Music Talent & Performance

Music Talent & Performance

Author: Henry Kingsbury

Publisher: Temple University Press

Published: 2010-06-17

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1439904022

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An anthropologist's unusual ethnography of an American conservatory.


Book Synopsis Music Talent & Performance by : Henry Kingsbury

Download or read book Music Talent & Performance written by Henry Kingsbury and published by Temple University Press. This book was released on 2010-06-17 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An anthropologist's unusual ethnography of an American conservatory.


Machine of Death

Machine of Death

Author: Ryan North

Publisher: Machines of Death LLC

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 0982167121

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MACHINE OF DEATH tells thirty-four different stories about people who know how they will die. Prepare to have your tears jerked, your spine tingled, your funny bone tickled, your mind blown, your pulse quickened, or your heart warmed. Or better yet, simply prepare to be surprised. Because even when people do have perfect knowledge of the future, there's no telling exactly how things will turn out.


Book Synopsis Machine of Death by : Ryan North

Download or read book Machine of Death written by Ryan North and published by Machines of Death LLC. This book was released on 2010 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: MACHINE OF DEATH tells thirty-four different stories about people who know how they will die. Prepare to have your tears jerked, your spine tingled, your funny bone tickled, your mind blown, your pulse quickened, or your heart warmed. Or better yet, simply prepare to be surprised. Because even when people do have perfect knowledge of the future, there's no telling exactly how things will turn out.


Beyond Talent

Beyond Talent

Author: Angela Myles Beeching

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-10-18

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 019979894X

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This second edition of Beyond Talent provides user-friendly real-life advice, examples, and perspectives on how to further a career in music. Understanding the unique talents and training of musicians, veteran music career counselor Angela Myles Beeching presents a wealth of creative solutions for career advancement in the highly competitive music industry. Step-by-step instructions detail how to design promotional materials, book performances, network and access resources and assistance, jump start a stalled career, and expand your employment opportunities while remaining true to your music. Beeching untangles artist management and the recording industry, explains how to find and create performance opportunities, and provides guidance on grant writing and fundraising, day jobs, freelancing, and how to manage money, time, and stress. The companion website puts numerous up-to-date and useful internet resources at your fingertips. This essential handbook goes beyond the usual "how-to," helping musicians tackle the core questions about career goals, and create a meaningful life as a professional musician. Beyond Talent is the ideal companion for students and professionals, emerging musicians and mid-career artists.


Book Synopsis Beyond Talent by : Angela Myles Beeching

Download or read book Beyond Talent written by Angela Myles Beeching and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-10-18 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This second edition of Beyond Talent provides user-friendly real-life advice, examples, and perspectives on how to further a career in music. Understanding the unique talents and training of musicians, veteran music career counselor Angela Myles Beeching presents a wealth of creative solutions for career advancement in the highly competitive music industry. Step-by-step instructions detail how to design promotional materials, book performances, network and access resources and assistance, jump start a stalled career, and expand your employment opportunities while remaining true to your music. Beeching untangles artist management and the recording industry, explains how to find and create performance opportunities, and provides guidance on grant writing and fundraising, day jobs, freelancing, and how to manage money, time, and stress. The companion website puts numerous up-to-date and useful internet resources at your fingertips. This essential handbook goes beyond the usual "how-to," helping musicians tackle the core questions about career goals, and create a meaningful life as a professional musician. Beyond Talent is the ideal companion for students and professionals, emerging musicians and mid-career artists.


The Talent Show

The Talent Show

Author: Jo Hodgkinson

Publisher: Andersen Press USA

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13: 1467744379

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Four friends decide to enter a talent show. A tiny red bird asks to join them, but they laugh and tell him he’s too small. But then a mysterious, tall stranger arrives to audition for lead singer and turns out to be someone quite unexpected . . .


Book Synopsis The Talent Show by : Jo Hodgkinson

Download or read book The Talent Show written by Jo Hodgkinson and published by Andersen Press USA. This book was released on 2014-01-01 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Four friends decide to enter a talent show. A tiny red bird asks to join them, but they laugh and tell him he’s too small. But then a mysterious, tall stranger arrives to audition for lead singer and turns out to be someone quite unexpected . . .


