We a good story
Quick delivery in the UK

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.
Show more
Filter
Filter
Sort bySort Popular
  • Save 15%
    - The Sunday Times Bestseller
    by Andrew Ridgeley
    £10.99

  • Save 29%
    by Nick Cave
    £28.49

    A Sunday Times top ten bestseller. A journey in images and words into the creative world of musician, storyteller and cultural icon Nick Cave

  • Save 21%
    by David Byrne
    £14.99

    David Byrne's internationally bestselling magnum opus on the subject of music

  • Save 23%
    - The Biography of Chris Cornell
    by Corbin Reiff
    £15.49

    "The new Chris Cornell biography is the book his legacy deserves." -Kerrang!

  • by Bobby Owsinski
    £33.99

    Learning the art of mixing has never been easier.For more than two decades, The Mixing Engineer's Handbook has been the best selling and most respected resource on the art of music mixing for seasoned professionals and enthusiastic beginners alike. Today's home studio is just as powerful as any commercial studio, but it's the techniques that the top mixers use that separates their work from what most musicians, songwriters, producers or artists can produce without that knowledge. In this fully updated 5th edition of the Handbook, you'll find all the proven fundamental and advanced techniques that the pros use to help you take your music to another level.Guaranteed to help you get a great mix regardless of your gear, playback environment or the kind of music you work on, you'll find your mixing chops getting better with each chapter.Here are just a few things you'll learn:The mix balance technique that sets levels so fast on even the most complicated mix that you won't believe itThe EQ techniques of the pros that will both separate your tracks and provide the utmost in clarityThe "Magic Frequencies" that make every mix element singThe secret to processing and enhancing loops, samples and virtual instruments so they leap out a mixThe way to set up a master mix buss to add more power and polish to your mixThe secret to pitch correcting vocals so they sound so natural that you'll never know they're pitch correctedDrum replacement and enhancement techniques for instant great sounding kick and snareThe ultimate punchy drums secret that gives you the right compressor settings every timeThe best way to use automation and sidechaining, the secret sauce behind modern mixesThe secret to clean sibilance-free vocals that sit perfectly in the mix without sounding shrill or stridentThe editing tricks of the pros that include track cleanup, adjusting track timing, and the secret to smooth endingsEasy-to-grasp methods for adding effects like reverb and delay that always work in any trackAnd so much more!Brand new additions to the 5th edition include:Three new mix build techniques for better balances and faster mixesA new method for setting compressors to breathe with the pulse of the song for more punchy and powerful mixesA look at the latest intelligent processor plugins designed to make the difficult tasks of mixing far easierEditing techniques with playlists in mind to make your mixes more streaming-readyA totally new chapter on immersive audio, including a primer for mixing in Dolby AtmosBusting the myths to using LUFS for mixing musicTechniques for self-mastering your musicHeadphone mixing and room calibration technology tips, and even more!The book still contains one of its best-loved features from previous versions - 18 interviews with some of the music industry's most successful and celebrated audio mixers from all different music genres. The new edition contains four brand new interviews with some of the industry's biggest hit makers, along with access to a bonus website with 13 additional interviews not found in the book.Learn the art of mixing from start to finish by using the tips and techniques from the pros, with The Mixing Engineer's Handbook, 5th Edition. Pick up your copy today by clicking the BUY NOW button on this page.

  • Save 29%
    - The Story Behind Every Track
    by Philippe Margotin
    £35.49

    A new, definitive look at one of music's greatest songbooks, by two expert authors.

  • Save 15%
    - Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band
    by Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee & et al.
    £10.99 - 15.49

    A chronicle of the career of Meotley Creue, one of rock music's most provocative and notorious bands, provides an insider's view of rock stardom.

