The Van Rijn Method: The Technic Civilization Saga #1 (Technic Civilization Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)Anderson is one of the grand masters of the field, and these adventures -- carefully thought-out, with solid worldbuilding and scientific speculation, plus great characters and wonderful action -- are classics. If you want to know science fiction, you should read these. And if you want to have a great time... then read them for that, too.

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When the human race spread out among the stars, they took the profit motive with them, and none exemplified that fact better than Nicholas Van Rijn, interstellar trader and capitalist extraordinaire. He might look like Falstaff and talk in a steady stream of malapropisms, but anybody who might take him for a bumbling buffoon would quickly find themselves taken—to the cleaners! In Nick Van Rijn, Poul Anderson created one of the most memorable and popular characters in science fiction, and now, for the first time, all the stories of Van Rijn and the Polesotechnic League will be published in chronological order in three volumes. Also included are more stories of Van Rijn flamboyant exploits, plus stories set elsewhere in the Polesotechnic universe. And, after the three volumes chronicling the Polesotechnic League's rise and fall will come more volumes, telling of the rise of the Terran Empire and the adventures of Poul Anderson's other legendary character, Captain Sir Dominic Flandry.

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Alfred's Basic Piano Course: Technic Book Complete Levels 2 & 3 for the Later Beginner (Alfred's Basic Piano Library) Review

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(More customer reviews)This product is new and was rushed to me much quicker than I had thought it would be.
Thanks Amazon!

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The Technic Books provide reading and rhythm drills and exercises perfectly paced with each Lesson Book in "Alfred's Basic Piano Library" to improve musicianship and develop coordination of the hands.

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Alfred's Basic Piano Prep Course Technic (Alfred's Basic Piano Library) Review

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(More customer reviews)My youngest child began piano lessons at four and had difficulty with the hand me down Alfred's book 1A. The piano teacher purchased this series since it was geared towards younger children. The technic book is great for the child to warm up for practice, and it helps build finger dexterity for young children. The rhythms are easy and help the child work on counting and tempo. This is a great book to compliment the prep course series. Four for three is excellent! Helps make all the instrument lesson books I purchase more affordable. This level (c) is equivalent to book 1B in the other Alfred series for children. The pages are arranged differently (song extends to the page on the right), geared toward younger children due to illustrations, and much simpler explanation of musical concepts; music level is the same. My now six year old still prefers this series. I enjoy listening to the finger power series my other children use over this one for warm up, however this book is a simple, solid technique book for young children.

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Technical exercises and warm-ups carefully prepared to fit precisely with materials presented in the Lesson Books. Each exercise is coordinated page-by-page with the Prep Course Lesson Books.

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The LEGO Technic Idea Book: Wheeled Wonders Review

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(More customer reviews)There are hundreds of models in these books and, unless you've got a massive storehouse of LEGO Technic parts in your 10,000 square foot basement, you may not have all of the parts you need in order to build a particular model.
We want to help you find those parts. To that end, Yoshihito Isogawa has prepared a hyperlinked list of the more unique parts in the books to help you to find them at the Bricklink website. We can't post a direct link to that list here, but here's how to find it on our website:
(1) Go to the main No Starch Press website
(2) Search for the word "technic"
(3) Click the first search item that comes up ("LEGO Technic Idea Book Complete Set")
(4) When you reach that page, click the link that says "See the parts list for the books," which you'll see just underneath the red text that says "Buy the whole set and save . . ."
or, if you can read between the lines, try:
nostarch dot com /technic
Please remember that these are idea books; buying these books is not like buying a pre-packaged LEGO set. As such, you're encouraged to explore and invent with LEGO. Many of our readers draw considerable inspiration from the pictures of Isogawa's models alone and I hope that you will, too.
Sincerely,
William Pollock, Founder
No Starch Press

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Each project uses color-coded pieces and is photographed from multiple angles, making it easy to see how the models are assembled without the need for step-by-step instructions. Every model illustrates a different principle, concept, or mechanism that will inspire your own original creations. You're encouraged to use these elements as building blocks to create your own masterpieces.

The Technic models in Wheeled Wonders spin or move things, drag race, haul heavy gear, bump off walls, wind up and go, and much more. You'll discover how to build differential gears, implement steering and suspension, and design clutch and transmission systems to use in your own vehicles.

This visual guide, the second in the three-volume LEGO Technic Idea Bookseries, is the brainchild of master builder Yoshihito Isogawa of Tokyo, Japan. Each title is filled with photos of Isogawa's unique models, all of which are designed to fire the imaginations of LEGO builders young and old.

Imagine. Create. Invent. Now, what will you build?

NOTE: The LEGO Technic Idea Book series uses parts from various Technic sets. If you don't have some of the pieces shown in a particular model, experiment by substituting your own parts or visit the No Starch Press website (nostarch.com) for a list of the special parts used in the book.

