Pro Sound Effects develops sound effects libraries for media production that can be used in post production, games, film, and television.
Insights into Music Composition
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Insights into Music Composition is a guide and source of inspiration for beginning students of music composition. Drawing on perspectives from a range of experienced composers, the book introduces readers to the compositional process, emphasizing how to think about creating a piece of music from beginning to end by providing not only a survey of methods but also an understanding of the overarching context for composition. The authors present student composers with the tools to develop their own voice, covering topics such as: methods for harnessing inspiration and creativity how to give shape, context, and meaning to a piece of music and create moments that audiences will remember the value in exploring the music of other cultures and music's interdisciplinarity atonal and 12-tone techniques and the roles of form and style the benefits and pitfalls of student-teacher relationships and the importance of building relationships with performers Combining content from class scenarios with discussion questions, practical exercises, an annotated guide of online resources, and a glossary of terms, the text's flexible structure allows chapters to be read through in order or drawn on by topic. Clear and accessible, Insights into Music Composition is an ideal resource for all students and instructors of music composition.
Counterpoint in Jazz Arranging Book with Online Audio Access by Bob Pilkington
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(Berklee Guide). Add dimension and interest to your music. This essential, core material is for anyone who arranges jazz standards or writes original jazz compositions. This book will help you craft melodies, countermelodies, bass lines, and grooves. It will help you manage the intricacies of interactive lines, control dissonance, and improve melodic development. Carefully guided exercises let you practice exploring and controlling contrapuntal relationships. The accompanying recordings demonstrate techniques in typical jazz arrangements. Audio tracks feature a live jazz ensemble of veteran Berklee faculty members, illustrating the counterpoint examples so that you can hear them applied in a realistic musical context.
Composition and Cognition
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In Composition and Cognition, renowned composer and theorist Fred Lerdahl builds on his careerlong work of developing a comprehensive model of music cognition. Bringing together his dual expertise in composition and music theory, he reveals the way in which his research has served as a foundation for his compositional style and how his intuitions as a composer have guided his cognitively oriented theories. At times personal and reflective, this book offers an overall picture of the musical mind that has implications for central issues in contemporary composition, including the recurrent gap between method and result, and the tension between cognitive constraints and utopian aesthetic views of musical progress. Lerdahl's succinct volume provides invaluable insights for students and instructors, composers and music scholars, and anyone engaged with contemporary music.
The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music
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With the ongoing development of algorithmic composition programs and communities of practice expanding, algorithmic music faces a turning point. Joining dozens of emerging and established scholars alongside leading practitioners in the field, chapters in this Handbook both describe the state of algorithmic composition and also set the agenda for critical research on and analysis of algorithmic music. Organized into four sections, chapters explore the music's history, utility, community, politics, and potential for mass consumption. Contributors address such issues as the role of algorithms as co-performers, live coding practices, and discussions of the algorithmic culture as it currently exists and what it can potentially contribute society, education, and ecommerce. Chapters engage particularly with post-human perspectives - what new musics are now being found through algorithmic means which humans could not otherwise have made - and, in reciprocation, how algorithmic music is being assimilated back into human culture and what meanings it subsequently takes. Blending technical, artistic, cultural, and scientific viewpoints, this Handbook positions algorithmic music making as an essentially human activity.
The Craft of Contemporary Commercial Music
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In the contemporary world, the role of the commercial composer has grown to include a wide range of new responsibilities. Modern composers not only write music, but also often need to perform, record, and market their own works. The Craft of Contemporary Commercial Music prepares today's music students for their careers by teaching them to compose their own music, produce it professionally, and sell it successfully. The textbook integrates three areas of concentration--music theory and composition, audio engineering, and music business--allowing students to understand and practice how to successfully navigate each stage of a score's life cycle from concept to contract. Students will learn how to: Translate musical ideas into scores utilizing music theory and composition techniques Transform scores into professional audio through the production stages of tracking, sequencing, editing, mixing, mastering, and bouncing Market works to prospective clients The textbook assumes no prior knowledge of music theory or audio topics, and its modular organization allows instructors to use the book flexibly. Exercises at the end of each chapter provide practice with key skills, and a companion website supports the book with video walkthroughs, streaming audio, a glossary, and printable exercise pages. Combining a grounding in music notation and theory concepts with a foundation in essential technologies, The Craft of Contemporary Commercial Music offers an innovative approach that addresses the needs of students preparing for music careers.
