5 comments about Instant Scale and Chord Guide for Keyboards.

1. This is a great book for popular piano. It explains all different kinds of chords without a bunch of difficult theory. If you just want to learn to play from a fake book, get this book and get going! If you want to be a classical pianist, better hire a piano teacher.



2. The scale & chord guide arrived within a week in great condition. Exactly as advertised, ordered, and expected.



3. It's a complete book of chords. I'll be using it forever and as long as I play piano I'll need it.



4. If you want to quickly learn to play the piano, watch Scott Houston
   tv show on pbs "The Piano Guy". Well, this book is just as great
   teaching you the chords and techniques too.



5. Upon buying this book, I wanted to learn chords and scales so that I could begin to play improv piano. Unfortunately, the book was very simple. Each page is dedicated to one key (ie. C, C7, D, ect.) And really doesn't give any sense of how the chords work together. Currently, I'm still using it to memorize the chords and maybe in the long run it'll pay off, but it felt a bit too separated for me. As music seems to always work best when certain chords compliment each other, showing you a connection in your head has always been most successful at teaching me. This doesn't do that for me.
   
   In conclusion, buy this book if you want a reference guide for finger placement for a chord you know.
   Don't buy it if you are interested in learning chords for the first time.

5 comments about Intros, Endings and Turnarounds for Keyboard: Essential Phrases for Swing, Latin, Jazz Waltz, and Blues Styles.

1. Wirtten in a very easy to read but scholarly fashion, this book is a great resource for musicians who want to hone their craft a bit more and get those smooth-sounding progressions for intros and turn-arounds.



2. This book teaches many things at once.
   
   Learn intros and endings suitable for use in gigs.
   Learn different chord changes besides the typical II-V-I.
   Learn some phrases and voicings that help you jump right in,
   rather than just seeing the chord changes written out.
   (The last chapter is the exception)
   Learn how to improvise - If you haven't been able to cross that
   bridge, just let yourself wander while playing these samples.
   You can't help but hear different melodies in them.
   
   Each sample is presented in a random key, but it is still up the
   student to practice them in all keys.
   Well worth the price - a fraction of the cost of a piano lesson
   for a huge springboard!



3. If you sometimes have problems knowing how to start and/or finish songs or phrases, this book is a must have! It guides you through the process and helps to expand your imagination.



4. I try to spend a half hour with it every night. This book will appeal to a wide range of interests. Whether you are a composer interested in theory, or a keyboardist enhancing your chops, there is something here for you. Most examples are four-measures long, but rich in musicality (kind of like what the Bach chorales are for those studying classical music.) The examples progress from simple chord progressions to more complex, and each is one is clearly explained. Nice melodies too! It is apparent that the author has spent a lot of time with each of the sub-genres (swing, ballads, blues, Latin, etc.) and has distilled his knowledge into a neat recipe book that will serve as a launching point for those wishing to further their expertise.



5. The book has well written, very musical phrases. The author suggests usage with several standards that should be in everyone's play book and it's fun to work them in with tunes you already know - in the proper keys. Take them apart, and there is something to learn in most of them. Great for browsing.
   
   The printing is good and the binding isn't troublesome on the rack. Nice experience. I would have rated it a five, but some of the pages have a tendency to work loose.

5 comments about Blues Piano: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series (Keyboard Instruction).

1. I'm a blues guitarist and I'm in the early stages of learning to play piano, so I can't give the most credible of reviews of this book yet, but I can tell you that it's chock-full of really, really, REALLY excellent comps and vamps and licks. So far I'm only able to work on the simplest of the stuff early in the book, but I've listened to the CD the whole way through, and it's just one example after another after another of killer riffs, the kind of stuff that makes me think, "YES...that is what I want to be able to play." In all kinds of blues styles.
   
   This is definitely *not* a beginner book. As I said, most of it is still way beyond me. It's not a "here's what the half-rest looks like" kind of book, nor will you find guides for fingering. One of the first signs that told me that this book is still over my head is that it shows chords like, say, a 9th chord, with all five notes shown, in a key where it appears to me that there's no possible way one hand can hit all of those notes. Does the experienced player just hit a broken chord? Is it supposed to be a two-handed chord, even though it's shown in the bass clef, and there are also notes in the treble clef? I don't know.
   
