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What’s Inside
How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite began life as a piano suite for the two children of one of French composer Maurice Ravel’s friends. To create the Mother Goose Suite, Ravel went to the original short stories. Two of the story names we recognize from their Disney adaptations, like Beauty and The Beast, and Sleeping Beauty. But when you read the originals, you’re shocked to see how different, and in some cases for society today, how violent the stories are. Even so, from these stories, which film/TV and other dramatic composers can look at as a type of script, comes all sorts of situations to be described musically. A partial list includes scoring such moods as stateliness, unsureness, animal effects without synthesizers, romantic anxiety, joy, emotional rising without the basses, happily ever after, the sound of the Orient, and much more. (All of these are discussed in the book!)

Once published, it was widely received and so began the requests for Ravel to orchestrate it. Which he did. And later expanded it for a ballet.And by reading the stories, you get an amazing set of devices you can apply and use today. And with the color-coded bonus score you can readily see how Ravel went from piano to orchestra.

But the suites are our concern, because from them, we not only see how Ravel orchestrated from piano to orchestra, but where within his own composition he changed things! At first blush, this may not seem like a big deal until you realize that there are two approaches for transcribing a score from piano to orchestra (or other ensemble). One approach is to score as close to the piano part as possible to preserve the composer’s intent. The other, is to change as you go. Ravel did both. In his own compositions, he changed them to better the music to the medium of the larger ensemble. But when it came to another composer’s work, like Pictures At an Exhibition by Moussorgsky, Ravel altered voicings and fillers, but didn’t rewrite the work.

About How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite
Alexander Publishing’s How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite is a breakthrough in orchestration instruction. For the first time ever, an American publishing company has completely re-engraved the classic work with the condensed piano part at page bottom in an oversized 8×14 format packaged with a complete Naxos Recording of Mother Goose Suite by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Jean. Said American Record Guide about this performance, “This is a treasurable collection excellently conducted by Kenneth Jean.”Including the Naxos recorded performance on the enclosed CD gives you a complete learning package. And since you have a CD of the recorded performance, you can create an MP3 of it on your system to put on your iPod or other MP3 player. Combine that with the bonus PDF scores, and you have a total portable learning package that lets you learn on-the-go, anytime, anywhere.

For fast referencing, each bar is numbered at the bottom of the page (original rehearsal marks are also included).

By including the piano part at page bottom, students of counterpoint will see specific devices that Ravel used, where, and how he orchestrated them. Jazz musicians and composers will also see how Ravel composed and orchestrated using altered DOM7 chords, mixolydian chord scales, and triads with the added 9 th.

How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite is a good read. Preceding each movement is the complete short story that movement was based on. Now you can look at Mother Goose Suite to better understand the dramatic composition and scoring techniques that went into each work. By comparing back to the original story, you gain a better understanding of Ravel’s approach. Following each movement is a brief orchestration analysis based on the Eight Keys To Learning Professional Orchestration as taught in the Professional Orchestration Series.

Supporting the 8 Keys analysis are two extra copies of Mother Goose Suite in PDF format that the student can download. The first extra score is an exact duplicate of the original so the student can mark on it with notes and impressions. The second, again for the first time, is a color coded version graphically illustrating how Ravel orchestrated.

Third, How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite goes beyond traditional analysis by including two literary works by Poe which greatly impacted Ravel, The Poetic Principle and The Philosophy of Composition. In a visual society, it’s important for students to know that Ravel was influenced by what he read

Also included is a brief on Ravel’s method of working which goes a long way to taking the mystery out of orchestral scoring. Two things worth noting are that Ravel

1) had a professional concert violinist mark the string bowings

2) that Ravel learned a lot about writing for the individual instruments because he was constantly asking musicians questions.

Simply put, there has never been a practical analysis like this before, written in an engaging, accessible read/apply style for the, “working composer.” If you ever wanted to know where Hollywood pros get their orchestral colorations from, you’ll find it here.

