General Books

The Gospel according to Bruce Springsteen: Rock and Redemption, from Asbury Park to Magic (Gospel According To...)

Jeffrey B. Symynkywicz

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 2 to 5 weeks By: Westminster John Knox Press Amazon Marketplace: 4 new & used starting at $11.52

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Great Reflectin on Our Spiritual Journey with Springsteen -- Great for Individuals and for Small Groups 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 21 people found this review helpful.

Let me start by explaining what this book is NOT: It's not written by Springsteen. There's no new set of interviews with him at the core of this book. There's no music CD. It's not part of the publicity for a new album.

Now, let me explain what this IS and why it's a gift to all of us from the author, a Harvard-educated scholar of religion who is pastor of a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Massachusetts: This book is a spiritual memoir of living with Springsteen's music as part of our spiritual soundtrack for a third of a century.

You probably can sing some of his songs without accompaniment and, when certain songs pop up unexpectedly, they evoke all sorts of memories, don't they?

This book invites us to walk with the author through all those years with Springsteen -- one album after another -- and contemplate his spiritual insights and how they connect with our lives to this day.

It ends with a fascinating Ten Commandments (suggestions really) of Springsteen's gospel.

The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music

Victor L. Wooten

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Richard Bach straps on a 4-string. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Although he has shamelessly "borrowed" from Richard Bach's book, 'Illusions', Victor Wooten has written an inspiring reminder for us. He reminds us that what we wish to know we already know and that we only need to remember that. It's a very zen and easy read; also much funnier than I had imagined it would be. The sound of one hand slapping has never sounded so good.

For Musicians Seeking a Higher Purpose 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

As a music major and literature lover, the first section (and usually only) I visit at the book store is the music section. I was actually searching for another book that was no where to be found, and decided to just browse around. I accidentally stubled upon this book that had only two copies of itself. It seemed intruguing, and then upon seeing its author I definatly had to give it a chance. While leaving the store, I was hoping my money was well spent.

The character Mr. Wooten learns from in this book would most likely call my stumble upon it a sure act of fate. I was meant to pick up this book and it has now given me a new, liberating outlook on my music and developed love for the art better than anything I had ever experienced. Any musician or music appreciator can read this book and change their ability and enjoyment for music perminantly. I have even created a method of incorporating the book with my practice routine. No, I have actually created a new routine based on this book-It is THAT life changing.

Your life and your music are a unity, the same entity, and should be treated as so. This book will teach you to do this naturally, as if you were born with this knowlege. You will connect with Music in the perfect way for the rest of your life, and if you care about her, you will read this book!

Editorial Review:

From Grammy-winning musical icon and legendary bassist Victor L. Wooten comes The Music Lesson, the story of a struggling young musician who wanted music to be his life, and who wanted his life to be great. Then, from nowhere it seemed, a teacher arrived. Part musical genius, part philosopher, part eccentric wise man, the teacher would guide the young musician on a spiritual journey, and teach him that the gifts we get from music mirror those from life, and every movement, phrase, and chord has its own meaning...All you have to do is find the song inside.

The Mysticism of Sound and Music (Shambhala Dragon Editions)

Hazrat Inayat Khan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The wave-like aspect of Life, not just about music 5 out of 5 stars.
24 of 25 people found this review helpful.

Other reviewers already dealt with the music side of the book, so i won't elaborate on that. There is in addition the purely sound-related aspect of reality. All words, thoughts, and emotions, carry on some power due to their vibratory nature. Everything, whatever it is can be seen as a wave. So don't think it is just about what you hear. All there is can be described in that way.

This book is of interest not for its esoteric nature, but rather to give the reader an intuition of what mystics perceive of reality, which is everything but magic. Science is currently concerned with a part of reality, namely those frequencies that can be detected and thus measured through physical (material) instruments. But the vibratory nature of the world goes beyond that. You as humans have access to more than the physical realm (mental, emotional, and let's say "spiritual" to give a rough picture). This books hints at those aspects captured by the concept of "sound", that are of utmost importance for all humans to uncover the possibilities life has given them. Everything you think, say or feel has an impact on you and your surroundings, so reading this book can help you to realize how important every single event of our life has, through its wave-like aspect. This book is about your very life.

Editorial Review:

Music, according to Sufi teaching, is really a small expression of the overwhelming and perfect harmony of the whole universe—and that is the secret of its amazing power to move us. The Indian Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927), the first teacher to bring the Islamic mystical tradition to the West, was an accomplished musician himself. His lucid exposition of music's divine nature has become a modern classic, beloved only by those interested in Sufism but by musicians of all kinds.

New Worship, The: Straight Talk on Music and the Church

Barry Liesch

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Baker Books Amazon Marketplace: 66 new & used starting at $3.49

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Expanded Version is 40% better 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 13 people found this review helpful.