Musical Conversations
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Musical Conversations is a book about songwriting. The sub-title really explains best what the the book is about. That is, we don't write songs, songs write themselves, we are just the messengers. The book demystifies songwriting and explains how songs just happen to arrive as if from nowhere. It does this by examining the creative process and telling the stories of how some well known songs just happened. It also contains pointers on the art of songwriting and demonstrates how the creativity and the craft are quite separate, thereby bringing simple clarity to the whole process. Written in conversational language it explains the creative process and gives good tips on how to get into the right frame of mind to write a song. There are 21 chapters any one of which can be read to learn more about the different aspects of the creative process or as a piece of entertainment that informs.
Great Songwriting Techniques
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In Great Songwriting Techniques, veteran composer and teacher Jack Perricone shares years of experience in the art, science, and pedagogy of songwriting to teach readers the craft. Whether they write for a small group of friends or in the hopes of creating a smash hit, aspiring songwriters can learn how to focus on topics essential to their success in this competitive field; every songwriter must be aware of audience, thick-skinned enough to handle rejection and competition, and most importantly have the confidence to master the craft of composing and producing. Perricone teaches readers to accomplish this through a targeted series of lessons on key elements of songwriting from building blocks like melody, harmony, and rhythm to more advanced topics like lyric placement and tone texture. Chapters explore loop-based harmonic patterns, tone tendencies, form, function, and lyric writing, all in service of preparing the aspiring songwriter to be a master of prosody and keen in understanding the relationship between words and music. The volume includes examples of exceptional songwriting from well-known artists such as Irving Berlin, Prince, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, and Taylor Swift.
Songwriting in Practice
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(Berklee Guide). Become a more productive songwriter! Learn to organize the full range of your creative content, from starting inspirations to finished songs. This book offers pragmatic tools, resources, practices, and principles for managing the many kinds of creative materials gathered or generated across a song's life cycle. Organize your ideas and sources of inspiration, sketches and drafts, versions and revisions, to streamline your songwriting process. Create and use "song seed" notebooks and lists, song journals, and writing and co-writing session logs, as you develop your overall song catalog. You will learn to: * Capture and access inspirations of all types lyric, melodic, chordal, rhythmic, or concept in songwriting notebooks, journals, and lists * Energize and improve your creative work writing by organizing all your song ideas for easy access at every stage of songwriting * Manage the full lifecycle of your songs, from sketches and drafts, through versions and revisions, to "fair copies" and demos * Develop an efficient songwriting workflow that connects inspirations to opportunities and projects * Rapidly access your strongest creative material in high-stakes, deadline-driven writing and co-writing sessions * Develop your song catalogue to support publishing, administration, and licensing * Use the organizing process to gain insights for advancing your craft and range as a writer
The Craft of Songwriting Music, Meaning, and Emotion Book/Online Audio
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(Berklee Guide). Take your songwriting to the next level! This book breaks down the processes used by hit songwriters and dives deeply into the craft of songwriting. Discover the tools and techniques for melody, harmony, lyrics, and form behind so many great songs. You will access the magic and come out more connected to your heart and craft. Online audio tracks illustrate these techniques in context, showing how they affect your song's overall impact.
