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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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  • Save 27%
    by Naomi Parry
    £21.99

    Ten years after her untimely death, this affectionate and evocative visual celebration tells the definitive story of the life and career of Amy Winehouse through photographs and memorabilia and the recollections of those whose lives she touched.

  • Save 29%
    by Dave Hunter
    £28.49

    Ubiquitous in the music world, Fender® guitars and amplifiers are also icons in popular culture, their shapes and sounds instantly recognizable. Authoritatively written and lavishly illustrated, Fender 75 Years is the officially licensed anniversary celebration of the company and its legendary instruments. Originating in Leo Fender’s modest radio and amplifier repair shop in Fullerton, California, Fender Musical Instrument Corporation went on to become the world’s preeminent name in musical instruments. Today, Fender’s guitars, amplifiers, and script logo are recognizable even to those with only a casual interest in music. From Fender’s first instrument—a 1946 lap steel guitar—to Leo Fender’s groundbreaking early six-string guitar designs like the Esquire that set the standard for the electric guitar explosion to follow, author Dave Hunter traces Fender’s entire history to the present. All the innovations and landmark models are here, as well as legendary players who became synonymous with Fender instruments across musical genres. In addition to the instantly recognizable Telecaster® and Stratocaster®, Hunter examines Fender’s legendary offset guitars like the Mustang®, Jazzmaster®, and Jaguar®, and such lesser-known models as the Marauder, Coronado, Bronco™, and more. The Jazz Bass®and Precision Bass® also feature, as do Fender’s acoustic guitars and workhorse amplifiers like the Bassman®, Twin Reverb®, and Princeton®, to name a few. Along the way, readers get in-depth scoops on the relationships dozens of players have enjoyed with Fender: rock ’n’ roll pioneers like Hank Marvin and James Burton; classic-rock icons like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton; blues legends Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Buddy Guy; alt-rock gods J Mascis and Kurt Cobain; more recent guitar heroes like Courtney Barnett, beabadoobee, and H.E.R. …the list goes on. In addition, Hunter explores the work of the award-winning Fender Custom Shop and the guitars produced there.   Illustrated throughout with rare images from company archives, Fender 75 Years treats readers to rare behind-the-scenes views of the shop floor throughout the years, studio imagery of the guitars, rare period advertising and brochures, and performance images of Fender players. It’s the definitive look at the Fender’s first three-quarters of a century and a must-have for every guitar enthusiast.

  • Save 10%
    by Carl Cox
    £8.99

    Carl Cox is one of the most celebrated British techno and house djs. This is his story, and the story of how British club culture took over the world

  • Save 10%
    by Steve Hackett
    £8.99

    Steve's candid tales about Genesis, and his personal relationships with the other four band members. A great insight into this major rock band. He also regales stories of his career since leaving Genesis and the many different journeys that it has taken him on. His flair for the creative, and a great deal of levity make this a riveting read.

  • Save 23%
    by Alex Ross
    £15.49

  • Save 27%
    by Ian Shirley
    £25.49

  • - Selected from the 2021 & 2022 syllabus
    by ABRSM
    £9.49

    This book contains nine pieces from ABRSM's Grade 1 Piano syllabus for 2021 & 2022, three pieces chosen from each of Lists A, B and C. The pieces have been carefully selected to offer an attractive and varied range of styles, creating a collection that provides an excellent source of repertoire to suit every performer.

  • Save 21%
    - The Unmaking of Elvis Presley
    by Peter Guralnick
    £13.49

    *The long-awaited second volume of the definitive biography of Elvis Presley.

  • Save 10%
    - About the Wu-Tang (in 36 Pieces)
    by Will Ashon
    £8.99

  • by J. Peter (Indiana University) Burkholder, Claude V. (late of Yale University) Palisca & Donald Jay (late of Cornell University) Grout
    £50.49

    The definitive history of Western Music.

  • Save 20%
    - The Life and Music of Eric Clapton
    by Philip Norman
    £11.99

    From the bestselling author of Shout!, comes the definitive biography of Eric Clapton, a rock legend whose life story is as remarkable as his music.

