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Rating: 
Summary: Yikes!
Review: Before I proceed with (I hope) a balanced appraisal I am compelled to quibble (I can't help it): The set of five lines we put the dots we call notes on is a STAFF; it is NOT a "STAVE"--just as the implement you cut your roast beef with is a knife, not a "knive", just as the woman to whom you are married is your wife, not your "wive". The singular form of "staves" in the musical sense is "staff", NEVER "stave".Okay, got that off my chest. Now, there are three basic problems with this book: 1) It is very often wrong--or at least inaccurate--particularly about rhythm. 2) It talks down to its readers. There's no reason to assume that because you don't know how to read music you are an idiot. It is possible to put things simply, clearly, and in a straightforward manner without insulting us. 3) As someone else points out, the book is superfluous.
Rating:
Summary: Yikes!
Review: Before I proceed with (I hope) a balanced appraisal I am compelled to quibble (I can't help it): The set of five lines we put the dots we call notes on is a STAFF; it is NOT a "STAVE"--just as the implement you cut your roast beef with is a knife, not a "knive", just as the woman to whom you are married is your wife, not your "wive". The singular form of "staves" in the musical sense is "staff", NEVER "stave". Okay, got that off my chest. Now, there are three basic problems with this book: 1) It is very often wrong--or at least inaccurate--particularly about rhythm. 2) It talks down to its readers. There's no reason to assume that because you don't know how to read music you are an idiot. It is possible to put things simply, clearly, and in a straightforward manner without insulting us. 3) As someone else points out, the book is superfluous.
Rating: 
Summary: smarmy
Review: I hate to think of the trees felled for these "popular" exploitations. If you aren't learning to read music as you learn to play your instrument, you've got the wrong primer and the wrong teacher. In any case, a good non-instrumental treatment of this subject for beginners can be found in "The ABC of Music: A Short Practical Guide to the Basics" by Imogen Holst (daughter of the famous composer Gustav Holst). To learn how to write down music--a different thing than learning how to read music--see "The Norton Manual of Music Notation" by George Heussenstamm.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful in music education classes
Review: One definition of "stave" is "a musical staff" (American Heritage Dictionary). Beware of know-it-all critics who happily trash a book based on their limited knowledge of English but who are too lazy to actually pick up a dictionary. What else did they get wrong? The book fills a niche and I found it quite useful.
Rating:
Summary: Useful in music education classes
Review: The composer's teacher, yes that is true when I first read this book I was attached to it, would not put the book down, it was very interesting. I was really amazed of what this particular book can teach you. What it taught me was the art of reading music.
Rating:
Summary: THE COMPOSER'S TEACHER
Review: The composer's teacher, yes that is true when I first read this book I was attached to it, would not put the book down, it was very interesting. I was really amazed of what this particular book can teach you. What it taught me was the art of reading music.
Rating:
Summary: "staff", not "stave"
Review: What especially annoys me about this book: 1) It speaks repeatedly of a "stave". (Just as the implement you cut your roast beef with is a knife, not a knive, just as your spouse--if you're male--is your wife, not your wive, just as what falls from a tree in autumn is a leaf, not a leave, the singular form of "staves", in the musical sense of the word, is "staff", not "stave".) 2) Its presentation of rhythm is muddled, inaccurate, and often just plain wrong. 3) It talks down to you, insults your intelligence.
Rating:
Summary: "staff", not "stave"
Review: What especially annoys me about this book: 1) It speaks repeatedly of a "stave". (Just as the implement you cut your roast beef with is a knife, not a knive, just as your spouse--if you're male--is your wife, not your wive, just as what falls from a tree in autumn is a leaf, not a leave, the singular form of "staves", in the musical sense of the word, is "staff", not "stave".) 2) Its presentation of rhythm is muddled, inaccurate, and often just plain wrong. 3) It talks down to you, insults your intelligence.
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