Recommended Readings

One of the objectives of the Cor Corps is to provide local hornists with an arena in which to share and seek out new and different music-related ideas.  As a way to further this aim, we are compiling a list of music-related books and articles which range from the research oriented to the plain fun!  If you have any books to add to our list, please post a comment with the title, author, publisher and short description/review of your recommended reading, and we will add it to our list.  Also, if you feel any description is inaccurate, please post your own!

And now (in no particular order) the Cor Corps' Recommended Readings:

Title	Author	Publisher	Review/Description
A Devil to Play: One Man’s Year-Long Quest to Master the Orchestra’s Most Difficult Instrument	Jasper Rees	Harper Perennial	Rees mixes the history of the French horn with a narrative about his experience picking up the horn after not playing for over 20 years.  Will he learn the 3rd Mozart horn concerto in a year’s time? Rees’ book is both informative and very funny; I highly recommend it for any hornist!
Performance Success: Performing your Best under Pressure	Don Greene, Ph. D	Routledge	Greene’s book consists of a series of exercises and organizational systems for alleviating performance anxiety.  To get the most benefit from reading this book, I would recommend following his system as you read.  I’ve heard his book Audition Success is actually better; thoughts anyone?
The Inner Game of Music	Barry Green with W. Timothy Gallwey	Doubleday	Based on the original book by Gallwey, The Inner Game of Music consists of an explanation of Gallwey’s ideas for optimal performance, explained using music terms and examples.  This book gets at the heart of why we perform, and how we can do our best.  The sections of the book are highly useful for performers, students, teachers and parents; I highly recommend it.
This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession	Daniel J. Levin	A Plume Book	Levin explores the specifics of what is happening in the human brain while we engage in musical performance and listening.  He presents some interesting information, but his writing style is dry and he sometimes references scientific studies, as examples, without explaining them so that a non-scientist could understand.
Philip Farkas: The Legacy of a Master	M. Dee Stewart	Instrumentalist Publishing Co.	Stewart has collected a series of letters and essays written to and about the legendary hornist.  I found the stories to be entertaining and inspiring and would recommend it to any hornist or Farkas admirer.
Bach, Beethoven and the Boys: Music History as it ought to be Taught	David W. Barber with Dave Donald	Sound and Vision	Barber has written a short, humorous history of western music, starting with the ancient Greeks and ending with John Cage, all in 146 pages.  Barber’s book is highly readable and is punctuated with cartoons, including one depicting Brahms as a hedgehog!