Digital recorders | Scores & sheet music| General references & resources | Listening | Warm-ups | Sight-reading | Interpretation | Memorization | Collaboration | Technology | Blog |
Portable Digital Recorders for Musicians
"Self-Recording in Practice." An article on The Musician's Way Blog.
Also see pages 16-18 of The Musician's Way.
Audio recorders
Zoom H4n (manufacturer site). Superior sound quality and features. Highly recommended. Purchase from JR.com or BestBuy.com. ($299 US).
Zoom H2n (manufacturer site). Excellent basic digital recorder for self-study recording. Purchase from BestBuy.com or JR.com ($199 US).
Roland R09hr (manufacturer site). Currently out of stock at retailers.
Mikey 2 microphone for the iPhone and iPod (manufacturer site). Transform your Apple device into a portable recorder (not compatible with the iPhone 4 or iPod Touch 4). Buy from Amazon.
Video recorders
Excellent camcorders available from Buy.com, JR.com, TigerDirect.com.
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Scores and Sheet Music
Also see Instrument-Specific Resources and For Singers.
"The 4 Types of Music Editions." A must-read article on The Musician's Way Blog
Internet Music Score Library Project. A vast repository of free scores.
Sheet Music Plus. Huge selection; low prices.
Digital collections from the Bavarian State Library. The complete works of Schumann, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Liszt, Handel, and more. Free.
Free downloadable scores from the Sibley Music Library at the Eastman School.
Free online scores from the Indiana University Music Library.
Digital scores and libretti from the Loeb Music Library at Harvard University.
Online Resources for Music Scholars compiled by Harvard librarians.
Special collections from Indiana University.
Index of Digital Collections. Links compiled by the Virtual Library of Musicology.
WorldCat.org. Find scores, books, and recordings in libraries worldwide.
Beethoven Haus, Bonn - Digital Archive.
Brahms Digital. Autograph manuscripts, early editions, and more.
Neue Mozart Ausgabe free digital version. The complete Mozart by Bärenreiter.
Schubert Autographs. Free online viewing of Schubert's manuscripts.
Werner Icking Music Archive. Free scores to download.
Mutopia Project. Free public-domain classical music typeset by volunteers.
Kreusch-Sheet-Music.net. Free sheet music.
The Juilliard Manuscript Collection. 140 documents for online viewing.
Sheet music collections. Links compiled by the Duke University Music Library.
American Sheet Music, 1820-1885. From the Library of Congress. 110,000 scores. African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920. Approximately 1,300 titles.
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Music Practice References and Resources
Articles about deep practice published on The Musician's Way Blog.
Theta Music Trainer. Outstanding ear training/music theory games & courses.
MusicTheory.net. Teoría.com. Practice music theory and ear training.
MusicCards.net. Music theory flash cards.
Theory worksheets. Print out and practice intervals, triads, and more.
Good-ear.com. Free online ear trainer. Dictation exercises from davesmey.com.
Staffnotes: Free Printable Staff Paper. Customizable formats.
BestMetronome.com. Free. Customizable beat rates; tap in a beat rate.
Buy the Boss DB-60 metronome at a discount from GuitarCenter.com.
"Rythmic Precision." Use metronomes creatively; via The Musician's Way Blog.
Multimedia Music Dictionary from Virginia Tech.
Stylistic Timeline of Music History, by Steven Estrella.
SoundReasoning.org. Free music appreciation course by Anthony Brandt, Ph.D.
Internet Resources for Music from the Library of Congress.
Carnegie Hall Blog. "Interviews, news, music, and more."
Classical.net. Articles, reviews, and other resources for classical musicians.
TheLessonRoom.com. Videos, tips, and techniques for students and educators.
Improvisation resources: see Jazz.
Proceedings of the International Symposia on Performance Science.
“Practice,” by Nancy H. Barry and Susan Hallam, in The Science & Psychology of Music Performance, edited by Parncutt & McPherson, 151-166 (Oxford, 2002).
“Strategies for Individual Practice,” by Harald Jørgensen, 85-103; Mental Skills Training," by Connolly and Williamon, 221-246, in Musical Excellence: Strategies and Techniques to Enhance Performance, ed. Aaron Williamon, (Oxford, 2004).
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Listening to Music
"Deep Listening." An article on The Musician's Way Blog.
Medici.tv. Free and subscription access to high-quality classical music videos.
Pandora Internet Radio (U.S. only). Spotify - free & subscription offerings.
Jango.com. Listen for free and then sign up for a Jango Airplay account to get your music heard by millions.
Classical Archives. Over 600,000 audio tracks; free and subscription offerings.
ClassicalConnect.com. Free and growing.
PristineClassical.com. Historic recordings remastered by Andrew Rose.
Recordings from Naxos (classical and jazz).
