One of the things we have never been able to do is learn how to play an instrument. Music teachers tried to teach us the recorder; because we were tall, they tried to interest us in playing the bass. Nothing stuck! But our lack of musical training should not affect our blogging! We enlisted the help of some of our customers to put together a list of recommended music instruction books, primarily for guitar.

We'd also like to mention that, in addition to these specific titles, we do offer a wide range of more generic titles - Complete Idiot's Guides, For Dummies, and Play ___ Today!, for instance.

Are there any music instruction books from the library catalog you'd like to recommend? Let us know in the comments!

Radiohead: A Step-By-Step Breakdown of the Band's Guitar Styles and Techniques by Chad Johnson

Play Like Eric Clapton: The Ultimate Guitar Lesson by Chad Johnson

Blues Guitar Technique: In the Style of B.B. King, Albert Collins, T-Bone Walker and Other Blues Guitar Masters by Michael Williams

Flamenco Guitar Method For Beginners by Anita Sheer and Harry Berlow

Ultimate Guitar Chord Decoder: The Most Essential Chords for All Guitar Styles by Joe Charupakorn

The Ukulele Handbook by Gavin Pretor-Pinney & Tom Hodgkinson

Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd with music arrangements by Matt Cowe

Ukulele Aerobics by Chad Johnson

First Pieces For Classical Guitar: 45 Easy Solo Pieces compiled and edited by Mark Phillips

Acoustic Artistry: Tapping, Slapping, and Percussion Techniques For Classical & Fingerstyle Guitar by Evan Hirschelman

Keola Beamer Teaches Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar: Fingerstyle Arrangements and Techniques.by Keola Beamer

How to Play the 5-String Banjo: A Manual For Beginners by Peter Seeger

Summertime...and the living is easy.
~George Gershwin

The seeds of creativity live in everyone. Some individuals are fortunate that their sprouting imagination was nurtured and grown into strong creative thinking abilities...Creative people invent, imagine, problem-solve, create, and communicate in fresh, new ways... Those with the ability to "think outside of the box" will lead the future and make special things happen.
~"Importance of Creativity" from Crayola.com

What are you doing to unwind this summer? Well, you might be doing extra reading to take part in our Summer Reading Program, or taking a trip somewhere, or taking part in outdoor activities (Zoo Music? Farmers' Market? Summerfest? Isotopes? Check out the City of Albuquerque's Summer page for more). But if you are at a loose end, and looking for something a little different, why not try taking up art? Whether you are a newbie or someone looking to hone your drawing or painting skills, the library catalog is chock-full of suggestions of how to get more creative!

Drawing and Painting Beautiful Faces: A Mixed-Media Portrait Workshop by Jane Davenport

Advanced Airbrush Art: How To Secrets From the Masters by Timothy Remus

Mixed Media Portraits: Techniques for Drawing and Painting Faces by Pam Carriker

Daily Painting: Paint Small and Often to Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Artist by Carol Marine

Painting Brilliant Skies and Water in Pastel by Liz Haywood-Sullivan

Joy of Zentangle: Drawing Your Way to Increased Creativity, Focus, and Well-Being by Suzanne McNeill et al.

20 Ways to Draw a Tree: And 44 Other Nifty Things From Nature - A Sketchbook for Artists, Designers, and Doodlers by Eloise Renouf

The Art of Urban Sketching: Drawing On Location Aroundthe World by Gabriel Campanario

The Wrinklies' Guide to Drawing: New Pursuits For Old Hands by Richard Pomfret

Fast Sketching Techniques: Capture theFundamental Essence of Elusive Subjects by David Rankin [eBook]

One Drawing a Day: A 6-Week Course Exploring Creativity with Illustration and Mixed Media by Veronica Lawlor [eBook]