   So this is a book for people who already have some piano playing ability. But the material is terrific, and there's a ton of it. If I can ever learn to play all, or even half, of the stuff in this book, I'll be a happy man.



2. If you are on a budget and don't have a lot of free time, but still want to sit down at a party or open mike and wail the blues, this is the book for you. In chapter 2 you get 20 or so authentic left hand patterns. In chapter 3 you learn a variety of chords from basic triads to sharped fifths and ninths with various timing tricks for comping. And you play those over the left hand patterns you learned in chapter 2. In chapter 4 Harrison introduces the grace note technique and takes it thru Dr. John's "famous lick". That's 90% of what you need to play convincing blues. The key is that Harrison keeps everything in two measure units that you can easily combine. You aren't confronted with a 4 bar melody as in some other books, wondering, "Why am I playing this?" This book dosen't cover everything, but if you learn to play the exercises in this book you will sound good. If you have a few extra bucks, buy Tim Richard's book for a complementary approach.



3. This is a great step by step introduction to blues riffs, chords and solos. I only have two complaints: firstly, it is somewhat inconsistent in the ability level that it targets. It assumes that you can sight read well, transpose into other keys, work out complicated fingering yourself etc, yet it also spends a lot of time on very simple scales and chords. A beginner will be confused a lot of the time, a good pianist trained in other styles will find much of it boring, and someone in between (like me) will alternate between the two states. Secondly, the CD is annoying in that there are so many tracks - 88 if I remember rightly. Every short exercise, even only a few seconds, has its own track, and many have both slow and fast versions.
   
   If you are a beginner, you will need a more comprehensive book (not necessarily blues specific) to help you along. If you are a bit better than that, I would suggest using the book in reverse order. Listen to the full length songs at the end and learn the ones you like. Then work backwards to figure out the building blocks and how to use them yourself.



4. This is an excellent book for learning how to play the blues. It includes music theory and clear explanations of various styles. The accompanying CD is very helpful and ends with 7 full songs in differing styles.



5. I have not had lessons but have been "fooling around" on the piano for years. I wanted to get a better dose of theory under my belt and have the ability to play things differently, and perhaps become good enough to play with other people! This book started out basic enough for me and it goes well beyond my current capabilities. This is exactly what I was looking for: a stepwise and slow progression through major scales, pentatonic, blues and mixolydian scales. I had heard of these things, but NOW I understand them. The CD also helps as you play along. I can recommend this book to anyone who is starting out in blues style piano. With this book the only thing standing between me and great blues is a lot of practice! But now I have a good pace and direction, and with that the practicing will be a lot more efficient than it has been.

4 comments about The Remixer's Bible: Build Better Beats.

1. I really enjoyed reading Fracis Preve's "The Remixer's Bible". He keeps it light and fun while still giving you a ton of tricks and insight into remixing and sound design. I would recommend this book for beginners to experts. I also really like the history lessons around certain sounds and the gear that was used to make it. I also like the format of the book as its broken up into lots of smaller sections that you can read and then try out.



2. Back in 1999, I started playing with loop sequencing and over the years have assembled a few dozen tracks. I most recently started getting hardware to support my music endeavours, and I stumbled across this book in a bookstore. When I flipped through it, I knew this would be the one as it covered all of the aspects of remixing and editing. Going in depth, arguably its best chapters are on sound design and mixing. I have discovered a new language, and now I can go back to all of my computer music magazines and actually understand what they are talking about. Knowing how to visualize what you are doing to sound made all the difference for me and now I can program my own synths.
   
   The other aspect I really liked about this book was that the tips from real musicians were particularly englightening. Seeing how deep these other musicians go to get their sound inspired me to become more flexible in my approach to writing music.
   
   Definitely a great buy.



3. I was glad to actually come across a book that was catered towards people who had a bit of experience with making beats. Most of these sorts of books are always for people who want to start from scratch. It's not like it's a book for experts and beginners can't pick this up, infact it could be useful to most. People with a lot of experience could find something in there worth the buy, and people who are relatively new to the world of remixing, (but really it caters to beat making in general) or have some experience under their belt, should be able to find a whole lot of useful information.
   
   As cheesy as the title might be, this book is quality.



4. I purchased this thinking it was going to go farther with insider tips but it is basically the abridged version of the dance music manual and the guy just puts little side sections of what the bigger names have to say and they really don't say to much!!! I wish I would've not even wasted my money!!!!!!!!!

