know and love, not like a project,” commented Marsalis, who is also the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The songs used for the performances were chosen by Clapton and arranged by Marsalis.

The pair was accompanied by members of the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra: Dan Nimmer (piano), Carlos Henriquez (bass), Ali Jackson (drums), Marcus Printup (trumpet), Victor Goines (clarinet), Chris Crenshaw (trombone, vocals), Don Vappie (banjo) and Clapton’s longtime keyboardist Chris Stainton. Marsalis says the group combined the sound of an early blues jump-band with the sound of New Orleans jazz.

The album and DVD are available now.

100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Flute Beginner Series Book/Audio CD

2011-09-19T02:35:00.000-07:00

100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Flute, the Beginner Series by musician, educator and world renowned author Andrew D. Gordon is an exhaustive guide to introduce beginner students to the various phrases or “riffs” that make up Flute playing, both from a rhythmic and soloing standpoint.
Due to the continued success of his more advanced series 100 Ultimate Blues Riffs Andrew decided to author a similar type of book for beginner students.
This book is ideal for the beginner to intermediate music student with most of the examples notated in the easier keys. Besides learning how to play Blues riffs the book is a useful tool for sight reading exercises with many different rhythms.
The 12 bar Blues progression and the Blues scale, in Andrew’s opinion, the two most important aspects of playing the Blues is explained in detail as well as “straight” and “swing” rhythms.

There are five sections to the riffs in the book, section 1 contains basic Blues riffs, section 2 contains Rhythm & Blues influenced riffs, section 3 contains Blues/Boogie Woogie riffs, section 4 contains Rock influenced Blues riffs and section 5 contains Gospel influenced Blues riffs. Included with this book is an audio CD that contains all the riffs, recorded twice: first, sax melody, piano, guitar, bass and drums and second just the rhythm track of piano, guitar bass & drums so you can play-a-long.

100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Guitar Beginner Series Book/audio CD

2011-09-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Guitar, the Beginner Series by musician, educator and world renowned author Andrew D. Gordon is an exhaustive guide to introduce beginner students to the various phrases or “riffs” that make up Blues guitar playing, both from a rhythmic and soloing standpoint.
Due to the continued success of his more advanced book series 100 Ultimate Blues Riffs Andrew decided to author a similar type of book for beginner students.
Besides learning how to play Blues riffs the book is a useful tool for sight reading exercises with many different rhythms.
The 12 bar Blues progression and the Blues scale, in Andrew’s opinion, the two most important aspects of playing the Blues is explained in detail as well as “straight” and “swing” rhythms.

There are five sections to the riffs in the book, section 1 contains basic Blues riffs, section 2 contains Rhythm & Blues influenced riffs, section 3 contains Blues/Boogie Woogie riffs, section 4 contains Rock influenced Blues riffs and section 5 contains Gospel influenced Blues riffs. Included with this book is an audio CD that contains all the riffs, recorded twice: first, guitar melody, piano, guitar, bass and drums and second just the rhythm track of piano, bass & drums so you can play-a-long.

100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Guitar Beginner Series Book/audio CD

2011-08-15T04:13:00.001-07:00

There are five sections to the riffs in the book, section 1 contains basic Blues riffs, section 2 contains Rhythm & Blues influenced riffs, section 3 contains Blues/Boogie Woogie riffs, section 4 contains Rock influenced Blues riffs and section 5 contains Gospel influenced Blues riffs. Included with this book is an audio CD that contains all the riffs, recorded twice: first, guitar melody, piano, guitar, bass and drums and second just the rhythm track of piano, bass & drums so you can play-a-long.

Things to avoid when recording at home.

2011-06-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Too much bass: Nothing says amateur mix like a boomy, overpowering bottom-end. Novice engineers often monitor and mix through headphones or small speakers which under-represent low frequencies. It’s natural to compensate by boosting the bass instruments, but this in turn yields muddy, indistinct mixes. If you find your mixes sound boomy on other systems, try checking everything you do against a commercial reference CDto better gauge the appropriate bass levels.

GEORGE RUSSELL'S LYDIAN CHROMATIC CONCEPT OF TONAL ORGANIZATION,

2011-06-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

first described in a self-published pamphlet in 1953, marks a radical expansion of the harmonic language for both composition and analysis and also marks an abandonment of the major-minor system which dominated Western music for over 350 years. Radical as it may be, the theory is more than one person's eccentricity, having considerable precedent in the work of Ravel, Scriabin, Debussy and in some of the learned works of Bach. The word "Lydian" is here derived from one of the classical Greek scale modes. Russell's root scale follows the natural overtone series and runs from C to C with F sharp, rather than the customary F natural of the major scale.For more info' visit George Russell's website

2011-06-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

You can download digital versions of ADG publications from www.digitalmusicbooks.com , it saves paper and shipping costs.

2011-05-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

Frets on Fire
------is kind of like an open source Guitar Hero-like game for your keyboard. I’d go on, but I realize Open source + the words ‘Guitar Hero’ are probably enough to get you interested!

2011-05-16T07:12:00.001-07:00

Duke Orsino:
If music be the food of love, play on,
Give me excess of it; that surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.

12 Th Night , W.Shakespeare.

2011-05-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

Are you noodling around for hours and hours, playing the same stuff you already know over and over? If so, why? Probably because you never stopped and thought about it for very long. There is a big difference between practicing and noodling. Practicing is learning new material, gaining new knowledge or skill, and refining and improving upon what you already know. Noodling is not necessarily bad, not at all, but we should look at developing a plan that also includes other essential parts of playing guitar(or any instrument for that matter ).
A good teacher would help or if you can't afford lessons buy some books .VISIT ADGPRODUCTIONS WEBSITE for some ideas.

