The best Christian Music books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

I'm currently working through The Divine Office for Dodos. It's a step-by-step guide, where you basically just learn one thing at a time and build on it later. It starts out with having you look around through the breviary getting an idea of where everything is before having you go into any of the actual prayers. That book, however, recommends starting with Night Prayer (Compline), which is shorter and on a one-week cycle.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0899424821

number 2 and number 3 mostly; only one book on the list is a textbook from school: Muller+Kamins, and it has been useful again and again long after graduation.

I'm especially fond of the books on this list that helped me learn about something new-to-me, so that I could tackle an especially scary or difficult problem at my EE job, and successfully solve it.

And then there's (the best little $6 paperback book on Amazon) in which an advertising man from the 1950's, gives timeless advice which worked wonderfully for me in the 2010s, designing circuits. Don't read it until you've been a professional circuit designer for at least 3 years and/or two full design cycles; you won't appreciate its wisdom until you've personally experienced design-inspiration-starvation a few times.

You could get some ideas from the German band at Epcot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDZ7Fn8a1_w

It might take some clever googling, but there should be a lot of footage for ideas.

Also, there is an official Christmas realbook. If you understand how to play a polka, you should have no problem faking any of the tunes as a polka. Also, not sure about the Kindle version, but if you acquired a PDF of the book, it would make using it so much more convenient...I think iGigBook has catalogued the tunes.

It's the Christmas edition of The Real Book

Not really theory-focused, but if you can read lead sheet, I'd recommend a real/fake Christmas Book like this.

I'm a semi-jazz beginner too, and I've had the most fun playing through xmas songs from the fake book. After a while, I find myself picking up on adding maj7s, 9ths, or just trying to fit bass-lines wherever I can and it comes off as quite jazzy. Not official jazz theory, but I find learning theory after having experience is the way to go, otherwise the theory we learn has no base.

I don’t think I’ve found anything that’s good, with all of the books I’ve seen being incredibly simplistic. Like...melody and open chords on the downbeat of each measure levels of simple. I usually hash out my own arrangements using the Real Christmas Book because it uses much more interesting harmonies (though there are some stray wrong chords mixed in that you’ll want to mark out).

This book has helped change the way I look at people. Check the discerption. There’s a new book too, but I haven’t read it yet.

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion https://www.amazon.com/dp/1439153159/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_sWQuAb27PKCKH

This is going to be a very important resource for you: https://www.amazon.com/Western-Plainchant-Handbook-Clarendon-Paperbacks/dp/0198165722

I would also highly recommend Susan Rankin's Introductory essay to the facsimile of The Winchester Troper.

That should cover most everything except for stuff about rhythmic notation / rhythmic modes, but frankly I have no idea what a good source for that would be. Maybe someone else can step in here.

I have a very good book on this subject, which I'd be happy to mail you if you're willing to pay for shipping. Where are you located? PM me and we can set this up. This is the book I have: https://www.amazon.com/Western-Plainchant-Handbook-Clarendon-Paperbacks/dp/0198165722

I'm a professional chanter through my church gig and other gigs, and I learned from this book. I'm happy to pass this resource on, if you're serious about it. It's mostly about Gregorian chant, but briefly touches on other forms. If you're mostly interested in the Catholic tradition, this is what you're looking for. It reads like a textbook, but that's kind of the point.

This was initiated by Gregory Boyle, a priest who started Homeboy Industries. He's a pudgy white dude who has become a loving and safe parent to tens of thousands of gang members. He wrote a phenomenal book called Tattoos on the Heart.

http://www.amazon.com/Tattoos-Heart-Power-Boundless-Compassion/dp/1439153159

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Father Gregory Boyle.

It's not a technical treatise on Christian theology but rather an example of what life is like for someone who actually lives like Christ called us to live.

You might want to invest in The Divine Office for Dodos or a similar book.

I recommend the Episcopal hymnal! It's what I used to up my sight reading abilities, which has done wonders for me. There are plenty of well-known tunes and some excellent melodies/harmonies.

Red book contains accompaniment for pieces that have it. Blue book is just SATB parts or melody lines.

You might look through an old Christmas music mega thread.

I personally love the Real Christmas Book if you know (or can learn) how to use leadsheets.

Last year I read <em>Tattoos on the Heart</em>, by Father Boyle, who runs Homeboy Industries in LA, which employs and rehabilitates former LA gang members. One of the first steps to making a better life for yourself outside of the gang is getting your tattoos removed, because they really hurt employment opportunities.

Former gang members in the book said they hurt easily 100x worse than getting the tattoo in the first place. You've got to burn off the skin, over and over. It sucks.

Also, it takes way more sessions to remove a color tattoo. Black and white isn't as tough, and Homeboy does those in-house.

> I haven't "read a work of serious theology, or philosophy of religion", this doesn't mean I haven't done my own research.

But doing research on the reasonable arguments on religious claims just is reading works of theology and philosophy of religion. What else have you done?

> Still don't why it would matter.

As I said, it matters to your ability to judge whether there are reasonable argument for religious claims, no more.

> Or why you would " worry.". Do you get worried when well read people have different opinion?

It's a figure of speech.

> Give me an example. Maybe I overlooked some things.

Here's a book making reasonable arguments for, among many other things, a particular view of the Trinity and the Eucharist.

> Do you think Christians were violent towards reasonable heretics?

I'm sure they have been, yes.

This popped up as a suggested item. I lost it.

I know it's a little early, but it can take time to work up some of these songs for the Holidays. If you're looking for a solid set of lead sheets, check out The Real Christmas Book.