Bibliography of " Guitar Playing and How it Works" 3nd Edn. 2003

This is a list of related books I have found, and still find, useful.

"The Alexander Technique" - Sarah Barker.
Bantam 1978 ISBN 0-553-11282-1
A good introduction with plenty of pictures and everyday examples like opening a door and brushing your teeth.

"School of the Guitar" - Abel Carlevaro
The first book to clearly explain how the arm position controls left hand fingering on the guitar. Carlevaro also advocated doing away with the 'rest stroke' as a system of right hand technique, substituting the idea of a continuum of "touches". ( on this site - Carlevaro's School of the Guitar )

"Flow - the Psychology of Happiness" - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Harper Collins.
Csikszentmihalyi has continued the work of Maslow in mapping the healthy regions of human consciousness. The Anatomy of consciousness - The Conditions of Flow - The Body in Flow. All vital information for the performer.

"Creativity - Flow and the Psychology of Invention" - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Harper Collins
Continuing the work of "Flow - the Psychology of Happiness", Csikszentmihalyi interviews successful people from all walks of live and looks for the common principles they use to turn a flowing state into a creative state.

"The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" - Bruce Lee
The creator of the martial arts "style of no-style". Bruce Lee's own notes and drawings. Bruce Lee was one of the great virtuosos of the human body.

"The Farther Reaches of Human Nature" - A. H. Maslow
Penguin 1972 ISBN 0-14-00-4265-2
Abraham Maslow's last writings which outline his work on Humanism, Personal growth, Self-actualisation, Values, Education, Society, Cognition, Metavalues and Peak Experiences.

"Life Class" - Yehudi Menuhin.
and
"Conversations with Menuhin" - Robin Daniels.
Futura Pub. 1980. ISBN 0 7088 1945 1
A master violinist shares thoughts on practice, technique, and balance.
( on this site - Yehudi Menuhin - 'Life Class' - 'Conversations with Menuhin' )

"Nurtured by Love" - Shinichi Suzuki
A violinist who developed an approach to learing music which has enabled thousands of people to play the violin. ( on this site - Shinichi Suzuki - 'Nurtured by Love'

"Psychology of Music" - Carl E. Seashore.
Dover Pub. New York
What is musical talent? How can you develop it? Them, actually. Seashore identifies 10 aptitudes necessary for the performance of music. How do we learn music? Seashore explains the science behind these questions but more importantly he sets out practical and clear ways to use this knowledge.

"The Pianist's Talent" - Harold Taylor
Applying the teachings of Raymond Thiberge to the piano. This is very similar to Alexander technique. Taylor gives the best explanation I've yet seen on how these principles are applied to musical performance and training.
( on this site - ' The Pianist's Talent ' by Harold Taylor )

"Tone Production on the Classical Guitar" - John Taylor 1972. New Musical Enterprises, London
A whole book about playing one note? Yes, and well worth reading to understand where those sounds come from.

"Beyond the Occult" and about 80 other volumes! - Colin Wilson
A literary prodigy, Colin Wilson has spent a lifetime exploring and describing the use of the will and how it relates to our emotional lives. He has published over 80 books in genres from crime fiction to biography, but they are really all vehicles to explore his life's work - "what is our mind and how can we use it".

Some of these books may be hard to find in bookshops. The website www.amazon.com can usually locate them. Sometimes amazon.uk will have books that amazon's US website doesn't list.



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