Outta Sight Funk and R&B Riffs for Piano/Keyboards

2011-05-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

Outta Sight Funk and R&B Riffs for Piano/Keyboards by Andrew D. Gordon is designed to help piano/keyboard players improve their playing technique with a wide range of different Funk & R&B riffs and grooves.
While living in London during my early 20’s I had the opportunity of developing my Funk & R&B skills by playing or jamming with musicians of mainly African & Jamaican descent 3 to 4 times a week. We would jam for hours on end including doing gigs to the early hours of the morning. From this experience it is my feeling that it is important to play and learn from other musicians, however, if one is unable to do so then incorporating this product into your practicing routine is the next best thing. By using this book your Funk/R&B keyboard playing will definitely improve.
What is Funk Music
Funk is an Afro American musical style originated by James Brown and later Sly and the Family Stone emphasizing the rhythm and putting melody and harmony in the background. Funk often consists of a complex groove where every instrument is playing a different rhythmic part fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. Entire songs are written without any or minimal chord changes where one or two riffs form the basis of the song as represented by the examples in this book.
One of the most distinctive features of funk music is the role of the bass line as a foundation with melodic bass lines at the centerpiece of a funk tune. The left hand parts in this book capture both the rhythmic and melodic essence of funk bass while the right hand parts capture the percussive syncopated rhythms of funk music similar to what a guitarist may play.
Funk music uses the same type of extended chords as in jazz, including minor chords with added sevenths, ninths and elevenths, or dominant seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords.

Each of the 55 examples has been recorded three times: 1. The left and right hand parts are played through twice with drums & percussion, guitars and keyboards at the regular tempo. 2. Rhythm tracks at the regular tempo of guitar, bass, drums & percussion to practice the keyboard parts along with. 3. Slowed down track of the left & right keyboard parts with the drums so that you can precisely hear what the keyboard parts are playing.
For musicians/students who would like extended 2 minute Play A Long tracks for each of the 55 examples ADG Productions offer downloadable mp3 files or MIDI files.
This book is a companion book to "Outta Sight Funk and R&B Riffs for Bass and "Outta Sight Funk and R&B Patterns for Drums".
YOU CAN BUY A PDF VERSION OD THIS BOOK HERE or a physical copy from HERE

Chord formulas-Part 1

2011-05-10T11:16:00.001-07:00

Chord naming rules and chord symbols are not always very consistent. Often the same chord can have multiple names. The chart lists the most common symbols.
Note that the numbers in the formulas always indicate positions in the major scale.
Major chords:

Chord name	Chord symbol	Formula
Major	(nothing), maj, ma, M, ∆	1 – 3 – 5
Major 6	6, maj6, ma6	1 – 3 – 5 – 6
Major 7	maj7, ma7, M7, ∆7, j7	1 – 3 – 5 – 7
Major 9	maj9, ma9, M9, ∆9, j9	1 – 3 – 5 – 7 – 9
Major 11	maj11, M11, ∆11, j11	1 – 3 – 5 – 7 – 9 – 11
Major 13	maj13, M13, ∆13, j13	1 – 3 – 5 – 7 – 9 – 11 – 13
Major add 9	add9, /9	1 – 3 – 5 – 9
Major 6/9	6/9, 9/6	1 – 3 – 5 – 6 – 9

Minor chords:

Chord name	Chord symbol	Formula
Minor	m, min, mi, -	1 – b3 – 5
Minor 6	m6, min6	1 – b3 – 5 – 6
Minor 7	m7, min7	1 – b3 – 5 – b7
Minor 9	m9, min9	1 – b3 – 5 – b7 – 9
Minor 11	m11, min11	1 – b3 – 5 – b7 – 9 – 11
Minor 13	m13, min13	1 – b3 – 5 – b7 – 9 – 11 – 13
Minor major 7	m(maj7), mM7, m∆7	1 – b3 – 5 – 7
Minor major 9	m(maj9), mM9, m∆9	1 – b3 – 5 – 7 – 9
Minor add 9	m(add9), m/9	1 – b3 – 5 – 9
Minor 6/9	m6/9, m9/6	1 – b3 – 5 – 6 – 9

Dominant chords:

Chord name	Chord symbol	Formula
Dominant 7	7	1 – 3 – 5 – b7
Dominant 9	9	1 – 3 – 5 – b7 – 9
Dominant 11	11	1 – 3 – 5 – b7 – 9 – 11
Dominant 13	13	1 – 3 – 5 – b7 – 9 – 11 – 13

Diminished chords:

Chord name	Chord symbol	Formula
Diminished	dim, °	1 – b3 – b5
Diminished 7	dim7, °7	1 – b3 – b5 – bb7 (bb7 = 6)
Half-diminished (7)	m7b5, m7-5, ø	1 – b3 – b5 – b7

Augmented chords:

Chord name	Chord symbol	Formula
Augmented	aug, +, +5	1 – 3 – #5
Augmented 7	aug7, 7#5, 7+5	1 – 3 – #5 – b7

Suspended chords:

Chord name	Chord symbol	Formula
Suspended (4)	sus, sus4	1 – 4 – 5
Suspended 7	7sus, 7sus4	1 – 4 – 5 – b7
Suspended 2	sus2	1 – 2 – 5

Tip: If the chord symbol is some kind of complicated chord, like Cmaj13, and you don’t know how to play all the additional tones, then you can simplify the chord to its basics. In this case, the basic chord is the major chord, so you can get away by playing only 1 – 3 – 5. It might not sound entirely as intended, but it will still sound good.

2011-05-09T07:51:00.001-07:00

Children who are fortunate enough to be exposed to weekly music lessons, choir rehearsals, creative movement, or general music classes reap many benefits. We all love watching little children dance around the room with little or no inhibition, singing along with their favorite songs in a voice that’s clear and strong, though maybe a little out of tune. Music is an obvious outlet for self-expression and creativity.

But far beyond providing an opportunity to sing and dance, researchers have shown that a strong musical education provides so much more. Music, for example, develops self-discipline. The child who allots time for practicing each day is known to develop similar habits in conjunction with other subjects as well. Organizational skills increase and the child learns what it takes to be “good” at something.