  • Save 25%
    by Michael Ochs
    £14.99

    1000 Record Covers is a captivating book by the renowned author, Michael Ochs. Published in 2014 by Taschen GmbH, this book is a must-have for all music and art enthusiasts. The book takes you on a journey through the golden age of album covers, showcasing a thousand of the most beautiful and iconic record covers from the 60s to the 90s. Each cover tells a story about the music and the era it came from, making it not just a book, but a cultural artifact. Whether you're a music lover, a designer, or a fan of pop culture, 1000 Record Covers is a book that you'll find hard to put down. This masterpiece is a testament to Michael Ochs' ability to weave together art, music, and history into a compelling narrative. Don't miss out on this treasure published by Taschen GmbH.

  • Save 24%
    - The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground
    by Michael Moynihan
    £15.99

    Bands including Dead, Euronymous, and Varg Vikernes--along with sociologists, police officers, theologians, and occultists--recount how the satanic Black Metal, a spin-off of the heavy metal underground, devolved into acts of church burning, murder, and suicide in Scandinavia.

  • Save 19%
    - Music Theory (Book/Online Audio)
    by Tom Kolb
    £19.49

    Guitarists of all levels will find a wealth of practical music knowledge in this special book and CD package. Veteran guitarist and author Tom Kolb dispels the mysteries of music theory using plain and simple terms and diagrams. The accompanying CD provides 94 tracks of music examples, scales, modes, chords, ear training, and much more!

  • Save 27%
    - A Book of Radiohead Artwork
    by Stanley Donwood & Thom Yorke
    £21.99

    A celebration of the process and artwork created for the Radiohead albums Kid A and Amnesiac

  • Save 10%
    by Jeff Tweedy
    £8.99

    The idea of becoming a capital-S Songwriter can seem daunting, but when approached as a focused, self-contained practice, the mystery and fear subsides and songwriting becomes an exciting pursuit. How to Write One Song brings readers into this intimate process - lyrics, music and how they come together.

  • Save 20%
    by Keith Richards
    £11.99

    Once-in-a-generation memoir of a rock legend - the No. 1 SUNDAY TIMES bestseller. 'A masterpiece' The Word 'Electrifying' New York Times

  • Save 20%
    by Quincy Troupe
    £11.99

    'LISTEN. The greatest feeling I ever had in my life -- with my clothes on -- was when I first heard Diz and Bird back in 1944. I've come close to matching the feeling of that night, but I've never quite got there. I'm always looking for it, trying to always feel it in and through the music I play ...'

  • Save 11%
    - The Unauthorized Biography
    by Danny White
    £7.99

    An in-depth biography of Harry Styles, member of one of the world's biggest boybands, One Direction, and huge solo star.

  • Save 15%
    by James Acaster
    £10.99

    The brand new memoir from James Acaster: cult comedian, bestselling author of Classic Scrapes, undercover cop, receiver of cabbages.

  • Save 15%
    by Ozzy Osbourne
    £10.99

    'Mightily entertaining' - Heat People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say. When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the 'age of sixty, with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and California, I wouldn't have put money on me, no f**king way. But here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time. A lot of it ain't gonna be pretty. I've done some bad things in my time. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working class kid from Aston, who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time.

  • Save 24%
    - Faith and Devotion
    by Ian Gittins
    £18.99

    Published to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of the formation of Depeche Mode in 1980, the story of the electro-pop band's meteoric rise. Gittins is co-author of Nikki Sixx's bestselling "The Heroin Diaries".

  • Save 15%
    by Tim Wapshott & Jim Hutton
    £10.99

    An account of the last seven years of Freddie Mercury's life by his lover Jim Hutton. A former barber at the Savoy Hotel, Jim never fully assimilated into Mercury's jet-setting lifestyle, but was closer to him than anyone else, and knew all his friends, including Elton John and Phil Collins.

