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Essential Dictionary of Music Notation: The Most Practical and Concise Source for Music Notation (The Essential Dictionary Series) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Tom Gerou, Linda Lusk
Publisher: Alfred Publishing Company
Category: Book
List Price: $6.95
Buy New: $4.00
You Save: $2.95 (42%)
New (16) Used (7) Collectible (1) from $2.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 192829
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0882847309
Dewey Decimal Number: 780.148
UPC: 038081147529
EAN: 9780882847306
ASIN: 0882847309
Publication Date: December 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
This pocket-sized dictionary presents current and correct notation practices in an easy-to-use format. Generously illustrated and concise, this book is essential to any musician looking for a handy reference for the correct notation of music. A most welcome and beneficial source for every musician, whether using a pencil or a computer.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
Good Reference October 3, 2008
This is clear and concise. Topics are organized very well. You can't beat the price. Put this one on your shelf and keep it handy.
 Excellent transaction May 8, 2007
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
The book arrived on schedule and as advertised. Exactly what I wanted. Very satisfactory purchase.
 Useful, for the price, but very limited April 9, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is a useful, short dictionary, probably worth its modest price.
It is by no means a complete reference work on music notation. Instead, it covers most of the basics, and also a more-or-less random, small selection of less basic topics. This is not a guide for reading music; it is a handbook for people preparing notated scores and parts, whether by hand or by computer. It is unlikely to answer all the questions that would come up in notating any reasonably complicated piece of music. It will suffice, however, to notate a simple piece professionally, in either classical or pop/jazz style.
All of the entries accurately describe standard notational practice. Precise guidance is often given as to exact positioning and size, e.g. whether a given articulation is centered on a note stem or a note head, what angle of beam to use for different intervals, and where to place dots. The sections on topics like meter, rests, slurs, and ties are lucid and thorough.
On the other hand, precise guidance is often absent. For example, correct notation of the treble and bass clefs requires knowing that they are also, respectively, a "G" and an "F" clef, and should be positioned in a specific way to mark those pitches. The entry on "glissando" fails to explain how to notate the precise rhythm of a glissando (in the sense of its duration, and at what point in the measure it ends). The positioning of accidentals in chords of more than 3 notes is explained ambiguously, but not illustrated. No guidance at all is given on how to notate an interval of an altered unison (e.g., a B-flat/B-natural pairing.)
Little guidance at all is given on notating wind or percussion parts.
By contrast, several pages are given over to repetitive explanations of the various permutations of "D.C./D.S./coda/fine" combinations. Complete charts of key signatures in treble, bass, alto and tenor clefs use up more pages (even though the pattern is the same in every clef.) Oddities like flutter-pedaling on the piano damper and heel-toe technique on the organ pedals are illustrated. Overall, the choices of what to cover outside of the basics have a random feel.
Large print is used, which means less material is covered, but subtle details of notation are easily seen.
Great for finding things in a hurry July 25, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I use this constantly in my piano teaching studio. It is basic, easy to understand, and has large enough print to be read in a hurry. Good for adults and children from age 10 or so.
Review of T. Gerou's "Essential Dictionary of Music Notation" February 21, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Baisc & concise; but, not as informative as I'd hoped. Satisfactory introductory booklet.
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