Write a Great Song
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Sean Pen is the one half of the Multi-Platinum, Grammy nominated, BMI and ASCAP award winning duo, The Exclusives. Writing has always been a passion of his, and this milestone of releasing his first published book is a detailed look into the process of writing a song with an emphasis in the genre of R&B. This book doesn't guarantee songwriting greatness, but offers some insight and perspective on Pen's approach to the art of songwriting. Moreover, this perspective could provide aspiring songwriters with sufficient tools to building songwriting dominance, all provided within the pages of, Write A Great Song: A 15 Day Introductory Guide to R&B Songwriting.
Beginning Songwriting
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(Berklee Guide). Learn to write songs! This book presents the basic concepts of popular songwriting, such as song construction, creativity techniques, melodic and harmonic development, how to write memorable lyrics, and other core topics. Hands-on exercises make it practical, and the accompanying online recording illustrates the concepts for those who don't yet read music.
The Addiction Formula
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Discover The Songwriting Technique Used In 97% Of All Hit Songs How To Use Subtle Psychological Triggers To Captivate ANY Audience. Writing Pop, Rock, RnB or Hip Hop has never been easier or more fun. Master The Art Of Writing Addicting Songs Music is a tough industry to break into. With production gear being affordable for the first time in history, it seems like EVERYONE is making music these days. Getting noticed in the continuous stream of information that is the internet seems almost impossible. BUT: There is a technique designed specifically to captivate and hook an audience and with The Addiction Formula, you can learn it in a couple of hours. You will learn all about Lyric-Less Storytelling, a technique used by the most successful songwriters of our time. If you've always wanted to know how to write songs that stick out and speak to a large audience, this is the book for you. The Songwriting Book For A New Generation Of Songwriters The 60s are OVER Songwriting today is a very different experience than it was when the Beatles were on the air. By combining Arrangement, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, Lyrics and Production in one deviously simple technique it is the first songwriting book that speaks to an all-writing, all-producing DIY generation. Includes over 317 Techniques You Will Be Able To Use INSTANTLY Part 2 of The Addiction Formula is almost like a dictionary of hit songwriting techniques. All the tools are hand-picked from hit songs of the past 30 years. But this book is far more than just a list of tips and tricks: The Addiction Formula also shows you how the techniques can be applied to your songs. It puts all of what you learn into perspective and shows you how they all fit together. With 331 Examples Incl. Songs By Rihanna, Katy Perry, Drake and Maroon 5 Are you sick and tired of being taught techniques based on some old County song you've never heard of? One of my guidelines for writing this book was to only include hit songs from the past 30 years. Every single technique in The Addiction Formula is proven with one or more examples to show it in action and to help you learn it quickly and easy. I mean, hey, you get to learn by listening to the songs you listen to anyways It's fun, quick and practical. Scroll up and get your copy NOW
Pat Pattison's Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming
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(Berklee Press). Find better rhymes, and use them more effectively. Rhyme is one of the most crucial areas of lyric writing, and this guide will provide you with all the technical information necessary to develop your skills completely. Make rhyme work for you, and your lyric writing will greatly improve. If you have written lyrics before, even at a professional level, you can still gain greater control and understanding of your craft with the exercises and worksheets included in this book. Hone your writing technique and skill with this practical and fun approach to the art of lyric writing. Start writing better than ever before! You will learn to: * Use different types of consonant and vowel sounds to improve your lyric story * Find more rhymes and choose which ones are most effective * Spotlight important ideas using rhyme The second edition of this classic songwriting text contains new strategies and insights, as well as analyses of the rhymes of Randy Newman, Warren Zevon, T.S. Eliot, and other songwriters and poets.