5 comments about How To Play Popular Piano In 10 Easy Lessons (Fireside Books (Fireside)).

1. I feel that though the book makes learning seem easy, there is still a lot of work to be done by the individual to learn the piano. It does however break learning into easy steps, and is a great tool for the person who would like to take a more laissez faire attitude to learning, or who cant afford a teacher just yet.
   
   It has also helped me rekindle my interest in playing. Nice idea indeed.



2. My first venture into piano lessons and I have enjoyed it. Using basic chords I was playing nice sounding music in no time; not the one finger tunes. I recommend this to anyone who wants to play the piano and sound good from the start.



3. a good introduction to playing a piano.easy to follow but got a bit to techinal at the end as if the writer wanted to finish the book .



4. Easy and usefull. Just the essential for an absolute begginer explained in a plane manner.



5. Just what I`ve been looking for. A not so intense and fun
   way to learn how to play piano and take advantage of all
   those great Fake Books available.

5 comments about Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking.

1. Ever since products such as GarageBand took over the low-level tasks of producing electronic music and turned us all into application users, much has been forgotten about making music with low-level electronic components. In the case of younger electronic musicians, this may be an art form they never even knew in the first place. Although there is an advantage is computer musicians speaking a common language through a common application, something fascinating in the realm of experimentation has been largely lost. This book returns to the days of yesteryear with some projects in making your own electronic music with basic devices.
   
   The book starts with some brief information on the tools you'll need plus the author's seven rules for experimentation. Part two is dedicated to listening. He shows you how to use radios and coils to find hidden electronic music, how to use the speaker as a microphone and vice versa, and how to use piezo disks to pick up tiny sounds, among other topics. Part three, on touching, shows you how to transform a portable radio into a synthesizer, change the clock circuit in toys to produce new sounds, and use photocells and pressure pads to "play" the modified toy. Part four, Building, shows the reader how to breadboard up some oscillators along with some controlling circuitry and produce gating, ducking, tremolo and panning effects. Part five, Looking, concerns translating video to audio using commonly found devices. The final section goes into depth on mixing circuits, how to build a good but cheap amplifier, connecting sensors to computers via game controllers, and a section on power supplies.
   
   The book is written such that you should proceed from beginning to end, since the devices in earlier sections are used to assemble the devices in later chapters. By the time you finish you should have entire experimental musical instruments that you have assembled yourself.



2. This is a great book if you are a electroacoustic composer, you can make cheap sensors and rare instruments... ready - if you want - to plug to Max/MSP or Ethersense...or Teabox... Thanks to Gregory Taylor from Cyclin'74.



3. Ah ! this book is one of the best i bought.
   I just love it !!



4. This is a really fun book, with lots of projects for budding electronic musicians. But it goes beyond that: It's a solid intro to electronics and CMOS components. I went into this book thinking it might be too basic, yet I walked away with a lot of ideas, and some interesting new techniquess.
   
   I wish that more electronics writers would cover the material with this author's style and accuracy. Also, kudos for providing parts sources and for using easy to find and inexpensive components. (I've seen many people, myself included, become frustrated by hard-to-find parts lists or the use of discontinued items. These projects suffer from neither of those problems.)
   
   In the end, you'll be left wanting to know more about the components and techniques you've picked up. (You'll probably want to add Don Lancaster's classic CMOS Cookbook to your shopping cart. It will give you the details about many of these components.) Highly recommended. I'm looking forward to other books by this author.



5. A great guide to taking apart old electronic noisemakers and turning them into something new. Also includes simple DIY electronic circuits with all the steps. The projects are compelling and workable. Give this to a young person and change their whole outlook on DIY.

5 comments about Library Of Piano Classics (Library of Series).

1. I got this for my mom, who is a concert pianist, as she has been having eye problems. She enjoyed the book as it had so many classic pieces that she is familiar with. The only negative is that she said the material is simplified due to the large print. It was easy for her to add notes in between, but for someone looking for more advanced music, they may be a bit disappointed.



2. A wonderful assortment of pieces accompanied by wonderfully arranged interpretations. The songs in here provide the Piano Classics that everyone should know and provides a nice mix of easy-as-pie to finger-bleeding arrangements.
   
   Playing from this book will not only exercise your mind and help cultivate your understanding of the art, but will also provide you with wonderful presentation pieces.



