Music Appreciation Reference Materials

Anybody can appreciate the sound of music when they hear it. You can analyze the melody, pick out all the individual instruments, and build a great understanding of the finished product. But all of that can only tell you so much about the work that went into producing it, and much less about the history that led to its creation. To really get in-depth with a piece of music, knowing the background behind it is important - and that's what these music appreciation reference materials are designed to do. They'll teach you all kinds of information about your favorite pieces of music, so you can grow to love them even more by knowing what went into their composition from the ground up.

One of the cool things about music appreciation reference materials is that they can put a refreshing new perspective on concepts. For instance, take a look at Alfred's If It Ain't Baroque: More Music History as it Ought to Be Taught Book. It presents a scathingly witty history of classical music from a down-to-Earth, comedic perspective, which is the perfect antidote to a category of music that can often be taken a little too seriously by its books.

Some of the reference materials you'll find here are general guides that can be applied to just about anything in music, such as the best-selling Carl Fischer The New Elson's Pocket Music Dictionary. Others are much more specific - take the Alfred Music of the Lord of the Rings Films Book & CD for example. And still others are designed for certain types of use, like the Music Works Let's Write and Read Teacher Manual, which is a great resource for an educator to not only appreciate music yourself, but also to pass on that appreciation to a new generation.

It's easy to enjoy music in broad strokes, and for many people, that's enough. But as a musician, it's only natural that you'd be keenly interested in the creative process and history that gave birth to the greatest pieces written in the modern day as well as centuries ago. With this selection of music appreciation reference materials, you'll be well-equipped to build that understanding - which can help you take your own music to the next level as well.