4 comments about Suzuki Violin School, Violin Part, Volume 2 (Suzuki Violin School, Violin Part).

1. thirty five days passed, and i have not get the cd yet, how can i review it?!



2. Violin teacher recommended book after finishing Vol. 1. It is clear and concise.



3. This book is an excellent teaching book for anyone!
   Here are the songs: Chorus from "Judas Maccabaeus" by G.F. Handel, Musette by J.S. Bach, Hunters' Chorus by C.M. von Weber, Long, Long Ago, by T.H. Bayly, Waltz by J. Brahms, Bourree by G.F. Handel, The Two Grenadiers by R. Schumann, Theme from "Witches' Dance" by N. Paganini, Gavotte from "Mignon" by A. Thomas, Gavotte by J.B. Lully, Minuet in G by L. van Beethoven, and Minuet by L. Boccherini.
   
   I've only played a couple songs so far, and they are beautiful. I like the Suzuki method because each book gives you a solid foundation and a little taste for the next book to come. I have this CD that comes with it, and the songs are WAY too fast for me to play along with. Also, the book gives you fingerings above most notes, which is a little drawback.
   
   The bottomline is that the Suzuki series is excellent and I would recommend it anyone beginning the violin! :D



4. I grew up learning the Suzuki method and believe in it 100%. This should really be learned with an instructor versus being self-taught. Suzuki method is also a philosophy - look for the book by Suzuki himself explaining this. My violin teacher made all her students' parents read this when we started lessons.
   
   This collection of songs not only is a good collection to learn various techniques on the violin, but I still have fun years later playing them over and over.

5 comments about Pride and Prejudice: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack.

1. Every pianist should learn these timeless, fantastic scores. Usable for any situation up to and including weddings, recitals, etc. Such soothing music.



2. The sheet music is incredibly well transcribed and is very complete. I do wish it had ALL of the songs that are on the CD, but the book is still definitely worth the price!



3. This version of the sheet music is more advanced than an earlier version that I purchased. It is clearly more difficult to play, but not so difficult that with a little work it can't be accomplished. And the results are worth it .... more harmonically rich and interesting.



4. This is a great piano book for being a movie title. Its very playable and most of the pieces are fun and recognizable. I was hoping for a bit more period music to play, but this is just a movie soundtrack. Still it was a good investment of my time.



5. The soundtrack was very clear and precise to the movie. Some of the songs were repeated but the music was beautiful.

No comments about Pink Floyd: The Black Strat: A History of David Gilmour's Black Fender Stratocaster.

5 comments about Blues You Can Use (Blues You Can Use).

1. I have been very impressed with this book. I am a novice guitarist, but with 30 years experience as a pianist and a degree in music education, I am not your average beginner. So I can tell you this isn't a book for beginners, but you don't have to be very far along to benefit from it.
   My teacher, a friend from music school, was teaching me to play blues guitar, and I bought this book just to check it out. He was thrilled to find a book that uses the same method he has been teaching the blues for 20 years, but with the added benefit of some good songs to play. We immediately incorporated it into my lessons.
   The structure of the book includes short lessons including scales and chord progressions, followed by some nifty little blues numbers you can play to illustrate those concepts. The book takes you through each skill and concept step by step, and is really fun to play. If I had one suggestion to make, it would be to include backing tracks in addition to the demo tracks for all of the songs on the CD, so that you could play them by yourself instead of just with the recorded version. Otherwise, this is a terrific method and a lot of fun.
   I will defintely buy more of the books in this series.



2. This book is not really a beginner's book. Some of the licks require a dexterity level beyond what a beginner would be expected to do. This is one of the few books with a method presented in a logical format as opposed to a caffeteria style approach leaving you asking questions. For the most benefit, you should do the following:
   
   1. Get this book as well as the "more Blues You Can Use".
   2. Also get "Complete Rhythm Guitar Guide for Blues Bands" by Larry McCabe.
   3. Listen to the Rolling Stones' Beggar's Banquet and Exile on Main Street CDs.
   4. Listen to Kenny Burell's "Midnight Blue" CD over and over.



