Tom Cliffe is who many young people in the 1960s want to be: not just a lover of music, a player of music. But more than an interest, more than a passion, music and a commitment to becoming an accomplished player and recognized for it will become the driving force in Tom's life. He will give up everything, all the accommodations of the conventional life he was brought up in and educated for. Even when he is nearly destitute, even through years of itinerancy on the road, despite self-interested booking agents and uncommitted fellow musicians, even for the woman he loves, he cannot, will not, abandon Music.The Musician captures the character and circumstance of life as shared by musicians everywhere, from immersion in their craft, to the joy of playing music well, and with others who play it as well or better, to the frustrations associated with committing a lifetime to such an unstructured and unrewarded career."True, endearing, joyful, and at times disheartening, The Musician is an unvarnished look at what most musicians encounter when they choose to follow their dreams. It is an important as well as entertaining book reflecting the reality of how rare it is to achieve celebrity in any profession." Ralph Miriello - Huffington Post columnist, Notes on Jazz blogger, voting member of the Jazz Journalists Association "Some of the best writing about music and musicians. Like all good fiction, The Musician is rooted in fact - often enough, hard, cold facts." Kevin Bales - Internationally renowned jazz pianist and teacher

Drawing on his extensive experience as a coach and world champion athlete, bestselling author Dan Millman reveals a path to success not only in sports but in any life endeavor that requires training and the integration of the body and mind — from golf and tennis to playing the piano. Body Mind Mastery is a revised and updated edition of Millman’s classic The Inner Athlete and includes a brand new Peaceful Warrior warmup, with photos and instructions on creating a daily exercise routine from Millman’s principles, as well as a new section on the aging athlete. Through personal experience, as well as anecdotes from teaching and coaching at such schools as Stanford, U.C. Berkeley, and Oberlin College, Millman directs the reader through the detailed process of attaining the optimum performance of body and mind, where “our minds are free of concern or anxiety, focused on the present moment; our bodies relaxed, sensitive, elastic, and aligned with gravity; our emotions free-flowing expression, uninhibited, spontaneous.” Body Mind Mastery includes overview chapters on developing mental, emotional, physical talent; practical chapters on training, competition, and the evolution of athletics; and Millman’s exploration of natural laws that govern mental and physical training. It is a seminal book that examines the psychology behind the search for athletic excellence, and shows anyone how to improve skills, accelerate learning, and unleash athletic potential. The skills it teaches are applicable in sports and daily life — transforming training into a path of personal growth and discovery.

Michael Nichols shares personal experiences and technical know-how from over 30 years as a live performer. In a straightforward conversational voice, he lays out a dynamic vision for how to make a living and have fun being a solo musician.

In the 1960s and 1970s, becoming a rock musician was fundamentally different than playing other kinds of music. It was a learned rather than a taught skill. In On Becoming a Rock Musician, sociologist H. Stith Bennett observes what makes someone a rock musician and what persuades others to take him seriously in this role. The book explores how bands form; the backstage and onstage reality of playing in a band; how bands promote themselves and interact with audiences and music professionals like DJs; and the role of performance.

The standard Ravel biography by the world's foremost authority — brilliantly detailed and documented, filled with quotations from letters, interviews with the composer's friends, an illuminating analysis of each of his works, a study of his musical esthetics and language, a complete catalog of his works, and a discography. "Highly recommended" — Choice. Includes 48 illustrations.

The Transposed Musician is a practical guide to teaching these universal skills within the context of a traditional music lesson. The results not only empower students to better confront the challenges of the twenty-first century, they significantly improve musicianship--a double benefit. -- back

The Musician’s Hand – A Clinical Guide was the first book to focus on the specialised topic of the upper limb and hand in musicians: the conditions they suffer, the modified assessment and treatment they require and the importance of prevention. Since its publication in 1998, scientific and clinical progress has been made in all these areas. The second edition of The Musician’s Hand has been completely revised under the editorship of hand surgeon Ian Winspur to reflect this expansion in our knowledge. The book opens with introductory chapters describing the principles of hand and arm pain as it is experienced by musicians, and summarising the problems associated with playing various instruments (woodwind, violin, piano, etc). Subsequent chapters cover the specific disorders seen in musicians, (Dupuytren’s, nerve compression syndromes, etc) describing the therapeutic solutions to each one and highlighting the key prevention strategies available. Closing chapters focus on related topics such as performance psychology and pharmacotherapy. Featuring contributions from world renowned performers such as Imogen Cooper and global experts in the field, The Musician’s Hand, Second Edition provides essential insight to upper limb problems in musicians, not only for surgeons, doctors and therapists, but for all students and teachers of performing arts medicine and to musicians themselves.