What's it all about?

In the Key of A-Mazing introduces you to the instruments played in orchestras and bands, as well as classical chamber ensembles and solo instruments. It includes images and brief descriptions of instruments in the String, Woodwind, Brass, Percussion, and Keyboard families.

Maybe you are just beginning to think about starting to learn to play an instrument, or maybe you have never played an instrument but want to learn more about them. Musicians study, practice, and train all their lives trying to get better and more precise on their instrument. And you don't have to become a professional musician to reap the benefits, joy, and satisfaction of learning to play.

Having up to 100 musicians playing different instruments in orchestras or bands all working to achieve the sound that’s written in the music, all in perfect coordination, is truly a miracle. Musicians who are all trained at different music schools and by different teachers, all individuals with different backgrounds and ethnicities, coming together with one purpose and fully cooperating with each other. Similar to a school of fish or flight of birds, all moving together and turning together all at the same time.

Sample Pages

About the Author

Richard Kevin Paul, a Virginia native born in 1971, earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Education in 1993 and Master of Music degree in Conducting Performance in 1996. His creative output includes 14 books, over 120 arrangements for brass quintet and brass ensemble, and ten compositions for brass quintet, brass ensemble and concert band. Kevin has served as a middle school Band Director, private brass instructor, and adjunct university music faculty. He has performed as a trumpeter in many bands, orchestras, and chamber ensembles. He is currently Music Director/Conductor of the Toe River Chamber Ensemble in western North Carolina, and performs as a trumpeter with the TRCE Brass Consortium and Biltmore Brass.

He was a brass music publisher for 10 years, starting with nine of his early brass music arrangements. When he sold the small company, its catalog included over 200 publications by 40 composers and arrangers from eight countries. It averaged 29 publications per year with New Music accounting for over 23% of its catalog. Kevin self-published his first book The Complete Guide to Collecting Composer Coins in 2015 ("Extraordinary Merit, 2015 Writers’ Awards" from the Numismatic Literary Guild) and his second book Coins For Kids in 2016. His March of the Chinchillas for young concert band, published by Grand Mesa Music, is featured in the publication Teaching Music Through Performance in Middle School Band (GIA Publications).

Kevin is a member of ASCAP, American Numismatic Association, Numismatic Literary Guild, and Numismatic Bibliomania Society. Kevin lives in North Carolina with his wife Kathleen, sons Noah and Tyler, and their dog Cocoa.