You've Got Rhythm: Read Music Better By Feeling the Beat [Paperback]

Anna Dembska (Author), Joan Harkness (Author)

Book Description

"You’ve Got Rhythm: Read Music Better by Feeling the Beat", by Anna Dembska and Joan Harkness, is a refreshing solution for the many musicans intimidated and frustrated by reading music. This innovative rhythm-reading method uses the groove of meter to carry you through the music. It makes reading music feel natural because you feel the beat as you learn to read. Sightreading becomes more like dancing and less like a boring and nerve-wracking chore.

The rhythm exercises are enhanced with a stunning variety of lyrics--from musings on composers to literary classics to dessert recipes--that serve the dual purpose of reinforcing the metric feel while keeping you entertained.

The book’s friendly design and step-by-step structure are inviting to beginners, and more advanced musicians also find "You’ve Got Rhythm" both fun and challenging. The bibliography/ discography of composers and librettists invites further explorations into some of the more intriguing corners of the musical world.

You’ve Got Rhythm...
* improves your sightreading.
* deepens your understanding of what makes music musical.
* teaches step-by-step, from basic notation to advanced rhythmic skills.

With elegance and humor, "You’ve Got Rhythm" turns the frustration of rhythm problems into a productive and enjoyable musical and literary experience.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This step-by-step guide will help students understand rhythm kinetically and intellectually. Dembska, a teacher, composer, and performer, and Harkness, a pianist, teacher, and lecturer, have formulated a technique similar to the Dalcroze method that combines spoken-word compositions ("Talking Music") with hand-clapping patterns that "move through the shape of a meter" ("Slap/Clap/Tap"). The Talking Music exercises are preceded by clear, easy-to-understand music theory text. Suitable for fifth and sixth graders to adult beginners, You've Got Rhythm is one of several books from the authors' own publishing company, Flying Leap Music. They founded it "to create new music education materials [that] teach technique from a practicing musician's point of view, activating and integrating the senses, intellect, and imagination." Fresh and unique, this guide is recommended for school media centers and public libraries with music education collections. Janet Brewer, Murray State Univ., KY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A must for every serious light-hearted music student in the new millennium." -- Don Campbell, author, "The Mozart Effect"

"One of the most valuable books a teacher could own and definitely one that every music student should have." -- The California Music Teacher, Fall, 2001

"Well done and...useful to anyone concerned about developing rhythmically literate musicians." -- American String Teacher, February, 2001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 126 pages
• Publisher: Flying Leap Music
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930664044
• ISBN-13: 978-1930664043
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,058,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideal for classroom instruction or personal tutorials., March 23, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You've Got Rhythm: Read Music Better By Feeling the Beat (Paperback)

In You've Got Rhythm: Read Music Better By Feeling The Beat, Anna Dembska and Joan Harkness effectively collaborate to present a practical yet imaginative guide to improving one's ability to read music. You've Got Rhythm focuses entirely upon the skill of understanding musical rhythm, not musical tones or keys. Pages of examples written in simple musical notes help the beginning, intermediate, or advanced musician better understand syncopation at a visceral level through abundant opportunity to practice. Highly recommended for music students, You've Got Rhythm is an excellent text for classroom instruction or personal tutorials.