Books I Recommend
Here are some books, both music related and non-music related, that I recommend. Some are specific to performers of early music, and some are general, applicable to all. I won’t link to any of these books, you can find them anywhere where you find books. They are not in any particular order.
Michael J. Gelb. Body Learning: An introduction to the Alexander Technique.
I worked with an Alexander Technique teacher one-on-one for many years. I find this book to be not only an excellent introduction to the idea of Alexander Technique, but a good summary of the concept to those who are already have some knowledge of the technique. I often come back to it to review the concepts and it is always a nice reset for me.
Christin Schillinger. Bassoon Reed Making: A Pedagogic History.
This is an excellent overview of the history of reed making. This is not an instruction manual for any particular time period, but I found it a nice overview of what we know and some interesting details that I personally did not know about reed making in the past.
Daniel R. Melamed. Hearing Bach’s Passions.
This book is an overview of The Johannes, Mathew, and Mark passions. It is an excellent book if you are looking into the passions for the first time. Interesting information and not too long (which often happens with books about Bach). Good book if you don’t have a lot of time to research.
Ross W. Duffin How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony.
I highly recommend this book for everyone who is a classical music. Really important book for understanding harmony and tuning.
Clive Brown. Classical and Romantic Performance Practice 1750-1900.
This book is filled with lots of information, aimed towards individuals in early music. It is a dense book, and it is easy to get lost in all the information, but absolutely worth having on your shelf.
Judy Tarling. The Weapons of Rhetoric.
This is a great book if you want a guidebook to how musicians were thinking about playing rhetorically in the past, and how one might be able to incorporate some of the concepts to modern day.
Dr. Nicole LePera. How to Meet your Self.
One’s mental state can have a great effect on one’s ability to perform. Traumas from the past, anxiety, poor stress management, and so on, can detrimentally affect our effectiveness as performers. This is a great guide to work through some of these things without a therapist. Although I recommend finding a good therapist to practically everyone. We all get a bit bruised during our life journey, and it helps to have a guide.
Robert Greene. The 48 Laws of Power.
Power and how to use it is very taboo in our society. Which is ultimately unfortunate, because people who aren’t afraid of using power rise to power, while the rest of us “nice people” end up suffering. Greene is an excellent guide through various uses of power in the past, and how we can find and use our own power for good today.
Jessica McCabe. How to ADHD: An Insider’s Guide to Working with your Brain (not Against it).
This is an excellent book for those of us Neurospicy folks who have brains that work a bit different than the average. There are a lot of great tips in this book, not only for people with ADHD, but for people who lean towards it, which with all of our distractions these days, is quite a few of us.
Mark Manson. The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*ck.
I avoided reading this book for many years because of the title. Not that I have any problem with swearing, to the contrary, but I thought it was one of many bro-books out there on the market. I eventually did pick it up, and I found it thoughtful, thought-provoking, and very interesting. Manson, like myself, leans philosophically towards Buddhism, and this highly influences the was that he thinks about the world. I highly recommend.