  • Save 14%
    by Slash
    £9.49

    It seems excessive...but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.The mass of black curls. The top hat. The cigarette dangling from pouty lips. These are the trademarks of one of the world's greatest and most revered guitarists, a celebrity musician known by one name: Slash.Saul "e;Slash"e; Hudson was born in Hampstead to a Jewish father and a black American mother who created David Bowie's look in The Man Who Fell to Earth. He was raised in Stoke until he was 11, when he and his mother moved to LA. Frequent visitors to the house were David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Ronnie Wood and Iggy Pop.At this time Slash got into BMX bikes and would eventually turn professional, winning major awards and money, but at 15 his grandmother gave him his first guitar. Sessions with numerous local LA rock bands followed until a fateful meeting with singer W Axl Rose...and the rest was rock history. Guns N' Roses spent two years builiding their reputation before Appetite for Destruction was unleashed on an unsuspecting world.Chart success and global domination followed but with it came the inevitable fall - addicted to heroin, booze and cigarettes the band imploded in a rift between Axl and Slash that is as deep today as ever. But with a new wife, kids and new band Velvet Revolver, Slash is back on track. As raucous and edgy as his music, Slash sets the record straight and tells the real story as only Slash can.

  • - The World's Leading Electronic Music Production Magazine Delivers the Definitive Guide to Making Cutting-Edge Dance Music
     
    £27.49

    The world's leading electronic music production magazine delivers the definitive guide to making cutting-edge dance music. Featuring 312 color pages packed with technique, tips, illustrations and hands-on walkthroughs, The Secrets of Dance Music Production pulls together everything you need to take a mix from concept to club-ready master - whether you make house or techno, 2-step or D&B, EDM or trance. Topics include studio fundamentals, the golden rules of mixing, essential techniques, improving writing chops, bigger beats, learning from the masters and more.

  • Save 23%
    by Nick Cave & Sean O'Hagan
    £16.99

  • Save 30%
    by Images Iconic
    £41.99

  • Save 25%
    by Gideon Schwartz
    £55.99

  • Save 15%
    by Steven Wilson
    £10.99

    The more I thought about it, the more I realised my career has been unusual. How did I manage to do everything wrong but still end up on the front cover of magazines, headlining world tours and achieving Top 5 albums? How did I attract such obsessive and fanatical fans, many of whom take everything I do or say very personally, which is simultaneously flattering but can also be tremendously frustrating? Even this I somehow cultivated without somehow meaning to. My accidental career.Limited Edition of One is unlike any other music book you will ever have read.Part the long-awaited memoir of Steven Wilson: whose celebrated band Porcupine Tree began as teenage fiction before unintentionally evolving into a reality that encompassed Grammy-nominated records and sold-out shows around the world, before he set out for an even more successful solo career.Part the story of a twenty-first century artist who achieved chart-topping mainstream success without ever becoming part of the mainstream. From Abba to Stockhausen, via a collection of conversations and thought pieces on the art of listening, the rules of collaboration, lists of lists, personal stories, professional adventurism (including food, film, TV, modern art), old school rock stardom, how to negotiate an obsessive fanbase and survive on social media, and dream-fever storytelling.

  • Save 20%
    by Harry Sword
    £11.99

    In Search of Sonic Oblivion. 'Monolithic Undertow' alights a crooked path across musical, religious and subcultural frontiers. It traces the line from ancient traditions to the modern underground, navigating archaeoacoustics, ringing feedback, chest plate sub-bass, avant-garde eccentricity, sound weaponry and fervent spiritualism.

  • Save 15%
    by Flea
    £10.99

    Flea, the iconic bassist and co-founder, alongside Anthony Kiedis, of the immortal Red Hot Chili Peppers finally tells his fascinating origin story, complete with all the dizzying highs and the gutter lows you'd expect from an LA street rat turned world-famous rock star. With a foreword by punk rock legend, Patti Smith.

  • by Maynard James Keenan
    £23.49

    A PERFECT UNION OF CONTRARY THINGS

  • Save 14%
    - Understanding a Human Obsession
    by Daniel Levitin
    £9.49

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

Join thousands of book lovers

Sign up to our newsletter and receive discounts and inspiration for your next reading experience.