How to Write One Song
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There are few creative acts more mysterious and magical than writing a song. But what if the goal wasn't so mysterious and was actually achievable for anyone who wants to experience more magic and creativity in their life? That's something that anyone will be inspired to do after reading Jeff Tweedy's How to Write One Song. Why one song? Because the difference between one song and many songs isn't a cute semantic trick--it's an important distinction that can simplify a notoriously confusing art form. The idea of becoming a capital-S songwriter can seem daunting, but approached as a focused, self-contained event, the mystery and fear subsides, and songwriting becomes an exciting pursuit. And then there is the energizing, nourishing creativity that can open up. How to Write One Song brings readers into the intimate process of writing one song--lyrics, music, and putting it all together--and accesses the deep sense of wonder that remains at the heart of this curious, yet incredibly fulfilling, artistic act. But it's equally about the importance of making creativity part of your life every day, and of experiencing the hope, inspiration, and joy available to anyone who's willing to get started.
The Theory and Practice of Writing Music for Games
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The nature of game music charges the modern-day composer with understanding a whole host of aesthetic and technical principles unique to the medium. Based on years of working in the field, as well as teaching the subject at colleges and universities, The Theory and Practice of Writing Music for Games is an invaluable resource for those looking for a classroom tested, directed course of study. As players and composers, themselves, authors Steve Horowitz and Scott R. Looney share the inspiration and joy of game music with an emphasis on critical thinking and the creative process, exploring the parallels and distinctions to concert music, film, TV, cartoons, and other popular forms. Each chapter builds on the next and guides the reader step by step through the essentials. Along with all the theory, a multitude of clearly defined hands-on projects and exercises are included, designed to prepare the reader to go out into the field with a complete understanding of the art and craft of music composition for games and visual media. Key Features: - Discusses a variety of topics in a simple and easy-to-understand format. - Provides a valuable resource for teachers and students, anyone who is looking to build a career in music for games. - Breaks down the fundamentals needed to build your career. - Includes fun and practical exercises that strengthen your composer chops. Visit the Companion Website for additional resources: www.gameaudioinstitute.com/crc-press/
Preparing for Scoring Sessions
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A detailed guide to preparing to record music for media (film/TV/games) covering everything from organization, budgeting and scheduling to large scale scoring sessions, small scale remote recordings, material preparation and more. This guide covers technical, creative and practical considerations along with tips and examples based on the author's 25 years of experience in the industry working on projects ranging from low budget independent short films, to some of the biggest blockbusters Hollywood has produced.
Understanding Game Scoring
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Understanding Game Scoring explores the unique collaboration between gameplay and composition that defines musical scoring for video games. Using an array of case studies reaching back into the canon of classic video games, this book illuminates the musical flexibility, user interactivity and sound programming that make game scoring so different from traditional modes of composition. Mack Enns explores the collaboration between game scorers and players to produce the final score for a game, through case studies of the Nintendo Entertainment System sound hardware configuration, and game scores, including the canonic scores for Super Mario Bros. (1985) and The Legend of Zelda (1986). This book is recommended reading for students and researchers interested in the composition and production of video game scores, as well as those interested in ludo-musicology.
Leading with Sound
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Leading with Sound is the must-have companion guide to working on video game projects. Focused on the creative, collaborative, philosophical and organizational skills behind game sound and eschewing the technical, this book celebrates the subjects most essential to leading with sound in video game development at any level. Refuting the traditional optics of sound as a service in favour of sound as a pro-active visionary department, , this book examines each of the four food-groups of dialogue, sound design, music and mix, not through the usual technical and production lenses of 'how' and 'when', but the essential lens of 'why' that enables leadership with sound. Leading with Sound is essential reading for aspiring sound designers, inside and outside of the classroom, as well as experienced professionals in the game industry.
