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Reviews: Song Sheets to Software

"A valuable desk reference for everyone involved in the music industry. Highly recommended. Public and academic libraries, and at its price, individual practitioners."

- Choice

"This reference lists a variety of music education resources involving computers and the Internet. Introductory chapters discuss the history of song sheets and explain the basics of music royalties and copyright laws. They are followed by information on music software, instructional media, and music-related Web sites. New to the second edition is coverage of instructional DVDs and book/audio CD sets."

- Reference & Research Book News

If there had been only a concept for this book and no author to write it, I do believe that at least 4 out of 5 publishers would have picked Elizabeth Axford for the job. She is a musicologist, a teacher, a songwriter, an accomplished musician, an historian, a computer whiz and a very good writer. She therefore was able to write a very comprehensive, historical to contemporary collection of music related information that is...very cool. So what's in the book that you might want to check out? It's divided into 5 main parts, with chapter 1 detailing the history of printed music, really, really interesting actually. It also offers a primer to all kinds of early American music. Tons of stuff I didn't know...but should have. Chapter 2 explains present day print music royalties and copyrights and explores the forms and terms of music's legal side. Good to read if you think that The Harry Fox Agency is a taxidermist or that Reproduction Rights mean... oh never mind…you get the idea! Chapter 3 is a massive listing of current software for musicians with a brief description and some source information. Since I'm in the process of upgrading my studio I found this section invaluable. Chapter 4 is another very large listing, featuring web sites for musicians' needs. I tried out about 40 random e-addresses and found them to be accurate, legitimate, and interesting. Chapter 5 offers up all the tech talk and Internet language you never wanted to be geeky enough to know but, of course, need to know to make most of the music being made in this millennium. I find that I can pick up Elizabeth Axford's Song Sheets to Software, open it to any page, and have a really hard time putting it down.

- Muses News

The idea for this book came to the author while she was working on a recording project and discovered that the sequencing program she was using required the ability to read music. Although she has a master's degree in music, she realized that many musicians who do not read music might wish to use this sequencing program. Furthermore, she realized that music education has not always been a top priority in the American educational system, and there has not been a standardized method of teaching music in school. The purpose of this book is to give help to those who may or may not read music. It is about learning and teaching music through stimulating new ways involving computers and the Internet. The first chapter contains a history of printed music and of early American religious, folk and popular music. There are composer profiles and histories of Vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley, popular song sheets, musicals, silent films, talkies and, finally, the print music business today. This chapter is written in prose paragraph form and is delightful reading. The next chapter deals with copyright laws and print music royalties, and terms and formats of this aspect of the print music business. Chapter three catalogues an enormous list of software for musicians. The list is categorized by intents and purposes, particular skills, instruments and musical styles. Each piece of software is described in an abbreviated prose paragraph. In the fourth chapter, there is a list of Web sites helpful to musicians. This chapter contains a wealth of information in a very concise form, carefully labeled by categories. The fifth chapter is a dictionary of technical Internet terms—very clear and concise. This highly organized publication is a very useful resource for those of us who teach and/or perform music.

- American Music Teacher

With a subheading of A Guide to Print Music, Software, and Web Sites for Musicians, this book is truly a grand resource for those in the music business. In its five chapters, Axford explores song sheets, print music royalties, and an annotated listing of more than 600 music-related software programs and over 6,000 Web sites for those seeking information. Some of its information includes music publishers' sites and addresses, Internet terms, artist's web sites, and short graphs on software.

- American Songwriter

Elizabeth C. Axford's Song Sheets to Software ($36.95) is an eclectic sourcebook for using your computer as a music-education tool. The book begins with a history of song sheets, with discussions of early American folk and religious music as well as more contemporary forms. Ensuing chapters cover copyright laws and music software. Song Sheets to Software finishes with a listing of more than 6,000 Web sites for music. The book concludes with a glossary of technical terms. Scarecrow Press; tel. (800) 462-6420.

- Electronic Musician

This reference presents information on a variety of resources for musicians. Independent music teacher Axford begins with a discussion of song sheets, including information on royalties and copyright law. A section on software contains brief descriptions of over 600 programs for applications such as digital audio recording, notation and scoring, guitar, children's music, and ear-training. The volume also lists more than 6,000 web site addresses related to topics such as clubs and venues, conferences, folk and traditional music, radio, music education, religious music, songwriting, music history, and string instruments.

- Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (www.booknews.com)