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Rating: 
Summary: It's a good book for beginners
Review: It's a good book for beginners, but the CD doesn't show the examples of the book!
Rating: 
Summary: Great!
Review: This book is incredible! I read it when it was first written (early 80's) and still refer to it (it's not only great for subjective opinions, but also reference material).
The records (or is it a cd now) that came with it were also instrumental (no pun intended) in giving me a great aural example of the types of sounds that I was looking for. For example, he'll take an instrument like a french horn, and audibly illustrate all the different effects for it. Then there were examples of flute with oboe (flute on top) in different ranges. Then they'd be reversed, such as oboe over flute in different ranges, and other helpful examples such as a ton of string effects and how to write them. I'd thouroughly recommend the book!
Kevin C
Rating:
Summary: Great Arranging Manual!
Review: This book is the best one I have yet seen on the art of arranging for jazz bands and other contemporary/pop ensembles. It is full from beginning to end not only with all the standard info about instrument ranges, which instruments sound best in which voicings, etc., but also full of interesting little gems designed to inform the budding arranger about the realities of the music industry. Things like "All professional trumpet players carry with them a straight mute, cup mute, harmon mute, felt hat, and sometimes a plunger. Any other special mutes must be requested in advance of a performance or recording session" (page 13). Also tips on how best to record particular instruments in the studio, and things to look out for in this regard. "Of all the members of the woodwind family, the bassoon is the hardest to record properly, having the tendency to become lost when combined with other instruments.... it... is most effective when the texture of the passage in which it is used is transparent enough for the bassoon to be heard clearly."To all of those reviewers at this site and the other page for this book, the CD *does* in fact match the examples in the book. The book specifies between regular written examples (not included on the CD), and *recorded examples*, which are on the CD. The listing on pages viii and ix accurately reflect the listing on the CD and the appropriate text in the book that matches each example. The examples of various sounds possible on the stringed instruments and the French horn, are particularly helpful in matching up the standard musical terms "detache, parlando" etc. with that particular sound. Overall, an excellent book both for beginners and folks with some background who are looking to expand into jazz-style sounds.
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