Customer Reviews

Modern Reading Text in 4/4 For All Instruments

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

 

 

Bold words, eh?

The book has virtually no text, just a page of explanation in the beginning. (One instruction, to play music in straight and swung eighths, is vital for jazz musicians.) There is only 1 note in the text, the bass clef "e." You use the exercises in the book to develop your sense of pulse and sub-division of the beat.

I had 2 degrees and a teaching certificate in music before I ever found this book. By the time I'd finished the first 14 pages, my understanding and ability to play time was virtualy mastered.

The magic of this book is the hidden organization. I learned in education classes the value of "sequential learning" and "one complexity at a time." This book applies those principles in a masterful way. Every possible placement of quarter notes and rests are explored, line by line, in a sequential fashion. (Rest on beat 2, rest on beat 3, rest on beat 4, rest on beat 1, then 2 rests, 3 rests and so on.)

After quarter notes, the same thing is done with eighths and sixteenths, including ties. Dotted rhythms are explored. By the time you've finished the section, you have encountered every single possible rhythm.

I have my students count and then play these examples. It is a discipline and can be tiresome, but make it a game for yourself. If you want to learn to read music better, this is one "must have" book.

If you're a musician who has to worry about rhythm (which is everyone) this book is a must-read. I'm a guitarist and this has helped my rhythm playing more than any high-priced book, video or lesson out there. Louis Bellson's book forced me to view rhythm in a disciplined manner. Even after working through only 5 or 6 pages, the book paid for itself. It's got enough exercises to keep me busy for a lifetime.

Its cover may give the appearance of a sterile high-school drum major's book, but don't let its cheesy orange color (or very low price, for that matter) fool you. This is a serious rhythm book, guaranteed to help you establish a groove, make your music funkier (if that's what you're going for), and give your internal clock a well-deserved workout.

This is a great book for bass players, as well as, drummers. It gives progressively challenging rhythm reading exercises. It gives examples using quarter-notes, eight-notes, tied rhythms, dotted rhythms, 16th-notes, etc. It presents a rhythm in a variety of ways that allow the user to see how the same musical sound can written in different ways. It is very mathmatical in its presentation. Although I was initially intimidated by the material, by working steadily,I have been able to build my confidence handling this type of material. Highly recommended.

Bellson and Breines have accomplished what few authors on rhythmic perception are able to do: they have managed to combine a comprehensive overview of the most commonly-occuring notations in jazz, popular and Latin music repertoire with a sense of poetic lyricism, even if the book is based on only one note. The text is systematically laid-out, progressing from simple to difficult within all possible subdivisions of 4/4, yet maintains a constant sense of swing and realistic momentum. Every line of notation easily translates into melody and there are constant surprises; there was a tremendous amount of thought and love put into this work, and every imaginable kind of notation for the same rhythm is included in the text. Makes for excellent and challenging, not to mention inspiring exploration. Thank you Louis and Gil. Bravo!

Is a good text to practice sincopation and other tricky rythms but for someone that has more experience is a little bit simple.

This has been the most valuable tool I have ever purchased to develop timing and to play on the upbeat. First lesson starts with an 8th rest on the one. It will make you laugh at yourself while working on the lessons, but at the gig you will sound as funky as Bootsy.