World Music
Diversity in Styles, Instruments and Culture
World Music: Diversity in Styles, Instruments and Culture travels to the United States, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, India, Japan, Indonesia, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, and Brazil with a final chapter on Playing for Change. Written in an engaging, interactive, and concise format, students will explore diverse musical styles, instruments, and culture through compelling content, musician spotlights, and dozens of quality videos, audio recordings, and class activities.
DRUMLINE GOLD
Written for drumline instructors, arrangers, and performers at all levels, Drumline Gold: Innovative Systems for Marching Percussion Excellence reveals the philosophies, lessons, and mindsets of over 20 of the most brilliant, creative, and successful game-changers in the marching percussion activity. Top educators in DCI, WGI, PAS, college, and high school share their systems on leading, practicing, rehearsing, listening, cleaning, performing, arranging, competing, auditioning, reading, marching, tuning, recruiting, staffing, and building an excellent culture. There is even a system on self-care and the importance of wearing earplugs, preventing injury, and managing stress.
“Drumline Gold is a terrific collection of shared principals; fundamental to leading, building and elevating any program, as well as underscoring life skills that transcend the marching arts.”
Julie Davila
Middle Tennessee State University and WGI Hall of Fame
The Art of Vibraphone Playing:
An Essential Method for Study and Performance
Avoid the piecemeal approach to learning, practicing, and mastering the vibraphone. The Art of Vibraphone Playing: An Essential Method for Study and Performance is designed to provide students and teachers with the fundamental techniques, musical concepts, and performance practices necessary to excel as a vibraphonist. Featuring accessible to advanced exercises, studies, and solos for both two- and four-mallet playing as well as clear strategies for pedaling, dampening, and even tips on how to practice, this book will be a valued addition to your percussion library and will help all those playing vibraphone music to really understand how to play the vibraphone.
“The book is excellent, first class, and will become the go-to method book for young vibe players.”
Mike Balter
President, Mike Balter Mallets
WORKING TOWARD EXCELLENCE
Working Toward Excellence: 8 Values for Achieving Uncommon Success in Work and Life identifies eight values for achieving excellence in work and life including hunger, effort, process, quality, consistency, leadership, time, and perseverance. Packed with inspiration and wisdom from respected professionals in business, sports, education, and the arts who have achieved uncommon success, this book will help you—and those you lead—work toward excellence in any endeavor.
What makes Working Toward Excellence unique is its focus on excellence, a topic sorely lacking in the marketplace. Without question, there is a great need for Working Toward Excellence today. Wynton Marsalis said, “Maybe the preoccupation with technological progress has overshadowed our concern with human progress.” This book, at its essence, is about human progress and developing the values that lead to excellence.
“Dr. Buyer’s excellent book weaves together thoughts, stories, and quotes from top performers in music, business, and sports to help you achieve excellence. This is an inspiring read for any performer who wants to take their game to the next level.”
Jeff Janssen
author of “How to Build and Sustain a Championship Culture” and “The Athlete’s Responsibility Manual”
MARCHING BANDS AND DRUMLINES
Have you ever wanted to know the secrets of success from today’s top marching bands and drumlines on how they achieve excellence? This extraordinary study takes you onto the practice field, inside the meeting room, and into the stadium and includes the “Five Factors Influencing Excellence”–valuable to any high school or college band program. The leaders of these outstanding organizations reveal their principles for success including: goals, expectations, values, leadership styles, motivational techniques, practice habits, and recruiting strategies. A must-read for band directors, percussion educators, students and ANYONE pursuing excellence in leadership.
Marching Bands and Drumlines: Secrets of Success from the Best of the Best promises to provide your students with the opportunity to grow as musicians, leaders, and people, and will take your program to the next level. This book has the potential to create a ripple effect in band and percussion programs across the country and inspire a new paradigm of music education based on leadership excellence. In addition to the Factors, the book features interviews with the band directors, drumline instructors, and section leaders from seven of the top college marching bands in the country including LSU, Alabama, Western Carolina, Michigan State, Ohio State, North Texas, and Arizona. I hope this book will inspire you and cause you to think about the way we teach.
