Learn to Read Music (Softcover) (Paperback)

~ Various (Author) "Fortunately, the system of musical notation divides into two clear parts: a way of indicating rhythm (how long the different tones last) and a way..." (more)
Key Phrases: metric signature, tenor clef, same key signature, Jingle Bells, Some Characteristic Rhythms (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book Will

1 teach the notation of music to those who have never known it before
2 serve as a systematic reminder for those who once knew how to read music but have forgotten most of it
3 serve as a practical classroom text book in the rudiments of music
4 serve as a helpful reference book for the student in music appreciation and related courses

This book Will Not

1 teach you to sing like Tebaldi
2 make you a wizard at the piano or any other instrument
3 turn you into an Irving Berlin or a Beethoven

But it will teach Anyone -- even the tone-deaf -- to read melodies and pick them out on the piano

About the Author

Howard Shanet is Associate Professor of Music at Columbia University and Conductor of the University Orchestra, which, under his guidance, has gained a reputation for the daring and unconventional programs it offers the public. He has been guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic in its Young People's series, the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, the CBS Symphony, and orchestras in Holland, Israel and elsewhere. Before that, he was assistant conductor to Leonard Bernstein and to the late Serge Koussevitzky.

As a writer on musical subjects, he has been Program Annotator for the New York Philharmonic and the New York City Symphony. Subscribers to Music-Appreciation Records are familiar with the long series of recorded lectures and printed essays he prepared for that organization. He is also the author of a history of the New York Philharmonic.

Mr. Shanet received his training in conducting from such masters as Serge Koussevitzky, Fritz Stiedry and Rudolph Thomas; in composition from Arthur Honegger, Bohuslav Martinu and Nikolai Lopatnikoff; in musicology from Paul Henry Lang. He holds two degrees from Columbia University.

As Mr. Shanet explains in his Introduction, he taught the contents of this book to more than a thousand students when he was conductor of the symphony orchestra at Huntington, West Virginia. Since then, tens of thousands of others have taught themselves from this book, and untold numbers have learned from Mr. Shanet's television series, also called "Learn to Read Music."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corp (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671210270
• ISBN-13: 978-0671210274
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,737 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly What I Was Looking For..., November 14, 2003

By	GothCrone (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is THE most useful book I've purchased and read on how to read music so far. I have just started learning to play the violin (I am in my mid-40s)and although all my life I've sung and music is, and has always been, a huge part of my life(many of my family members are accomplished musicians)I've never played an instrument or had any formal musical theory training. This book is the reference I have gone back to again and again as I progress with my violin and I have questions or areas that aren't clear to me (such as the concepts of major and minor scale, flats/sharps/accidentals and how they came about). . not only does this book take you from the very basics to the complex, Howard Shanet takes the time to explain WHY certain things are the way they are in written music. I was struggling with some concepts and when my teacher explained them to me I didn't get it....I looked it up in a smaller book on music theory and the explanation was there but I still didn't quite get it . . and then I looked up the subject (this happened to be accidentals/flats and sharps and also time meters) in this book and because Howard Shanet explained why sharps and flats are written the way they are, I was able to understand the concept and work beyond it. Just an excellent book and I recommend it to anyone learning to read and play music. It is true, this book will not teach you how to play any instrument, BUT without the basics and theory in this book it would be very difficult for me to progress with my violin playing. Highly recommend it.

118 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A self-help book that teaches you how to read music., July 26, 1998

By A Customer

This book is a gem for any adult interested in teaching themselves the fundementals of reading music.

It lets the reader teach themselves by presenting examples to be solved and then explaining the solutions with painstaking detail and clarity.

The examples proceed in a logical order; commencing soley with reading rhythms, then soley reading pitch, then finally combining rhythm and pitch into melodies to be analysed and played at the piano.

The chapter on explaining the concept of tonality is masterful.

The examples are plentiful, and over time (in my case about three months of 5 to 15 mins per day), are meant to instil the basic skills and confidence you need to acquire to read single note melodies by sight. As Shanet points out, and very accurately from my experience, the examples must be done, not glossed over, because one learns to read music by doing it, not only understanding it or reading about how to do it.

What the book won't do is teach you how to p! lay an instrument although the basic examples at the piano provide a solid foundation from which you can go on to learn any instrument with much more confidence than you might have otherwise.

The language is clear, though sometimes wordy (it was written in 1958 and so does reflect the language style of the day).

I feel that Howard Shanet has a real appreciation of the problems people face when learning to read music and has successfully written a text that works.

In my estimation, a classic educational text.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a good beginning for reading music, July 23, 2001

By	Jennifer A. Johnson "jabbl" (St. George, UT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Though there is no substitute for one-on-one teaching, this book gives a very good introduction to the fundamentals of learning to read music. It has very thorough explanations on musical notation and offers many useful activities to build one's skill.

Upon finishing this book and its exercises, you will not have learned to play an instrument. What you will have gained is an understanding of how to read the notes and symbols on sheet music, which will be extremely beneficial to your musical development.