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Music

Music speaks directly to your feelings and comes in many forms. For that reason Tales have selected some of the finest music books just for you. You can for example find a biography of your favorite music idol, but you can also find music theory books that will help you become your own musician. Whether you like rock, pop, musicals or classical music we have the books for you. Find your inner melody with a music book from Tales.
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  • - The Life and Legacy of The Byrds' Gene Clark
    by John Einarson
    £18.99

    MR. TAMBOURINE MAN THE STORY OF THE BYRDS GENE CLARK

  • Save 24%
    - A Celebration of Coldplay
    by Debs Wild
    £18.99

    The first behind-the-scenes look at one of the most popular bands of the 21st century.

  • by Rich Wilson
    £18.49

    Lifting Shadows is the authorized biography of Dream Theater - the American progressive-metal band & traces the band's history from their mid-1980's Long Island origins through to the arena filling act that they are today. This revised and updated edition features all-new interviews & covers the departure drummer Mike Portnoy. -- .

  • Save 20%
    - The True Story of Faith No More
    by Adrian Harte
    £11.99

    The definitive biography of one of the most intriguing bands of the late twentieth century, written with the participation of the group s key members.

  • Save 13%
    - 30 Powerful Patterns to Unleash Your Inner Icon
    by Anna Fleiss
    £12.99

    The perfect gift for popular culture feminists and audiophiles alike, Women Who Rock Cross-Stitch features 30 bold cross-stitch patterns alongside off-beat biographies of 20 of the music industry's most seminal figures.

  • - with Audio and Video Recordings
    by Samuel (Juilliard School of Music Adler
    £57.99

    The book that set the standard for orchestration texts.

  • - Study score
    by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    £75.99

  • by Jb Arban
    £20.49

    Hailed the Trumpet Bible for over 150 years, this complete pedagogical method contains hundreds of exercises for brass instruments, beginning with basics and progressing to advanced compositions, including the author's famous arrangement of "The Carnival in Venice." Sharing the knowledge he acquired from many years of experience as a performer and teacher, Arban discusses every aspect of playing with emphasis on articulation, tonguing, slurs, tone, and range. He offers an appreciation of all the instrument's inherent difficulties as well as instructive points that touch upon all possible musical questions. Whether you are a beginner or an old master, this unabridged republication of the 1912 edition is an asset to trumpet, French horn, and cornet players. Joseph Jean-Baptiste Laurent Arban (1825-1889), the first famed virtuoso of the cornet, applied Niccolò Paganni's virtuosic technique for the violin to the cornet to prove that the cornet is a true solo instrument. From 1841 to 1845, Arban studied trumpet under Francois Dauverné at the Paris Conservatoire. He was appointed professor of sax horn at the École Militaire in 1857 and professor of cornet at the Paris Conservatoire in 1869. Arban devoted his life to music working as a conductor, composer, and professor. His legacy endures in the Arban Method, which continues to be widely studied by modern horn players, along with his masterful arrangement of "The Carnival of Venice," which remains a legendary soloist cornet piece.

  • - The Ultimate Guide to Learn Guitar: Best Tips and Tricks for Learning Guitar
    by Mavis Kerr
    £7.49

  • Save 16%
    by JOHANN SEBASTI BACH
    £14.99

    Perhaps the greatest of all works for the solo Cello. Bach's 6 Cello Suites BWV 1007-1012 edited by Hugo Becker.Suiten fÿr Violoncello solo BWV 1007‿1012Vielleicht das großartigste aller Werke fÿr das Solo-Cello. Bachs 6 Cellosuiten BWV 1007-1012, herausgegeben von Hugo Becker.

  • Save 27%
    - 101 Iconic Underground Rock Albums, 1966-1970
    by Richard Morton Jack
    £21.99

  • by Ralph J Murphy
    £25.99

  • - The Autobiography. Yes, King Crimson, Earthworks and More.
    by Bill Bruford
    £18.99

  •  
    £26.49

    An expanded and updated edition, this Companion will appeal to students and practitioners of electronic music. Including four new chapters and new artists' statements, this book explores the history, theory, creation and analysis of a wide range of styles across the worldwide electronic music scene.

  • Save 14%
    - The Definitive Biography
    by Mick Wall
    £9.49

    'All the hard-living, the drinking, the drugging, the sex, the money, all the bullshit, it was never hard. It was easy. The hard part was not dying from it.' Lemmy, as told to Mick Wall'Unflinching, forthright and full of wry humour as the man himself, and there's little praise greater than that' CLASSIC ROCK

  • Save 25%
    - A Visual Document
    by Terry Burrows
    £20.99

    The definitive history of the iconic independent label Mute Records.

  • by Nancy November
    £97.49

    The first detailed contextual study of chamber music in Beethoven's Vienna, at a time when the string quartet reigned supreme among the different chamber genresThis book is the first detailed contextual study of string quartets in Beethoven's Vienna, at a time when that genre reigned supreme among the different chamber genres. Focusing on a key transition period in the early nineteenth century, which bore witness to fundamental shifts in the 'private' sphere of music-making, it explores the 'cultivation' of string quartets by composers, critics, listeners, performers, publishers and patrons. The book highlights these parties' interactions, ideas and ideals, which were central to defining the unique cultures of chamber music arising at this time. We gain fresh insights into publishing and marketing, performance venues and practices, review culture, listening theories and practices, and composition in early nineteenth-century Vienna. Until now, the unique theatricality of chamber music, and the 'social' nature of its discourse, has been poorly appreciated. Cultivating String Quartets in Beethoven's Vienna addresses this misconception and enriches our understanding of this crucial period of change, in which concert life began and previously 'private' music was moved out onto the stage. NANCY NOVEMBER is Associate Professor in Musicology at the University of Auckland.

