At Mage Music, the instruments that we teach are guitar, piano, electric bass, and voice. We teach students who range in life stages from very young beginners all the way to adults and every age group in between. In this article we will give recommendations on method books for adult learners.

According to the Music Teachers National Association, “Piano and violin are the most common ‘starter’ instruments because the physical limitations of a child’s body will not allow them to play other instruments until they are older.”

At the college level, all music majors are required to be proficient on the piano; Tom Hynes, assistant assistant professor of music at Azusa Pacific University (Azusa, CA), backs this up with his article “Prepare to be a College Music Major.” At Antelope Valley College, where I also teach in both the music and commercial music departments, all students who wish to earn an Associate in Arts in Music for Transfer must complete three keyboard skills/piano classes.

What is a method book?

In music, a method book is a textbook that covers either a certain instrument or a certain style or genre of music. Method books are best used when studying with a qualified teacher as it can be challenging to self-teach without the valuable interactive feedback that a certified teacher or coach can provide you.

In this article:

• 🎹 Best Method Book & App for Adults Learning Piano
• 📖 Another Piano Method Book for Adult Learners
• 👥 An Interactive Piano Community
• 📕 Best Contemporary Singing Method Book for All Ages
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Musical Theatre
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Rock ‘n’ Roll
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Jazz
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Country
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Gospel
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Sacred Music
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Folk Music
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Barbershop
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for A Cappella
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Light Opera
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music)
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Your Lifetime
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for the Blues
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Chamber Music
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Early Music
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Music by Women
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for World Music
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Spirituals
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Awareness
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Cabaret
• 📕 Best Singing Method Book for Musical Theater
• 🎸 Best Guitar Method Book for All Ages Including Adults
• 🎸Other Guitar Method Books
• 👥 An Interactive Guitar Community
• ♭ Best Method Book for Adults Learning Bass Guitar (or Electric Bass)

🎹 Best Method Book & App for Adults Learning Piano

Mage Music highly recommends Piano Marvel as the #1 piano learning platform. With 21st century learning tools, their own built-in method book series, and partnerships with other method books popular with teachers, the Piano Marvel platform uses MIDI technology and connects with your digital piano to analyze your playing. It will not only speed up the learning process, but it will also make learning fun! Children, teenagers, and adults alike can benefit greatly when practicing using Piano Marvel’s learn mode which breaks the exercises and pieces of music into manageable bits. It instills effective practice habits and even includes sight reading and ear training sections. It also has a huge library of pieces that you can learn from pretty much any level.

Use PROMO CODE MAGE when signing up for the Premium account at Piano Marvel!

📖 Another Piano Method Book for Adult Learners

Alfred’s Basic Adult All-in-One Course:

Lesson, Theory, Technic (Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course)

This book gets you playing piano with good technique and reading standard notation in no time. Designed with the adult or older teen in mind this book is mid-fast-paced. This book is even available in the Piano Marvel learning platform!

An Interactive Piano Community

Since reading books and watching videos is often experienced “1-way,” meaning that you get to consume the content but others don’t get to observe you, it is highly recommended to find a qualified piano teacher or even join an interactive piano community such as tonebase.

Visit tonebase.com and use coupon code MAGE-30 to receive 30% off your subscription!

📕 Best Contemporary Singing Method Book for All Ages

The Contemporary Singer: Elements of Vocal Technique (Berklee Guide) Available in both Kindle & Paperback

This book contains valuable information and guidance toward proper vocal technique, understanding vocal anatomy, and health. It is geared more toward the those interested in singing contemporary styles which include pop, R&B, blues, jazz, rock, musical theatre and folk.

📕 Best Singing Book for Musical Theatre

So You Want to Sing Musical Theatre: A Guide for Performers 

“From television shows like Glee and Smash to the phenomenon of the Broadway show Hamilton, musical theatre has never been more popular. In So You Want to Sing Musical Theatre, Updated and Expanded Edition, Broadway vocal coach Amanda Flynn provides an in-depth look at the skills needed to successfully sing and teach this repertoire.

