EG Books

Early provides an excellent, extensive review of all aspects of OT in the mental health setting. The book should be used by all OT practitioners, both OTRs and COTAs, in practice. The work defines most conditions encountered, the characteristics and behaviors of such conditions, and specific adaptations to therapeutic media, the environment, and one's attitude and conduct to best address such conditions.

M.B. Early is a great writer!! She makes the mental health area of OT easy to understand. She uses basic ideas and common terminology. This is a wonderful book for OT and OTA students. Early has really helped me to comprehend the mental health aspect. From an OTA student.

Not only is Carol Wax one of the greatest mezzotint artists alive, she has written the best history and lexicon for this fine and old printmaking technique. Reading this book will either make you want to make a mezzotint or purchase one.

Mezzotint is one of the least-known but most versatile of the intaglio printing processes. It is the only process that gives such delicate nuances of light and dark, the "mezzo" in its name. Even aquatint's tonal qualities are generally crude by comparison.

Wax first shows the technique of mezzotint process. It starts with a ground that prints beautiful, silky blacks. Unlike other printmaking techniques, the artist then makes lighter marks on this dark field. This technical information is very helpful when looking at actual mezzotints - it lets you read each mark in the print with better understanding.

Wax includes a huge gallery of mezzotint prints, her own and other printmakers'. The reproductions are very good. They show how the process evolved from a technique for reproducing other artwork into an art in itself. Something is always lost in photo reproductions of these prints, but Wax's gallery should be enough to entice you into wanting to see more.

This is the only book I know dedicated to this most unusual printmaking technique. I recommend it to any serious maker or afficionado of fine prints.

//wiredweird

What an absolutely fabulous book! Very important read for anyone who loves music and healing.

This is not a light read but it is well worth every minute. Wonderful innovative ideas!

This book is truly a masterpiece! The author interweaves a tapestry of spiritual philosophy and deep musical understanding which was quite captivating for me. While I have played music and listened to music all my life, and so consider myself to be quite well-versed when it comes to music, this book has given me a deeper insight into how to expand my appreciation of music--and gives examples of different kinds of music and how they relate to different states of consciousness. The "yoga of listening", which is spoken about in the book as a spiritual practice, is a very natural process which the reader is exposed to step-by-step. Already my musical horizons have been expanded and my music listening has been reinvigorated by reading it. Throughout the book various specific recordings are recommended--and so of course I had to try some out and in the process discovered some really great new music! That alone was worth the price of admission for me. Kudos to the author who obviously is both highly intelligent and creative--for this is truly an original piece of work--and a masterwork for sure! I'd give this book six stars if I could...

WOW! A breakthrough book that lifts the music experience to another level. Kurt Leland shows us that music can be a journey
of human consciousness, through finding the source of inspiration, energetic diagnosis of the music that surrounds us- - from classical, jazz to pop. By making us aware of how the music affects us, we can make a "conscious" journey of enlightenment and healing through the music that we listen to.
Leland equips us with knowledge and skills to identify and
diagnose the music that are in our lives, so that it functions as a tool for self-discovery. A must-read for all music
lovers.

This book is an excellent source for learning about music, and physiological response to music. It is a great read for any music therapist.

This book is really worth the read whether you are a clinician, SPED teacher, therapist or parent. Schneck and Berger not only explain the effect that music has on the body but skillfully discuss the way the sensory system is effected. As a music therapist who works daily with children on the autism spectrum (ALL with challenging sensory integration issues) I recommend putting this one on your "must read" list!

This survey of Monteaux's life tells of a classical musician composer who became famous for conducting the world premiere of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in Paris in 1913. He conducted its first concert performance and worked with many of the greatest classical composers of his time: this biography creates an affectionate portrait of a man who worked with the best.

A wonderful read, very rich in detail. Informative, delightful, humorous, sad, even inspiring.

Canarina is a very fine writer--no surprise to those of us who swore by his record reviews in the 1980's. Monteux's busy life could easily have degenerated into a series of dates and program listings, but the author's great skill prevents that from happening. He supplies meaningful context, perceptive interpretation of events, and fascinating digressions at all the right moments.

There is plenty of insider information, from the author himself, who knew Monteux and was a student at the Hancock school; from other professionals, conductors, players, librarians, critics and the like; and from members of the Monteux family. And no one is more knowledgeable than Canarina about Monteux's many recordings, their dates and their virtues.

Read it! You won't regret it.

This book outlines the principles of poetry therapy easily so that anyone in a helping profession (Social workers, therapists, etc.) can use the technique with their clients. It's not just "Here's a poem: what do you think about it?" but really shows you how to tie it in a counseling session. If you are interested in using this technique then this is the book to get.

Mazza has provided a complete history of poetry, song lyrics, bibliotherapy, journaling, free-writing, etc. as they are used in the therapeutic enterprise. He includes individual, family, couples and special populations (children, the elderly, A.I.D.S. victims, and battered women) in his descriptions of useful ways to conduct poetry therapy. There are several appendices at the end of the book, including sample writing exercises, sample poems organized along common themes seen in psychotherapy, internet resources, and the poetry therapy code of ethics. This book is a must for anyone engaging in poetry therapy, including those who use it as an adjunct to traditional talk therapies.