The Piano .D.H Lawrence

2011-05-08T10:55:00.001-07:00

Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

American Folk Music for Mountain Dulcimer

2011-05-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

From the lyrical beauty of Amazing Grace and Shenandoah to the rollicking good fun of Lane County Bachelor and The Rose of Alabamy, these tunes will keep you playing – and keep your listeners dancing and singing – ‘til the sun goes down. All of the tunes are set for standard three-string mountain dulcimer tuned DAD. The music is presented in easyto-read tablature as well as notation. Harmonies are written out for those who like to venture into chording; for more traditionally-minded dulcimer players, or for beginners, the tunes can be played drone-style. All lyrics are printed at the end of the book, telling the story of each song. The CD, recorded by Jess Peterson, includes all of the tunes in order.
You can buy this book online or a PDF downloadable version online at

Digital Books

2011-05-02T05:28:00.001-07:00

You can now download instructional books in PDF format , MIDI files and MP3 files for various instructional books on Jazz , Blues, Latin Music , Rock etc plus performance ready songs for fiddlle/violin, dulcimer, guitar etc at www.digitalmusicbooks.com

Digital Music Books

2011-04-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

You can now purchase PDF versions of music instruction books , sheet music , mp3 files from music instruction books and midi files from Digital Music Books

What We Can Learn From Michael Jackson The King Of Pop

2011-04-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

Create an experience, not just a song
Be yourself, no matter what other people think
Work with others and watch the magic happen
Believe you can change the world, and use your talents to do just that
This is the moment, so give it everything you’ve got

Sample Library

2011-04-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/thesoundexchange

Thousands of free, downloadable sound samples specially recorded by Philharmonia Orchestra players.

The samples are suitable for creating any kind of music, no matter what you're into. From piccolo to double bass there are single notes, phrases and whole orchestra samples to choose from.

American Folk Music for Mountain Dulcimer

2011-04-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

8 CONCERT RAGS FOR GUITAR

2011-04-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

Eight Concert Rags for Guitar by Allan Alexander contains Eight pieces for solo guitar. This wonderful collection includes music from the genius of Scott Joplin. The music was chosen for it's beauty and for it's accessibility on the guitar. All but one piece is four pages in length, perfect for performances, and are a joy for a guitarist to play. With Allan's extensive knowledge of the music and the guitar, you are assured to have a great collection of music. The music is presented in notation only and meticulously fingered for guitar. Although these pieces are challenging, they are very playable. The 8 songs included are: Felicity Rag, Leola, Nonpareil, East Winners, Weeping Willow Rag, Eugenia, Silver Swan Rag, The Chrysanthemum.

Every piece in the book is included on the digitally mastered CD. Allan has played these pieces artfully, and the result is a really lovely CD which is a pleasure to listen to. For the player who is new to Joplin, the recording will give insights into the music and will be a pleasure to hear for anyone whatever their experience in music. Be sure to check out Allan's web site. The beautiful cover art on the book is by Aleksandra Alexander.

100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Bb (Tenor) Saxophone Beginner Series

2011-04-04T05:39:00.000-07:00

100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Bb Tenor Saxophone, the Beginner Series by musician, educator and world renowned author Andrew D. Gordon is an exhaustive guide to introduce beginner students to the various phrases or “riffs” that make up Blues sax playing, both from a rhythmic and soloing standpoint.
Due to the continued success of his more advanced book 100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Bb Tenor Andrew decided to author a similar type of book for beginner students.
This book is ideal for the beginner to intermediate music student with most of the examples notated in the easier keys. Besides learning how to play Blues riffs the book is a useful tool for sight reading exercises with many different rhythms.
The 12 bar Blues progression and the Blues scale, in Andrew’s opinion, the two most important aspects of playing the Blues is explained in detail as well as “straight” and “swing” rhythms.
There are five sections to the riffs in the book, section 1 contains basic Blues riffs, section 2 contains Rhythm & Blues influenced riffs, section 3 contains Blues/Boogie Woogie riffs, section 4 contains Rock influenced Blues riffs and section 5 contains Gospel influenced Blues riffs. Included with this book is an audio CD that contains all the riffs, recorded twice: first, sax melody, piano, guitar, bass and drums and second just the rhythm track of piano, guitar bass & drums so you can play-a-long.sample riffs

2011-03-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

The Hungarian Gypsy scale can be made by raising the Fourth degree of the

^{Natural Minor Scale ----( example above is A minor )}

2011-03-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

Celtic Music for Violin by Jessica Walsh has 40 pieces in this collection ranging from lovely portraits to lively jigs. They come from traditions including Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and Manx, and span several hundred years. The unique personality and sound of the violin complements them all.

A few of the tunes are more than 400 years old; some are new. All have that inexplicable but necessary magic, the quality which draws the player to begin the tune again, just one more time...

Whether a lilt, love song, or lament, each melody in this collection is a gem; many are sure to become cherished favorites.

The accompanying Play-Along CD includes all the tunes in the same order in which they appear in the book. This CD features separate channels for violin and guitar so that the violin player can play along with the guitar accompaniment. Allan Alexander artfully renders the chords on guitar, providing a harmonic tapestry over which the melodies float.

100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Piano

2011-03-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

If you're serious about improving your blues piano playing this books is for you . You may say I'm biased because I work for ADG Productions but just give it a run. For more info' go to the ADG website
I've used this book and it has radically improved my playing.You can also buy the book here.

Ultimate Latin riffs for Guitar

2011-03-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

-
Ultimate Latin Riffs for Guitar written by Joe N. De Sa provides an extensive study into various Latin guitar styles including: Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Calypso, Cha Cha etc. These exciting 50 examples will have you spending many enjoyable hours learning the intricacies of Latin guitar playing. The book is transcribed note for note from the superbly recorded audio CD. Each example is recorded twice, the first version with guitar, piano, bass and drums and the second version with just piano, bass and drums so that the guitarist can practice along with the rhythm section.

A very useful tool

2011-03-21T09:34:00.001-07:00

the Chord Calculator

The Bluesier Side Of Jazz for Piano/Keyboards

2011-03-16T04:34:00.000-07:00

The Bluesier Side of Jazz by Andrew D. Gordon was inspired by the piano students he teaches at Shepherd University School of Music in Los Angeles and is dedicated to those students: Jungwon, Yumiko, Yoko, Eunice, Sooji, Hae Ji and Ok Kyu. As with many students that come from a classical background (including himself) it is a difficult transition to learn to play Blues & Jazz. When a musician improvises they usually play a variety of riffs or phrases that they have developed and learnt over a period of time and can access these phrases instantaneously whatever key they are playing in to create a seamless improvised solo from the phrases they have learnt.
Andrew's idea for this book is to create phrases or riffs over two measures of various Blues progressions. He sub-divided each of the 12 Bar Blues progressions used in this book (the chord progression for Watermelon Man is a 16 measure progression) into six sections (two measures each) and within each of the six sections created four different phrases or riffs so that the student has a choice of four different phrases to play over every two measures. They can then create a solo based on which phrase they choose for each two measures. By breaking down these phrases to two measures each, he has found that the students have an easier time of learning to improvise than by trying to transcribe a whole solo from an audio recording or leaving them to their own devices in trying to play a solo based on the Blues scale or other related scales.