Fully updated to meet the current needs of the profession, this new edition covers a vast array of topics with even deeper discussion: musical theatre history; repertoire; genres used in productions; basic singing voice science; vocal health; audio equipment and microphones; vocal production of musical theatre sounds; acting, dancing, and other movement; working with kids; and auditioning at all levels. The book also includes profiles of Broadway singers that explores their training, methods of vocal upkeep, and advice for singers and teachers. 

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Book for Rock ‘n’ Roll

So You Want to Sing Rock ‘n’ Roll: A Guide for Professionals 

“Rock ‘n’ roll is a style that was born out of the great American melting pot. An outgrowth of the blues, rock ‘n’ roll music combines driving rhythms, powerful chords, and lyrics that communicate the human experience to audiences around the world. Although rock singing was once seen as a vulgar use of the human voice and was largely ignored by the academic community, voice teachers and singers around the world have recently taken a professional interest in learning specialized techniques for singing rock ‘n’ roll.

So You Want to Sing Rock ‘n’ Roll gives readers a comprehensive guide to rock history, voice science, vocal health, audio technology, technical approaches to singing rock, and stylistic parameters for various rock subgenres. Matthew Edwards, assistant professor of voice at Shenandoah Conservatory, provides easy-to-understand explanations of technical concepts, with tips for practical application, and suggestions for listening and further reading.

So You Want to Sing Rock ‘n’ Roll includes guest-authored chapters by singing voice researchers Dr. Scott McCoy and Dr. Wendy LeBorgne, as well as audio and visual examples available from the website of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. This work is not only the ideal guide to singing professionals, but the perfect reference work for voice teachers and their students, lead and back-up singers, record producers and studio engineers. 

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Rock ‘n’ Roll features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Book for Jazz

So You Want to Sing Jazz: A Guide for Professionals 

“Since the 1930s and ̕40s, jazz has stood tall in American popular music, drawing into its embrace not only great horn players, percussionists, guitarists, bassists, and pianists, but also some of the greatest singers in America’s musical history. Jazz has laid the groundwork for important innovations in modern singing, opening up entirely new ways of delivering songs through what would eventually become jazz standards—songs that formed the basis of the American Songbook. 

In So You Want to Sing Jazz, singer and professor of voice Jan Shapiro gives a guided tour through the art and science of the jazz vocal style. Throughout, Shapiro hones in on what makes jazz singing distinctive, suggesting along the way how other types of singers can make use of jazz. She looks at such key matters in jazz singing as the role of improvisation, the place of specific singers who influenced and even defined vocal jazz as we know it today, and the unique way in which jazz incorporates vibrato, conversational delivery, rhythmic phrasing, and melodic embellishment and improvisation.

The book includes guest-authored chapters by singing voice researchers Dr. Scott McCoy and Dr. Wendy LeBorgne. In So You Want to Sing Jazz, singers and voice teachers finally have the go-to resource they need for singing vocal jazz.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Jazz features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Book for Country

So You Want to Sing Country: A Guide for Professionals 

“Country music, an original American artform, has been around since before the recording industry began and long before a singer even had the opportunity to sing into a microphone. From the early beginnings in the hills of Appalachia, to the rise of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, and the more recent megastars, including Garth Brooks and Carrie Underwood, country music has proven to have staying power. It is one of the most popular styles of music in the world today, garnering more sales and downloads currently than any other genre. Many talented individuals are aspiring to sing country music and are determined to turn it into a successful career. Because of this growing popularity, there is a need to educate interested singers with information and methods that will give them the best possible chance at either having a career as a artist, working in the industry as a background vocalist or session singer, or simply realizing their potential in country music.The book includes guest-authored chapters by singing voice researchers Dr. Scott McCoy and Dr. Wendy LeBorgne. In So You Want to Sing Jazz, singers and voice teachers finally have the go-to resource they need for singing vocal jazz.

