The Girls' Guide To Rocking: How To Start A Band, Book Gigs, And Get Rolling To Rock Stardom Read Free Books and Download eBooks
From greats like Patti Smith and Joan Jett to legends-in-the-making like Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato, girls want to rock. They want to start bands, write songs, get up on stage, and kick out the jams. Here's the book to teach them how. Written by an obsessive music lover who's spent her life playing, performing, publicizing, and writing about rock 'n' roll, The Girls' Guide To Rocking is a hip, inspirational guide for rad girls who want to make their rock dreams come true.It's everything a rocking girl needs to know: how to choose the right instrument for you, where to shop for instruments and where to avoid. How to get your band together and keep it together―tips on playing in a band with your friends and staying friends. How to turn your bedroom into a soundproof practice space. Giving your band the right name, plus a cautionary glossary of overused words (Wolf, Star, Crystal, Earth, etc.). How to set-up and promote your own shows. The freedom of going solo, and how to handle performing alone in the spotlight. Songwriting tips, with eight prompts to get the lyrics flowing. The ins and outs of recording, whether at home or in a studio. Taking care of business: publicizing your band, making T-shirts, legalese and the creative personality, and the four signs that say "time to hire a manager"―in other words, you've arrived.Includes a girls-in-rock timeline, essential listening lists, and quotes from the greats: Nina Simone, Hayley Williams, Gwen Stefani, Carrie Brownstein, Amy Lee, Kim Gordon, and more. Now get out there and rule the world.
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; Gift Book edition (June 4, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0761151419
ISBN-13: 978-0761151418
Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.6 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #261,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #25 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Music & Photography > Music > Instruction & Study #71165 in Books > Reference
Age Range: 8 - 18 years
Grade Level: 9 - 12
Hopper's book is beyond essential for anyone (young or older, girl/woman or boy/man) who is even remotely interested in picking up an instrument, starting a band, writing a song, playing shows, self-promoting, purchasing equipment or any myriad of other rockish-related endeavors. Not only is THE GIRLS' GUIDE TO ROCKING brilliantly organized, it effortlessly tackles what is a broad subject thoroughly and in great, great detail--without being mired in non-essential minutia. Hopper's voice is, as always, hilarious, conversational and encouraging, and she does what so few books geared towards teens do--SHE SPEAKS TO THE READER WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE READER IS SMART, CAPABLE AND CREATIVE. Nothing is dumbed down, yet nothing is assumed so that no question or concept appears to be too "beginner".We all start from somewhere, and Hopper takes great pains to reiterate that, no matter whether or not you have ever even seen a photo of a guitar before, you can do this. You can be creative. You can throw yourself into writing an entire concept album about pandas on the run from an alien monster named Rocko, and you can teach yourself how to execute said album via playing your grandma's untuned mandolin with a spoon, and you can record it on your cell phone if you want to, and you know what? That is productive and creative, and nobody should tell you that your concept album sucks, because you made it, and it's great.There is technical info in here that I, a 30 year-old woman who has been in the business for half my life (I started booking shows and playing in bands and making a fanzine when I was around fifteen), didn't know. I learned about various pedals whose uses had previously been a mystery to me, and about different four tracks, and how to clean a drum kit.
My daughter (who's a college student these days) was in several bands throughout her HS days. I like to think that I passed on my passion for music to her. So when I heard an (entertaining) interview on NPR not too long ago with the author of this book, I decided to check it out, for no reason other than to see how she would explain this all. (In the interview, the author readily admitted that even though the book is geared towards teenage girls, much of it would euqlly apply to boys, safe perhaps the "woman empowerment" theme that runs throught the book.In "The Girls' Guide to Rocking: How To Start a Band, Book Gigs, And Get Rolling to Rock Stardom" (238 pages), author Jessica Hopper (herself a musician, among other things) brings a boatload of practical tips on how to get started, and I mean starting from scratch. How to pick out and find an instrument ("I bought my first guitar when I was fifteen. I found it by calling around stores and asking for the cheapest guitar they carried.") Whether music lessons make sense and are worth the money ("I sat in a basement for haf an hout watching a very frustrated ancient dude try to teach me the lamest classic rock beginner tune of all times 'Smoke on the Water', a song I didn't know and didn't want to know, from an era of music I hated. I never bothered with my third lesson.") How to land a gig ("When you go see bands, introduce yourself and say you have a band and that you think you'd be good on a bill with them.) And on and on. Tons of hands-on tips.The overbearing theme of the book is that when you start a band, you main thing is to have some fun. WIthout it, there is no point to it. The latter part of the book takes things a bit more up-level (such as what to do when a label expresses interest in your band (get a good lawyer!).
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