Each of the ten examples are based on common Jazz/Blues chord progressions from Jazz songs such as "Watermelon Man", "Blue Monk", "Tenor Madness", "Route 66", "Blue Trane", "Bag's Groove" starting off with basic I-IV-V chords and increasing in complexity throughout the book. There are over 200 phrases/riffs to choose from that can be learned and applied to many types of jazz songs.
You can buy this book from the ADG WEBSITE

Practice

2011-03-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

Practice makes perfect but take every opportunity you can to play for an audience, that's the best practice of all.

2011-02-23T07:43:00.001-08:00

DORIAN b5

2011-02-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Alternative names: Locrian sharp 2 sharp 6, Dorian flat 5
It starts from the second grade of harmonic major scale
Structure: 2121312
Diminished Triad--Cm7b5

Seventh Chord Half Diminished--Cm7b5

Music & Education

2011-02-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

I think it unnecessary to go into the benefits of music education because of all the studies showing how much it benefits children . I believe that all children should be taught to play at least one instrument and taught how to sing. Music ,in organizing sound also organizes our perception of the universe. The same can be said for art in general.

2011-02-09T15:42:00.000-08:00

HARMONIC MAJOR SCALE AND ITS MODES

GRADE	NAME	NOTES	NOTES TRANSPOSED IN C
I	HARMONIC MAJOR
II	DORIAN b5
III	PHRYGIAN b4
IV	LYDIAN b3
V	MIXOLYDIAN b9
VI	LYDIAN AUGMENTED #2
VII	LOCRIAN bb7

Waltz for Debbie -Bill Evans

2011-02-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

2011-02-02T06:36:00.000-08:00

In music, the tone colour, or quality of tone, of a particular sound. Different instruments playing a note at the same pitch have different sound qualities, and it is the timbre that enables the listener to distinguish the sound of, for example, a trumpet from that of a violin. The tone quality of a sound depends on several things, including its waveform, the strength of its harmonics, and its attack and decay – the ‘shape’ of the sound. The study of the elements of sound quality is part of the science of acoustics.

St.Patrick's day is approaching.

2011-01-31T06:58:00.000-08:00

For those of you who play Celtic related gigs it's time to start preparing an interesting repertoire for the various St.Pat's day celebrations. It's good to put together a mix of dance tunes and ballads. Check out our website
www.adgproductions.com for some ideas. We have songs books for Flute , Mandolin , Guitar , Fiddle and Piano.

Why music?

2011-01-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

“IF MUSIC be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it.” And if not? Well, what exactly is it for? The production and consumption of music is a big part of the economy. The first use to which commercial recording, in the form of Edison’s phonographs, was to bring music to the living rooms and picnic tables of those who could not afford to pay live musicians. Today, people are so surrounded by other people’s music that they take it for granted, but as little as 100 years ago singsongs at home, the choir in the church and fiddlers in the pub were all that most people heard.

Extract from an article in the Economist .

100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Bb (Tenor) Saxophone Beginner Series

2011-01-26T03:20:00.000-08:00

100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Bb Tenor Saxophone, the Beginner Series by musician, educator and world renowned author Andrew D. Gordon is an exhaustive guide to introduce beginner students to the various phrases or “riffs” that make up Blues sax playing, both from a rhythmic and soloing standpoint.

Due to the continued success of his more advanced book 100 Ultimate Blues Riffs for Bb Tenor Andrew decided to author a similar type of book for beginner students.

This book is ideal for the beginner to intermediate music student with most of the examples notated in the easier keys. Besides learning how to play Blues riffs the book is a useful tool for sight reading exercises with many different rhythms.

The 12 bar Blues progression and the Blues scale, in Andrew’s opinion, the two most important aspects of playing the Blues is explained in detail as well as “straight” and “swing” rhythms.

There are five sections to the riffs in the book, section 1 contains basic Blues riffs, section 2 contains Rhythm & Blues influenced riffs, section 3 contains Blues/Boogie Woogie riffs, section 4 contains Rock influenced Blues riffs and section 5 contains Gospel influenced Blues riffs. Included with this book is an audio CD that contains all the riffs, recorded twice: first, sax melody, piano, guitar, bass and drums and second just the rhythm track of piano, guitar bass & drums so you can play-a-long.

The musical challenge

2011-01-24T04:57:00.000-08:00

Musicians are 'small muscle' athletes. Learning a new instrument or a new song involves physical skill training, just like learning a sport.

Imagine the practice routine of Olympic divers. There are hundreds of repetitions of every aspect of the dive: learning flips and twists independently, then learning to combine them. And finally once the dive is perfected, to ensure consistency and reliability, they practice the perfected dive hundreds, even thousands of times.
Practice, Practice Practice.

15 Venezuelan Waltzes

2011-01-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

If you love the music of Antonio Lauro and just can't get enough of it, take a chance on this CD. There are 15 great waltzes which will introduce you to a wonderful collection of music. As one person that bought this CD says, "If you are looking for beautiful melodic themes with soft and vibrant passages, than look no further that these waltzes. Allan takes you and your guitar on a journey of masterfully described melodies that will make your guitar sing in a way that will make you feel like you are holding an angel singing softly to you in

2011-01-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

Free music composition & notation software

musescore

Outta Sight Funk and R&B Riffs For Bass

2011-01-11T06:18:00.000-08:00

Outta Sight Funk and R&B Riffs for Bass is designed to help bass players and also keyboard players improve their bass playing technique with a wide range of different Funk riffs and grooves. The book starts off with easier examples and gradually increases in difficulty as the examples become more syncopated.This book is a companion to Outts Sight Funk & R&B Patterns for Drums

While living in London during his early 20’s Andrew had the opportunity of developing his Funk & R&B skills by playing or jamming with musicians of mainly African & Jamaican descent 3 to 4 times a week. They would jam for hours on end including doing gigs to the early hours of the morning. From this experience it is his feeling that it is important to play and learn from other musicians, however, if one is unable to do so then incorporating this product into your practicing routine is the next best thing. By using this book your funk bass playing will definitely improve.
You can buy this book at the ADG website

What is Music ?