3. This is a nice introduction to blues guitar. With a good combination of theory and practice, each lesson builds on the previous material. The one confusing thing I've found so far is the fact that the author will introduce some chord forms for a given lesson, then in the practice exercise, a completely unknown chord form will appear. It isn't that the "new" chord is wrong - it just hasn't been covered in the lesson. Guess that keeps you on your toes, tho. The CD has some really nice "studies" that you can play along with. Bottom line - after about 4 weeks, I've gotten through the first four lessons and I'm having more fun with my guitar than ever. Your mileage may vary.



4. I found this book to be great for learning general techniques for playing the Blues. The book starts out with some simple riffs and graduates into more challenging routines while introducing new concepts used by the Blues masters such as progressions, bending, use of the Blues pentatonic scale, etc.



5. I am 61 years old and finally I can play lead (any key) over entire neck after going thru this book and taking time on each lesson to fully understand it. I have taken private Jazz lessons for a year before but something was missing. This book made it clear,I now see lead patterns when i hit a chord and can jump anyplace on neck and still be playing lead in the right key.

5 comments about John W. Schaum Piano Course: Pre-A : The Green Book.

1. I purchased this book for a student who was new to the piano and just beginning lessons. She is a month into it now and is excelling, which I believe can be attributed to the excellent style of this book. It eases beginning students into first knowing the proper hand position, then learning note names, and finally learning to read music on the staff. I especially appreciated that the first few "songs" in the book were repetitive finger exercises, yet still helped the student feel as if she was playing music right away. I will be happy to continue using this series.



2. I have used this book for about 5 yrs now and I love it. It is set up the way I like to teach. The child starts playing the piano the first lesson. The discount on buying 3 and getting 1 free was great and the delivery was good. Thank you!



3. I learned from these books, along with the Thompson series. I have been teaching piano now for nearly 30 yrs. and have tried many other series, always coming back to the Schaum books. I find them to teach everything needed, having complete sets of workbooks as well as the lesson books and technic books. They move at the correct rate with songs my pupils enjoy overall. Other series I have tried or pupils have come with have been more frustrating- trying to move too fast for the students to learn well. The old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it" works here. These worked years ago and they still do. Sometimes "new" isn't necessarily better.



4. I recently got a piano, and since I haven't played in 30 years, decided to start over with these books I used as a kid. They are just as good as I remember!



5. I recently got a piano, and since I haven't played in 30 years, decided to start over with these books I used as a kid. They are just as good as I remember!

5 comments about A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano.

1. I've read at least 5 books on Glenn Gould. I still believe the best biography on Gould came from Otto Friedrich called A life in Variations. I've also read Ostwald's The Ecstacy and Tragedy of Genius, Bazzana's account entitled Wondrous Strange, Andrew Kazdin's Glenn Gould at Work, "Creative Lying", and Rhona Bergman's "The Idea of Gould".
   
   "Romance on Three Legs", takes a different angle in that if focuses primarily on the Piano. I skipped pieces of earlier chapters that had stories in part from the other books and areas that were overused in my opinion since Friedrich published his book. I was more focused on how Gould came to find and treasure CD-318 (Steinway). This is the piano that carried most of his recording career. Hafner does a good job regarding the damage episode that occurred to this Piano and Gould's obsession to get it back to it's former glory which never quite happened. I was most interested in this part of the book as well. Gould sued Steinway years before, due to a worker who allegedly gave him too hard of a handshake. Because of this, Steinway probably gave him lesser than usual service on his behalf. This is also covered.
   
