Dr Ethan Hein Book Recommendations & Book Mentions
This list consists of recommendations or mentions of books spotted in media, social media accounts, podcasts or other public websites.
Dr Ethan Hein on X
PhD in music education; Groove Pizza guy; co-author of Electronic Music School with @willkuhn; adjunct prof at NYU, Montclair State and the New School; he/him

The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African American Literary Criticism
Henry Louis Gates Jr
@AWoodheadMusic @gamesformusic @jbannermusic "Trope" is the word that Henry Louis Gates Jr uses in The Signifying Monkey, for example.
Paperback, 2014
$22.99$11.49 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Jazz Cultures
David Ake
@badabeepmusic David Ake's book Jazz Cultures has a chapter about the way colleges teach John Coltrane that is also on point. TL;DR it's easier to systematize "Giant Steps" than "Spiritual" or "Alabama" so that's what they teach.
Paperback, 2002
$28.95$14.48 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Roots of the Classical: The Popular Origins of Western Music
P. Merwe
I'm taking a look at Roots of the Classical: The Popular Origins of Western Music by Peter Van der Merwe. It's a pageturner!
Hardcover, 2005
$425.00$400.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book(max discount $25)
Foundation
Isaac Asimov
When “Foundation” Gets the Blockbuster Treatment, Isaac Asimov’s Vision Gets Lost | The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/11/08/when-foundation-gets-the-blockbuster-treatment-isaac-asimovs-vision-gets-lost-sci-fi via @instapaper
Paperback, Mass Market, 1991
$10.00$5.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Organized Time: Rhythm, Tonality, and Form
Jason Yust
I'm currently struggling through Jason Yust's Organized Time, which is a heroic effort to bring rhythm back into a Schenkerian framework. I have a ways to go with it, but it seems like an enormous improvement.
Paperback, 2020
$58.00$33.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book(max discount $25)
J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century
Tom Shippey
WenatcheeTheHatchet: HT Alan Jacobs, Tom Shippey has a book out on J R R Tolkien and the difference between him… https://t.co/xu7EkffKDW
Paperback, 2011
$22.99$11.49 + Free shipping50% off your first book
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
David Graeber
@thediscocat It was this guy, I learned about him from David Graeber and @davidwengrow's excellent The Dawn of Everything https://t.co/Ai77ZXVUjY
Paperback, 2023
$25.00$12.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting
Robert McKee
Trapped in Robert McKee’s “Story” | The New Yorker https://t.co/tx5lYppJAW via @instapaper
Hardcover, 1997
$45.00$22.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
The Wandering Earth
Cixin Liu
Started reading The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu last night and it suits the vibe of this week perfectly
Paperback, 2022
$19.99$9.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book
The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and the Rise of the Silicon Valley Oligarchs
Max Chafkin
The Making of Peter Thiel’s Networks: A Review of Max Chafkin’s “The Contrarian” | The New Republic https://t.co/eSUmu9qeJc via @instapaper
Paperback, 2025
$19.00$9.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book