  • Save 28%
    - Bring that Horizon to Me!
    by Neil Peart
    £27.49

  • Save 15%
    by Andrew O'Neill
    £10.99

    A hilariously kick-arse tour through heavy metal by the UK's foremost metalhead stand-up comedian, Andrew O'Neill

  • Save 23%
    - Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011
    by Lizzy Goodman
    £15.49

    New York, 2001. 9/11 plunges the US into a state of war and political volatility - and heralds the rebirth of the city's rock scene. As the old-guard music industry crumbles, a group of bands suddenly become the voice of a generation desperately in need of an anthem. The author charts New York's musical transformation in the early 2000s.

  • Save 21%
    - On Days Like These
    by Neil Peart
    £14.99

  • Save 20%
    by Alanna Nash
    £11.99

    A monumental oral biography filled with raucous joy, aching loss and terrible poignancy, Elvis Aaron Presley is the first book to capture the King the man and the phenomenon in his full complexity. Through revealing interviews with three of Elviss closest friends, who were also his protectors and rescuers, Nash achieves the first true mapping of Elviss psyche. Billy Smith Elviss first cousin and the person he reputedly loved most after his own mother , Marty Lacker best man at his wedding and foreman of the Memphis Mafia, the handpicked group of gatekeepers and confidants and Lamar Fike touring crew member who accompanied Elvis to the army were with Elvis from his teens to his final days and provide unique access to the greatest of all legends. The revelations sweep through every aspect of Elviss life, from the childhood seeds of his drug dependency, through his fear for his mothers life and his plan to change his identity, to his bizarre self-mutilation. No one who reads this symphonic blending of three proud, ribald, sad and ultimately wistful voices can fail to be profoundly moved.

  • Save 20%
    by Chrissie Hynde
    £11.99

    By the time she was 14, Chrissie Hynde knew she had to get out of Akron, Ohio. Her perfect 50s American childhood upturned by a newly acquired taste for rock n roll, motorbikes and the get down boys seen at gigs in and around Cleveland Mitch Ryder, the Jeff Beck Group, the Velvet Underground and David Bowie among the many.Wrapped up in the Kent State University riots and getting dangerously involved in the local biker and drug scenes, she escaped - to Mexico, Canada, Paris and finally London where she caught the embryonic punk scene just in time not only to witness it first-hand, but more importantly to seize the opportunity to form her own band, the Pretenders.Iggy Pop, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Vivienne & Malcolm, Ray Davies on every page household names mingle with small town heroes as we shift from bedroom to biker HQ; from squat to practice room; from pub gig to Top Of The Pops the long and crooked path to stardom, and for the Pretenders, ultimately, tragedy.That Chrissie Hynde is alive to tell the tale is, by her own admission, something of a miracle. Throughout she is brutally honest, wryly humorous and always highly entertaining. She has written one of the most evocative and colourful music memoirs to be published in recent years.

  • Save 14%
    - The Biography
    by Laura Jackson
    £9.49

    This fascinating biography provides a detailed portrait of the high-energy, charismatic international superstar and frontman of the ever-popular band, Bon Jovi. The book charts Jon's relationship with the other band members who have their fair share of rock and roll stories - sex, booze, burnouts, health and women problems. Although rock music is Jon Bon Jovi's first love, he has more recently developed an interest in acting - starring in various hit TV shows such as Ally McBeal and Sex and the City and attracting critical acclaim for his role in World War II hit film, U-571. He has also scored film music, with his score for Young Guns earning him an Oscar nomination. Bestselling writer Laura Jackson explores the personality, character, drive and the determination that have taken him from playing New Jersey clubs through all the groupie excess and glamorous indulgence to where the band is today. Two new chapters in this updated edition detail his recent work for charity, his involvement in politics and football and also give an update on the band's new albums and tours.