VIDEO OF RAVEL

RAVEL PLAYING PAVANNE

REVIEW
All I can say is fantastic! My students, and I were completely enthralled by the analysis you provided, as well as the score with the included piano part. Two of the students are jazz majors and were very excited about how Ravel was approaching harmonization from a chord/scale jazz harmony perspective. They really started to make a connection with Ravel’s approach and what they have been learning in arranging class for big band; especially the jazz harmonization and line writing aspect of the score.

The piano part at the bottom of the score is a great teaching tool for orchestration students. All of my students stated that they would like to see more scores presented in this format. They all felt that they were gaining a better understanding on how Ravel approached orchestrating this movement because of the piano part that was included in the score.

The next time I teach my orchestration class, this will be required reading for all of my students, it is that good. I love the new approach.

Dr. Rik Pfenninger
Plymouth State University

The Author of Professional Orchestration™
Peter Lawrence Alexander is an award winning journalist. He’s an accomplished songwriter, composer and orchestrator. Many of his music books endorsed by winners of the Academy®, Grammy®, Emmy® and G.A.N.G. Awards. Mr. Alexander’s books include: Applied Professional Harmony, Professional Orchestration™, How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite, The Instant Composer: Counterpoint by Fux, and Writing for Strings™. His historical fiction works for book and stage include The Road of Blood: The Untold Story of The Good Samaritan, and The Unfaithful Wife: The Story of Hosea and Gomer.

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Synopsis
The Street Smart Guide™ to Logic 8 is a practical, common sense easy-to-use way to learn Apple’s Logic 8. It’s written in simple English in an easy-to-use problem/solution manner that covers 37 specific tasks you need to know to get the most of out Logic 8. Each of the 37 tasks covered is stepped out in plain English with virtually every move illustrated with four-color screen pictures. Talk about easy to read! The text is in 12-point type letting you can easily go back and forth onscreen between Logic 8 and The Street Smart Guide™ to Logic 8. Or print it out and put it in a 3-ring binder. Or both!

The Street Smart Guide™to Logic 8 also covers setting up external MIDI instruments (MIDI keyboard and computer), MIDI editing with EastWest PLAY and Vienna Instrument libraries, basics of applying effects including a master delay table, working with notation to produce lead sheets for publication, Bach chorales for school work and divisi writing, and other projects.

How to Use The Street Smart Guide™to Logic 8
The Street Smart Guide™to Logic 8 is organized like a course. Each lesson builds on the other. It’s organized by five sections:

1. Setup and MIDI Recording
2. MIDI Editing/Recording to Audio
3. Notation Basics
4. Beginning Audio and Recording
5. Catch all

Start with Lesson 1 and keep going. Having trained composers and music educators on Logic with this book, generally, you’ll be productive and creating music within a few hours.

Learn Recording Basics, Too!
With Logic, you can do MIDI recording and also recording with a microphone. The Street Smart Guide™ to Logic 8 walks you through all the basic effects and shows you how to apply them in a way that’s really easy to understand.

If you want to get going with Logic 8 fast with no wasted time, The Street Smart Guide™ to Logic 8 is a must have.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Section 1 - Setup and MIDI Recording
Lesson 1 - Getting Started
Lesson 2 - Software Instruments
Lesson 3 - MIDI Recording
Lesson 4 - Multiple Time Signatures
Lesson 5 - Multiple Tempos
Lesson 6 - Advanced Multiple Tempos
Lesson 7 - Next Recording Steps
Lesson 8 - Autopunch/Replace
Lesson 9 - Step Time

Section 2 - MIDI Editing/Recording to Audio
Lesson 10 - Software Instrument Inspector - Part 1
Lesson 11 - Software Instrument Inspector - Part 2
Lesson 12 - Automation & The Software Instrument Inspector
Lesson 13 - Audio Inspector
Lesson 14 - External Synth/Sampler Setup
Lesson 15 - Region Editing
Lesson 16 - The Region as Musical Phrase
Lesson 17 - Note Length
Lesson 18 - Tick Values
Lesson 19 - Quantizing
Lesson 20 - The Payoff

Section 3 - Notation Basics
Lesson 21 - Creating a Lead Sheet
Lesson 22 - Creating a Bach Chorale