This is the author, Barry Liesch, writing. Just a note on the changes in the expanded edition. Chapters 1, 2, 6, 10, and 11 are new or virtually new. All the other chapters (16 in all) are enhanced too. This version is much stronger, both theologically and practically.

It has a greater appeal to college-age worship leaders. It's more incisive. It also links up with the web site I've partnered, offering many supplemental materials with ongoing updates--see worshipinfo.com. Baker Books has done an exemplary job with the layout--lots of diagrams, tables, illustrative drawings for the eye. In short, I'm pleased with the result and hope you will be too.

Great Balance 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Barry has now written 2 good books on worship. The heart he has for worship, and his attempt not to alienate anyone truly seeking God are outstanding. It is a shame he has to bend over backwards to keep some from getting upset, but he is willing to do it for God's sake and he is good at it.

There are many practical helps here as well as a good basis for trying new forms and methods. I find his style honest and inviting. I can also personally testify to many of the recommendations given on contemporary, flowing worship styles.

Get this book and have fun exploring God's greatness is worship!

Editorial Review:

Shows pastors how to balance new worship ideas with the traditional while focusing on the purpose of praise and fellowship.

The Story of Christian Music: From Gregorian Chant to Black Gospel, an Authoritative Illustrated Guide to All the Major Traditions of Music for Worship

Andrew Wilson-Dickson

Amazon Price: $16.50 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Augsburg Fortress Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $15.20

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Informative, Balanced, albeit British 4 out of 5 stars.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful.

The author provides a relatively well-balanced overview of church music, even while reflecting a British perspective. The book is lucid, is very well illustrated, and gives a genuine sense of the development of church history while discussing a wide range of Christian music-making from chant to gospel. The book is certainly among the best of its kind. It is rather weak in its treatment of gospel and contemporary popular Christian music. But it is well-grounded theologically and is rarely judgmental ...

Editorial Review:

Music has been at the heart of Christian worship since the beginning, and this lavishly illustrated and wonderfully written volume fully surveys the many centuries of creative Christian musical experimentation. From its roots in Jewish and Hellenistic music, through the rich tapestry of medieval chant to the full flowering of Christian music in the centuries after the Reformation and the many musical expressions of a now-global Christianity, Wilson-Dickson conveys "a glimpse of the fecundity of imagination with which humanity has responded to the creator God.

Music Through the Eyes of Faith

Harold Best

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Christian musicians know of the obligation to make music as agents of God's grace. They make music graciously, whatever its kind or style, as ambassadors of Christ, showing love, humility, servanthood, meekness, victory, and good example . . . Music is freely made, by faith, as an act of worship, in direct response to the overflowing grace of God in Christ Jesus."

Co-sponsored by the Christian College Coalition, this thought-provoking study of music-as-worship leads both students and experienced musicians to a better understanding of the connections between music making and Christian faith.

"Christian music makers have to risk new ways of praising God. Their faith must convince them that however strange a new offering may be, it cannot out-reach, out-imagine, or overwhelm God. God remains God, ready to swoop down in the most wonderful way, amidst all of the flurry and mystery of newness and repetition, to touch souls and hearts, all because faith has been exercised and Christ's ways have been imitated. Meanwhile, a thousand tongues will never be enough."

Best relates musical practice to a larger theology of creation and creativity, and explores new concepts of musical quality and excellence, musical unity, and the incorporation of music from other cultures into today's music.

Sacred Sounds: Magic & Healing Through Words & Music

Ted Andrews

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Magical properties of music and words 5 out of 5 stars.
64 of 65 people found this review helpful.

This valuable book is divided in two parts. The first is The Secret Power of The Word, in which the author discusses the science of sacred sound with reference to its principle of resonance (sympathetic vibration), the principles of rhythm, melody and harmony, plus qualities like pitch and timbre. The scales and the healing elements of music are investigated - the section on the musical interplay with the charkas is particularly enlightening. Other fascinating sections are The Occult Significance of Speech and Mystical Words of Power which deals with ritual words and sounds like the Hebrew God-names plus Sanskrit Mantras and chants.

Part Two, the Renaissance of the Bardic Traditions, provides a history of the mystical bards and deals with magical storytelling. It includes a section on musical instruments like the lyre, harp, guitar, keyboard instruments, flute and others. There is also a captivating section on magical poetry with a discussion of forms such as alliteration, repetition, anagrams, assonance, meter, rhythm and rhyme. The book concludes with the chapter Bardic Healing that provides practical techniques for tuning and healing the human body.

There are notes to every chapter, a select bibliography on (a) sound, music and voice and (b) on the Bardic traditions. The illustrations include musical notations, the human body and the charkas, plus the astrological musical wheels of the spheres. Several helpful tables are also provided, for example on the God-names.

Andrews has succeeded in bringing to life the lost tradition of the Word in this well-written and engaging book that opens the door to our understanding and using the power of sound, music and words for regeneration, healing and enhanced creativity.