2011-01-10T06:22:00.000-08:00

My definition would have to include :- the organisation of sound into recognizable rhythmic and melodic sequences or patterns.
What's your definition ?

2011-01-05T07:16:00.001-08:00

A.D.G. Productions was formed in 1990 by owner Andrew Gordon as a music educational publishing company producing and selling music instructional products including books, audio CD's, MIDI disks, DVD's, and software for most instruments and styles. With their office in Los Angeles A.D.G. Productions sells to music stores & distributors in the U.S.A., Canada, U.K., France, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan as well as to various other countries throughout the world. With the introduction of our Internet site, we reach and sell to customers from all parts of the gobe becoming a truly International company.

2011

2011-01-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

It's a new year and I'm thinking about the changes that have happened in the music business; and specifically in my end -the music book publishing business. More people are buying online . More people are downloading illegal copies from various sites that pirate instructional books. What can we learn from this and how can we turn it into a positive thing ? ADG Productions was started by Andrew to help people learn how to play different styles of music and our philosophy has remained the same--producing books that will aaid the learning process thus enhancing performance.

Beatles Piano Chords: Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

2010-12-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

Bill Romer shows you how to play it His site

A Holiday Gift for the Pianist in your life--100 Ultimate Jazz Riffs for Piano/Keyboards

2010-12-08T05:52:00.000-08:00

There are five separate ections: Jazz Swing, Jazz Ballad, Jazz Funk, Jazz Waltz and Latin Jazz. Each musical example has a single note improvised melody line with the right hand and chord accompaniment with the left hand. At the end of the book there is the chord progression for the popular jazz standard "Blue Moon" showing you how to use various examples from the 100 riffs to create an improvised solo over the chord progression.
By demonstrating this technique you can pick most jazz standards and create your own improvisational ideas using the book.
The CD is recorded with the right hand piano part on the right channel and the left hand piano part on the left channel (bass and drums on both channels) with most of the examples recorded at normal and slowed down tempos. An absolute must for musicians learning and playing various jazz styles.
You can buy this book from the ADG Website

a holiday gift for the guitarist in your life--African Guitar Styles

2010-12-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

This is the first practical guide to some of the most beautiful guitar music on earth. For this pioneering tour of some of the great musical styles, Sierra Leonean bandleader and composer Folo Graff draws on nearly twenty years' experience of teaching African guitar all over the world. In one volume, he brings together a huge selection of classic styles old and new from all over the continent, ranging from the desert blues of Mali through West African highlife and Afrobeat to Congolese rumba and soukous and South African township jive.

32 multi-part arrangements
almost 120 authentic riffs
30 regional and pan-African styles
fully notated in staff and tablature
complete left and right hand fingering
unique beat-count line to boost mastery of African rhythms
full playing instructions
optional basslines
complete percussion arrangements
play solo, in ensemble, or with CD or sequencer
combine parts within pieces for dozens of different musical arrangements
for all levels from novice to advanced
supporting scale exercises
introduction explains
fundamental principles of African rhythm and harmony
essentials of African guitar technique
key secrets of African musicianship
all music available on CD and MIDI files.
You can buy this book from the ADG Website
It will keep your Guitarist busy for a ong time

2010-12-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

How do you write a song ? Do you start with the words or the melody ? If you have a melody how do put chords behind it ? All of these techniques can be learned but I think the most important thing to start with is having something you want to say .Then , of course , you need to play a melodic instrument competently . I don't thing there needs to be any rules to writing a song . But you do need to ask yourself who you are writing the song for , yourself or other people.

Christmas Music For Guitar

2010-12-01T05:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas Music For Guitar by Allan Alexander consists of 17 pieces including I Saw Three Ships, Deck The Hall, Joy To The World, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas etc., especially arranged for guitar by Mr. Alexander. The book is split into two sections, the first section of the book consists of music notation while the second section consists of the music tablature.

Favorite Celtic Melodies for Accordion

2010-11-30T10:34:00.000-08:00

Favorite Celtic Melodies for Accordion by Miles Courtiere. The aim of the book is to provide Accordionists interested in learning Celtic pieces a wide range of simple and easy to remember melodies while providing a range of different moods, tempos and rhythms. The C.D provides the Accordionist with accompaniment and is meant simply as an aid to learning the tunes and playing them at an accurate tempo and with an authentic feel. These tunes were all used as dance music originally and that fact should be kept in mind. Celtic music is part of the tradition that has produced Bluegrass, Western, Old Time and Country music. Listen to the melodies carefully and you are sure to recognize them.You can buy this book from the ADG website
or from Amazon ,or Sheetmusic plus.

Christmas Duets for Mandolin and Guitar

2010-11-29T05:19:00.000-08:00

There are so many wonderful Christmas Carols for musicians to play. The problem for the instrumentalist lies with the fact that often the lyrics are a large part of the music. The melody is often lovely but fairly short and leaves us with having to either play a short piece or repeat the melody so often we are left with playing a short melody over and over. I thought about this and the solution for me is to write introductions and variations to the pieces. A singer wouldn’t sing the same lyrics every verse. That wouldn’t make sense. It does make sense to extend a piece with variations, keeping the feel of the piece but making it more interesting for both the players and the listener. Almost every piece in this collection has been expanded and I hope they will provide you with a great deal of pleasure. I think you will find these pieces to be playable and addictive. Another problem is that often one musician has all the interesting parts. In these editions, both musicians will have fun as there is a great distribution of music for both players. The result is that both musicians have lovely music to play, and your listeners will love the results. Open a set with “I saw three ships” and you will get the attention of your audience.You can but this book at the ADG website

2010-11-17T08:16:00.000-08:00

Create Beats on line

2010-11-11T09:54:00.001-08:00

From Phil Richards of the Westchester County, NY Golden Chordsman

Phil added a table that describes an interval's steps relative to tonic, root, or key note.