Blue Note records. Jazz recordings and news.
National Geographic World Music.
Smithsonian Folkways.
YouTube.com. Search by performer, composer, and/or title.
Affiliated sites:
MOG. Unlimited CD-quality music for $5-10/month. 14-day free trial.
iTunes. The music megastore and more.
eMusic. "The iTunes music store's cooler, cheaper cousin." Free trial.
ArkivMusic.com. "The source for classical music."
Live365.com. "The largest radio network on the Internet." Free trial.
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Warm-Ups and Restorative Movements for Musicians
See p. 37-39 & 75-82 of The Musician's Way as well as the For Singers page.
"The Total Warm-up." Warm-up strategies on The Musician's Way Blog.
“A Proper Warm-up Has Important Benefits.” An article by exercise physiologist Elizabeth Quinn. Geared to athletes but pertinent to musicians.
Pre-playing warm-ups. Factsheet published by the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine. Please read the above article by Elizabeth Quinn and study the factsheet instructions before you try out these movements.
Watch a 3-minute video of guitarist David Russell talking about the importance of warming up, practicing in the morning, maintaining a repertoire of accessible pieces, and preserving the fun in music making.
Relax and Renew, by Judith Lasater, Ph.D., P.T. Techniques for restorative poses (Rodmell Press, 1995).
The Breathing Book, by Donna Farhi. Instructions and photos for doing restorative breathing and healthful movements (MacMillan, 1996).
“Qi Gong [Tai Chi] Exercises for Musicians.” A 14-minute video by Scott Lee.
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Sight-Reading
"Effortless Sight-Reading." An article on The Musician's Way Blog.
Also see p. 99-102 of The Musician's Way.
PracticeSightReading.com. Generate rhythm exercises; multiple levels.
“Eye Movement in Music Reading.” A well-referenced article on Wikipedia.
“Sight-Reading,” by Lehmann & McArthur, in The Science & Psychology of Music Performance, eds. Parncutt & McPherson, 135-150 (Oxford, 2002).
“Strategies for Sight-reading and Improvising Music,” a chapter in Musical Excellence: Strategies and Techniques to Enhance Performance, edited by Aaron Williamon, 143-159 (Oxford, 2004).
Sight-reading/sight singing methods for instrumentalists and singers:
Solfèges des Solfèges, by A. Dannhäuser (3 vols.). Free download.
A New Approach to Sight Singing, by Berkowitz, Frontrier, & Kraft.
Rhythmical Articulation, by Pasquale Bona.
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Musical Interpretation
See p. 23-34 of The Musician's Way.
Note Grouping, by James Thurmond (Meredith, 1982).
Read Musical Interpretation, by Tobias Matthay (Schirmer, 1918). Free e-book.
The Rhythmic Structure of Music, by Cooper & Meyer (Chicago, 1960).
The Composer’s Advocate, by Erich Leinsdorf (Yale, 1982).
Baroque Music: Style and Performance Handbook, by Robert Donington (Norton, 1982).
The End of Early Music: A Period Performer's History of Music for the 21st Century, by Bruce Haynes (Oxford, 2007).
Interpreting Bach at the Keyboard, by P. Badura-Skoda (Oxford, 1995).
Singing in Style: A Guide to Vocal Performance Practices, by Martha Elliott (Yale, 2006).
Deepening Musical Performance Through Movement, by Alexandra Pierce (Indiana, 2007).
Watch videos on YouTube of master musicians teaching interpretation. Search using keywords, e.g., "Pavarotti masterclass."
Dalcroze Eurythmics. Merging interpretation with movement.
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Memorization for Musicians
See p. 82-93 of The Musician's Way.
"The Four Stages of Memorization." An article on The Musician's Way Blog.
“Memory,” by Rita Aiello and Aaron Williamon, a chapter in The Science & Psychology of Music Performance, edited by Parncutt and McPherson, 167-181 (Oxford, 2002).
“Singing by Heart: Memorization Strategies for the Words and Music of Songs,” by Jane Ginsborg, a chapter in The Music Practitioner, edited by Jane W. Davidson, 149-160 (Ashgate, 2004). Purchase from AbeBooks.com.
“Memorization: Psychological Data and Some Practical Tips.” An article by pianist and educator Dr. Scott McBride Smith.
Read the abstract of “The Value of Performing from Memory,” by Aaron Williamon, in Psychology of Music, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 84-95 (1999).
“Strategies for Memorizing Music,” by Jane Ginsborg, a chapter in Musical Excellence: Strategies and Techniques to Enhance Performance edited by Aaron Williamon, 123-141 (Oxford, 2004).
“Memorising Music,” by Aaron Williamon, in Musical Performance: A Guide to Understanding, edited by John Rink, 113-126 (Cambridge, 2002).