Directing Creativity
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Directing Creativity: The Art of Innovation is a practical guide to unlock creativity and drive innovation. Award-winning Hollywood film composer Alan Williams demystifies the creative process in practical, accessible terms that are applicable to every innovative passion. I am a composer. I write music for films. My job? Breathe emotional life into the characters and enhance the audience's connection to the story through a musical score. Where does the music come from? How does any idea become a reality? For any form of composition, invention or innovation, creativity is the catalyst Creativity is simply the mental process of generating new ideas or concepts. Any idea, process, solution, invention or product IS the result of creativity. For most creators and innovators, the steps to create and innovate have become intuitive. Directing Creativity: The Art of Innovation unveils the steps that innovators use to create. Applicable to all professions, industries and disciplines, the simple steps outlined in Directing Creativity: The Art of Innovation will spark creativity, fuel innovation and yield measurable results. As you learn to direct creativity in your personal and professional life, you will discover that you too are an artist, an innovator, and an inventor. Directing Creativity: The Art of Innovation will help guide you through the creative process as you learn the key steps of innovation and systematically move from idea to creation, from concept to product, from your deepest dreams to your magnificent reality Learn to direct your creativity and you can predict the future by inventing it
Writing Music for Commercials
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In Writing Music for Commercials: Television, Radio, and New Media, professor, composer, arranger, and producer Michael Zager describes the process of composing and arranging music specifically for commercials across the growing variety of media formats. Writing music for commercials requires composers not only learn the craft of writing short-form compositions that can stand on their own, but also understand the advertising business. In this third edition of his original Writing Music for Television and Radio Commericals, Zager walks starting composers through the business and art of writing music that aims for a product's target audience and, when done well, hits its mark. Chapter by chapter, Zager covers a broad array of topics: how to approach and analyze commercials from a specifically musical perspective, the range of compositional techniques for underscoring and composing jingles, the standard expectations and techniques for arranging and orchestration, and finally the composing of music for radio commercials, corporate videos, infomercials, theatrical trailers, video games, Internet commercials, websites, and web series (webisodes). This third edition has been updated to include more in-depth analysis of the changing landscape of music writing for modern media, with critical information on composing not only for the Web but for mobile applications, from video-driven advertising in online newspapers to electronic greeting cards. Zager also includes new interviews with industry professionals, updated business information, the latest sound design concepts, and much more. Writing Music for Commercials: Television, Radio, and New Media features: Easy-to-read chapters for beginning and intermediate music composition students Over a hundred graphics and musical examples Interviews with industry professionals An assortment of assignments to train and test readers, preparing them for the world of writing music for various media Online audio samples that illustrate the book's principles Writing Music for Commercials is designed not only for composers but for students and professionals at every level.
Creating Commercial Music
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(Berklee Guide). Produce music for profit! Learn to create commercial music for the contemporary marketplace for advertising, music libraries, TV, and more. Understand the creative, technical/production, and business skills and practices required to produce commercial music. This step-by-step manual will help you sustain a career as a music creator. Author Peter Bell shares audio and video examples and detailed case studies of his work in the industry, including creating the theme for This Old House , and jingles and scoring for many well-known commercial brands. You will learn to: * Produce music for advertising, TV themes, music libraries, and more * Market your services to direct-to-business clients as well as advertising agencies and other commercial music consumers * Understand the client brief and the expectations and requirements of advertising songs ("jingles"), underscores, library "track packages," TV music (themes, bumpers, beds), and other formats * Produce voiceovers, scores and live ensemble and vocal recording sessions, all with high production values * Develop a sustainable business, considering issues such as business structures, staffing roles and responsibilities, facilities, your reel, contracts, competitive bidding, billing, and other essentials of running a successful "music house"
How to Become a Film Composer
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(Book). Tom Harrison's book How to Become a Film Composer gives up-and-coming composers the inspiration, information and the tools necessary to succeed in today's music for media industry. Harrison has spent years working on the front line in Hollywood, where he has held key positions on music teams for some of the world's most successful television shows. His own music can be heard all over television on projects ranging from Dateline NBC and The Voice to NBC Golf tournaments, WWW Monday Night Raw and beyond. How to Become a Film Composer begins with breaking down how to approach music in a dramatic context and how to cultivate your own unique sound. Next, Harrison covers the technical computer skills needed to work in this digital era of music production and finally provides a thorough guide to building a successful career. Whether you are a young student or a seasoned musician, if you want to learn more about what it takes to become a film composer, this is the book for you.