I already had experience with some music but I was never really all too good at the reading and theory aspects. This book, while it looks small, is in fact quite informative and laid it in a very easy-to-understand format. It is neither too simple nor too complex, the important part is that if you read it with interest a few times, you will in fact gain a lot of knowledge of music theory. If you're planning to take up an instrument, I definietly reccomend picking this up, or borrowing it from a library, before you do, so you're well versed in theory that otherwise would have made you waste quite a bit of time in your lessons with.

... I just finished reading this little book. ... Yeah, I've come across some of this stuff before in my life: during music class in grade, middle, and high school; while taking guitar lessons at age 11 for a few weeks; while taking piano lessons at age 13 for a few months; while trying to teach myself guitar with books at age 14; while taking drum lessons for a few months at age 20; as well as what you come across while reading music magazines, music books, or jamming with your buddies. ... Compared to ALL of that combined exposure, I learned MORE from reading this little book than I did from all of my previous lessons in music. That's saying a LOT for a little book.

... Look, I'm a DRUMMER. I don't REALLY need to know all this THEORY stuff. But let me tell you: the next time I get together and jam with my friends, for the first time in my life, I am going to have at least SOME understanding of what the hell the guitar players and keyboardists are talking about. Yeah, allright, you might play by ear like Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix, too - as do I. ... But if you want to UNDERSTAND what Zappa KNEW like the back of his hand, then you NEED to know some Music Theory. You can start with this cool litle book! It makes a handy reference, especially when you can brag to your Music Major friends that NIRVANA were the masters of the art of "Fortepiano" ( "Loud, immediately followed by soft." ) ... YOWZA! - The Aeolian Kid

Frederik Prausnitz was a truly extraordinary teacher and mentor. This book reflects his multi-faceted approach to each of his students whereby the individuality of each person was made a fundamental part of the teaching/learning process. His book reflects the necessity, too, of each conductor taking an active part in forming both the image of the work and the "signals", as it were, whereby that compelling mental image is communicated in rehearsal and performance. Mr. Prausnitz' death in November, 2004, was a great loss for we who were his students and for the conducting world. When this book again becomes available (try via Norton), it will be a most welcome returnee.

Frederik Prausnitz has offered the often too overwhelmed (beginning)student of orchestral conducting a step-by-step and thorough approach to this most complex of musical studies. He so refreshingly avoids the overly-academic rigour evident in other textbooks on the subject, by alternating chapters on stick technique with those on score preparation and interpretation. Thus the format of the book is just as worthwhile as its content! A must for the novice, nevertheless offering great insight for the experienced too.......

I was fortunate to meet Carl Schachter one time. He came to Ann Arbor and gave a lecture. He spoke in Rackham Hall about one of the early Beethoven Sonatas and illustrated his points by playing them at the piano. It was a fascinating lecture, and I am sorry that the details have faded in my mind after more than 25 years. However, I was introduced to him and was able to speak with him for a few minutes. Of course, I have read and studied his writings for many years and consider myself indebted to him.

This book is a tribute to him and his work as a music theorist, teacher, musician, and friend to so many. When he retired in 1999, a symposium was held in his honor and many of the presentations were turned into essays for this volume and some were created just for this work. It is a delightful read for those who enjoy music theory and the Schenkerian approach to analyzing tonal music.

The book presents its material in eight sections.

Section 1 is a few pages of introduction.

Section 2 is called Expression and has three papers. They are by Charles Burkhart, William Rothstein, and L. Poundie Burstein.

Section 3 is called Theory and its four papers are by Allen Cadwallader & David Gagné, Joel Lester, Wayne Petty, and Heidi Siegal.

Section 4 is called Style and has four papers. They are by Steve Larson, Drora Pershing, David Loeb, and Channan Willner.

Section 5, Words and Music, has papers by Lauri Suurpää, Robert Cuckson, Timothy Jackson, and Frank Samarotto.

Section 6 is called Form and its four papers are by Mark Anson-Cartwright, William Renwick, Eric Wen, and Deborah Kessler.

Section 7 has a series of tributes to Prof. Schachter of a couple of paragraphs each.

Section 8 is a bibliography of Schachter's writings.

I found the papers interesting and a few of them especially so. The papers by Burkhart, Rothstein, Lester, Larson, and Kessler really drew me in. But I say that without wanting to slight the other papers in any way.

This is a wonderful tribute to man who enriched the musical lives of so many of us.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Structure And Meaning In Tonal Music: Festschrift In Honor Of Carl Schachter is a scholarly anthology of advanced musical theory essays, written in honor of expert keyboard player, teacher, and music theorist Carl Schachter. Essay topics include "The Two Curious Moments in Chopin's E-flat Major Prelude", "The Analysis of East Asian Music", "Tonal Conflicts in Haydn's Development Sections", and much more. An extremely technical discussion of music theory nuance, written especially for advanced music scholars, Structure and meaning supports its reasoning with not only extensive research, but also numerous excerpts of musical notation to clarify its points - readers are expected to be capable of reading intricate musical passages in order to fully grasp illustrative musical examples of the points raised. A seminal addition to music theory and philosophy reading shelves, as well as college library shelves.