ISBN 9781610659444. Brazilian Choro: A Method for Mandolin focuses on teaching bandolim technique for playing Choro. The combination of method book and online audio offers a great opportunity to add performance practice to the black-and-white notes on the page. The book, presented in both English and Portuguese, is written for two different groups--Brazilians learning to play bandolim in the Choro tradition, and non-Brazilians who play other styles and want to learn Choro. Mr. Sa, a native Carioca who as played Choro since childhood, understands Choro intuitively and brings a Brazilian perspective to the project. Ms. Mair, a classical mandolinist who has spent much of the past four years refining her Choro technique in Rio, brings an outsider's viewpoint, recognizing the subtle distinctions that make Choro style unique. Together these renowned performers and university professors have created a pathway to help you play Choro with a true Carioca accent. Music presented in standard notation. Online audio available for download.

ISBN 9781610652421.

The non-jazz improvisation series is a concept that germinated in Dick Weissman's mind while he was attending music school. He wrote a 15-piece arrangement of the old square dance tune, Cripple Creek, and wanted the trombone to take a solo as part of the arrangement. When the trombonist kept playing a bebop solo that was totally unsuitable for the chart, Dick realized that - in addition to the many musicians who do not improvise - there are even jazz musicians who don't know how to improvise outside the limits of their own stylistic backgrounds. The non-jazz improvisation series mostly includes new original tunes that are intended to show how to improvise in many musical styles, including;* Blues* Country* American folk * Latin-American* World music including South American, Eastern European and Asian * Odd meters (playing in a variety of time signatures)* New Age* Classical * Folk-RockIn short, the books are an encyclopedia of virtually every musical style, excluding jazz. Includes access to online audio.