So, You Want to Become a Media Composer?
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In 'So You Want To Become a Media Composer?', Adonis Aletras provides all the necessary insight for beginners and professionals alike in a very unique way: by interviewing 65 of the BEST composers, performers and industry executives who are currently successful in their respective fields (more than 300 questions and answers). Offering their 'in the trenches' perspective through 5 custom questions, the interviewees (including John Debney, Jeff Beal, Bruce Broughton, Deborah Lurie, Steve Vai, Richard Kraft, Dawn Soler and dozens of esteemed others) provide answers that shed light into: film-TV scoring, composing for media, getting jobs, the business, academia, career, success/pitfalls, the industry, etc. No stone is left unturned in this one of a kind publication making it a must for anyone interested in pursuing a career in media composition.Presented in a clear and easy to navigate format, this book will be useful to aspiring composers, students and professionals who want to get an insider's view of how the best of the best handle their careers towards a path of success.
A Composer's Guide to Game Music
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A comprehensive, practical guide to composing video game music, from acquiring the necessary skills to finding work in the field. Music in video games is often a sophisticated, complex composition that serves to engage the player, set the pace of play, and aid interactivity. Composers of video game music must master an array of specialized skills not taught in the conservatory, including the creation of linear loops, music chunks for horizontal resequencing, and compositional fragments for use within a generative framework. In A Composer's Guide to Game Music, Winifred Phillips--herself an award-winning composer of video game music--provides a comprehensive, practical guide that leads an aspiring video game composer from acquiring the necessary creative skills to understanding the function of music in games to finding work in the field. Musicians and composers may be drawn to game music composition because the game industry is a multibillion-dollar, employment-generating economic powerhouse, but, Phillips writes, the most important qualification for a musician who wants to become a game music composer is a love of video games. Phillips offers detailed coverage of essential topics, including musicianship and composition experience; immersion; musical themes; music and game genres; workflow; working with a development team; linear music; interactive music, both rendered and generative; audio technology, from mixers and preamps to software; and running a business. A Composer's Guide to Game Music offers indispensable guidance for musicians and composers who want to deploy their creativity in a dynamic and growing industry, protect their musical identities while working in a highly technical field, and create great music within the constraints of a new medium.
Creative Strategies in Film Scoring
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(Berklee Guide). Create effective film scores! This book presents a framework for creative decision-making that will lead to producing the best music for a given scene. It supports artists working in film, television, video games, or other media. The framework encourages clarity of concept and facilitates productive communication between the composer and director, music supervisor, and others involved with the project. Two case studies, featuring audio and video, illustrate how different creative choices can control the expressive effect of the scene. Practical worksheets are included, which will help your team brainstorm, articulate, organize, and communicate your collective ideas and decisions. Whether you are creating music yourself or working with a composer, this book will help you develop the music that is optimized for storytelling.
Making Music Make Money - 2nd Edition: an Insider's Guide to Becoming Your Own Music Publisher by Eric Beall
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(Berklee Press). Top songwriters know that to make it in today's music business, you need to understand music publishing. Whether you are an independent songwriter or a music business entrepreneur, this book will help you set up a publishing company so that you can generate income from your songs. You will understand how the current music industry works: who is buying, what they are looking for, how to find your audience, and how to create the mechanisms necessary for you to get paid. Essential sample agreements and language are presented and discussed. "I recommend this book to both novices and professionals that want to expand the way they market their music. Eric presents so many resources that the reader sees that with talent and determination, there is always a way." Steve Diamond, Emmy award winner and six-time GRAMMY award-nominated songwriter, whose hits have been recorded by Faith Hill, Eric Clapton, and John Michael Montgomery
FINNEAS
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Jac Ross and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins
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Contact us at askalibrarian@berklee.edu or chat with a library employee (check the homepage for current chat hours)