Kelly K. Garner’s So You Want To Sing Country is a book devoted to briefly reviewing the rich heritage of country singing and thoroughly examining the techniques and methods of singing in a country style. Additional topics of discussion will include country song types and structure, instrumentation, performing on stage and in the studio, and career options in country music. Additional chapters by Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne, and Matthew Edwards address universal questions of voice science and pedagogy, vocal health, and audio enhancement technology.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Country features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Gospel

So You Want to Sing Gospel: A Guide for Professionals 

“Country music, an original American artform, has been around since before the recording industry began and long before a singer even had the opportunity to sing into a microphone. From the early beginnings in the hills of Appalachia, to the rise of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, and the more recent megastars, including Garth Brooks and Carrie Underwood, country music has proven to have staying power. It is one of the most popular styles of music in the world today, garnering more sales and downloads currently than any other genre. Many talented individuals are aspiring to sing country music and are determined to turn it into a successful career. Because of this growing popularity, there is a need to educate interested singers with information and methods that will give them the best possible chance at either having a career as a artist, working in the industry as a background vocalist or session singer, or simply realizing their potential in country music.The book includes guest-authored chapters by singing voice researchers Dr. Scott McCoy and Dr. Wendy LeBorgne. In So You Want to Sing Jazz, singers and voice teachers finally have the go-to resource they need for singing vocal jazz.

Kelly K. Garner’s So You Want To Sing Country is a book devoted to briefly reviewing the rich heritage of country singing and thoroughly examining the techniques and methods of singing in a country style. Additional topics of discussion will include country song types and structure, instrumentation, performing on stage and in the studio, and career options in country music. Additional chapters by Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne, and Matthew Edwards address universal questions of voice science and pedagogy, vocal health, and audio enhancement technology.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Country features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Sacred Music

So You Want to Sing Sacred Music: A Guide for Professionals 

“Sacred music traditions vary profoundly from one religion to the next. Even within the Christian faith, one can hear a wide variety of music among and within different denominations. Catholics, mainline Protestants, and Evangelicals have all developed unique traditions. Many people are not exposed to multiple faith experiences in their upbringings, which can make exploring an unfamiliar sacred music style challenging. Because of this, singers and teachers regularly encounter religious singing styles to which they have not yet been exposed.Kelly K. Garner’s So You Want To Sing Country is a book devoted to briefly reviewing the rich heritage of country singing and thoroughly examining the techniques and methods of singing in a country style. Additional topics of discussion will include country song types and structure, instrumentation, performing on stage and in the studio, and career options in country music. Additional chapters by Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne, and Matthew Edwards address universal questions of voice science and pedagogy, vocal health, and audio enhancement technology.

In So You Want to Sing Sacred Music, multiple contributors offer a broad overview of sacred singing in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Evan Kent, Anthony Ruff, Matthew Hoch, and Sharon L. Radionoff share their expertise on topics as diverse as Jewish cantorial music, Gregorian chant, post-Vatican II Catholic music, choral traditions, and contemporary Christian music. This plethora of styles represents the most common traditions encountered by amateur and emerging professional singers when exploring sacred performance opportunities. In each chapter, contributors consider liturgical origins, musical characteristics, training requirements, repertoire, and resources for each of these traditions. The writers—all professional singers and teachers with rich experience singing these styles—also discuss vocal technique as it relates to each style. Contributors also offer professional advice for singers seeking work within each tradition’s institutional settings, surveying the skills needed while offering practical advice for auditioning and performing successfully in the world of sacred music. 

So You Want to Sing Sacred Music is a helpful resource for any singer looking to add sacred performance to their portfolio or seeking opportunities and employment where sacred music is practiced and performed. Additional chapters by Scott McCoy, Wendy LeBorgne, and Matthew Edwards address universal questions of voice science and pedagogy, vocal health, and audio enhancement technology.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Sacred Music features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Folk Music

So You Want to Sing Folk Music: A Guide for Professionals 

“So many who love to sing are drawn to the immediacy and essential simplicity of the music we commonly call folk. Folk music, in fact, can serve as the perfect entry point for those just starting on their singing careers because of the ways in which it sidesteps the strictures of classical forms without giving up the fundamentals of professional singing techniques. 