   On the subject of Gould, Hafner does no more than the other authors in my opinion. She covers the same stories, anecdotes. She does cover a bit more on Gould's relationship with a married man's wife, Cornelia Foss. This book is still noteworthy. I'd also recommend "A Life in Variations" and Andrew Kazdin's Book, Glenn Gould at work. Kazdin is brutally honest about the working relationship he had with Gould and also covers an area regarding the damage of CD-318. Hafner does give us much more detail and more account from Verne Edquist, Gould's primary piano tuner and function tweaker. This alone gives the book a bit more credibility in my opinion.



2. This book was my first introduction to Glenn Gould, other than a vague familiarity with the name. Hafner's book made me interested in hearing his recordings, now that I have some insight into the musician as well as the character. I enjoyed it as a story, and as a chance to learn far more about the piano as an instrument. Since my wife is a pianist with a couple of 90+ year-old Steinways, I'm finally getting what's involved in rebuilding one of these.
   
   You don't have to be a Gould aficionado to enjoy this read.



3. Katie Hafner has woven a wonderfully engrossing and engaging story from real life. She makes it seem as if the fates set the lives of a great artist, superb artisans and a masterful technician on an inevitable course of music nirvana. If you love any or all aspects of music - composers and their compositions, players, instrument makers and craftspeople- you can't help but be taken in by this gem of a book.



4. You might think of esteemed pianist Glenn Gould as brilliant but eccentric, but wait until you read about his piano. _A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano_ (Bloomsbury) by Katie Hafner is about the three-legged instrument of Gould's passion, but it also is about a working triad: Gould, his piano, and the tuner who enabled the other two to get along. If you are a Gould fan, this volume can take an esteemed place among the biographies you have already read; it covers Gould's life, but mostly in regard to the instruments he used. The beauty of the book, though, is in those other two parts of the triad. It is quite amazing to read about how pianos get made and how their own personalities affect those who perform on them. It is also great fun to read about an artist in his own right, Verne Edquist, the tuner who was more than just a technician but functioned as an ambassador between the pianist and the piano. Hafner's beautifully balanced and richly detailed book will be good reading even if you don't know much about Gould; it's a pretty sure bet you don't know much about the fascinating world of tuners and pianos she covers here.
   
   Gould was particular about his pianos, needing far more than a standard fine piano. He had a Chickering to practice upon at home, a small grand piano made in 1895. Its keyboard action, its touch, was perfect for him, but he could never perform a concert on it because it was too small and it had a banjo-like twang. It is Steinway CD 318 to which this book is devoted. CD 318 improbably came to birth during the years of World War II, when the Steinway firm's main products had been preempted by the war effort. Verne Edquist was a tuner working for a department store that housed CD318. He was born in 1931, one year before Gould, and had congenital cataracts which rendered him nearly blind, and he went into tuning as one of the traditional trades for blind people. Gould was impressed with the characteristics of CD 318 when he found it, pretty much abandoned at the department store, and he was delighted that Edquist was just as impressed with it. There were other tuners who worked on the piano if Gould was on the road, but the partnership with Edquist was just what Gould needed to continue his astonishing star turn, even after he had soured on public performances and begun concentrating only on recordings. His beloved piano (it was he who called it "a romance on three legs") had everything he needed, just the right touch and just the right sound, as long as Edquist could maintain it. CD 318 is so much a character of this book that it is sad, nay, tragic, that while it was being moved in 1971 it was dropped, giving it wounds from which it could never recover. Gould could not turn his back on his piano, though, and he and Edquist worked on making it playable, although it could no longer meet his standards. It is touching that upon trying the refurbished piano for the first time, he moaned, "This is not my piano. What has happened to my piano? I cannot play it; I cannot use it." He persevered to try to use his wounded instrument, and made recordings on it, but it could not perform the way it had. He had not encountered it when he made his first epochal recording of the _Goldberg Variations_, and when he went back for a second celebrated recording in 1981, CD 318 wasn't an option.
   