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Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic Review

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(More customer reviews)Mr. Vennard was the head of the voice department at USC. His book is fascinating reading for singers interested in understanding their vocal instruments, but it is essential study for voice teachers.
Voice teachers necessarily employ metaphor in teaching because so much of the human voice is controlled unconsciously. But such metaphors should be grounded in the facts of reality - in the known sciences that apply to vocal production. For instance, when a teacher tells a student, `don't swallow your tone', and is met only with a look of blank stupor, that teacher needs to be able to start talking facts instead of fantasy.
Mr. Vennard demystifies the metaphors. He systematically anchors the art of the teacher to the known sciences of tone, timbre and resonance, and especially to the physiognomy of the larynx, the breathing muscles, and the upper respiratory tract. After covering the basics, he includes extensive discussions of vowel and consonant production, as well as a number of important vocal exercises. He closes with a brief discussion of the technique of messa di voce. I say it is brief, but it is really the ultimate subject of the entire book.
Messa di voce is an ancient vocal exercise done on one note and on one breath: a long crescendo followed by a long diminuendo. But this simple exercise involves a fantastically complex coordination of muscles, and, while the student need not understand more than a tenth of the science behind it, his teacher should understand as much as possible.
Many teachers of singing, and perhaps most of them, do not feel the need for such tools as are available in Mr. Vennard's book, but I believe the best teachers do.

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By William Vennard. For Voice. This edition: Revised (4th) Edition, Greatly Enlarged. Text. Standard notation. 275 pages. Published by Carl Fischer (CF.O4685).Contents1. Acoustics 2. Breathing 3. Attack 4. Registration 5. Resonance 6. Vowels 7. Articulation 8. Coordination Bibliography Thesaurus Index

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The LEGO Technic Idea Book: Fantastic Contraptions Review

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(More customer reviews)I had gotten this book a year ago from a Japanese publisher and am happy to see it translated.
Funny thing is, this book didn't need much translating at all. Besides the introduction and bylines, everything else is visual. And that's the magic of this book. This is the last of the trilogy of LEGO Technic Idea books, so while it brushes on the techniques of the previous two books, it quickly goes into building working machines.
The models shown have been built with colorful parts which show how the assembly is done without instructions, so this is a guidebook and reference for old and new builders to make their models move. The overall design of the magazine is clean, only showing the models. No notes are shown, nor are they needed - there are a set of graphics that are diagrams of the movement of a model, but the photos are clear enough on their own without any further description.
The very raw builds also open up the reader to use and adapt the models inside to their creations - want to make a moving spider? Look it up in the contents, and build and then add your building to it. In that respect, the book lives up to its title as an idea book.
Looking through the book will be instructional to the older builder and inspirational to the newer builders. As a reference, this will be a useful book to people using the LEGO MINDSTORMS systems to develop robots.
I recommend the book to anyone who has a pile of Technic pieces and is wondering: What can I build? With this book, you'll be very surprised.

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Each project uses color-coded pieces and is photographed from multiple angles, making it easy to see how the models are assembled without the need for step-by-step instructions. Every model illustrates a different principle, concept, or mechanism that will inspire your own original creations. You're encouraged to use these elements as building blocks to create your own masterpieces.

The Technic models in Fantastic Contraptions include working catapults, crawling spiders, and bipedal walkers, as well as gadgets powered by fans, propellers, springs, magnets, and vibration. You'll even learn how to add lights, pneumatics, and solar panels to your own models.

This visual guide, the third in the three-volume LEGO Technic Idea Book series, is the brainchild of master builder Yoshihito Isogawa of Tokyo, Japan. Each title is filled with photos of Isogawa's unique models, all of which are designed to fire the imaginations of LEGO builders young and old.

Imagine. Create. Invent. Now, what will you build?

NOTE: The LEGO Technic Idea Book series uses parts from various Technic sets. If you don't have some of the pieces shown in a particular model, experiment by substituting your own parts or visit the No Starch Press website (nostarch.com) for a list of the special parts used in the book.

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Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Technic Book Level 1B Review

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(More customer reviews)I would call myself a beginner piano teacher, as I play the piano myself but have had no instruction as to how to teach others to play. I now have four beginner students, whom I have been teaching for a little over a year.
I love the Alfred method. The four books: technic, lesson, solo/recital, and theory all seem to really work well together. The songs coordinate with each other, so for each new concept taught in the lesson books, the student has a warm-up, a solo piece, and some theory work to back it up. I find this to be very effective. It gives the students a chance to see several examples of each concept, and practice each new concept in different ways until they achieve perfection with it. It also really walks the teacher through each concept very clearly, giving definitions for musical terms and clear instructions for which songs go together. I feel like the order in which concepts are taught also makes a lot of sense.
Overall, it's a good method for a teacher who doesn't know a whole lot about HOW to teach another person to play the piano!
I currently have some of my students on this level (1B), and others on the Prep Course levels. I love how all of the different levels are interchangeable, so gifted students can advance more quickly, and students who need a little extra reinforcement can stay on the lower levels. The map for how this all works is on the back of all of the books, which you can see on the book preview. So many great things about Alfred!

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The Technic Books provide reading and rhythm drills and exercises perfectly paced with each Lesson Book in Alfred's Basic Piano Library to improve musicianship and develop coordination of the hands.

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