Section 4 - Beginning Audio and Recording
Lesson 23 - Multimbral Setup For Software Instruments
Lesson 24 - Signal Flow and the Logic Mixing Board
Lesson 25 - Beginning Reverb
Lesson 26 - Beginning Space Designer
Lesson 27 - The Other Main Effects
Lesson 28 - EQ Basics
Lesson 29 - Setting Up For Recording With a Single Mic
Lesson 30 - Audio Editing Basics

Section 5 - Catch All
Lesson 31 - Naming Tracks
Lesson 32 - Setting Up the Fermata
Lesson 33 - Tuplets
Lesson 34 - Markers
Lesson 35 - Groups
Lesson 36 - MIDI Import
Lesson 37 - EXS Import

Author of Professional Orchestration
Peter Lawrence Alexander is an award winning journalist. He’s an accomplished songwriter, composer and orchestrator. Many of his music books endorsed by winners of the Academy®, Grammy®, Emmy® and G.A.N.G. Awards. Mr. Alexander’s books include: Applied Professional Harmony, Professional Orchestration™, How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite, The Instant Composer: Counterpoint by Fux, and Writing for Strings™. His historical fiction works for book and stage include The Road of Blood: The Untold Story of The Good Samaritan, and The Unfaithful Wife: The Story of Hosea and Gomer.

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Synopsis
Anything could happen on that hostile road that wound its way through rugged desert terrain and where on narrow trails with dangerous cliffs  and sheer drops into oblivion, robbers hid in caves waiting to attack unsuspecting travelers, no matter who they were.

So when the day came that King Herod would be leaving his winter palace in New Jericho and going back up to Jerusalem, it just seemed to Keefay that following behind Herod and his armed detachment from the 10th Roman Legion was the safest way to get up to the city to do business and sign new contracts.

But coming back home from Jerusalem was a different story. He’d be going down the Road of Blood. Alone.

His family and his wife Abigail begged him not to go. Anything could happen. But he wouldn’t listen. In business, no risk, no reward.

But the worst did happen.

Chased, beaten, robbed, left for dead, and abandoned, suddenly from around the bend rode a stranger.

Author of The Road of Blood: The Untold Story of The Good Samaritan
Peter Lawrence Alexander is an award winning journalist. He’s an accomplished songwriter, composer and orchestrator. Many of his music books are endorsed by winners of the Academy®, Grammy®, Emmy® and G.A.N.G. Awards. Mr. Alexander’s books include: Professional Orchestration™, How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite, The Instant Composer: Counterpoint by Fux, and Writing for Strings™. His historical fiction works for book and stage include The Road of Blood: The Untold Story of The Good Samaritan, and The Unfaithful Wife: The Story of Hosea and Gomer.

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What’s Inside
Writing and Performing Christian Music: God’s Plan & Purpose for the Church, is for songwriters, worship leaders, musicians, composers, church leadership, radio station programmers, and record company executives.

It’s the first book to answer the question, “What is Christian music?” through researching each use of the Hebrew and Greek words for song, praise and worship. The result is a practical guide giving you direction on lyric content, writing effective lyrics, 22 types of Biblical songs by content (including traditional love songs), and performance considerations. Also reviewed is the position of worship leader from the Temple to New Testament times, why Joseph is the worship leader’s role model, how the music department was structured including roles, duties and responsibilities. This is a doing book, not a theory book.

Foreword - TV composer Robert Kral (Angel, Miracles and Superman: Doomsday).

Introduction - Dr. William L. Hooper, former Dean, School of Church Music, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Table of Contents:
What Is Christian Music?
God’s Organizational Model for the Church - The Ekklesia
The First Formal Purposing of Song
The Prophetic Song
How God Uses Music to Edify
22 Types of Biblical Songs by Content
Thanks, and the Three Types of Praise Songs
Eight More Types of Biblical Songs
Biblical Techniques of Lyric Writing
Standards and Performance Practices in Paul’s Model for the Church
Music Leadership and the Large Church
Basic Performance Considerations
Wisdom’s Role
Picking Music for the Western Church Service

REVIEWS

Worship Leader Magazine (March/April 2008)
Writing & Performing Christian Music is a book for the local worship leader, because you aren’t a professional recording artist (and that’s a good thing). But even industry heavy-hitters would benefit from reading a commentary on worship songwriting, and its importance in the Church. The book is comprehensive, covering everything from basic performance techniques to the biblical intentions of music. But instead of focusing on rhyming patterns and rhythm, Alexander provides biblical examples of how God wants to be praised. It’s a refreshing perspective. One chapter includes over 20 types of worship songs found in the Bible and how they can be adapted into modern contexts. Another has Biblical translations for every possible word pertaining to praise and worship. Peter Alexander tackles worship songwriting from the ground-up, providing the Biblical building blocks for worship leading.