In So You Want to Sing Folk Music, singer and writer Valerie Mindel demystifies this sprawling genre, looking at a variety of mainly traditional American musical styles as well as those of the folk revival that continues in various forms to this day. The aim is to help the fledgling singer better understand the scope of folk music and find his or her voice in the genre, looking at the “how” of creating a vocal sound that reflects a folk-based style. The book looks at specific repertories and ways of approaching them in terms of both working up material and performing it. It also looks at some of the realities of folk music in the twenty-first century that affect both amateurs and professionals. Additional chapters by Scott McCoy, Wendy LeBorgne, and Matthew Edwards address universal questions of voice science and pedagogy, vocal health, and audio enhancement technology.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Folk Music features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Barbershop

So You Want to Sing Barbershop: A Guide for Professionals

“In SoYou Want to Sing Barbershop, veteran barbershoppers Billy J. Biffle of the Barbershop Harmony Society and Diane M. Clark of Sweet Adelines International provide a practical handbook for singers at all levels who want to learn about the American art form known as barbershop singing. Clark and Biffle explore the history of the style, survey the international organizational structure of the twenty-first century barbershop world, and outline techniques to develop the necessary vocal skills for the style. Guest authors Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne provide valuable information on vocal anatomy and vocal health.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Barbershop features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for A Cappella

So You Want to Sing A Cappella: A Guide for Professionals

“From amateur collegiate a cappella groups to professional ensembles like Straight No Chaser and Pentatonix, contemporary a cappella has exploded onto the world pop music scene. In So You Want to Sing A Cappella, Deke Sharon combines historical context and a comprehensive look at the a cappella community with a detailed discussion of vocal techniques, rehearsal practices, and live audio support needed to sing great a cappella. Additional contributed chapters examine singing and voice science, vocal health, vocal percussion, and audio technology.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and each book features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Light Opera

So You Want to Sing Light Opera: A Guide for Professionals

“So You Want to Sing Light Opera is a concise handbook for singers, teachers, and performers who want to learn more about the magnificent genre of light opera. This resource provides information on the history of light opera and offers advice on auditions, style, performances, and skills, including dissections of select operas and their characters.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for CCM (Contemporary Commercial Singing)

So You Want to Sing CCM: A Guide for Professionals

“So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music) presents a compendium of approaches to non-classical singing with an emphasis on vocal technique and function. Over the past twenty years, approaches to singing CCM have exploded, resulting in many schools of technique. So You Want to Sing CCM is the first book to bring these trademarked methods—such as Estill Voice Training™, Somatic Voicework™, Complete Vocal Technique™, Voiceworks™, and the Vocal Power Method™—together in a single volume.

So You Want to Sing CCM opens the reader to the vast world of contemporary commercial music through the teachings of the world’s best-known practicing CCM pedagogues. Supplemental chapters by Matthew Edwards, Darren Wicks, and editor Matthew Hoch offer additional commentary on CCM history and pedagogy while chapters by Scott McCoy, Wendy LeBorgne, and Matthew Edwards investigate voice science, vocal health, and audio enhancement technology.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing CCM features online supplemental material. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Your Lifetime

So You Want to Sing for Lifetime: A Guide for Performers

“Singing can be a healthy, invigorating activity for people of every age, and participating in this fully athletic exercise remains enjoyable through each season of life if the singer and singing teacher adjust expectations regarding tone quality, range, agility, and stamina. Brenda Smith systematically presents methods by which anyone can enjoy a long, healthy life of singing in So You Want to Sing for a Lifetime.

This book contains chapters on the basics of singing (relaxation, posture, breathing, and resonance), practical examples of exercises and lists of repertoire suited to each age group, and suggestions for negotiating individual musical obstacles related to aging. Featuring guest-authored chapters on voice science, vocal health, and how age affects the physiology of the human voice, the book serves as a useful guide to amateur and professional singers, music educators, choral conductors, church musicians, and private voice teachers.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing for aLifetime features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for the Blues

So You Want to Sing the Blues: A Guide for Performers

“So You Want to Sing the Blues: A Guide for Performers shines a light on the history and vibrant modern life of blues song. Eli Yamin explores those essential elements that make the blues sound authentic and guides readers of all backgrounds and levels through mastering this art form. He provides glimpses into the musical lives of the women and men who created the blues along with a listening tour of seminal recordings in the genre’s history.

The blues presents many unique challenges for singers, who must shout, slide, and serenade around the accompanying music. By offering concrete explanations and exercises of key blues elements, this book guides singers to create authentic self-expressions informed by the style’s rich history and supported by strong technique. Teachers and singers of all levels will find this book a welcome guide to participating in this culturally diverse and uplifting style.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing the Blues features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Chamber Music

So You Want to Sing Chamber Music: A Guide for Performers

“Vocal chamber music encompasses a wide range of music composed for anything from a solo to twelve voices and instruments. Performing chamber music offers the singer a unique opportunity to increase collaboration with instrumentalists and improve technique, musicianship, artistry, and communication. 