3. This collection has many favorites from my first 10 years studying piano. It's delightful! The material I didn't already know is approachable and easy to learn for special occassions such as "Cinco de Mayo" breakfast!
   
   The binding is perfect for laying the music flat and now I can pick up this one album to take out to play instead of a box of albums!



4. I've had this book for probably 6 years and still play it everyday. I love these pieces. I was a piano minor in college and I used these as recital pieces many times. I would call them moderate difficulty. A great variety of songs from Rag to classical. I really have enjoyed this book through the years.



5. I recommend this with volume 2 as a starter book for all my Grade 2 and up piano students. This contains pieces from Baroque through Modern composers, in most levels of difficulty, from what I would consider advanced beginner through advanced pianist. The composers are selected from France, England, Germany, Italy, Russia, the USA and other countries so there is plenty of variety and always something new to explore. The printing is large and clear and the pieces are well-chosen and representative of the composers' works. The paper is heavy enough to withstand extensive note-taking and there's enough space on the page to be able to write notes. The students who bought this book in 2001 are still playing from it, a recommendation in itself.
   
   This is money well-spent.
   
   (This was supposed to be 5 stars but for some reason Amazon isn't letting me do it.)

5 comments about The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self.

1. This is my favorite book about music-making (classical piano, in my case). Westney very convincingly makes the case for an overhaul of the way we approach music practice and performance. The 'juicy wrong note' idea promotes a wholistic, passionate attitude. It is NOT the idea of treating mistakes lightly...more, it's the attitude of making the mistake whole-heartedly and then learning what it has to tell you about your level of preparedness,an unsuspected weak point, etc. Westney does not cover specific how-to's (the best book on that for piano in my opinion is Berman's) but more the philosophy to bring to the practice room and to the performance. I'd give more stars if it were possible



2. Not really being part of the culture to which the author is reacting, I found this book to be captivating, if a bit strident. The unfortunate tendency towards perfectionism taints a great deal more than music instruction. The expectations of deference and respect on the basis of position weaken bishops and U.S. presidents as well as maestros and music teachers. Still, the control freak element runs deep. As an adult beginner taking piano lessons, I just see it from a different perspective. Take humor in the strutting of the popinjay, no need to be alarmed by it.
   
   Also, the man either knows nothing about golf, or else cheats on his scorecard. I suspect the former rather than the latter. But, a recorded lousy golf swing is just a lousy golf swing, while one left off the scorecard is, well, a reflection of character.
   
   However, on his home ground, the practice room and the recital stage, the author is very strong. Texas Tech is lucky to have him. Go, Red Raiders!



3. If you want to truly refresh your thinking about teaching music, this is the book. Explore with the author ways to bring enthusiasm and joy into the learning process... how to use 'honest mistakes" as tools. Be prepared to learn why traditional methods can sometimes harness creativity. This book described for me a way to help my students relax and welcome the journey into music. Whether teaching by traditional methods or not, this book is a must. Thanks, Mr. Westney, for the great read and the inspiring words.



4. This book is absolutely enjoyable to read. I just couldn't stop reading it...I did not want to continue practicing without hearing all that William Westney had to say about practicing techniques (for any instrument, though mainly piano) and musicality. He uses great resources if you want to learn more about what he writes. His focus is getting in touch with the innate musician within you...a very positive and motivating book...highly recommended.



5. This book is impressively well written with a dry, concise and insightful tone. This book is not against perfectionism, but against the idea that mistakes should be always avoided, even during practice. The author suggests that music should be performed with a strong body awareness, and that this should be cultivated during practice in a way that is a sort of dialogue between ourselves and our bodies; in this dialogue, errors are a way for our bodies to communicate with us, so we should be able to make them boldly and then recover from them as much information as we can. This, in the end, makes the correction of the error deeper, and our performances more confident.
   
   The book is not a step-by-step guide to practicing using this method; it's more a pedagogic book detailing the philosophy behind this approach. Still, it's very though provoking even for non teachers and for amateurs musicians, especially adults returning to music after previous bitter experiences.

5 comments about How to Play from a Fake Book (Keyboard Edition).

