Renewing Materials Online and Other Two-Minute Tutorials

Whether you need to keep practicing from a score or you left a book at home the day it was due, you may need to renew your library materials. No need to come into the library, though. You can do it online yourself for materials you are allowed to renew.

Our Two Minute Tutorial: Renew Library Items Online will teach you how:

RIP Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger, who died January 27, was so much more than a folk singer that President Obama released a statement honoring his passing.

Once called 'America's tuning fork,' Pete Seeger believed deeply in the power of song. But more importantly, he believed in the power of community -- to stand up for what's right, speak out against what's wrong, and move this country closer to the America he knew we could be. Over the years, Pete used his voice -- and his hammer -- to strike blows for worker's rights and civil rights; world peace and environmental conservation. And he always invited us to sing along. For reminding us where we come from and showing us where we need to go, we will always be grateful to Pete Seeger. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayer to Pete's family and all those who loved him.

Martin Luther King, Pete Seeger, Charis Horton, Rosa Parks, and Ralph Abernathy at Highlander Institute in 1957. (Photo from http://zinnedproject.org)

Some highlights from our collection of materials by and about Seeger:

• American Industrial Ballads (CD 23395)
• Where Have All the Flowers Gone: The Songs of Pete Seeger (CD 18837 - 18838) 
• How to Play the 5 String Banjo: A Manual for Beginners (MT562.S445 H6)
• Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (DVD 3433)
• The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger by Alec Wilkinson (ML420.S445 W55 2009)

You will find addition streaming audio by Seeger in American Song.

Backing Tracks for Drumming Contest

Hit Like a Girl, the third annual drumming contest for female percussionists, opens January 24. Entrants must provide a three-minute video showcasing their skills.

The contest provides optional backing tracks, but the library offers many more options with our drum play-along collection. You can browse the catalog for the drum play-along series or just browse the shelves at MT662.5.

The collection includes books by single artists, from Bob Marley (MT662.5 .D7 v. 25) to Rush (MT662.5 .R86 2009), and genre books such as big band (MT662.5 .D7 v. 9), funk (MT662.5 .D7 v. 5) and '90s rock (MT662.5 .D7 v. 6). Each book comes with a CDs for all the songs, each one with a drum demonstration and separate backing track. Some CDs have as a special feature that you can adjust the tempo when playing them on a computer.

So go show 'em what you (and Berklee) got. You could win lots of cool percussion gear and some bragging rights.

New Historic Box Set: Black Europe

We are very excited about a new addition to the library's collection, Black Europe (CD 36408-36451, ML3488.B53 2013 v. 1 and v. 2).

Subtitled The Sounds and Images of Black People in Europe pre-1927, the comprehensive box set includes 44 discs and two 300-page books.

The full description from Bear Family, the record company that released it is here, but it starts with:

• Hear the first recordings of Josephine Baker, the roots of European Swing and Jazz bands, and the subversive religious discs of Fela Kuti’s grandfather!
• Follow the lives of musicians, dancers and entertainers across Europe and marvel at their amazing stories!
• Discover audio documents, recording protocols and unseen treasures from years of research!

Or watch the promotional video:

End-of-Semester Blocks

All materials checked out by students or alumni are due Wednesday, December 18. Any student or alumnus with overdue materials or excessive fines may be subject to a bursar block, which will prevent them from receiving their diploma or checking in for upcoming semesters as well as restrictions on library privileges.

Please see a library professional staff member if you have any questions.

RIP Jim Hall

Revered jazz guitarist Jim Hall died December 10 at the age of 83.

As the National Endowment for the Arts noted in naming him a Jazz Master in 2004:

Jazz guitarist Jim Hall's technique has been called subtle, his sound mellow, and his compositions understated; yet his recording and playing history was anything but modest. He recorded with artists ranging from Bill Evans to Itzhak Perlman and performed alongside most of the jazz greats of the 20th century. The first of the modern jazz guitarists to receive an NEA Jazz Masters award, his prowess on the instrument put him in the company of Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, and Django Reinhardt.

NPR Jazz's A Blog Supreme has a full obituary:

Remembering Jim Hall, A Different Sort Of Guitar God

A few highlights from his works in our collection:

•  Jim Hall Live! (CD 22994) Grove Music Online calls it "an example of his most fertile work."
• The Bridge, Sonny Rollins (CD 2685) From the NEA: "The interplay between Rollins' fiery solos and Hall's classic guitar runs make this one of jazz's most essential recordings."
• Jim Hall Jazz Guitar Master Class: Principles of Improvisation (LVD 475)
• Exploring Jazz Guitar (MT580 .H27 1990)
• Jazz Guitar Environments: Jim Plays 5 of His Unique Compositions, Fully Transcribed (MP126 .H355 J5 1994)

Inspiration for the Coen Brothers' Folk-Themed Film

Joel and Ethan Coen's new movie about the Greenwich Village folk scene of the early 1960s, Inside Llewyn Davis, is loosely based on the life of Dave Van Ronk. The New York Times has an article about the connections:

For a Village Troubadour, a Late Encore: The Singer Who Inspired Coen Brothers’ New Film

The library has the source material, Van Ronk's memoir written with Elijah Wald, The Mayor of MacDougal Street (ML420.V37 M3 2005).

We also have CDs by Van Ronk, including Inside Dave Van Ronk (CD 11978), that inspired the Coen brothers' movie title, and two method books on fingerstyle guitar.