Rating: 
Summary: Practical and philosophical at the same time!
Review: Michael Dean's "$30 Music School" is highly valuable and should enjoy many printings and updated editions over the next few decades. Here are 500+ pages that are jam-packed with insights, practical tips, and philosophical musings to uplift the creative spirit. The work is simply outstanding -- one of the best music books out there. This shows you how it is possible to take charge of your music career and manage it yourself.
Rating:
Summary: $30 Music School Inspires
Review: Michael W. Dean has done it again with $30 Music School. Using the same mix of practicality and passion that made $30 Film School so compelling, Dean sets out here to empower musicians to create their own unique music. He covers everything from writing songs to buying instruments to recording in a home studio, then goes on to discuss the business of touring, marketing and promoting that actually lets fans hear the music (and musicians eat).While Dean does a great job covering technical details like how to not get shocked by your mic and which amps are the best value, some of his best writing discusses softer subjects, like how to deal with bandmates, promoters and fans. Dean's combination of experience, passion and candor makes this book an interesting and thought-provoking read. A special highlight are a series of interviews with musicians like Henry Rollins and Joan Jett that both interest and inspire. Musicians should consider it a must read; just about anyone will find something of value here.
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive "How To" for Aspiring Musicians
Review: Mothers-to-be buy "What to Expect When You're Expecting". Musicians should be buying "$30 Music School". For anyone in a band or anyone interested in starting one, "$30 Music School" should be required reading. Michael Dean gives the beginners a good look at where to start and what to expect. This book is not just for the novice, though. For people who aren't beginners, there are plenty of hilarious stories, cautionary tales, and expert information on how to succeed in the world of music, even if you think you know everything already. If you're not a musician, there are plenty of interviews with some of the most legendary, influential, and interesting people in the music world to keep your interest. The included CD-Rom is loaded with tons of examples and extras. A strong emphasis on the Do-It-Yourself mentality and not following paint-by-numbers conventions gears this book more toward the true artist and less towards the "fame and fortune" rock star...but this book will probably help you learn how to do that too. Highly recommended! $30 is a steal.
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive "How To" for Aspiring Musicians
Review: Mothers-to-be buy "What to Expect When You're Expecting". Musicians should be buying "$30 Music School". For anyone in a band or anyone interested in starting one, "$30 Music School" should be required reading. Michael Dean gives the beginners a good look at where to start and what to expect. This book is not just for the novice, though. For people who aren't beginners, there are plenty of hilarious stories, cautionary tales, and expert information on how to succeed in the world of music, even if you think you know everything already. If you're not a musician, there are plenty of interviews with some of the most legendary, influential, and interesting people in the music world to keep your interest. The included CD-Rom is loaded with tons of examples and extras. A strong emphasis on the Do-It-Yourself mentality and not following paint-by-numbers conventions gears this book more toward the true artist and less towards the "fame and fortune" rock star...but this book will probably help you learn how to do that too. Highly recommended! $30 is a steal.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put this down.
Review: This book is a great read. I'm a musician with the attention span of a bird, and I read $30 Music School in a day. Believe me. That's saying a lot. I've read a load of music business-related books, and none of them quite measure up to the experience of reading this one.
It's written with a style I can relate to with loads of humor and no-bull lessons. It's like chewing the fat about every aspect of what it means to be a musician with a friend of yours. Hell...I even had a great time reading about how to shop for and tune a drumset - and I'm a guitarist. (The chapters about internet promotion and songwriting basics are especially enlightening!)
If you're on a "mission from God" to take your music to a new level, you probably just landed here for a reason.
This book is exactly what the title says.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book
Review: This book is highly informative and a very fun read. I laughed out loud many times. I've been a musician for over 10 years and I still learned several new things. This book is an invaluable tool, damn entertaining, and would make a great gift to yourself or for someone else. Highly recommended
Rating:
Summary: The best book out there on the music business
Review: This book is MUST reading for anyone trying to make a living in the music business, and even for the serious music hobbyist. In fact, non-musicians that want a glimpse behind the curtain would thorougly enjoy it, especially the interviews at the end (Henry Rollins alone is worth the price of admission). Or buy it for the neighbor's kid who is thinking about enrolling at Berklee and then moving out to LA to "make it".
What used to take years of banging your head against the wall to learn you can learn in a couple hours by reading this fact-packed, sobering and funny book. Michael distills the essence of the music business--including the key legal, logistical and financial details--into a few hundred pages. As a major plus, it's written in crisp, flowing prose, a welcome departure from the turgid crap churned out by most music scribes.
Highly recommended. If you are going to buy one book on the music business, no question, this is the one.
Rating:
Summary: You are in for a surprise
Review: You have to read $30 Music School a few times to retain all the information that is there. Not only is the book very informative, taking your from gear to recording to promotion to performing, but it is very inspiring. I mean VERY INSPIRING. Don't just buy one, i bought a few to give for friends that are in bands, this book is for anyone who wants to make music and do it yourself.
| 
