Customer Reviews

David Baker's Arranging and Composing for the Small Ensemble: Jazz, R & B, Jazz Rock

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I agree with Quincy Jones, who wrote the forward, that this is a great book. It is not for just anyone. You must have a good grasp of chords and some knowledge of arranging and composing before you can understand it. You don't study from a master of any art if you don't have a good foundation on the subject. I found it very helpful and extremely informative. It will take you a long time to absorb all the info in this great book. I've had the book for several years and still refer to it. Thank you David for your taking the time to write this book. M. Oglesby

The book is great! Although Jazz doesn't follow rules ,Baker has written some wonderful thumb rules that ,in my opinion , will simplify writing & practising Jazz.

the book is a step-by step book . first , you get to know the instruments charactaristics,their scoring ..etc .second,the melody line.third, the accompany chord.fourth , the piano trio..etc

I am carefully studying the book , page by page. Every lesson needs a sufficient time to practise (through writing & playing). Until now , it has strengthened my sense of composing and made it more articulate.

it might take you some time to get used to it.. but hey it's great if you adore JAZZ!

You will need some musical study behind you to suss out what is going on here. David Baker has choosen to include a great wealth of information in this text, and readibility at time suffers. Suggest that you have already read something like Mark Levine's jazz theory book before taking this on. There is no padding here or much in the way of explanatory notes, the book is mainly in point form with some musical examples (a study of these is probably more useful than further explanation in any case). As a professional musician and band leader of working small ensembles, I have found this work to be invaluable, giving me more practical tools and options to work with. Well worth the money.

This is a great book for the aspiring writer. It contains detailed information on melodic and harmonic construction, chord nomenclature, and extensive sections on how to write idiomatically for rhythm section and horns. Methods of handling 2, 3, 4, and 5 part voicings are covered in great detail.

Though not a book for the beginner, any student with a rudimentary knowledge of scales, keys, and basic chords will find numerous practical applications. Highly recommended.

This is the hardest book I have ever read on music.It is an intence study and wordy in places that will boggle the home-grown musician. It reccomends other study materials in every chapter which I dont know where anyone could find the time to practice thier instrument.It should come with CD's with playing examples. But in all the book has a wealth of useful information, and if you're willing to go to Juliard and you're sreious then the book is for you.

Seeking a useful text to share information with my teenager, this book did not win me over. I would not recommend it. I had issues with the completeness of information as provided in the lessons. Let me stress this is my opinion, you may see it differently but I would suggest you seek out a copy to review before making the purchase.

The examples aren't objectives, and the book doesn't attend what it says in the title.