The Musician's Guide to a Great Live Performance

The Musician's Guide to a Great Live Performance

Author: Mark A. Johnson

Publisher:

Published: 2012-06-07

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9781477613696

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If you are a musician who wants to discover how to connect with any crowd, win them over, and make them love you and your music, then this book will teach you the exact methods used by the most successful musicians on the planet.Have you ever been on stage, performing your music, only to discover that the crowd is just not that into you?Does the audience sometimes seem unimpressed with your show?Even though your music is good, are there times when you just can't seem to "grab" the crowd and you don't know what to say or do to draw them in and win them over?If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are certainly not alone. As musicians, we have probably all had that experience. And it's a really awful feeling, isn't it? You want the crowd to love you, and when they don't, it's embarrassing... and really hard to take.But the good news is that it's very likely that the problem is not that you lack talent or passion for your music. It's much more likely that the problem is in the WAY you present your music (and yourself) to the audience. You are just not connecting with the crowd.Here's what I'm talking about... as musicians, we put our hearts and souls into our music and we just want to share it with the rest of the world, but in the real world, it's just not that easy.WHEN YOU ARE ON STAGE, IT WOULD BE MUCH EASIER IF THE AUDIENCE WOULD JUDGE YOU ONLY ON THE MUSIC YOU PERFORM, but the truth is... THEY WON'T.They will also judge you on...** What you say to them between songs.** How confident you appear to be.** What your attitude is toward them.** Whether you smile and appear friendly.** How you handle mistakes on stage.** How you make them feel.** Whether you touch them emotionally.** How much energy you project on stage.** Plus a whole lot more that is beyond just the physical act of making good music.You know, when you think about it... success in the music business is really about making the audience happy. THAT'S how you get lots of fans and lots of gigs. And if you want to get paid for what you do, then it's important to remember that in the music business the money is in the pockets of the fans. So if you want to be successful, PUT THE AUDIENCE FIRST IN ALL THAT YOU DO... not yourself... not even your music. ALWAYS make them your highest priority and they will love you for it.Understand that the audience comes to your live show for one reason only... THEY WANT TO BE ENTERTAINED AND HAVE A GOOD TIME. It takes more than just good music to have a great live show. AND THAT'S WHERE MOST PERFORMERS FAIL. They don't know how to engage the audience and make that important connection. And the truth is... IF THEY DON'T LIKE YOU AS A PERSON then it won't really matter how good of a musician you are.So let me ask you this... wouldn't it feel great to have the audience in the palm of your hand, knowing that they love what you do? How would it feel to perform for hundreds or maybe even thousands of raving fans and finally get the recognition you deserve? How would it feel to experience the pure, adrenalin pumping excitement that happens when you really kill it on stage.Don't waste all the months and years of hard work you've put into developing your musical talent just because you don't know how to present your music to the audience in the best way possible. You owe it to yourself (and your music) to discover how to really grab the crowd and make them love what you do.Now, forgive me for sounding a little overly dramatic here, but... think of what it may cost you in the future if you don't have this knowledge. What will your show look like a year from now? Will it be any better than it is now? Will you have more fans than you have now? Will you be making more money with your music than you are now? Or will you still be struggling along... trying to figure out why people aren't crazy about you and your music?Is your musical success worth $29.95? ORDER TODAY.


Book Synopsis The Musician's Guide to a Great Live Performance by : Mark A. Johnson