“Performing from Memory,” by Chaffin, Logan, & Begosh, in The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology, eds. Hallam, Cross, & Thaut (2008, p. 352-363).
Preview Practicing Perfection: Memory and Piano Performance, by Chaffin, Imreh, and Crawford (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2002). Purchase from AbeBooks.com.
Read the Preface to Guide to Memorizing Music, by Alfred John Goodrich (1906)
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Musical Collaboration
See p. 114-129 of The Musician's Way.
"Ten Tips for Collaborating Musicians." An article on The Musician's Way Blog.
"11 Ways to Build Trust within Your Team." Tips from Mike Henry of the Lead Change Group, July 19, 2011.
"how to play in someone else's band," by Danny Barnes.
Constructive Criticism. Tips for giving & receiving critiques, by Tony Schwartz.
"Two Is the Magic Number." Joshua Wolf Shenk looks at the creative power of collaboration (Slate, Sept. 14, 2010).
"A Musician's Guide to Middle Management, or Leading a Band," by guitarist Cameron Mizell. Broadly applicable strategies and techniques.
Team or Group? Discover 10 key distinctions and assess your ensemble's functioning using this article by Daniel Nase.
Resolving Team Conflict, from MindTools.com. Leadership and teamwork tools. How good are your communication skills?
"Eleven steps to fixing the problem that occurs when you work harder than everyone else in the band," by Bruce Warila.
The Chamber Music Network. "A non-profit association that facilitates informal playing and singing by people of all ages and nationalities."
“The Role of Chamber Music in Learning to Perform: A Case Study,” an article by Burt-Perkins & Mills, in Music Performance Research, Vol. 2 (2008).
“Strategies for Ensemble Practice,” a chapter by Jane Davidson and Elaine King, in Musical Excellence: Strategies and Techniques to Enhance Performance, edited by Aaron Williamon, 105-122 (Oxford, 2004). Buy from Abebooks.com.
“Collaboration and the Study of Ensemble Rehearsal.” A paper by Elaine C. King published in Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (2004).
The Art of Quartet Playing: The Guarneri Quartet in Conversation with David Blum (Cornell, 1987).
The Power of Positive Criticism, by H. Weisinger (Amacom, 2000).
Toxic Criticism, by Eric Maisel (McGraw Hill, 2006).
The Complete Collaborator: The Pianist as Partner, by M. Katz (Oxford, 2009).
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Technology Resources for Musicians
Also see Digital recorders and Career resources.
Dropbox.com. Backup, sync, and share files. Free!
Transcribe! software. Slow down recordings without changing pitch.
Windows. Mac. Linux. Free trial. Read reviews. Outstanding product; only $39!
AVS Audio/Video Converting/Editing Software. Low cost; easy to use.
Recording and sound reinforcement articles & guides from Shure. Free.
Recording on a Budget, by Brent Edstrom (Oxford, 2011). Companion website.
Mixonic.com. CD & DVD production made easy & inexpensive.
JourneyEd.com. Huge discounts on software for students and educators.
Adobe.com for students and educators. Deep discounts on software.
Build a website:
1)
Tech-challenged musicians: Weebly; Wordpress.com.
2) Tech-knowledgeable musicians: Wordpress.org , a free platform with diverse themes and plugins (differences between WP.org and .com are explained here).
3) Tech-savvy musicians: Buy a domain name & hosting plan: GoDaddy.com. Web design software: Adobe.com.
Free web-building tutorials: W3Schools.com. 4) Search engine optimization tips (free): The Beginner's Guide to Seo.
MusicTeachersHelper.com. Create a website, handle scheduling, accept online payments, and more.
Sibelius. Finale. Notation and composing software at academic discounts.
Acoustica.com. Home of Mixcraft, the highly regarded, low-cost, multi-track recording software for Windows. Read reviews.
Avid.com (manufacturer site). Home of Pro Tools, M-Audio, Sibelius, etc.
Buy Pro Tools 10 at a discount from GuitarCenter.com and shop for other DAW software such as FL Studio and Cubase.
Pro audio, video, accessories: JR.com. GuitarCenter.com.
AirTurn.com. Hands-free page turns.
4AllMemory.com. Upgrade your computer memory and gain speed.
TigerDirect.com. Low prices on computers and hardware.
BestBuy.com. JR.com. Computers and consumer electronics.
Technology Institute for Music Education.
“Physiological Self-regulation: Biofeedback and Neurofeedback,” by Gruzelier and Egner, a chapter in Musical Excellence: Strategies and Techniques to Enhance Performance, edited by Aaron Williamon, p. 197-219 (Oxford, 2004).
PianoPerceptions.com. Dr. Kathleen Riley’s method that combines surface electromyography, video analysis, and sensory awareness training to optimize instrumentalists’ technical habits.
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