Let’s Make Some Beautiful Music Together
Are you musically inclined? Do you find yourself creating neat rhythms whenever you drum your fingers against a table top, or tap your feet against the floor? Then Learn to Speak Music: a Guide to Creating, Performing, and Promoting Your Songs by John Crossingham might be worthwhile for you to check out. Starting from the basics, this book covers everything from why we all enjoy listening to music, how to use dynamics to create interesting effects in your music, to even choosing the best instrument for your personality. There’s also lots of great advice provided in this book that ranges from how to go about forming your own musical group and writing music and lyrics, to finding a workable practice space and what to do when you finally perform in front of a live audience.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It offers some excellent pointers on how to use your personal music to create something that everyone would like listening to someday. I liked how there are “playlists” for most of the sections, each one offering examples of how other artists have worked with music, such as doing covers of other groups' songs (like Talking Heads doing Al Green's "Take Me to the River"), how many band members were included in particular songs (the works of a duo like The White Stripes versus those of a large group like Arcade Fire), and even songs that mix hi-fi and lo-fi sounds together (like M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes”). I also liked the candid quotes from various artists that are provided throughout the book, each one offering some great advice on things like songwriting (Feist), getting over stage fright (Emily Haines from Metric), and making sound recordings (Buck 65). There's even a neat section at the back of the book that takes a look at the most basic pieces of a band — amps, bass, drums, keyboard and so on –, and gives expert examples of how each piece can be used more effectively to create something amazing with the group. All in all, I think this is a great book for anyone who wants to start something musical, and who is looking for ways to share their songs with the world.
What do you think of Learn to Speak Music by John Crossingham?
Let me know. 🙂
One thought on “Let’s Make Some Beautiful Music Together”
I love listening to music, but creating music seems so much harder, but it will still be interesting to read the book.