Download or read book The Musician's Guide to a Great Live Performance written by Mark A. Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2012-06-07 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you are a musician who wants to discover how to connect with any crowd, win them over, and make them love you and your music, then this book will teach you the exact methods used by the most successful musicians on the planet.Have you ever been on stage, performing your music, only to discover that the crowd is just not that into you?Does the audience sometimes seem unimpressed with your show?Even though your music is good, are there times when you just can't seem to "grab" the crowd and you don't know what to say or do to draw them in and win them over?If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are certainly not alone. As musicians, we have probably all had that experience. And it's a really awful feeling, isn't it? You want the crowd to love you, and when they don't, it's embarrassing... and really hard to take.But the good news is that it's very likely that the problem is not that you lack talent or passion for your music. It's much more likely that the problem is in the WAY you present your music (and yourself) to the audience. You are just not connecting with the crowd.Here's what I'm talking about... as musicians, we put our hearts and souls into our music and we just want to share it with the rest of the world, but in the real world, it's just not that easy.WHEN YOU ARE ON STAGE, IT WOULD BE MUCH EASIER IF THE AUDIENCE WOULD JUDGE YOU ONLY ON THE MUSIC YOU PERFORM, but the truth is... THEY WON'T.They will also judge you on...** What you say to them between songs.** How confident you appear to be.** What your attitude is toward them.** Whether you smile and appear friendly.** How you handle mistakes on stage.** How you make them feel.** Whether you touch them emotionally.** How much energy you project on stage.** Plus a whole lot more that is beyond just the physical act of making good music.You know, when you think about it... success in the music business is really about making the audience happy. THAT'S how you get lots of fans and lots of gigs. And if you want to get paid for what you do, then it's important to remember that in the music business the money is in the pockets of the fans. So if you want to be successful, PUT THE AUDIENCE FIRST IN ALL THAT YOU DO... not yourself... not even your music. ALWAYS make them your highest priority and they will love you for it.Understand that the audience comes to your live show for one reason only... THEY WANT TO BE ENTERTAINED AND HAVE A GOOD TIME. It takes more than just good music to have a great live show. AND THAT'S WHERE MOST PERFORMERS FAIL. They don't know how to engage the audience and make that important connection. And the truth is... IF THEY DON'T LIKE YOU AS A PERSON then it won't really matter how good of a musician you are.So let me ask you this... wouldn't it feel great to have the audience in the palm of your hand, knowing that they love what you do? How would it feel to perform for hundreds or maybe even thousands of raving fans and finally get the recognition you deserve? How would it feel to experience the pure, adrenalin pumping excitement that happens when you really kill it on stage.Don't waste all the months and years of hard work you've put into developing your musical talent just because you don't know how to present your music to the audience in the best way possible. You owe it to yourself (and your music) to discover how to really grab the crowd and make them love what you do.Now, forgive me for sounding a little overly dramatic here, but... think of what it may cost you in the future if you don't have this knowledge. What will your show look like a year from now? Will it be any better than it is now? Will you have more fans than you have now? Will you be making more money with your music than you are now? Or will you still be struggling along... trying to figure out why people aren't crazy about you and your music?Is your musical success worth $29.95? ORDER TODAY.


Power Performance for Singers

Power Performance for Singers

Author: Shirlee Emmons

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1998-08-20

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0195112245

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To perform well in today's highly competitive world where technical skills have been advanced to an unprecedented degree, a singer must be able to handle incredible pressure within the performing arena; his or her ability to deal with this stress will often determine whether he or she will succeed. Why, then, do singers with less technical skill sometimes out-perform stars? Why do some stars suddenly stop performing? What is that mysterious factor that makes an electric performance? Consistent, competent performances do not depend solely upon superior vocal skills, nor are they a matter of luck. On the contrary, the best performances result from a combination of mental attitude, concrete performing skills, and excellent technical skills in that order. Yet most singers have never had the opportunity to acquire the essential skills that make for a successful career.Written as a self-help manual for singers at all levels of expertise, Power Performance for Singers is designed to teach performing artists, and especially singers, how to experience elite performance at their level. The skills outlined in this book will help singers use what they have, to enjoy their voices during performance, and to perform consistently to the best of their present ability.