The idea for the book emerged from Alexander’s own pursuit of knowledge regarding all things praise. It’s this question-and-answer approach that makes Writing & Performing Christian Music so accessible –you’re engaged in the worship dialogue. The book is interactive with instructions for applying and connecting with each of the topics fully. Writing & Performing Christian Music is the perfect read for both aspiring songwriter and seasoned worship leader; it provides a stimulating discussion that will undoubtedly mold your service of worship. So sit down and with a guitar and notebook, and prepare to be schooled.

Pastor Bayless Conley, Founding Pastor, Cottonwood Christian Center
Featured on Answers BC on Sunday’s on TBN
Author, Praise With Understanding
I have found Peter Alexander’s teaching on music and worship to be thoroughly Biblical, inspiring and practical. Through his writing we are given a comprehensive look at what the scriptures (both Old and New Testament) have to say about music, song writing and worship. I heartily recommend this book to Pastors, worship leaders, musicians or anyone with a hunger to understand how to apply Biblical principles to modern day worship.

Gerrit Gustafson, songwriter (Only by Grace, Mighty is Our God), worship teacher (worshipschools.com) and author (The Adventure of Worship) Songwriters and artists thrive on creativity, and an essential component of creativity is being able to view what everyone else is looking at from a fresh perspective. For all of us who desperately need fresh, God-inspired perspective, Peter Alexander has done a great service. Addressing the very complex subject of Christian music, Peter Alexander combines a hefty analytical ability with the conviction that God is the ultimate Creator and the Bible, the narrative of His unfolding creativity, to offer a new way of looking at how Christians do music. Finding clues where you may think you have already explored, and connecting dots between what may still remain unconnected in your thinking, Peter gives a view of music that is driven by mission and sustained by character. Eager to have your own creativity stimulated? Open these pages.

Sally Morgenthaler, Author, Worship Evangelism
If you’re stuck in the two-crayon world of hymns and choruses, you’re about to get a really big upgrade. This is a veritable encyclopedia on biblical songs: their origins, uses, and amazing potential for today’s worshiping church. Depth and faithfulness in technicolor. I’ve never seen anything like what’s been created here. May God bless this loving and comprehensive work as it resources the Davids of the new millennium.

Author of Writing and Performing Christian Music
Peter Lawrence Alexander is an award winning journalist. He’s an accomplished songwriter, composer and orchestrator and the first Christian to have many of his music books endorsed by winners of the Academy®, Grammy®, Emmy® and G.A.N.G. Awards. Mr. Alexander’s books include: Applied Professional Harmony, Professional Orchestration™, How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite, The Instant Composer: Counterpoint by Fux, and Writing for Strings™. His historical fiction works for book and stage include The Road of Blood: The Untold Story of The Good Samaritan, and The Unfaithful Wife: The Story of Hosea and Gomer

Ships Approximately November 15, 2008

What’s Inside
Professional Orchestration continues to make music education history with this historic third volume, Professional Orchestration 2B: Orchestrating the Melody Within the Woods and Brass, giving more than 60 different techniques with full page/full score examples supported with a separate optional MP3 audio package.

Pre-order now for $32.95 plus shipping. Price includes one (1) PDF copy which will be e-mailed out as each section is completed.

Separate (not included) MP3 Audio Supplement from eClassical.com will be available.

