This week's book diary focuses on a subject very dear to my heart... music.
Music theory, music biographies, books containing music, books of music, books of blank manuscript paper..
Books about musicians, books written by musicians, books of opera, symphony, and concerto scores...
Works of art, major and minor-works of magic, all.
More below-if music be the food of love, play on!
My love affair with music began before my love affair with books. Music is one of the very few things that will take my attention away from books for any length of time.
As a child, my family surrounded me with music. My grandmother and mother and aunts and uncles all played instruments and sang. There was always music on in the house. I took my first piano lesson in the second grade, in the convent house of the catholic school I attended. In fourth grade, my mother asked me what instrument I wanted to play. I told her, after careful consideration, that I wanted to play the French Horn. You may remember from previous installments in the book diary that my mom was a single parent and a student for much of the time I was growing up. She could not afford a french horn, so she brought me a flute instead. A beautiful, shining, Armstrong Student Model, with a velvet case and that unique smell particular to musical instruments. I fell in love immediately. That same year, on Christmas, I got a guitar, and did my best with that, though it did not resonate with me like the flute and piano did.
Love of singing came that same year when I joined the school choir, and learned I could sing, I could really sing. I continued singing for the rest of my life, at one time hoping for a career in opera. Nine years of piano lessons, three years of flute lessons, and three years of vocal lessons gave me a solid base in music and a justification for my intense love. Over the years, I studied different books on music theory, instrumental practice, and read music biographies and musical fiction every chance I got.
One of the best books, bar none, on music theory is scales, intervals, keys, triads, rhythm and meter. This book alone taught me more about music theory than any other, and it's a self-study course, which makes it accessible to anyone.
My favorite music biography is Ella Fitzgerald: A Biography of the First Lady of Jazz. Her story by itself is better than fiction. The woman was phenomenal, both as an artist and as a person. A great companion to the biography is the A&E American Masters biography, Ella Fitzgerald: Something to Live For. Listening to her, you never know how hard she worked for her effortless sound, but watching her, you can see her pour her heart and soul and body into it. Phenomenal.
I've read too much fiction containing music to list, but my favorite is probably Terry Pratchett's Soul Music. This book is not only hilarious, but it nails the music industry solid and sends up genres, artists, producers, The Blues Brothers, and fans. A terrific read and classic Pratchett.
Some choice quotes-
And after it, mounted on a horse almost as fine as Binky, was a woman. Very definitely. A lot of woman. She was as much woman as you could get in one place without getting two women.
* * *
Susan: "What was all that about?"
Raven: "Well, these guys believe that if you die in battle, some big fat singing horned women carry you off to a sort of giant feast hall where you gobble yourself silly for the rest of eternity. Damn stupid idea, really."
Susan: "But it just happened!"
Raven: "Still a daft idea."
* * *
So as a result of the dotted line Klatch was now incipiently at war with Hersheba and the D'regs, Hersheba was at war with the D'regs and Klatch, and the D'regs were at war with everyone, including one another, and having considerable fun because the D'reg word for "stranger" was the same as for "target."
* * *
Colonel: "What's your name, soldier?"
Death: ER...
Colonel: "You don't have to say, actually. That's what the ... the..."
Death: KLATCHIAN FOREIGN LEGION?
Colonel: "...what it's all about. Peple join to ... to ... with your mind, you know, when you can't ... things that happened..."
Death: FORGET?
Colonel: "Right."
* * *
The patrons of the Drum tended to be democratic in their approach to aggressiveness. They liked to see that everybody got some.
What are your favorite books containing music? Fiction, non-fiction, biography, autobiography, anything. And as always, what have you read lately?