First, a new online music journal, Radical Musicology. Unlike many other journals, RM provides a blog for discussion of the articles, an update on the email list that talks about Music Theory Online articles. The first volume of RM looks interesting, if beyond my area of expertise. The closest would be Gustavo Azenha's article on the affects of e-commerce on the music industry, something I've blogged about several times.
Second, Dan Brown (no, not that Dan Brown) has written an online book about Bach, entitled, Why Bach? He sent me a password, essentially an Advanced Review Copy of the book, and I've been slowly reading it. Brown uses the online format well, with links to MIDI-produced excerpts and scores peppered throughout the text, and color-coded text describing these examples. As an example, he talks about an embedded appoggiatura within an appoggiatura. In the text, the smaller figure is in red, matching the red bracket of the example, while the larger figure is mentioned in green to match the green bracket of the example. The MIDI examples are sometimes annoying, particularly the faux voice sound for the chorales. But they still help get the point across, with an engaging text intended for "the lay music lover [...] though I'd like to think there are things in it that will interest the expert as well." (from the Foreword) Dan Brown is selling this e-book for $7.95, which can be paid via PayPal. Pop scholarship of music has reached Azenha's internet age.
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