Alfred's Pocket Dictionary of Music: Terms * Composers * Theory

This small book is packed with information. I ordered it for my 16 year old bassoon player to help him with classical music phrases. It contains those and much more. Biographies of composers, musical terms, it's all there. A good choice for students of music. Somewhat lacking, however, in obscure foreign classical terms, especially in languages other than Italian.

One of several good pocket references which includes musical terms, basic information on a wide variety of composers, and many other essential pieces of information, every musician needs this book or one like it. Easily fitting in your purse, guitar case or stashed away in another similar location, you will find yourself referencing this book throughout your musical career.

I'm in an IB Music class at my high school and was not previously well versed in music, and this book has been extremely helpful. It covers everything we've studied in the dictionary, and the composer reference section is also very thorough. It's great for test prep in music theory and history. I couldn't get by without it!

After searching for the past several years for my own students and teachers who study with me, I can finally state that I've found a music dictionary equal to the original "Pocket-Manual of Musical Terms" edited by Dr. Theodore Baker back in 1947 (published by G.Schirmer). Unfortunately, that same dictionary is still available in an "updated" format. I say 'unfortunately' because the new author (ie editor) decided to delete many of the classic terms for reasons unknown. But thanks to Alfred Publishing, Sandy Feldstein has done a great job of maintaining an excellent balance between content and precise meanings in an easy to understand manner. In fact, this small pocket dictionary has more charts and drawings of notes and key signatures than any other dictionary of the same size. In addition, a wonderful biographical section is included in the last section featuring basic facts on the great composers both past and present. You will not regret purchasing this handy size ( 4 x 5 inches) edition, as I have widely recommended this little book to hundreds of teachers and schools.