Major Second up	Doe-a-deer Happy Birth-day
Major Second down	Ma-ry had a little lamb Whis-tle while you work
Minor second up	You must remember this ('As Time Goes By') I left my heart in San Francisco Theme from Jaws (repeating two-note pattern)
Minor Second down	Shall we dance (from The King and I) Ride a painted pony ('Spinning Wheel') I know a dark secluded place ('Hernando's Hideaway')
Major Third up	From the halls of Montezuma Have your-self a merry little Christmas Well I come from Alabama ('Oh Susanna')
Major Third down	Swing low, sweet chariot Good night, ladies Summertime and the livin' is easy.
Minor Third up	Lul-la-by and good night(Brahm's Lullaby) A time for us ('Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet') To dream the impossible dream
Minor Third down	Look at me ('Misty') Toot-Toot Tootsie, good-bye Oh-o say you see ('Star Spangled Banner')
Perfect Fourth up	Here comes the bride Day is done ('Taps' bugle call)
Perfect Fourth down	Born free My girl, talkin' 'bout my girl (Motown hit)
Tritone up	Ma-ri-a (from West Side Story) Bo-oy, boy, crazy boy (from flatted fifth or sharp fourth) 'Cool' in West Side Story)
Tritone down	European police siren (go see a foreign film)
Perfect Fifth up	Hey there, Georgy Girl Rain-drops on roses ('My Favorite Things', Sound of Music) Yo-ee-oh (War chant of the Wicked Witch's guardsmen in The Wizard of Oz)
Perfect Fifth down	Feel-ings, nothing more than feelings
Major Sixth up	My Bonnie lies over the ocean Dash-ing through the snow ('Jingle Bells'); N-B-C (network chime)
Major Sixth down	No-body knows the trouble I seen Gonna lay down my sword and shield ('Down By The Riverside') 0-ver there
Minor Sixth up	'Cast Your Fate To The Wind,' first two notes (Black Orpheus theme) For Papa, make him a scholar (from 'Matchmaker' in Fiddler On The Roof)
Minor Sixth down	Where do I begin ('Theme From Love Story')
Major Seventh up	Ba-li Hai will find you (from South Pacific; first and third notes)
Major Seventh down	The last phrase of "So have yourself a merry little Christmas now."
Minor Seventh up	There's a place for us (from 'Somewhere' in West Side Story) Theme from Star Trek (first two notes)
Minor Seventh down	Theme from American In Paris (first two notes)
Octave up	Some-where over the rainbow
Octave down	Wil-low weep for me

Celtic Music for Recorder

2010-11-03T06:08:00.000-07:00

Celtic Music for Recorder by Jessica Walsh contains 40 pieces ranging from lovely portraits to lively jigs. They come from traditions including Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and Manx, and span several hundred years. The unique personality and sound of the recorder complements them all. A few of the tunes are more than 400 years old; some are new. All have that inexplicable but necessary magic, the quality which draws the player to begin the tune again, just one more time... Whether a lilt, love song, or lament, each melody in this collection is a gem; many are sure to become cherished favorites. The accompanying Play-Along CD includes all the tunes in the same order in which they appear in the book. This CD features separate channels for recorder and guitar so that the recorder player can play along with the guitar accompaniment. Allan Alexander artfully renders the chords on guitar, providing a harmonic tapestry over which the melodies float.

You can buy this book at your local music store or from the ADG Website , Amazon or SheetMusicPlus

Rhythm Keyboard Workout DVD

2010-11-01T07:52:00.001-07:00

The Rhythm Keyboard Workout DVD by Andrew D. Gordon gives pianists/keyboardists the opportunity to practice rhythm keyboard techniques over common chord progressions while playing along to rhythm tracks of keyboards, bass and drums in various different contemporary styles including Blues, Rock, Funk and Latin. The examples in the book/DVD range from advanced/beginner through to intermediate and advanced levels, so feel free to pick the examples that are at your level and continue on.

Most blues, rock, funk and latin tunes are built up based on the fact that each instrument gets a specific rhythm, and the combination of all the rhythmic elements creates a groove that is stronger than any of the individual rhythms.
There are 70 different examples consisting of a variety of tempos, keys and keyboard sounds such as electric piano, clavinet and acoustic piano. The DVD consists of video examples at a slowed down tempo with a metronome click, followed by audio examples recorded twice, the first time is the keyboard rhythm part playing along with the rhythm backing tracks, the second time has just the rhythm backing tracks playing so that the keyboardist can play the rhythm part along with the backing tracks. The music notation is shown on the screen while the audio examples are being played.
Andrew's suggestion is to carefully pay attention to the rhythm of each example first by playing the video version of each track (the slowed down version) and count or clap the various keyboard rhythms before attempting to play them on the keyboard. Once you have mastered the rhythm on the keyboard at the slowed down tempo try to play along with the rhythm tracks at the correct tempo. His hope is that learning these various rhythms will inspire you to create your own rhythm patterns over the various chord progressions used in the book. The DVD is only in NTSC format, however the DVD will work on any computer DVD player.

A Whole Approach To Jazz Improvisation by Marc Sabatella

2010-10-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

A Whole Approach To Jazz Improvisation by Marc Sabatella is intended primarily for all musicians who wish to learn jazz improvisation as well as listeners who wish to increase their understanding of the music. The main goals of the book are: to teach the language of jazz, to increase your understanding of jazz as performed by others and for performers who need information on how to improve their improvisational techniques.

