Educational

Modern Drummer presents this compilation of articles in Roy Burns' popular 'Concepts' series, which ran in the magazine between 1980 and 1992. Roy is a respected clinician and drummer who has worked with big bands, jazz acts, and on T.V. This book features nearly 70 of his most enlightening writings and will be of great interest to drummers of all levels.

Velvel Pasternak, a noted ethnomusicologist and lecturer, has brought the joy of Hasidic music to audiences throughout North America and Israel. The three movements of this book feature Velvel's often-humorous retelling of his music projects with Hasidim, a short overview of their music's essence, and the songs with background stories and annotations. The 70-minute accompanying CD features music examples from the book.

Want to know what happened in the world of music in 1995? Here's everything that hit Billboard's music charts during the calendar year.

1996 MUSIC YEARBOOK, compiled by Joel Whitburn, is a fascinating look at the year 1996. Using the various Billboard Charts, Whitburn observes the hits, misses and trends that made 1996 memorable. The Macarena, Alanis Morissette, LeeAnn Rimes, and Babyface are just a few of '96 newsmakers.

The 1997 Music Yearbook is the ultimate recap of the year's hits and happenings in the world of music. Everything that made Billboard's singles and albums charts in Pop, Country and R&B music, as well as the Rock Tracks, Bubbling Under and Adult Contemporary singles charts, is exhaustively covered. Get the complete stats (chart debut date, peak position, total weeks charted, and more) on Elton John's Candle in the Wind '97; Puff Daddy's chart-topping reign as writer/producer/ rapper; the Spice Girls and Hanson phenomenons; Leann Rimes' giant crossover success; the return of Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones and Hall & Oates; the hit debuts of OMC, Lee Ann Womack, Smash Mouth, Michael Peterson and Sugar Ray. Also features a Time Capsule of the year's events, entertainment obits, the #1 hits of nearly 20 charts, and many special sections.

The years 1945-1965 saw a radical and exciting shift in American popular music. Blues and swing jazz helped to produce a new musical form called rhythm and blues, which in turn set in motion the development of soul and funk, not to mention rock 'n' roll. What united these genres was an emphasis on the beat, or the groove, over the melody that would culminate in the syncopated monochord workouts of funk. Along the way, some of the greatest electric guitarists of the postwar years explored the boundaries of the new instrument with a rich array of hot licks. This book/CD pack explores everything from the swinging boogie of Tiny Grimes, to the sweaty primal funk of Jimmy Nolen, to the styles of Mickey Baker, Billy Butler, Steve Cropper, Cornell Dupree, Jerry Jemmott, Curtis Mayfield, Ike Turner and everyone in between. Includes in-depth lessons, historical analysis, rare photos, and a CD with 33 full-band tracks.

For many novice players their amp is the boring, functional part of their first set-up. This guide explains how it can be as exciting, inspirational and as important as their guitar. Viewing the amp as an instrument in its own right, this book defines both the fundamental and subtle differences between many types of amplifier, while offering valuable info on tone-tweaking every kind to suit different styles. Learn how to adjust your amp for a whole range of different tones and how to use its functions to maximum effect. The text also explains how to choose the right products within your price-range and requirements, and how to maintain amplifier equipment for safe and reliable use. By taking an objective and comprehensive view of available guitar amps, this book offers the best bang-for-buck advice to getting killer tones easily, affordably and blasting at the right level. If you want to get your guitar cooking, then make sure it has the right ingredients with this invaluable guide.