Making Music and Having a Blast!

A guide for all music students.

By Bonnie Blanchard with Cynthia Blanchard Acree

Published by Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis

To tell the truth, I had a hard time getting “into” this book…. but somewhere around the end of Part One, I was hooked. Having relished every chapter towards the end, I want to be sure to explain why you should buy this book and stick it out too: it is a fabulous source of information to answer EVERY imaginable concern or query that a music student (or their parent) may have, and there isn’t the slightest whiff of condescension throughout.

Bonnie’s cheerful and conversational writing style, geared perhaps most to high schoolers, takes some getting used to but is an essential element to this book’s success. The stories about Bonnie and the many students quoted throughout are comfortingly normal and very real. Everyone, regardless of background, will relate very easily to every invaluable point she makes.

I’m just a bit sad that Bonnie didn’t write this back in the dark ages when I was a kid…. I needed this book and I know I would have adored it.

Now, my enthusiasm is as strong; this is a resource I can readily refer to. “Making Music and Having a Blast” is an exceptionally well-organized presentation of terrific summaries, analogies and explanations of concepts that are perfectly suited to less advanced students through to non-musicians.

This is a book that I can enthusiastically demand of parents who don’t have the benefit of a musical background; they’ll enjoy reading it and will be extremely grateful for the insight this book provides.

Alexa Still records for Koch International Classics and performs concerts internationally. She has just finished an elected term as Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Flute Association (USA) and is now based in Sydney as Head of Flute and Chair of Woodwind at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. You can read, see and hear much more at her website: www.alexastill.com