  • Save 20%
    - Deluxe Edition
    by Elvis Costello
    £11.99

    Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink is the long-awaited memoir from Elvis Costello, one of rock and roll's most iconic stars.Born Declan Patrick MacManus, Elvis Costello was raised in London and Liverpool, grandson of a trumpet player on the White Star Line and son of a jazz musician who became a successful radio dance band vocalist. Costello went into the family business and had taken the popular music world by storm before he was twenty-four.Costello continues to add to one of the most intriguing and extensive songbooks of the day. His performances have taken him from a cardboard guitar in his front room to fronting a rock and roll band on your television screen and performing in the world's greatest concert halls in a wild variety of company. Unfaithful Music describes how Costello's career has somehow endured for almost four decades through a combination of dumb luck and animal cunning, even managing the occasional absurd episode of pop stardom.The memoir, written entirely by Costello himself, offers his unique view of his unlikely and sometimes comical rise to international success, with diversions through the previously undocumented emotional foundations of some of his best known songs and the hits of tomorrow. The book contains many stories and observations about his renowned co-writers and co-conspirators, though Costello also pauses along the way for considerations on the less appealing side of infamy.Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink is destined to be a classic, idiosyncratic memoir of a singular man.

  • Save 23%
    - The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story
    by J. Randy Taraborrelli
    £15.49

    A number 1 bestseller, this definitive biography of Michael Jackson is now completely updated to include the events leading to the untimely death of the star. J. Randy Taraborrelli is the expert on Michael Jackson, having known him since they were both teenagers and having interviewed the singer and his family many times. So much has been written about the life and career of Michael Jackson that it has become almost impossible to disentangle the man from the myth. J. Randy Taraborrelli cuts through the tabloid rumours and innuendo, the conflicting stories and lurid accusations, to reveal the real man. From his drilling as a child star through the blooming of his talent, from his ever-changing personal appearance to his marriages, from his addictions to his love for his children, we see what motivated one of the greatest performers of all time. Objective and revealing, this book combines impeccable research, brilliant story-telling and a clear-sighted understanding of the forces that shaped Michael's life and his death. 'The most authoritative book ever written about Michael Jackson' Daily Mail 'A superbly researched investigation' heat

  • Save 14%
    by Marianne Faithfull
    £9.49

    This book is a more personal history than has ever before been written by or about Marianne Faithfull. Anecdotal, conversational, intimate and revealing, this is her no-holds-barred account of her life, her friends, her triumphs and mistakes.A decade after the publication of 'Faithfull', one of the most acclaimed rock autobiographies of all time, Marianne Faithfull is back, vowing periodically leave her wicked ways behind and grow up, but finding that somehow strange things keep happening.A wry observer of her slightly off-kilter world, Marianne muses nostalgically about afternoons languishing on Moroccan cushions at George and Pattie's, getting high and listening to new songs. She fondly recalls the outlandish antics of her Beat friends Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs; is frequently baffled at her image in the press (opening the paper to read of her own demise: 'Sixties Star in Death Plunge'); terrified by the curse sent by Kenneth Anger; mortified by her history of reckless behaviour; not to mention her near-death experience in Singapore while looking for an opium den.Marianne peoples her anecdotal memoir with legendary characters one can imagine only Marianne assembling around her, both the eccentric and the beautiful, from Henrietta Moraes and Donatella Versace to Sofia Coppola, Juliette Greco, and Yves St. Laurent's dog. Here is Marianne on the dark side of the sixties and the bright side of the nineties, which saw her collaborating with the likes of Blur and Jarvis Cocker; compelling recollections of an unconventional childhood in her father's orgiastic literary commune to a hilariously decadent few days at Lady Caroline Blackwood's deathbed. Here she is her blossoming movie career, on her records as subliminal autobiography. This is as intimate a portrait as we've ever had of Marianne, as she meditates on sex and drugs, confronts her alter-ego, the Fabulous Beast, and faces her own mortality in her battle with breast cancer.Since her last book Marianne has, in her own words, 'made quite a few records, gone on many tours, tried to play it straight, and... Well, the rest is the subject of this book.'

  • Save 15%
    by Bruce Dickinson
    £10.99

    'I was spotty, wore an anorak, had biro-engraved flared blue jeans with "purple" and "Sabbath" written on the thighs, and rode an ear-splittingly uncool moped. Oh yes, and I wanted to be a drummer...' Bruce Dickinson - Iron Maiden's legendary front man - is one of the world's most iconic singers and songwriters. But there are many strings to Bruce's bow, of which larger-than-life lead vocalist is just one. He is also an airline captain, aviation entrepreneur, motivational speaker, beer brewer, novelist, radio presenter, film scriptwriter and an international fencer: truly one of the most unique and interesting men in the world. In What Does this Button Do? Bruce contemplates the rollercoaster of life. He recounts - in his uniquely anarchic voice - the explosive exploits of his eccentric British childhood, the meteoric rise of Maiden, summoning the powers of darkness, the philosophy of fencing, brutishly beautiful Boeings and firmly dismissing cancer like an uninvited guest. Bold, honest, intelligent and funny, this long-awaited memoir captures the life, heart and mind of a true rock icon, and is guaranteed to inspire curious souls and hard-core fans alike.

  • Save 20%
     
    £22.49

    Featuring all 29 pieces from the album Lang Lang Piano Book, this is a collection of the most significant pieces from Lang LangΓÇÖs personal musical journey. It is beautifully presented as a high-end cased book, featuring marbled endpapers, page-finder ribbon and sewn binding. It includes exclusive photographs, comments from Lang Lang on every piece and an edition of F├╝r Elise annotated with Lang LangΓÇÖs own performance notes. This is a book for all pianists to treasure and revisit again and again.

  • Save 17%
    by JOHANN SEBASTI BACH
    £16.49

    Bach's Sei Solo a Violino senza Basso accompagnato, the set of three Sonatas and three Partitas for unaccompanied violin, were completed by 1720. Perhaps seeded as early as 1703, they were ultimately fruits of his years employed as Kapellmeister at the court in Köthen where his employer Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen, a Calvinist with little requirement for liturgical music and also a keen musician, encouraged Bach to write much instrumental music for public and private entertainment. Nothing written before approached the complexity, expressive range and scale of this music, from the volleys of chords and rhythmic intricacy of the B minor Partita's opening Allemanda>/i> and the endlessly inventive elaboration of the same work's variant 'doubles' to the vastness of the D minor Partita's concluding Ciaccona, possibly the longest stand-alone movement written to that point, which contains worlds of contrast in its 64 variants of the opening bars. Reportedly a fine violinist himself, Bach completely redefined virtuosic and expressive violinistic possibility in these works. This classic edition by Carl Flesch from Edition Peters provides a fascinating insight into the great virtuoso tradition of the early twentieth century. The score is presented as a parallel edition, with Flesch's edited score (containing numerous fingerings, bowings and performance directions) appearing above Bach's original.

  • Save 21%
    - The Story of the Home-made Guitar that Rocked Queen and the World
    by BRIAN MAY
    £14.99

    This book offers a full exploration of every aspect of this extraordinary, hand-built musical instrument played by Brian May in Queen.

  • Save 12%
    by Ferdinand Beyer
    £13.99

    The object of this work is to furnish young players with as easy an introduction as possible to the art of playing on the pianoforte wrote Ferdinand Beyer in the preface to his Elementary Method, which has been a cornerstone of the piano education literature since it first appeared in 1860, and contains much essential technique and theory for the young and beginner musician. Printed on cream paper with weight, opacity and grain direction optimal for music publications, this classic Edition Peters publication is a must-have for any aspiring pianist.

  • Save 14%
    by Peter Hince
    £9.49

    In an intimate and eye-opening story, roundly praised as the best available insight on Queen, Peter Hince recounts twelve years on the road with Freddie Mercury, Brian May and co. This truly is the definitive book on the 20th century's most iconic rock band.

  • Save 22%
    by Ray Wilson
    £14.49

    Dive hands-on into the tools, techniques, and information for making your own analog synthesizer. If you're a musician or a hobbyist with experience in building electronic projects from kits or schematics, this do-it-yourself guide will walk you through the parts and schematics you need, and how to tailor them for your needs.

  • Save 14%
    by Eric Clapton
    £9.49

    Now for the first time, Eric tells the story of his personal and professional journeys in this pungent, witty and painfully honest autobiography. These are the memoirs of a survivor, someone who has reached the pinnacle of success, who has had it all, but whose demons have never left him.

  • by Fanny Waterman & Marion Harewood
    £9.49

    Suitable for older beginners, this book features chapters that guide young players towards the successful performance of a comprehensive selection of pieces and studies. It includes pieces by Bach, Gurlitt, Mozart, Gounod and Tchaikovsky. It also contains appendices of scales, arpeggios and exercises.

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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