So You Want to Sing Chamber Music offers a comprehensive guide to learning, rehearsing, and performing in this genre. The book explores such critical skills as choosing repertoire that is appropriate for one’s voice type, communicating with wind players and string players, preparing for a successful rehearsal, performance style, staging considerations, and recital programming. Also included are suggestions on using vocal chamber music as a pedagogical tool in the voice studio, alongside recommendations for listening and further reading.

Additional chapters by Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne address universal questions of voice science, pedagogy, and vocal health. The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Chamber Music features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources“

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Early Music

So You Want to Sing Early Music: A Guide for Performers

“A great majority of European music written before 1750 is for voices but remains understudied and underperformed. It includes music for groups of voices and solo voices, with and without instruments, music for the church and the theater, for the court and the chamber, as well as music in different languages and with different national styles. In So You Want to Sing Early Music, Martha Elliott introduces this remarkably rich and varied repertoire within a historical context for the 21^st century singer. 

Focusing on music from the 17^th and early 18^th centuries, this book offers guidance on style and ornamentation, working with vocal and instrumental colleagues, reading manuscripts and edited editions of scores. Elliot shares advice for how to handle the different kinds of early music performance situations in which singers might find themselves, as well as where to find workshops and performance opportunities. Equally helpful to the classically trained solo singer or amateur choral singer, So You Want to Sing Early Music will allow them to broaden their repertoire and build their stylistic toolbox.

Additional chapters by Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne address universal questions of voice science, pedagogy, and vocal health,. The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Early Music features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Music by Women

So You Want to Sing Music by Women: A Guide for Performers

“So You Want to Sing Music by Women opens wide a vast repertoire of vocal music written by women to advocate for widespread inclusion of this too-often neglected work in performance repertoire. Hoch and Lister provide a historical and contemporary perspective, chronicling the Western art music canon while also addressing contemporary trends in music theater and CCM. 

In addition to providing a historical overview and social context in which women created music, this volume explores the music of hundreds of historical and contemporary women composers, such as Hildegard von Bingen, Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, Cathy Berberian, Erykah Badu, and Sara Bareilles. In addition to discussions of art song, opera, choral music, and avant garde/experimental music, Erin Guinup and Amanda Wansa Morgan also contribute chapters devoted to music theater, CCM, and advocacy for women composers. Interviews with high-profile composers including Lori Laitman, Rosephanye Powell, Meredith Monk, Georgia Stitt provide accounts from the frontlines of today’s composing world. Additional chapters by Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne address vocal technique and health, and Matthew Edwards provides guidance for working with sound technology. 

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Music by Women features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for World Music

So You Want to Sing World Music: A Guide for Performers

“In recent decades, world music styles have been making increasing inroads into Western popular music, music theater, choral concerts, and even concert hall performances. So You Want to Sing World Music is an essential compendium of these genres and provides technical approaches to singing non-Western styles.

Matthew Hoch gathers a cohort of expert performers and teachers to address singing styles from across the globe, including Tuvan throat singing, Celtic pop and traditional Irish singing, South African choral singing, Brazilian popular music genres, Hindustani classical singing, Native American vocal music, Mexican mariachi, Lithuanian sutartinės, Georgian polyphony, Egyptian vocal music, Persian āvāz, and Peking opera. Additional chapters offer resources for soloists and choral directors as well as primers on voice science, vocal health, and audio enhancement technology.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing World Music features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Spirituals

So You Want to Sing Spirituals: A Guide for Performers

“With their rich and complicated history, spirituals hold a special place in the American musical tradition. This soul-stirring musical form is irresistible to singers seeking to diversify their performance repertoire, but it is also riddled with controversy, especially for singers of non-African descent. Singer and historian Randye Jones welcomes singers of all backgrounds into the style while she explores its folk song roots and transformation into choral and solo vocal concert repertoire. Profiling key composers and pioneers of the genre, Jones also discusses the use of dialect and other controversial performance considerations. Contributed chapters address elements of collaborative piano, studio teaching, choral arrangement, voice science, and vocal health as they apply to the performance of spirituals.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Spirituals features online supplemental material on the NATS website.