   There are plenty of strange stories here about one of the most peculiar and accomplished musicians who ever lived, and some of them have turned up since Kevin Bazzana's terrific biography of Gould, _Wondrous Strange_. The lovely emphasis here, however, is on the triad of pianist, piano, and tuner, making this book a unique three-way biography. When Gould had to go on to other pianos made by Yamaha, he didn't need Edquist as much, and the two drifted apart without any schism; it is a tribute to Edquist's professionalism that he could work for the eccentric genius as long as he did. Gould died in 1982, only fifty. Edquist was called in to help install CD 318 in its permanent home at the National Library, and Gould's estate had stipulated that it can be tuned but cannot otherwise be modified; it is available to visiting performers. A fitting end to this story is that Gould's performance of Bach's _Prelude and Fugue in C_, recorded on CD 318 tuned by Edquist, is part of the recording sent on Voyager 1 in 1997 to the outer reaches of space. "When I heard that," said Edquist, "it was like a dream. There's Bach writing the music, Glenn is playing the music, and it's my tuning that's giving it voice. And it's going somewhere in outer space." Maybe millions of years from now, alien listeners will be amazed at the music; listeners on Earth will enjoy the music all the more after gaining the insights within this delightful book.



5. Great book for anyone interested in Glenn Gould, music in general, pianos or if you are a piano technician.

5 comments about Play Piano in a Flash! Play Your Favorite Songs Like a Pro--Whether You've Had Lessons or Not!.

1. This is not an instructional book at all. It can be summarized very briefly. Play chords with the left hand, and melodies on the right. DUH! The author doesn't care how you do it, just do it! Just don't contort your hands! This is more of a motivational book but with nothing to support it, unless you count the author's numerous marketing links to his own products.



2. This book is helpful and concise. I don't have a lot of spare time to learn a new instrument and this book does save time. I was a bit disappointed that almost half the book is chord charts rather than (sheet)music. Since the book is not spiral bound, I am afraid to cut out he chord charts, as I fear the binding would fail. This makes the chord charts virtually useless. Additionally, it would have been nice if the author had included some practice music longer than eight bars. It made me feel like he is overly concerned that I also buy his fake book, rather than learn the piano. His teaching approach makes this book fun, easy, and effective. 3.5 stars ... could have easily been 5 with more "meat."



3. Forget playing classical music on the world stage. How about any kind of gig? Pop, rock, jazz, polkas. Or do you want to doodle in your own home.
   
   Should you take classical music if you don't want to play classical music? It really isn't necessary. But the book's premise that everything classical music teaches you is inappropriate for non-classical music is BS. The understanding of the music system and technique that classical gives you works across all other genres of music. Most gigging keyboard players (not just classical) have at least some classical background and it serves to make them better. I am one of them.
   
   Does this book teach you anything? Very little. It's mostly hype designed for folks who want the easy way out. Whatever method you decide you want to study, it takes time and work and perseverance if you are going to be any good.
   
   And this "method" won't help you much.



4. This book will give you everything you need to get started playing the piano. The book is a very easy read with concise, right to the point instructions and doesn't offer you anything but the basics, hammering home the key points.
   
   You should find that (assuming you have at least some basic knowledge of music) that you will be able to play a few recognizable songs within a matter of days! I am not saying you will play them like a seasoned pro, but you will play them in a way that would impress your friends or family and will prompt them to ask, 'when did you start taking lessons?'
   
   I love how Scott just dives right in and gives you what you need to know to play right away. The book is short and sweet and offers just enough content.
   
   I also purchased his fake book and the first song I started working on was "Hey Jude". The music notation is in the key of C (from what I understand the easiest key to play) and I would say after a few hours I could play it somewhat decently. After a week, I had it nailed. Not just a riff or two, but the whole song atart to finish! I was blown away by my progress and look forward to learning more and more songs.
   
