Covers the history of drumming, different drum types, how to care for them, and basic skills and tips for playing different types of music.

Covers the history of drumming, different drum types, how to care for them, and basic skills and tips for playing different types of music.

The complex art of conducting may look effortless to the casual onlooker, however, it requires a great deal of knowledge and skill. The success of a performance hinges on the director's ability to keep the group playing together and interpreting the music as the composer intended. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Conducting Music shows student and novice conductors how to lead bands, orchestras, choirs, and other ensembles effectively through sight-reading, rehearsals, and performances.

Published in 1992, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theoryhas proven itself as one of Alpha's best-selling books and perhaps the best-selling trade music theory book ever published. In the new updated and expanded second edition, the book includes a special CD and book section on ear training. The hour-long ear-training course reinforces the basic content of the book with musical examples of intervals, scales, chords, and rhythms. Also provided are aural exercises students can use to test their ear training and transcription skills. The CD is accompanied by a 20-page section of exercises and examples.

A beautifully composed journey through music history! Music history is a required course for all music students. Unfortunately, the typical music history book is dry and academic, focusing on rote memorization of important composers and works. This leads many to think that the topic is boring, but bestselling author Michael Miller proves that isn’t so. This guide makes music history interesting and fun, for both music students and older music lovers. • Covers more than Western “classical” music—also includes non-Western music and uniquely American forms such as jazz • More than just names and dates—puts musical developments in context with key historical events

The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Playing Percussionpresents all the instruments in the percussion family, including orchestral/concert percussion, marching percussion, ethnic percussion, mallet instruments, timpani, and the like. This book is for percussion students; drummers who must also play other percussion instruments; conductors, arrangers, and composers who will be working with the percussion section; and general music students studying the percussion family. Organized by use, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Playing Percussionpresents - Essential information about each percussion instrument, including how to play it, making this book a valuable reference resource. The accompanying CD demonstrates each percussion instrument discussed in the book so that students know how each instrument sounds. A proven user-friendly style used in the author's other best-selling music books. Michael Milleris one of the best-selling authors of music books today. He has written seven music books in the last two decades, among them- The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Playing Drums, Second Edition, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Music Theory, Second Edition, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Music History, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Music Composition, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Arranging and Orchestration, and (as co-author) The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Singing. He has established a reputation for explaining difficult musical concepts to beginning musicians in easy-to-understand language.

The human voice is the most popular musical instrument, and vocal singing is like any other musical endeavour- it takes discipline, practice (and some talent) to do it well. CIG to Singingoffers readers an easy-to-use guide to the process of becoming a singer. Readers will learn how to find their ideal singing range, how to improve their basic technique, how to stand and breathe properly, how to sing in different musical styles, and the book is filled with numerous illustrations, musical examples and singing exercises. An audio CD includes examples of different techniques and accompaniments for the exercises, letting the reader hear the way they're supposed to sound and practice along. The book also contains a glossary of terms, singer's pronunciation reference, vocal problems troubleshooting guide, and a list of resources.