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  • Save 21%
    by Zoe Howe
    £13.49

    Lyrical visionary, enduring style icon and one indispensable fifth of post- Peter Green megaband Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks is one of the most recognisable figures in rock 'n' roll history - very much Fleetwood Mac's 'Queen Bee', as Mick Fleetwood himself describes her.

  • Save 30%
    by Mark Phillips
    £15.49

    Guitar For Dummies, 4th Edition (9781119293354) was previously published as Guitar For Dummies, 4th Edition (9781119151432). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.

  • Save 21%
    - How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal
    by Greg Renoff
    £14.99

    In an account based on more than 200 original interviews, historian Greg Renoff tells the untold story of Van Halen's 1970s ascent out of the backyards of Pasadena to international rock superstardom.

  • Save 23%
    - The Disastrous Story of The Hollywood Brats
    by Andrew Matheson
    £15.49

    The Hollywood Brats are the greatest band you've never heard of. Recording one near - perfect punk album in 1974, they were tragically ahead of their time. This is memoir about never quite achieving success, despite flying so close to greatness.

  • Save 17%
    by Bernard Sumner
    £9.99

    Includes an account of Bernard's Salford childhood, the early days of Joy Division, the band's enormous critical and popular success, and the subsequent tragic death of Ian Curtis.

  • Save 21%
    by Ringo Starr
    £27.49

    PHOTOGRAPH goes from behind the drums to behind the lens, as Ringo Starr opens his archives to share more than 250 rare and unseen photographs, with mementos and memories from his childhood, The Beatles and beyond.

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    by Dennis McNally
    £14.99

    The Grateful Dead were one of the most fascinating rock bands and cultural phenomena of the twentieth century. Not just a brilliant rock biography, it forms a compelling portrait of America's West Coast from the halcyon days of Magic Buses and Merry Pranksters to the corporate dawn of the twenty-first century.

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    by Nick Drake
    £31.99

    An official celebration of Nick Drake's life and music.

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    - Book + Online Video and Audio Instruction
    by Desi Serna
    £15.49

    Improve your guitar-playing rhythm, feel, and timing If you want to improve your timing, sharpen your technique, or get inspired by new ideas, Guitar Rhythm & Technique For Dummies breaks down the basics of reading, counting, strumming, and picking rhythms on guitar to make you an ace on the axe in no time.

Music
Music has that special connection with our feelings. It can both make us happy and sad, help through a crisis and through all the difficult feelings we need to acknowledge. Life is not just about being happy, and music can take you on a journey through all those different feelings. In that way music can function as a form of therapy. Music can comfort you and the lyrics can make you feel embraced and recognized. Some of the songs we love most are those, which have that universal feeling and message in them. Those songs that cover all the different and conflicting feelings of life in a verse. You can learn the secrets behind some of the biggest hits or most beautiful ballads in our selection of music books. 
You could also get to know your biggest idol in our icon books. Some of the music icons have lived an inspiring and sometimes hard life, and you can learn a lot from there stories. We have biographic music books with musicians from different genres, all with their own fascinating story. We have multiple music books about the extremely talented singer Freddie Mercury - the frontman, pianist and songwriter in the legendary band Queen. Freddie Mercury had an amazing career and a magnificent voice, and he was at the same time a huge inspiration for homosexuals and generally everyone, who felt different. The singer must tragically lost his life to AIDS and the world lost one of its biggest stars to date, but you can revisit Freddie Mercury’s amazing talent and read his story in the music books Bohemian Rhapsody - The Definitive Biography of Freddie Mercury, Freddie Mercury - the Biography, Somebody to Love - The Life, Death and Legacy of Freddie Mercury, and many more.

Music books for students
If you are studying the wonderful world of music or just wants to improve your performance you should look at our music theory books. They will help you with all the different techniques no matter the instrument. At Tales you find music books for piano, music books for keyboard and music books for guitar. They will all help you in your musicology study or on your journey to becoming an amazing musician yourself. 
We also have music history books that will take you on a journey with all the greatest from Beethoven and Mozart to Tjajkovskij and Stravinskij. When you travel through the history of music you will also visit different music periods and get a better understanding of why the music sounds so differently throughout history. The music is formed by its time and the historical events of that time. If you are interested in the history of music we will recommend the music history book by Cecil Gray called History of Music. The music book moves in the crossfield between the elementary, educational and tries to give answers to some of the things we do not yet understand. It starts with the Gregorian Chant and moves through investigations of both French, Italian, English, and Russian music. 

Musical
If you like to visit the theatre for a musical you can take some of that magic with you home by finding the books, scripts and lyrics of all the biggest hit shows on Broadway and West End. Experiencing a live performance is something unique, but it is over too fast. That is why we recommend you to dive deeper into your favorite musicals with the music books on Tales. You find the lyrics and story behind the world’s nr. 1 hit musical Hamilton that changed the world. The show won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2016 and tells the story of one of America’s Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton. The musical contains an amazing Grammy award winning soundtrack with the most brilliant lyrics telling the story of the American civil war. The man behind it all is the extremely talented Lin Manuel Miranda, who tells the story of American then, but with the sounds and faces of modern times. You can dive into the fascinating story of Alexander Hamilton and the musical in the book Hamilton: The Revolution or you can learn how to perform the amazing songs yourself with the music books Hamilton - Vocal Selections & Piano or Hamilton - Easy Piano Selections

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