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Awareness

So You Want to Sing with Awareness: A Guide for Performers

“Yoga, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Method, Pilates, Body Mapping… These techniques all promote optimum vocal performance through mind-body awareness, but where should a singer begin?

So You Want to Sing with Awareness welcomes singers into all of these methods, allowing them to explore each option’s history and application to singing and determine which methods may best meet their needs as performers. With this unique volume in the So You Want to Sing series, editor Matthew Hoch brings together renowned expert practitioners to explore mind-body awareness systems and introduce cutting-edge research in cognitive neuroscience and motor learning. Carefully curated for singers’ unique needs, the book also includes essential discussions of anatomy and physiology and vocal health. 

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing with Awareness features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Cabaret

So You Want to Sing Cabaret: A Guide for Performers

“Cabaret performances are often known for bringing alive the Great American Songbook from the 1920s through the 1950s for contemporary audiences. But modern-day cabaret does much more than preserve the past—it also promotes and fosters the new generation of American composers and creates a uniquely vibrant musical and theatrical experience for its audiences. So You Want to Sing Cabaret is the first book of its kind to examine in detail the unique vocal and nonvocal requirements for professional performance within the exciting genre of cabaret.

With a foreword by cabaret legend Lorna Luft, So You Want to Sing Cabaret includes interviews from the top professionals in the cabaret industry, including Michael Feinstein, Ann Hampton Callaway, Roy Sander, Sidney Myer, Jeff Harner and many others. There are also chapters devoted to crafting your show, lyric connection, “do-it-yourself” production and promotion, and working with your musical team. David Sabella and Sue Matsuki have crafted the perfect one-volume resource for both the aspiring cabaret singer and the singing teacher who seeks to learn more about this unique art form.

The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Cabaret features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.”

~Amazon Description

📕 Best Singing Method Book for Musical Theater

So You Want to Sing Musical Theater: A Guide for Performers

“In So You Want to Sing Music Theater: A Guide for Professionals, singer and scholar Karen S. Hall fills an important gap in the instructional literature for those who sing or teach singing to those seeking their fortunes in music theatrical productions. Developed in coordination with the National Association for Teachers of Singing, this work draws on current research from the world of voice scholarship to advance the careers of singers exploring or already deeply embedded in the world of music theater.”

~Amazon Description

Paperback:

🎸 Best Guitar Method Book for All Ages Including Adults

Solo Guitar Playing, Book 1, 4th Edition Bk/Online Audio by Frederick Noad is the most thorough method book on solo guitar. It has a logical approach that covers both the musical language and guitar technique. I would definitely recommend studying with a qualified teacher to ensure that you have the covered techniques down–that way you won’t develop bad habits. No sense in practicing mistakes! 😆

Other Guitar Method Books

In the guitar section of the books for beginners article that I wrote, I list other method books for specific guitar styles such as rock, jazz, classical, and more. You are welcome to check out the different books available and contact me with any questions about them.

An Interactive Guitar Community

Since reading books and watching videos is often experienced “1-way,” meaning that you get to consume the content but others don’t get to observe you, it is highly recommended to find a qualified guitar teacher or even join an interactive guitar community such as tonebase or a guitar society.

Visit tonebase.com and use coupon code MAGE-30 to receive 30% off your subscription!

Best Bass Guitar Method Book for Older Kids, Teens, & Adults

Hal Leonard Bass Method – Complete Edition Books 1, 2 and 3 Bound Together in One Easy-to-Use Volume is suitable for beginning older kids, teens, and adults. Technique, theory, and playing a variety of modern styles is covered in this book which is available in both the Kindle and  spiral-bound versions. Plus you get three books in one and access to the digital audio practice tracks.

At Mage Music, we recommend combining books, interactive piano communities, and private or group music lessons with a qualified teacher in order to receive the fullest experience in learning piano, and this goes for both beginners and experts alike. Yes, even advanced players still take lessons or at least study new concepts! After all, what’s the point in learning how to perform on the piano when no one gets to hear or see you? 👏🏽 🎶 😎  Happy practicing, and feel free to drop me a line with any questions.

Note: As an Amazon associate I earn through qualifying purchases.