Summer Reading for Music Lovers

Here are some excellent book choices for music lovers of different types:

Jazz Aficionado

Gollub, Matthew. The Jazz Fly. Tortuga Press: Santa Rosa, California. 2000.

A fly that plays jazz? Yes, it’s true. The words are written with jazz rhythms in mind and the author incorporates an improvisational style into the text. The accompanying read aloud CD is read as poetry in rhythm. It also includes two short instrumental jazz tracks. While this is a picture book, older readers could study the rhythms of the lyrics as part of a jazz lesson.

Marsalis, Wynton. Jazz ABZ An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits. Candlewick Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2005.

ABZ is an alphabet book for sophisticated readers (of all ages). Wynton Marsalis selected some of the greatest jazz performers to represent each letter of the alphabet. Then he wrote a poem to describe the life and work of those musicians. When possible, the poem is written in a similar style to the music of the performer. Included at the end of the book are biographical sketches of each of the musicians and notes on the poetic forms used in the book.

History Buff

Erbsen, Wayne. Cowboy Songs, Jokes Lingo ‘n Lore. Native Ground Music, Inc.: Asheville, North Carolina. 1995.

Cowboys Songs is an entertaining, tongue in cheek look at the life of a typical cowboy. Through the humor, a sense of the harsh life of a cowboy is conveyed. The lyrics to the songs reflect the lonely life out on the trail. When possible, the author traces the musical heritage of the songs. Interspersed throughout are pieces of trivia designed to balance the dark mood of some of the songs’ lyrics with humor.

Erbsen, Wayne. Log Cabin Pioneers Stories, Songs and Sayings. Native Ground Music, Inc.: Asheville, North Carolina. 2001.

Log Cabin Pioneers discusses how music was an integral part of life in America’s history. The lyrics of the songs discuss the hardships and joys of life on the frontier. The story vignettes tell of the barn dances, hootenannies, and other times of relaxation and fun. Also included are directions on how to build various buildings necessary to keep a farm running and recipes to feed a hungry musician.

Science Enthusiast

Huron, David. Sweet Anticipation Music and the Psychology of Expectation. The MIT Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2006.

Why do people enjoy listening to the same piece of music over and over? Why does music across time and geography have similar traits? Why are listeners surprised, awed and scared by what they hear in music? David Huron answers these questions using mathematical, physiological, and psychological principles. His math and science, data driven approach to music theory provides a new insight into the standard repertoire of Western music.

Levitin, Daniel J. This Is Your Brain on Music The Science of a Human Obsession. Dutton: New York, New York. 2006.

This best seller offers a way to understand how the brain processes musical information. In a very readable manner, Levitin explains how the brain interprets and makes sense of information regarding the basic elements of music. He draws on his expertise as a neuroscientist to explain the technical and medical parts of brain science and his experience as a musician to provide musical examples that illustrate his point.