Book Synopsis Power Performance for Singers by : Shirlee Emmons

Download or read book Power Performance for Singers written by Shirlee Emmons and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1998-08-20 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To perform well in today's highly competitive world where technical skills have been advanced to an unprecedented degree, a singer must be able to handle incredible pressure within the performing arena; his or her ability to deal with this stress will often determine whether he or she will succeed. Why, then, do singers with less technical skill sometimes out-perform stars? Why do some stars suddenly stop performing? What is that mysterious factor that makes an electric performance? Consistent, competent performances do not depend solely upon superior vocal skills, nor are they a matter of luck. On the contrary, the best performances result from a combination of mental attitude, concrete performing skills, and excellent technical skills in that order. Yet most singers have never had the opportunity to acquire the essential skills that make for a successful career.Written as a self-help manual for singers at all levels of expertise, Power Performance for Singers is designed to teach performing artists, and especially singers, how to experience elite performance at their level. The skills outlined in this book will help singers use what they have, to enjoy their voices during performance, and to perform consistently to the best of their present ability.


The Road To Excellence

The Road To Excellence

Author: K. Anders Ericsson

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2014-03-05

Total Pages: 414

ISBN-13: 1317779053

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Excellence and the highest levels of performance in the arts and sciences, sports, and games have always been an object of fascination to both scientists and lay people. Only during the last 20 years have scientists studied these levels of performance in the laboratory in order to identify their mediating mechanisms. Contrary to the common belief that innate talents are the critical factors for exceptional performance, investigators have found that acquired skills, knowledge, and physiological adaptations in response to intense practice are the primary mechanisms, mediating the highest levels of performance. This is the first and only book to examine how elite performers effect their exceptional accomplishments. The world's leading researchers on expert performance and creative achievement review theories and recent findings from many different domains of expertise on how experts optimize improvement in their performance and eventually attain excellence. Elite performers are shown to have engaged in deliberate-practice activities specifically designed to improve their performance from an early age. By age 20 they have often accumulated over 10,000 hours of practice! The essential elements of deliberate practice, such as specific goals to improve performance, successive refinement through repetition, feedback and instruction, are explicated for different domains. Although the content of practice tasks will necessarily differ from domain to domain, investigators have found invariant characteristics for the optimal duration of practice sessions, maximal amounts of daily practice, the length of intense preparation (around 10 years), and ages of peak performance. Some of the book's chapters extend the review to the acquisition of everyday-life skills such as reading, to the performance of teams of experts, and to the development of creative achievement, geniuses, and artistic child prodigies. The book concludes with commentaries by several outstanding scientists in psychology, education, and history of science who discuss the generalizability of presented ideas and raise issues for future issues. EXTRA COPY...It could be said that striving for excellence is what characterizes humanity, or perhaps what characterizes humanity at its best. Why do so few individuals ever reach the highest levels when so many start out on the Road to Excellence? In this book, the world's foremost researchers of expert performance in domains as diverse as sports, medicine, chess, and the arts explore the similarities and differences in the extended and strenuous Road to Excellence taken by the successful individuals in each domain. Their findings will intrigue and inspire readers who are themselves driven to achieve or who simply want to better understand the processes involved.


Book Synopsis The Road To Excellence by : K. Anders Ericsson

Download or read book The Road To Excellence written by K. Anders Ericsson and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2014-03-05 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excellence and the highest levels of performance in the arts and sciences, sports, and games have always been an object of fascination to both scientists and lay people. Only during the last 20 years have scientists studied these levels of performance in the laboratory in order to identify their mediating mechanisms. Contrary to the common belief that innate talents are the critical factors for exceptional performance, investigators have found that acquired skills, knowledge, and physiological adaptations in response to intense practice are the primary mechanisms, mediating the highest levels of performance. This is the first and only book to examine how elite performers effect their exceptional accomplishments. The world's leading researchers on expert performance and creative achievement review theories and recent findings from many different domains of expertise on how experts optimize improvement in their performance and eventually attain excellence. Elite performers are shown to have engaged in deliberate-practice activities specifically designed to improve their performance from an early age. By age 20 they have often accumulated over 10,000 hours of practice! The essential elements of deliberate practice, such as specific goals to improve performance, successive refinement through repetition, feedback and instruction, are explicated for different domains. Although the content of practice tasks will necessarily differ from domain to domain, investigators have found invariant characteristics for the optimal duration of practice sessions, maximal amounts of daily practice, the length of intense preparation (around 10 years), and ages of peak performance. Some of the book's chapters extend the review to the acquisition of everyday-life skills such as reading, to the performance of teams of experts, and to the development of creative achievement, geniuses, and artistic child prodigies. The book concludes with commentaries by several outstanding scientists in psychology, education, and history of science who discuss the generalizability of presented ideas and raise issues for future issues. EXTRA COPY...It could be said that striving for excellence is what characterizes humanity, or perhaps what characterizes humanity at its best. Why do so few individuals ever reach the highest levels when so many start out on the Road to Excellence? In this book, the world's foremost researchers of expert performance in domains as diverse as sports, medicine, chess, and the arts explore the similarities and differences in the extended and strenuous Road to Excellence taken by the successful individuals in each domain. Their findings will intrigue and inspire readers who are themselves driven to achieve or who simply want to better understand the processes involved.