This book is organized as a series of steps toward becoming a jazz musician, either as a performer or as a more informed listener. Most of the steps are geared for the performer, but the non-performing listener is encouraged to try out as many of the playing examples as possible. This should help broaden your ear and help you appreciate aspects of the music you might not have recognized otherwise.
The steps outlined in this book are: Listen to many different styles of jazz. Understanding jazz fundamentals. Learning chord/scale relationships. Learning how to apply the theory to jazz improvisation. Learning how to accompany other soloists. Playing with others. Listening analytically. Breaking the rules. Find out the techniques used by the great jazz musicians including : Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charlie Mingus, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Ray Brown, Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter. After reading this book you will have the necessary background to get the most out of anything else you may wish to read and learn about jazz.You can buy this book at your local music store or from the ADG website

Christmas Music for Violin

2010-10-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

Contents: Let it Sound We Sing in Celebration A Babe is Born I Saw Three Ships The Holly and the Ivy Here Between Ass and Oxen Mild Pata Pan We Wish You a Merry Christmas Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella The Coventry Carol Ding Dong Merrily on High Deck the Halls O Come O Come Emmanuel Good King Wenceslas Unto Us is Born a Son God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen I Saw Three Ships Down in Yon Forest He Is Born The Holy Child Corde Natus Saint Basil's Hymn

Ranchera:

2010-10-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

Ranchera is an outgrowth of son jalescenses. A type of song that was literally sung on a Mexican ranch, ranchera originated in the mid-19th century, just before the Mexican revolution. The music concerned itself with traditional themes of love, patriotism and nature. Ranchera songs are not just one rhythm; the music is basically a waltz, polka or bolero. Their form is standardized with an instrumental introduction and conclusion, with verse and refrain in the middle.

Outta Sight Funk & R&B Patterns For Drums

2010-10-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

Outta Sight Funk and R&B Patterns for Drums by Andrew D. Gordon is designed to help drummers and drum programmers learn or improve their funk drum playing technique with a wide range of different Funk riffs and grooves. The book starts off with easier examples and gradually increases in difficulty as the examples become more syncopated. This book is a companion to Outts Sight Funk & R&B Riffs for Bass
While living in London during his early 20’s Andrew had the opportunity of developing his Funk & R&B skills by playing or jamming with musicians of mainly African & Jamaican descent 3 to 4 times a week. They would jam for hours on end including doing gigs to the early hours of the morning. From this experience it is his feeling that it is important to play and learn from other musicians, however, if one is unable to do so then incorporating this product into your practicing routine is the next best thing. By using this book your funk drum/drum programming skills will definitely improve.
What is Funk Music Funk is an Afro American musical style originated by James Brown and later Sly and the Family Stone emphasizing the rhythm and putting melody and harmony in the background. Funk often consists of a complex or syncopated grooves where every instrument is playing a different rhythmic part fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. Entire songs are written without any or minimal chord changes where one or two riffs form the basis of the song. Tempos for Funk music range between 80 bpm to 125 bpm.
Notable funk drummer such as: Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown), John “Jabo” Starks (James Brown), Harvey Mason, Stix Hooper, (The Crusaders), Steve Gadd, Stanton Moore, Mike Clark (Herbie Hancock Headhunters) Dave Garibaldi (Tower Of Power), Bernard Perdie<, Alphonse Mouzon, Ngudu Chancler, Idris Muhammed, Buddy Miles to name a few should be listened to and studied.

Each of the 55 examples in the book has been recorded twice on the accompanying audio CD. The first time through, you will hear the drum pattern along with a full rhythm section of keyboards, bass and guitar, the second time through you will hear the drum pattern slowed down to 60 beats per minute with a click track playing through the left speaker and the drum pattern playing through the right speaker allowing you to turn the balance control of your stereo system to the left or right so that you can play with either the click track or the drum pattern.

2010-10-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

Medieval Music for Violin by Allan Alexander contains 34 pieces for violin which can be played solo or with a chord instrument. This great collection includes tunes from the Medieval times. Most of the pieces have been extended with variations, which make the tunes a more suitable length for performances and are a lot of fun for the violinist to play.
Every tune in the book is included on the digitally mastered CD. Though the tunes are very effective as solo material, Allan chose to record them with violinist Melanie De Bonneville. Melanie has given a skillful, charming Medieval performance of the music and Allan has rendered the chords artfully. The result is a really lovely CD which is a pleasure to listen to.
For the player who is new to Medieval music, the recording will give insights into the melodies, and it will allow the violinist who has no access to a chord instrument to hear and play along with the guitar as the violin part can be turned down by fading one channel. For those who know and love these wonderful tunes, it will be a joy to hear them played by two musicians who obviously love to play this music together. The CD which comes with the book has all 34 of the tunes in the same order in which they appear in the book.
The CD will give you insights into the music, and it will be enjoyable to listen to on its own merit. For additional information, be sure to check out Allan's web site.

The Pieces are as follows Winder wie ist, Out in the Meadow, Come With Me My Giselle, Medieval Dance, Ay, Deus, se sab' ora meu amigo, A Bransle, Under der linden, Song of the Ass, Ungaresca, Medieval Dance, Wach auff, mein, Medieval Dance, Edi beo thu hevene queene, O Virgo Splendens, Quant je voi yver retorner, Villanella, Da Que Deus Mamo, Ond Aveo, Lamento de Tristano, La Rotta, Adieu mes amours, Loibere risen, Saltarello, Saltarello, A Virgen, que de Deus, En Todo Nos Faz Mercee, Quen a Deus e a Sa Madra, Cantiga Two, Leitões Dançando de Santa Maria, Muito De Mostra a Virgen, Quen a Omagen da Virgen, A Virgen En Que, Acorrer Nos Pode, Medieval Song Number Five, Saltarello.

7/4 TIME

2010-10-05T14:26:00.001-07:00

used for numerous Genesis songs, Money by Pink Floyd (see also 7/8 below) and The Unsquare Dance by Dave Brubeck

2010-10-04T04:42:00.000-07:00

ADG publications are available from Boomer Music, 3761 Mason St.Ft Collins 80525 ,CO 970 223 2424Boomer Music website.

2010-09-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

ADG books are available at the Denver Folklore Center.www.denverfolklore.com

2010-09-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski

Christmas Music for Violin & Guitar

2010-09-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

There are so many wonderful Christmas Carols for musicians to play. The problem for the instrumentalist lies with the fact that often the lyrics are a large part of the music. The melody is often lovely but fairly short and leaves us with having to either play a short piece or repeat the melody so often we are left with playing a short melody over and over. I thought about this and the solution for me is to write introductions and variations to the pieces. A singer wouldn’t sing the same lyrics every verse. That wouldn’t make sense. It does make sense to extend a piece with variations, keeping the feel of the piece but making it more interesting for both the players and the listener. Almost every piece in this collection has been expanded and I hope they will provide you with a great deal of pleasure. I think you will find these pieces to be playable and addictive.
Another problem is that often one musician has all the interesting parts. In these editions, both musicians will have fun as there is a great distribution of music for both players. The result is that both musicians have lovely music to play, and your listeners will love the results. Open a set with “I saw three ships” and you will get the attention of your audience.

