What do you think?
Rate this book
Arnold Jacobs: Song and Wind
With a career spanning seven decades with the Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Chicago Symphonies, Arnold Jacobs has earned a reputation as a world-class performer. Equally significant are his teachings. During his career, thousands of students have passed through his studio.
- GenresMusicBiographyNonfiction
194 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1996
36 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 5, 2010
A wonderful book... If you are interested in any wind instrument, the psychology of music, human anatomy, orchestral music, conducting, music pedagogy, and/or 20th century musical developments, this is the book for you!
There were quite a few grammatical mistakes as well as sloppy publishing work. A lot of material was repeated at different sections of the book. For example, the same quoted paragraph of text showed up once early his biographical section, and then again in the pedagogical section. Perhaps it was rushed to the press. The writer is clearly not a writer nor academic scholar of any kind, as is apparent by his humble preface. He simply had plenty of first-hand experience, time and energy to complete this project.
I suppose it was a nice way for Jacobs' legacy to be remembered. Better a close friend and confident than a dense overly analytic scholar. My only hope is that there is someone out there who is BOTH, and that they will publish a more polished book to represent his memory.
There were quite a few grammatical mistakes as well as sloppy publishing work. A lot of material was repeated at different sections of the book. For example, the same quoted paragraph of text showed up once early his biographical section, and then again in the pedagogical section. Perhaps it was rushed to the press. The writer is clearly not a writer nor academic scholar of any kind, as is apparent by his humble preface. He simply had plenty of first-hand experience, time and energy to complete this project.
I suppose it was a nice way for Jacobs' legacy to be remembered. Better a close friend and confident than a dense overly analytic scholar. My only hope is that there is someone out there who is BOTH, and that they will publish a more polished book to represent his memory.
May 25, 2018
This is a wonderful standard reference regarding the life and teachings of one of the most important wind instrumentalists ever. While there are several sections of just dry lists and years regarding not very important details, the second half of the book on the actual teaching of Mr. Jacobs is quite a bit more interesting. The detail is exhaustive with several photos and diagrams but at times the writing is not particularly engaging, however, Frederiksen is to be commended for putting this together. A great resource on a pivotal figure in the world of wind instrument performance.
April 4, 2019
Great book on the number one musician in the 20th century for understanding the concept of sound, and the mechanics of wind
For a book that was only 200 pages it felt very dense
The book neatly documents Arnold’s biography, all of the musicians that he played with, all of his conductors, and his concepts on song, wind, rehearsal, practice, concert, you name it
This book lays out all of Jacobs concepts
I would highly recommend this book to any concert or orchestral musician
For a book that was only 200 pages it felt very dense
The book neatly documents Arnold’s biography, all of the musicians that he played with, all of his conductors, and his concepts on song, wind, rehearsal, practice, concert, you name it
This book lays out all of Jacobs concepts
I would highly recommend this book to any concert or orchestral musician
September 19, 2021
This is a must for ANY brass player, and very highly recommended for all other musicians.
January 19, 2024
A must read for any musician, especially wind musician.
It follows the life, work, and teaching of the great Arnold Jacobs.
It follows the life, work, and teaching of the great Arnold Jacobs.
March 7, 2015
As a tuba player, this book was an absolute inspiration! This book is a thorough and well thought documentation of Jacob's life and teachings. I would even go as far as to say that its the tuba player's bible. Jacob's teachings have influenced every tuba player's lessons and teachings, and he changed brass playing for everyone. Jacob's innovations were so wide-spread that I easily made connections between his and my past and present teacher's lessons. My teachers also live and work in cities hours away from each other!
This book is inspiring to read because of Jacobs career, creativity, passion, and love for teaching. He's also miraculous because besides being one of the greatest tuba players and teachers of all time, he was also a scientist. He did extensive work into the science of breathing, and the physiology of the body, most specifically the lungs. This book goes from childhood, career, and then morphs into a scientific exploration of Jacob's research. I also savored the interesting background information about Jacob's colleagues, although sometimes unnecessary or inessential colleagues were included. The incredibly variety of topics in this novel constantly keeps the work challenging and interesting.
By the end, I was in tears while reading about Jacob's death and his colleagues reminiscing about his life. I was attached to this book in an intellectual manner, but also in a deeply emotional manner.
Basically...
if you're a tuba player, you have not become a musician until you have read this book. Inspiration, teaching, and essential knowledge are all contained here. If you're a brass player, I would still highly recommend for the scientific information and reading about the development of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Jacobs' colleagues.
This book is inspiring to read because of Jacobs career, creativity, passion, and love for teaching. He's also miraculous because besides being one of the greatest tuba players and teachers of all time, he was also a scientist. He did extensive work into the science of breathing, and the physiology of the body, most specifically the lungs. This book goes from childhood, career, and then morphs into a scientific exploration of Jacob's research. I also savored the interesting background information about Jacob's colleagues, although sometimes unnecessary or inessential colleagues were included. The incredibly variety of topics in this novel constantly keeps the work challenging and interesting.
By the end, I was in tears while reading about Jacob's death and his colleagues reminiscing about his life. I was attached to this book in an intellectual manner, but also in a deeply emotional manner.
Basically...
if you're a tuba player, you have not become a musician until you have read this book. Inspiration, teaching, and essential knowledge are all contained here. If you're a brass player, I would still highly recommend for the scientific information and reading about the development of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Jacobs' colleagues.
September 27, 2020
If you play any wind instrument, especially Tuba this is a must read book, about a man who besides being an exceptional musician shed a lot of light on the proper way to breath and play wind instruments, as well as for singers too.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews