Book Review: Welcome to Harmonyville 01625 by Jon Damian

Jon Damian is a unique creative soul.

Even before I met Jon, I was influenced by his book, The Guitarist’s Guide to Composing and Improvising… that book inspired my song “Girl In The Faded Photograph” in my first album, “Acoustic Gestures”.

Later on when I was in Berklee, I studied with Jon in both his Creative Workshop & I also took private lessons with Jon.

This book from Jon Damian is a reflection of his personality. From his sense of humor to his amazing command of music theory & harmony and even his visual aesthetics. Jon wrote and illustrated this beautiful book… and it really comes across as a love letter to music & musicians.

According to Jon’s website:

Harmonyville is a generally good natured town whose residents are chord symbols, infused with life from Jon Damian’s illustrations and narrative. Gino and Dee seem like a perfect couple. But as the story unfolds, they have their ups and downs. Their lives are intertwined with a bevy of entertaining characters who bring humor, drama, romance, and intrigue into the scenes of this comedic play.

There’s so much to unpack but I’m gonna just share some of the main impressions I got from the book.

1. There are a lot of funny jokes that come across if you know chords & music theory
2. The story that drives the book is an amazing way to propel the forward motion of the book
3. The characters – wow… so interesting
4. The art is quirky and endearing

By the way, I also heard that Jon’s working on a sequel to this one. That should be fun too!

In conclusion, if you play music or love music, you probably might like this book. It’s certainly unique and is a great one to read, reread and enjoy. It feels like if Alice in Wonderland was morphed into a music book.

Pros: A fun book with many twists and turns, musical jokes and lessons. Beautiful written and illustrated by Jon.
Cons: None.
TLDR: A unique book that is educational, humorous and filled with fun and puns.

You can buy this book directly from Jon here: https://www.jondamian.com/products/welcome-to-harmonyville

[Submissions for Review Consideration]

• Are you an author who wrote a jazz, guitar or music book?
• Have you created a DVD or an online video course or subscription based website?
• Would you like me to review your book/course?

Please send me a message at azsamad3 at gmail.com with:

For courses: a link to the course/video/product + access info etc.
For books: a link to the book (Dropbox) or PDF attachment (if it’s small) for review consideration.

Depending on whether I dig the book/course, I’ll let you know if I do plan to review it!

I cannot guarantee a review for every submission & if I’m not too into it, I may opt not to review it. I mean, it’s better to get a good review that for me to write a bad review just because it’s not a match for the kind of stuff I dig right? :p

NOTE: All reviews reflect my honest personal opinion so be aware that I will point out both cool Pros and Cons that I see in the work. You dig?