Performing Popular Music

Performing Popular Music

Author: David Cashman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-11-21

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 0429012667

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This book explores the fundamentals of popular music performance for students in contemporary music institutions. Drawing on the insights of performance practice research, it discusses the unwritten rules of performances in popular music, what it takes to create a memorable performance, and live popular music as a creative industry. The authors offer a practical overview of topics ranging from rehearsals to stagecraft, and what to do when things go wrong. Chapters on promotion, recordings, and the music industry place performance in the context of building a career. Performing Popular Music introduces aspiring musicians to the elements of crafting compelling performances and succeeding in the world of today’s popular music.


Book Synopsis Performing Popular Music by : David Cashman

Download or read book Performing Popular Music written by David Cashman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-21 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the fundamentals of popular music performance for students in contemporary music institutions. Drawing on the insights of performance practice research, it discusses the unwritten rules of performances in popular music, what it takes to create a memorable performance, and live popular music as a creative industry. The authors offer a practical overview of topics ranging from rehearsals to stagecraft, and what to do when things go wrong. Chapters on promotion, recordings, and the music industry place performance in the context of building a career. Performing Popular Music introduces aspiring musicians to the elements of crafting compelling performances and succeeding in the world of today’s popular music.


The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance, Volume 1

The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance, Volume 1

Author: Gary McPherson

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2022-01-18

Total Pages: 737

ISBN-13: 0190056282

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The two-volume 'Oxford Handbook of Music Performance' provides the most comprehensive and authoritative resource for musicians, educators and scholars currently available. It is aimed primarily for practicing musicians, particularly those who are preparing for a professional career as performers and are interested in practical implications of psychological and scientific research for their own music performance development; educators with a specific interest or expertise in music psychology, who will wish to apply the concepts and techniques surveyed in their own teaching; undergraduate and postgraduate students who understand the potential of music psychology for informing music education; and researchers in the area of music performance who consider it important for the results of their research to be practically useful for musicians and music educators.


Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance, Volume 1 by : Gary McPherson

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance, Volume 1 written by Gary McPherson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-01-18 with total page 737 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The two-volume 'Oxford Handbook of Music Performance' provides the most comprehensive and authoritative resource for musicians, educators and scholars currently available. It is aimed primarily for practicing musicians, particularly those who are preparing for a professional career as performers and are interested in practical implications of psychological and scientific research for their own music performance development; educators with a specific interest or expertise in music psychology, who will wish to apply the concepts and techniques surveyed in their own teaching; undergraduate and postgraduate students who understand the potential of music psychology for informing music education; and researchers in the area of music performance who consider it important for the results of their research to be practically useful for musicians and music educators.