Christmas Duets for Violin and Guitar has 13 Great Duets. I Saw Three Ships Ding Dong Merrily on High O come O Come Emmanual Down in Yon Forest God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen He is Born the Holy Child Pata Pan Unto Us is Born a Son Gloucestershire Wassail Good King Wenceslaus The Coventry Carol Sussex Carol Greensleeves on a Ground
TO BUY THIS BOOK PLEASE VISIT THE ADG WEBSITE

Contemporary Keyboard Styles For The Absolute Beginner

2010-09-27T11:44:00.001-07:00

A fun, contemporary alternative or supplement to the traditional piano/keyboard teaching methods and is one of the most comprehensive books on the market today for the absolute beginner. This book requires no previous musical knowledge as its approach explains all you need to know in a clearly organized manner and can be used whether you are learning to play the piano, organ, electronic keyboard or synthesizer.

In this 72 page book there are 20 original compositions featuring a wide variety of different styles including Rock, Classical, Blues, New Age, Latin and Country. The book contains all the rudimentary theory including: How to read treble and bass clef music notation: How to count and read rhythms: Major, minor and seventh chord formations as well as the major and minor scales in all 12 keys. The CD recorded at normal or slow tempos for practicing purposes.

2010-09-26T09:38:00.000-07:00

Before you can start grooving to any beat, you must feel the pulse of the pattern. This takes a bit of practice. Listen to the pattern and try to count the quarter notes in your head. Developing your internal clock is what every drummer needs to do. When you can feel the pulse of the song, you will be able to play around it, as well as accent certain notes and beats.This also applies to ANY musician , not just drummers.

Arguably one of the grestest "Groove " mucisicans of all time.

2010-09-25T09:09:00.001-07:00

Free VST plugins from Alexander Blu

The Importance of being ernest

2010-09-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Playing music , as a musician , has to be honest .What comes out is a result of what you put in .It doesn't have to be complicated and you don't have to be a virtuoso to play really good heartfelt music .

Christmas Music for Flute

2010-09-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

Christmas Music for Flute by Allan Alexander contains 21 pieces for flute which can be played solo or with a chord instrument. This great collection includes Christmas music from the Renaissance to present day. The melodies were chosen from more than four hundred years of Christmas music. Most of the pieces have been extended with variations, which make the tunes a more suitable length for performances and are a lot of fun for the flutist to play.
Every piece in the book is included on the digitally mastered CD. Though the tunes are very effective as solo material, they are done as a duo with Wendy Norman on flute and guitarist Allan Alexander. The pieces are played beautifully by Wendy, and Allan has rendered the chords artfully, and the result is a really lovely CD which is a pleasure to listen to.
The recording will give insights into the melodies, and it will allow the flutist who has no access to a chord instrument to hear the harmonic progressions. For those who know and love these wonderful tunes, it will be a joy to hear them played by two musicians who obviously love to play this music together. The CD which comes with the book has all 21 of the tunes in the same order in which they appear in the book.
The CD will give you insights into the music, and it will be enjoyable to listen to on its own merit. For additional information, be sure to check out Allan's web site.
The Pieces Let it Sound We Sing in Celebration A Babe is Born I Saw Three Ships The Holly and the Ivy Here Between Ass and Oxen Mild Pata Pan We Wish You a Merry Christmas Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella The Coventry Carol Ding Dong Merrily on High Deck the Halls O Come O Come Emmanuel Good King Wenceslas Unto Us is Born a Son God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen I Saw Three Ships Down in Yon Forest He Is Born The Holy Child Corde Natus Saint Basil's Hymn
TO BUY THIS BOOK PLEASE VISIT THE ADG WEBSITE

Favorite Celtic Melodies for Accordion

2010-09-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Where to buy ADG Publications

2010-09-16T06:07:00.000-07:00

ADG books are available from SAIED MUSIC

To find other stores that stock ADG books please consult the ADG website

EQ Tutorial

2010-09-15T04:36:00.000-07:00

Very informative EQ tutorial from Prosonus.EQ Tutorial

Ultra Smooth Jazz Grooves for Flute

2010-09-14T04:49:00.000-07:00

The smooth jazz grooves in this 50 page book feature a variety of contemporary rhythm section styles including R&B, Jazz, Funk, Top 40, Rock, Gospel, Hip Hop and Latin. These stylistic influences are frequently associated with smooth jazz. Popular artists in this genre include, The Super Groovers, David Sanborn, Eric Marienthal, Kenny G, David Benoit, Dave Koz, Tom Scott, Gerald Albright, Candy Dulfer, Wilton Felder, Boney James, Chris Botti, Chuck Mangione, Sade, George Benson, Peter White, Lee Ritenour, Earl Klugh, Larry Carlton, Jeff Lorber, Brian Culbertson, George Duke, Paul Hardcastle, Joe Sample, Spyro Gyra, Pat Metheny, Four Play, The Yellow Jackets and The Rippingtons. We suggest that you become acquainted with as many of these artists as possible by purchasing their CD's or mp3's via retailers such as itunes or Amazon.com
On each of the 20 tracks, the groove is separated into 3 melodic ideas. Each melodic idea (example or riff) is played first, by the flute with the groove, followed by just the rhythm section groove, without the flute. The 1st example is usually the easiest, the 2nd slightly harder and the 3rd the most difficult.
Versions for each groove are available as midi files or extended MP3 files where the rhythm tracks for each groove are recorded for approximately 2 minutes.
You can buy this book at the ADG website

2010-09-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

On Line Drum Machine

2010-08-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

The most popular I Tunes download is------wait for it---------
Black Eyed Peas 'I Gotta Feeling'. As a musician who has worked to constantly improve over a lifetime what does this tell us ? This song also won a Grammy for best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group and what does that tell us ?

Elizabeth Shepherd

2010-08-24T04:45:00.000-07:00

A very talented singer/songwriter . Give her a listen.