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      • The Arts

        Unstrung

        Rants and Stories of a Noise Guitarist

        by Marc Ribot

        Throughout his genre-defying career as one of the most innovative musicians of our time, iconoclastic guitar player Marc Ribot has consistently defied expectation at every turn. Here, in his first collection of writing, we see that same uncompromising sensibility at work as he playfully interrogates our assumptions about music, life, and death. Through essays, short stories, and the occasional unfilmable film “mistreatment” that showcase the sheer range of his voice, Unstrung captures an artist whose versatility on the page rivals his dexterity onstage. In the first section of the book, “Lies and Distortion,” Ribot turns his attention to his instrument—“my relation to the guitar is one of struggle; I’m constantly forcing it to be something else”—and reflects on his influences (and friends) like Robert Quine (The Voidoids) and producer Hal Willner (Saturday Night Live), while delivering an impassioned plea on behalf of artists’ rights. Elsewhere, we glimpse fragments of Ribot’s life as a traveling musician—he captures both the monotony of touring as well as small moments of beauty and despair on the road. In the heart of the collection, “Sorry, We’re Experiencing Technical Difficulties,” Ribot offers wickedly humorous short stories that synthesize the best elements of the Russian absurdist tradition with the imaginative heft of George Saunders. Taken together, these stories and essays cement Ribot’s position as one of the most dynamic and creative voices of our time.

      • The Arts

        The Bass in Tango / El Contrabajo en el Tango

        Fundamental method for playing tango music

        by Ignacio Varchausky

        “Método de Tango” (Spanish for “Tango Method”) is the first fundamental book series that teaches how to play tango music, published in English and Spanish since 2014 by Tango Sin Fin in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This book series is the only collection which provides any musician, arranger, composer or ethnomusicologist from around the world a methodological and pedagogical approach to tango language, using academic terms, exercises and musical studies.   CONTENTS» Each volume is focused on one instrument: violin, bass, bandoneon, piano, flute and guitar. » All the tools and techniques for playing tango music are covered throughout specific chapters and exercises. » 5 to 8 original works for ensemble are included in each book. Parts for other instruments are included on a separate insert. » Audio and video recordings and play-along tracks for each exercise and pieces are available for free on Tango Sin Fin’s YouTube channel.   THE BASS IN TANGO CONTENTS » Time-marking models. The role of the bass as part of the rhythmic base. Marcato, pizzicato, and other typical articulations used in tango. » Bass lines. Characteristic devices used to create bass lines and perform them spontaneously. » Rhythmic melody. Articulation as a fundamental constituent element of the tango language. » Expressive melody. Fraseo as an essential device for expressiveness. » Milonga and vals, the use of percussive effects, guidelines to play in a tango ensemble, the history of the bass in tango, the different styles of the genre. » 6 original works for ensemble. » 250 audio and video examples.

      • The Arts
        2011

        Die Violine im Tango / Le violon dans le Tango

        Grundlegende schule des tangospiels

        by Ramiro Gallo

        “Método de Tango” (Spanish for “Tango Method”) is the first fundamental book series that teaches how to play tango music, published in English and Spanish since 2014 by Tango Sin Fin in Buenos Aires, Argentina.This book series is the only collection which provides any musician, arranger, composer or ethnomusicologist from around the world a methodological and pedagogical approach to tango language, using academic terms, exercises and musical studies.   CONTENTS» Each volume is focused on one instrument: violin, bass, bandoneon, piano, flute and guitar. » All the tools and techniques for playing tango music are covered throughout specific chapters and exercises.» 5 to 8 original works for ensemble are included in each book. Parts for other instruments are included on a separate insert.» Audio and video recordings and play-along tracks for each exercise and pieces are available for free on Tango Sin Fin’s YouTube channel.   THE VIOLIN IN TANGO CONTENTS» Rhythmic melody. Different ways to articulate and accentuate a rhythmic tango melody.» Expressive melody. The art of phrasing, the tools to express tango music.» The rhythmic base. The typical marking models and the role of the violin as a part of the rhythmic base.» The use of ornaments and percussion effects, guidelines to play in a tango ensemble, the history of the violin in tango, the different styles of the genre.» 7 original works for violin and other instruments.» 130 audio and video examples.

      • String instruments

        The Scots Fiddle.

        by J. Murray. Neil

        In the third of a three-volume set of aThe Scots Fiddlea, J. Murray Neil has compiled a collection of the fiddle music of Scotland from the West Highlands, Hebrides, Orkney & Shetland. It includes a wonderful selection of traditional fiddle tunes and song airs that are played and sung wherever Scots meet at festivals and on special occasions. Extensive biographical sketches, narratives and anecdotes accompany the tunes and provide a fascinating insight into the rich inheritance of Scottish and Gaelic culture. Famous fiddler/composers and songwriters, past and present; famous characters and landmarks; history, legends and traditions, language and dialect, poetry and song are represented in a stimulating account. The selection contains over 160 tunes, including airs and pastorals, reels, strathspeys, marches, jigs, hornpipes, waltzes, polkas and minuets. There are melodies by well known and lesser-known fiddler/composers and songwriters, new and unpublished tunes, as well as compositions from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.;aThe Scots Fiddlea is not only an excellent fiddle music reference book, it is a book about Scotland and should appeal to all those with an interest in their cultural traditions.

      • Musical scores, lyrics & libretti

        The Scots Fiddle

        Tunes, Tales & Traditions of the North-east & Central Highlands

        by J. Murray. Neil

        The first of a three-volume extended edition of "The Scots Fiddle", this text combines an extensive collection of traditional fiddle music (over 160 tunes) with background narratives and anecdotes on the history, legends and traditions associated with the music, and biographical sketches on composers and song-writers, and instruction on playing, through the provision of bowings and finger-board positions. The book is also illustrated throughout with steel engravings. The music provided includes slow airs, pastorals, strathspeys, reels, jigs, hornpipes and marches, tunes from the 18th and 19th centuries as well as new compositions.

      • Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups

        The Scots Fiddle

        Tunes, Tales & Traditions of the Lothians, Borders & Ayrshire Regions

        by J. Murray. Neil

        In the second book of a three-volume set, the author offers a collection of the fiddle music of Scotland relating to Edinburgh and the Lothians, Borders and Ayrshire. It includes a selection of traditional fiddle tunes and song airs that are played and sung wherever Scots meet at festivals and on special occasions. these include many that were collected and adapted by Robert Burns and feature in the Ayrshire section, which also contains extensive notes on Burns as a fiddler, musician and songwriter.;Biographical sketches, narratives and anecdotes accompany the tunes and provide an insight into the rich inheritance of Scottish culture. Famous fiddler/composers and songwriters past and present; famous characters and landmarks; history, legends and traditions; language and dialect, poetry and song are all represented. The selection contains over 160 tunes, including airs, pastorals, reels, strathspeys, marches, jigs, hornpipes, waltzes, polkas and minuets. There are melodies by well-known and less well-known figures, new and unpublished tunes, and compositions from the 18th and 19th centuries.

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