The Beautiful Music All Around Us

The Beautiful Music All Around Us

Author: Stephen Wade

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2012-08-10

Total Pages: 505

ISBN-13: 025209400X

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The Beautiful Music All Around Us presents the extraordinarily rich backstories of thirteen performances captured on Library of Congress field recordings between 1934 and 1942 in locations reaching from Southern Appalachia to the Mississippi Delta and the Great Plains. Including the children's play song "Shortenin' Bread," the fiddle tune "Bonaparte's Retreat," the blues "Another Man Done Gone," and the spiritual "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down," these performances were recorded in kitchens and churches, on porches and in prisons, in hotel rooms and school auditoriums. Documented during the golden age of the Library of Congress recordings, they capture not only the words and tunes of traditional songs but also the sounds of life in which the performances were embedded: children laugh, neighbors comment, trucks pass by. Musician and researcher Stephen Wade sought out the performers on these recordings, their families, fellow musicians, and others who remembered them. He reconstructs the sights and sounds of the recording sessions themselves and how the music worked in all their lives. Some of these performers developed musical reputations beyond these field recordings, but for many, these tracks represent their only appearances on record: prisoners at the Arkansas State Penitentiary jumping on "the Library's recording machine" in a rendering of "Rock Island Line"; Ora Dell Graham being called away from the schoolyard to sing the jump-rope rhyme "Pullin' the Skiff"; Luther Strong shaking off a hungover night in jail and borrowing a fiddle to rip into "Glory in the Meetinghouse." Alongside loving and expert profiles of these performers and their locales and communities, Wade also untangles the histories of these iconic songs and tunes, tracing them through slave songs and spirituals, British and homegrown ballads, fiddle contests, gospel quartets, and labor laments. By exploring how these singers and instrumentalists exerted their own creativity on inherited forms, "amplifying tradition's gifts," Wade shows how a single artist can make a difference within a democracy. Reflecting decades of research and detective work, the profiles and abundant photos in The Beautiful Music All Around Us bring to life largely unheralded individuals--domestics, farm laborers, state prisoners, schoolchildren, cowboys, housewives and mothers, loggers and miners--whose music has become part of the wider American musical soundscape. The hardcover edition also includes an accompanying CD that presents these thirteen performances, songs and sounds of America in the 1930s and '40s.


Book Synopsis The Beautiful Music All Around Us by : Stephen Wade

Download or read book The Beautiful Music All Around Us written by Stephen Wade and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2012-08-10 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Beautiful Music All Around Us presents the extraordinarily rich backstories of thirteen performances captured on Library of Congress field recordings between 1934 and 1942 in locations reaching from Southern Appalachia to the Mississippi Delta and the Great Plains. Including the children's play song "Shortenin' Bread," the fiddle tune "Bonaparte's Retreat," the blues "Another Man Done Gone," and the spiritual "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down," these performances were recorded in kitchens and churches, on porches and in prisons, in hotel rooms and school auditoriums. Documented during the golden age of the Library of Congress recordings, they capture not only the words and tunes of traditional songs but also the sounds of life in which the performances were embedded: children laugh, neighbors comment, trucks pass by. Musician and researcher Stephen Wade sought out the performers on these recordings, their families, fellow musicians, and others who remembered them. He reconstructs the sights and sounds of the recording sessions themselves and how the music worked in all their lives. Some of these performers developed musical reputations beyond these field recordings, but for many, these tracks represent their only appearances on record: prisoners at the Arkansas State Penitentiary jumping on "the Library's recording machine" in a rendering of "Rock Island Line"; Ora Dell Graham being called away from the schoolyard to sing the jump-rope rhyme "Pullin' the Skiff"; Luther Strong shaking off a hungover night in jail and borrowing a fiddle to rip into "Glory in the Meetinghouse." Alongside loving and expert profiles of these performers and their locales and communities, Wade also untangles the histories of these iconic songs and tunes, tracing them through slave songs and spirituals, British and homegrown ballads, fiddle contests, gospel quartets, and labor laments. By exploring how these singers and instrumentalists exerted their own creativity on inherited forms, "amplifying tradition's gifts," Wade shows how a single artist can make a difference within a democracy. Reflecting decades of research and detective work, the profiles and abundant photos in The Beautiful Music All Around Us bring to life largely unheralded individuals--domestics, farm laborers, state prisoners, schoolchildren, cowboys, housewives and mothers, loggers and miners--whose music has become part of the wider American musical soundscape. The hardcover edition also includes an accompanying CD that presents these thirteen performances, songs and sounds of America in the 1930s and '40s.