1. This is not a bad book at all. My rating comes from comparing it to the similar "The Next Step" by Bradley Sowash and Scott Houston, to which I gave 4 stars. My complaints with this book are that, aside from the really dorky and thus grating attempts at humour, a few of the songs in this one are obscure to anyone under 50, and quite lame (Streets of Laredo and Simple Gift are two I had to track down and wished I hadn't), without being muscially interesting in any way. The treatment of the LH is not very in-depth. For general readability, TNS is much more engaging, and the goal of producing a full arrangement is kept more clearly in focus, particularly with respect to integrating the LH. So that's what How to Play from a Fake Book is weaker on: presentation and the big picture. Why buy it?
   
   Here's what Neely's book has going for it: the section on chord types is MUCH more extensive than what you get in TNS and his "common tone" exercise is a great way to get the hands used to moving around the keyboard. There are some very entertaining songs to play that use minor and altered chords which take you to regions of keyboard geography you're just never going to get near with TNS. "Ain't Nobody's Bizness" is a great bluesy number to practice substitutions and swing rhythms on, for example. The book is more extensive and goes further than TNS, but the presentation just isn't as engaging as TNS. I'd say they complement each other. I find that I apply the approach to fake book playing from TNS, which I refer to for motivation, while I'm working through the more advanced material in "How to Play from a Fake Book". If you only want to buy one, which one? I'd say TNS if you're more of a beginner and Neely's book if you're a little more advanced, though at some point all you'll need is a decent fake book and a chord dictionary.



2. I played piano for over 40 years but couldn't tell one chord from another, I'd only learned to play from written music. This book explains basic chords, variations, inversions and more in a simple, straight-forward manner that makes using a fake book and improvising a fun challenge. It's also helpful in embellishing my current music. I'd highly recommend it! It's brought new life to playing piano.



3. If you're a self-learner who wants a very nice and gentle instruction on all the chord variants, this book is pretty good... it almost feels like you have a good-natured teacher sitting beside you. The book is interspersed with 50+ fake book songs, and comes with a chord reference chart, so it's hard to go wrong for the price.
   
   However, it doesn't cover much more than block chords, so if you've learned all the chord variants already (or are going to learn them from the many websites), and don't care for the songs it includes, then this may not be the book for you.



4. I was reading the reviews for the book Piano for Dummies on Amazon. There was a lot of whining about the dire humor in the book which I thought was a coincidence because I had been working on this How To Play From a Fake Book and I was finding it so difficult because the so called funny bits were putting me off. Then I looked at the "writer" and realized they were one and the same! Boy! This guy is not funny in a major way. The information provided is fine and the idea behind the book is illuminating but it is trying to learn how to play the piano with a 12 year old sitting beside you on the stool trying to brighten things up with some of the lamest cracks you could imagine. Therefore three stars for this "book" and minus three for the hilarious gags. I do not think I will be going near the Piano for Dummies book. I Neely did. Geddit? Ho ho ho!
   (Oh man, it's contagious.)



5. Let's start off with some assumptions:
   You have bothered to spend the few weeks it takes to learn how to read music, even if only slowly.
   You are mainly interested in playing pop music (rock, country, soul, r&b etc.) as opposed to jazz or classical (not that this book can't help you with the latter as well).
   You have noticed that most song books have what are called lead sheets that only have a treble clef melody line with chord letters over the bars of music, and lyrics.
   You have gotten far enough with your keyboard playing that you can play some basic chords with your left hand and a melody with your right hand. Which is all that most songbooks show you how to do.
   
   You have realized that on the recordings you listen to professional musicians seldom play a straight out melody with their right hands, and almost never while the vocalist is singing. Any more than guitar players play a melody, but instead play more interesting chord patterns for accompaniment.
   This is the book that teaches you to play the way professionals do. In 88 pages no less. To put it as simply as possible, learn how to read music then get this book as the only book you need to learn how to play keyboards. Just as snowplowing is a useless skiing technique once you learn how to turn stop on skis, simply learning to play left hand chords and a right hand melody is nearly as useless a technique for actually accompanying a singer.
   I say 'nearly' because there are in fact times when playing the melody line is fitting, but as your only right hand technique is frustrating and being stuck in a rut. This book gets you out of that rut and gives you the tools to strike off on your own with no musical limitations to hold you back. Man am I happy I found it. In retrospect I would gladly have paid $100 or more for this book when I first started.

5 comments about Pride and Prejudice: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack (Easy Piano).

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.