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Introduction

Table of Contents (shown by section and technique covered)
Introduction

Woodwinds
Chapter 1 - Unison Combinations
Flute + Oboe
Flute + Clarinet
Oboe + Clarinet
Oboe + English Horn
Bassoon + Clarinet

Oboe + English Horn + Clarinet
Flute + Oboe + Clarinet
Bassoon + Clarinet + Oboe + Flute
Flute + Oboe + English Horn

Chapter 2 - Combinations in Octaves
Flute 1 - Flute 2
Clarinet 1 - Clarinet 2
Oboe 1 - Oboe 2
Bassoon 1 - Bassoon 2

Piccolo - Flute
Piccolo - Oboe
Piccolo - D Clarinet
Piccolo - Clarinet
English Horn - Bassoon
Oboe - Bassoon
Bassoon - Contrabassoon

Flute - Oboe
Flute - English Horn
Flute - Clarinet
Flute - Bassoon
Oboe - Clarinet
Clarinet - Bassoon

Clarinet + Oboe - Clarinet - Bassoon
Flute + Clarinet - Clarinet + Bassoon
2 Flutes + Oboe - 2 Clarinets + English Horn
Flute + Alto Flute - Clarinet + Bass Clarinet
3 Flutes + Oboe - 2 Clarinets + Bassoon + English Horn
Flute + Clarinet - Bassoon
English Horn + Clarinet - Bassoon
Flute + Oboe + Clarinet - Clarinet + Oboe + Bassoon
Flute + Oboe + Clarinet - English Horn + Clarinet
Flute + Oboe - Flute + Oboe + English Horn + Clarinet

Chapter 3 - Doubling in Three Octaves
Piccolo - Flute - Clarinet
Piccolo - Flute - Oboe + Clarinet
Piccolo - Clarinet 1 - Clarinet 2
Flute - Clarinet - Bassoon
Flute - Oboe - English Horn
Flute + Flute - Oboe + English Horn + Clarinet - Bassoon
Piccolo + Flute - Oboe + Clarinet - Bassoon
Flute - Oboe + Clarinet - Bassoon
Flute - Clarinet - Bassoon
Flute - Oboe - Bassoon
Flute - Oboe + Clarinet - Bassoon
Flute - Oboe - English Horn
Oboe - English Horn - Bassoon

Chapter 4 - Doubling in Four and Five Octaves (including mixed timbres)
Flute - Oboe - Clarinet - Bassoon
Picc - 2 Flutes - 2 Oboes + Clarinet - Bassoon
Picc - 2 Flutes - 2 Oboes + 2 Clarinets - 2 Bassoons

Chapter 5 - Melody in Thirds and Sixths
Flute - Flute
Carlinet - Clarinet
Oboe - Oboe
Piccolo - Piccolo

Flute - Flute and Clarinet - Clarinet
2 Flutes - 2 Oboes (6ths)
Flute - Oboe - Bassoon
Flute - Bassoon
2 Clarinets - 2 Bassoons
Oboe - Clarinet
English Horn - Bassoon

Chapter 6 - Melody in The Brass
Trumpets
French Horns
Trombones
Tuba
Trumpets and Horns
Trumpets and Trombones
3 Trumpets, 4 Horns
2 Trumpets, 4 Horns, 3 Trombones
2 Trumpets, 4 Horns, 3 Trombones, Tuba
2 Trombones, Trumpet
2 Horns and Trumpets, Horns in Octaves
Triumphant Melodic Figures
Trumpet
Trombones
Horn Opened and Stopped
Horn in Piano Passages

Chapter 7 - Brass in Unison, Octaves, Thirds and Sixths

Chapter 8 - Brass Combinations
Trumpet - Trumpet
1 Trumpet + 1 Trombone - 2 Trombones
Trumpet - Trombone
Trombone - Trombones
Accenting the Melodic Line
Brass as Background Line

Author of Professional Orchestration
Peter Lawrence Alexander is an award winning journalist. He’s an accomplished songwriter, composer and orchestrator. Many of his music books endorsed by winners of the Academy®, Grammy®, Emmy® and G.A.N.G. Awards. Mr. Alexander’s books include: Applied Professional Harmony, Professional Orchestration™, How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite, The Instant Composer: Counterpoint by Fux, and Writing for Strings™. His historical fiction works for book and stage include The Road of Blood: The Untold Story of The Good Samaritan, and The Unfaithful Wife: The Story of Hosea and Gomer.