This book is ideal for those interested in esoteric healing, in the metaphysical aspects of sound and music and for those who love sacred music in any tradition. If sound has always been considered the direct link between humanity and the divine, this excellent book, Sacred Sounds, serves as the key that provides access to that link again.

The Best Praise and Worship Songs Ever (Easy Piano)

Amazon Price: $17.95 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hal Leonard Corporation Amazon Marketplace: 16 new & used starting at $13.54

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Contemporary & easy to play 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is a great praise & worship book, easy-to-play arrangements that you can add your own flourishes to. Has a good contemporary selection of praise & worship music. My only complaint is that some of the songs are several pages long - lots of page turning before you get to the end, which is a drawback for a pianist.

Great (even for guitar) 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I originally bought this as a gift for my wife who plays piano. I can play easy piano, but I am also learning guitar. I found that it has simple enough keys that I can either play them straight or transpose them to play and sing.

It has a good selection of Praise and Worship songs over the last 25-30 years. If you like this, you might also consider the Best Hymns and Best Contemporary Christian books in this easy piano series. I think the Hymns book is about the same, or easier than this book. I haven't bought the Cont. Christian Songs book (yet) because it looks a little harder.

The print is large, easy to read. Excellent for young and old alike. I ordered this sight unseen and was very pleased with the purchase.

Editorial Review:

The name says it all: over 70 of the best PandW songs today. Titles include: Awesome God * Blessed Be Your Name * Come, Now Is the Time to Worship * Days of Elijah * Here I Am to Worship * Open the Eyes of My Heart * Shout to the Lord * We Fall Down * and more.

No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green

Melody Green, David Hazard

Amazon Price: $10.39 List Price: $12.99 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: Harvest House Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 17 new & used starting at $4.50

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Like his life, it ended too soon. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I grew up listening to the Music of Keith Green. My parents were big fans, and to them, Keith was more then just a singer.
I slowly stopped listening to his music when I got older, and thought that the new music I listened to had a better sound and a more meaningful message, simply because it was newer music. But then I started listening to Keith Green again, and saw that his music is timeless, and can still change lives.

I picked up this book, and started reading it right away. The tone read very much like a novel, with pictures every now and then to show you how Keith and those around him had changed over time. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about there being pictures so much, but then I saw the effect they had on me.

I got to know Keith as if he were a friend of mine. I got to see his struggles, his fears, his likes, his dislikes; I got to shake hands with Keith. His story of how he came to know Jesus is one that can touch anyone.

Ultimately, when the book started to end, I knew how he was going to die. I knew it was coming. I even looked ahead to see what chapter it happens in. Even though I knew it was coming, I still started to cry.
I spent my time reading this book, and getting to know Keith, his children, and his friends, that I he died all over again. I missed him again.

Still, with that said, I think my favorite part in the book is the story of how they had a cow die, and they couldn't get a butcher out to the farm (because the butcher has to kill the animal he'll be butchering), so they did it themselves.

With all that said, this is an amazing story that every Christian should read. Even if you weren't a fan of his music, it is still an amazing story.

Editorial Review:

Longtime fans and new listeners can experience the impact of Keith’s character, courage, and commitment in this revised and expanded testimony of his extraordinary life.

Who better to tell Keith Green’s story than the woman who shared his life and mission—his wife, Melody. At the time Keith and two of their children were killed in a tragic plane crash, Melody was pregnant and had a one–year–old child at home. She inherited Keith’s musical legacy of published and unpublished songs and his private journals, which she has put together in this extremely personal biography of Keith.

Best of Contemporary Christian: Over 400 Songs (Fake Book)

Hal Leonard Music Books

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

good book to learn your favorite christian hits 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Love the book... Good format. very helpful when playing off the cuff...
Perfect way to be "instant in season, and out of season" A must have for any Aspiring Christian Musician...

would recommend this book to any one with a knowledge of music, or the desire to learn...

Editorial Review:

This great fake book contains over 400 contemporary Christian songs, ranging from the standards to today's current hits. Artists represented include: Avalon, Steven Curtis Chapman, DC Talk, Amy Grant, Jars of Clay, Crystal Lewis, Sandi Patty, Petra, Point of Grace, Rebecca St. James, Michael W. Smith, Jaci Velasquez, and more! Songs include: Abba (Father) Awesome God Beauty for Ashes Butterfly Kisses Can't Live a Day Crucified with Christ El Shaddai Father's Eyes Flood Friends The Great Adventure His Strength Is Perfect How Beautiful I Could Sing of Your Love Forever I Will Be Here Jesus Freak Mary, Did You Know? People Get Ready ... Jesus Is Comin' Shine Thank You Via Dolorosa The Warrior Is a Child Where There Is Faith You Are My All in All and hundreds more.