<p>ha ha. yes, well. i also do not have room in my course load for that either.</p>
<p>I second the recommendation for Alex Ross’s The Rest is Noise. It’s a fantastic book. I also wouldn’t recommend trying to find one book to survey the entirety of Western classical music. Divide up at least into Medieval/Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, 19th Century, and 20th Century. You’d have a better chance at getting a really good picture of each time period than if you try to get one book that covers everything. For Medieval the Yudkin’s good, although sometimes dry (but try to find a medievalist who isn’t dry). I like the Taruskin volume on the 19th century.</p>
<p>violadad…will that dog hair come spun on a spool or will I have to spin it before using?</p>
<p>opera-mom, you’ll have to spin it. Predominantly black, but a bit of white as he has a blaze on his chest.</p>
<p>It’s available in shopping bag size containers, flour sack type sizes, and in bales. All containers are compressed under pressure to hold the maximum amount in the least amount of space (think fiberglass insulation batts).</p>
<p>Take your pick.</p>
<p>As I said, I have plenty. It’s a self renewing resource.</p>
<p>If you need any reddish-brown, let me know. Our Chow/Golden Retriever/Who Knows What Else mix can’t supply quite the quantity that comes off a Newfoundland, but she would be competitive on a pound-for-pound basis.</p>
<p>D’s music history prof uses the Burkholder, Grout, Palisca “History of Western Music” and the Burkholder, Palisca “Norton Anthology of Western Music.” </p>
<p>Burkholder is head of the musicology department at Indiana and, I think, substantially rewrote “History of Western Music” starting with the 7th edition. D is using the 8th.</p>
<p>i went with grout’s new ‘a history of western music’. i figure once i get through that, over the next few months, i can look into more detailed accounts of particular periods.</p>
<p>is anyone familiar enough with popular music and/or traditional (folk) music to recommend decent history books? i would be looking more toward serious scholarship (in the vein of textbooks). thanks, and happy new year!</p>
<p>violadad, I guess I should have talked to you BEFORE I bought that messy epoxy grout that just wouldn’t dry properly?! If anyone has a real passion for tweed and a desire to indeed craft fashions from dog hair, I will be pleased to supply plenty of white hair from my Sheltie which you can combine with violadad’s Newfie fur and no doubt create a new fashion craze.
Cell phone cases made from silicone make excellent (lint) pet-hair removal devices!</p>
<p>I am just wondering if you could spend a little extra time on campus and have a double major. It is really a nice thing to have a teacher, and discussions, when learning music history. And on top of your English major and theory classes, I don’t know how you sleep at all.</p>
<p>Your self-motivation is wonderful (as is your lack of concern for getting credit), but is there a better way to do this?</p>
<p>What instrument do you play? Sounds like you might play a lot of jazz. So far, have you been able to find people to play with informally? Or, is your focus more on theory and history, in general?</p>
<p>Do you have a similar perseverance and drive in English? Is it possible you might want to change to music?</p>
<p>Overall, I would just say that you are young and have plenty of time to learn whatever it is you want to learn. This plan sounds really stressful, and very solitary.</p>
<p>p.s. my cockapoo does not shed, so I cannot make any contributions in that area…</p>
<p>thank you for the reply compmom. i appreciate your interest. it’s nice to have a place where people take the time to help others out.</p>
<p>i’ll try to address your concerns in order:</p>
<p>i will already be spending 5 years in undergrad, at which point i’ll have a degree in english with a music minor. i don’t really care about what ‘credentials’ in music i graduate with. a career in music is not the goal, and should i try to make music a career, it would not be the sort of career that requires a degree or anything. so my primary concern is just learning the material, and learning it well. music is a passion of mine, and i want to be as good and knowledgeable as i can. i have a full scholarship, and while i’m hoping i can get it extended to a 5th year, i seriously doubt i could get it extended past that. and adding a music major would require at least a sixth year. i don’t know if i can justify paying a year of tuition for the major, especially when it seems to me like i could achieve a similar competence without it. </p>
<p>i play guitar and piano. i do play jazz (guitar; haven’t really done much with jazz piano, as its been mostly classical). i haven’t found anyone to play with (except my teacher). but i haven’t really been looking. i figure i may meet people in my theory classes, or even with just starting to talk more about music around other people in english classes, etc. and hope something turns out. i’m going to look into the jazz ensembles that are open to everyone. but i’m focused on all aspects (performance, history, theory, etc.)</p>
<p>and yes, i do i have the same drive in english. that’s one of the reasons i’m staying for a fifth year. there are a number of classes i really want to take, even though it will put me well past the number required for the major. most of the courses i’m taking are writing-intensive, where i’ll have the chance to receive criticism on my writing, and i couldn’t do that on my own. i can read about music history on my own.</p>
<p>as for the stressfulness, yes, i agree. but there’s not much more that i want, so i figure i might as well go for it. and i’ve always been able to find time for friends and other relationships. i will just have to make some sacrifice with the tv or computer. luckily, i enjoy literature and music just as much.</p>