   For roughly $10 you can't go wrong with this book. Just be sure and keep an open mind when you read it and please don't listen to piano snobs who will tell you 'oh this is just shortcuts and nonsense'. They are just jealous that they spend thousands of dollars on lessons and probably wish they learned piano in this manner to begin with.
   
   Highly recommended.



5. Seriously, thank God this book didn't cost me much; it is just a waste of space.

5 comments about George Winston Piano Solos (Piano Solo).

1. I've loved me some GW for a long time. I've got two teenagers that asked for this book of sheet music for Christmas, and santa came through. I might have guessed that this music would be too tough for them to play, but both of them are playing their favorite pieces and sounding great. They told me that it's not as hard to play as you might think just listening to George play.
   
   Very highly recommended by me (and my kids as well).



2. I am enjoying sitting back and listening to my husband play all my favorite pieces from this book.



3. All the transcriptions have some errors if you read them and listen to the recording at the same time. Therefore, I only use the book to learn the basic melody of a song(eg Kanon) then I learn the song by listening to the recording. I've found that if you try to learn a song in this book note for note from the transcription, it is very difficult and there are bound to be several errors in transcription along the way which would throw you off. But all and all, it is a very good and helpful book. I would recommend it to anyone trying to learn GW.



4. As some reviewers wrote, some transcriptions are not same as the recording. Regardless, this book is very enjoyable. Who doesn't enjoy playing George Winston's beautiful music? I think any player can enjoy this book because it is not very hard technically. I would have been even much happier if this book had included more blues, like "Miles City Train".



5. Wonderfully transcribed music to sound just like George Winston's pieces. I love this book! Not too difficult.

5 comments about Piano for Dummies.

1. Easy to understand - even for someone with no musical talent or experience. Great place to start.



2. It's very easy to learn piano with the this book and it's really funny. You learn without the stress of a regular "learning manual".



3. This is an excellent book for teaching yourself piano. All the reviewers who slam this book for corny humor can go jump in a lake. There are plenty of serious music books that just shovel out the facts in a dry manner, so if that is what you want, fine, no reason to get uptight about a book that trys to use a more human touch. I want to also make it clear that the book does not tell jokes per say, so you dont have to read through long groaners to get to the material. The author simply interjects personal examples. Its a technique that is used in all the dummies books, if you dont like it, dont read dummies books.



4. I like this book, well organized and easy to follow instructions. Easy to read to. Basic concepts are covered with some expanded details. Definitely recommend to other for its well written.



5. It was my first "for dummies" book and most probably the last. The book is big and empty; the author should have used at most 50 pages. The CD contains short musical clips that you've probably heard before or you can download for free. I gave it two stars because the book actually helps a small tiny bit contrary to its size.
   
   I recommend instead "Alfred's Group Piano for Adults" it's much better but I'm not sure if it's the best one out there.

5 comments about Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course : Lesson Book, Level Two.

1. The book was in great shape, the price was right and the delivery was quick.



2. this book and john thompson's modern piano book are the only beginning adult instruction books that I could find



3. I used these in piano class, my dad used these 50 years ago, my grandmother is using them to teach herself now. Great for everyone and always a classic.



4. I took piano lessions years ago {now 64} i wished to start back so i bought a keyboard. Looking at Amazon for some lession books I came across these three volumes by Alfreds and decided to buy. Very glad I did. If you stick with it and practice, you will do well and teach yourself how to play some good music. My wife got interested and now she is playing. You will love the progress of the lessions and will learn much. One more thing these lessions are for real, not the right-hand, one-hand like some, these books {three} are for the serious person who wants to learn music and play well. You won't go wrong and you CAN do it all by yourself. Michael Beck florence, Alabama.



5. Seemed like a great book. I bought it around the same time as a motorcycle. Unfortunately, I was moving along nicely in the book and getting the hang of things when later that month I lost control of my motorcycle, drove into a drainage ditch, flew over a driveway, and hit a retaining wall. Then with a broken arm, amongst some memory loss, I didn't pick it back up.