Now is the right time to become an American Federation of Musicians member. From ragtime to rap, from the early phonograph to today's digital recordings, the AFM has been there for its members. And now there are more benefits available to AFM members than ever before, including a multi-million dollar pension fund, excellent contract protection, instrument and travelers insurance, work referral programs and access to licensed booking agents to keep you working.

As an AFM member, you are part of a membership of more than 80,000 musicians. Experience has proven that collective activity on behalf of individuals with similar interests is the most effective way to achieve a goal. The AFM can negotiate agreements and administer contracts, procure valuable benefits and achieve legislative goals. A single musician has no such power.

The AFM has a proud history of managing change rather than being victimized by it. We find strength in adversity, and when the going gets tough, we get creative - all on your behalf.

Like the industry, the AFM is also changing and evolving, and its policies and programs will move in new directions dictated by its members. As a member, you will determine these directions through your interest and involvement. Your membership card will be your key to participation in governing your union, keeping it responsive to your needs and enabling it to serve you better. To become a member now, visit www.afm.org/join.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE AFM

Books-Resources, Products

Blues piano legends

Blues Piano Legends: 16 Note-for-Note Piano Transcriptions from 12 Blues Icons


Blues Piano Legends includes 16 transcriptions with lyrics for tunes that all blues fans should know, including: “Big Chief,” Professor Longhair; “Bloody Murder,” Otis Spann; “Boogie Woogie Stomp,” Albert Ammon




jazz session trainer

Jazz Session Trainer: The Woodshedder’s Practice Kit


In this book Local 6 (San Francisco, CA) member Larry Dunlap, a respected arranger, composer, and teacher, provides a series of tools to prepare musicians for jazz jam sessions.




Violin Secrets: 101 Strategies for the Advanced Violinist


This resource for serious violinists tackles a number of topics, from achieving immaculate intonation to advanced techniques like fingerboard mapping, controlling vibrato, and navigating in high positions. It includes tips from top master classes and conservatories across the country. The book also explores strategies for effective practice, as well as overcoming performance anxiety and winning […]




The Music Never Stops

The Music Never Stops: A Journey into the Music of the Unknown, the Forgotten, the Rich & Famous


Dick Weissman of Local 20-623 (Denver, CO), former member of the folk group The Journeymen, describes what the music scene was like as a rising star in the 1960s.




Opera with a Touch of Jazz

Opera with a Touch of Jazz


In Opera with a Touch of Jazz, arranger Lee Evans adds subtle and tasteful jazz stylings to 18 operatic masterpieces from Cilea, Donizetti, Gluck, Mascagni, Massenet, Puccini, Purcell, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and Verdi. Evans, a 60-plus year member of AFM Local 802 (New York City), says he hopes the book will serves as a motivational tool for piano teachers and students, and introduce the works to a new generation.




Wallflower

Diana Krall Wallflower


This book contains piano, vocals, and guitar arrangements for all of the songs on Diana Krall’s 2015 Wallflower album.




Blues Keyboard Method

Blues Keyboard Method: The Player’s Guide to Authentic Stylings


The ability to play blues piano in an authentic style is a special skill that takes time to learn and develop. Aside from experimenting to find the right groove, feel, timing, chords, voicings, it takes time to learn the licks and how to listen to the other instruments and vocals to effectively complement them.




Woodwind Doubling

Woodwind Doubling for Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute


Woodwind Doubling for Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute, by Edward Joffe is a guide from versatile woodwind artist Edward Joffe of Local 802 (New York City) provides aspiring student and professional players with a clear picture of the discipline of multiple woodwind performance.




Joe Pass 10 Choice Tunes

Hal Leonard’s Jazz Play Along: Joe Pass 10 Choice Tunes


Hal Leonard’s Jazz Play-Along series is the ultimate learning tool for jazz musicians. Joe Pass 10 Choice Tunes for Bb, Eb, C, and bass clef instruments includes lead sheets and play-along CD for improvisation study and performance.




Inside the Mind of a Musician

Inside the Mind of a Musician


Local 802 (New York City) saxophonist Su Terry takes us on a fascinating and humor-filled journey into the mind of a jazz musician in this blog-style book.










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