4 comments about Stride and Swing Piano: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series (Hal Leonard Keyboard Style).

1. Normally books like these present you with the "dumbed down" and easy version of piano music--music you can play with one hand while drinking a sweet iced-tea with the other. Not so with this book. The methods and techniques Valerio teaches are the real thing, and the pieces within the book are those transcribed straight from the big boys--Waller, Johnson, Wilson, Tatum, Joplin, and Morton. This is an excellent introduction/continuation for those interested in stride piano.



2. I have a few of the other books in this series and find them all great, which is why I purchased this book! Scott Joplin has always been a favorite composer of mine and to be able to learn his style, yet ad my own style is something that I have struggled with up until now. John Valerio is a wonderful composer and teacher and has a very similar style to Mark Harrison (another composer in this series). This book includes everything from the history of ragtime and swing to how to voice lead. Techniques, rhythmic layering, variations, harmony, form, call and response, and so much more is included in this book. It goes through classic ragtime, blues & boogie woogie, New Orleans jazz, stride piano, and swing piano. It is such a wonderful teaching tool for those interested in the big-band era. The CD it comes with has standard tracks to listen to, but also wonderfulk original tunes that encourage you to come up with your own style! I can't wait to try more books in the series!



3. This is an awesome book but definitely not for beginners. It's got excellent explanations and exercises, and authentic music to learn. You'll definitely learn stride, but unless you're an accomplished pianist, expect to spend a lot of time leaning the pieces.



4. i bought that book thinking that i would find some transcriptions or adaptations of swing and stride pieces, along with tips and reviews, some history about the style and.... i found some of those things but all the songs are written by John Valerio "a la Fats Waller" etc etc
   
   It OK, songs are quite good, he's done a great job, but why not put some standards there?? It's my fault, probably didn't read the description carefully but... think twice before buying this book to learn this style (i'm not saying it's useless, simply think twice, there may be a better one depending on what do you want it for)

2 comments about Organ Technique: Modern and Early.

1. In the last three years I have been learning the Organ, and this book is an excellent guide and tool for doing that. It is easy to read and easy to work with -- but to learn the organ, cotninues to demand lots of time for pracitice!



2. I have been using ORGAN TECHNIQUE: MODERN AND EARLY for less than a month with three students who are just beginning organ study. I am very pleased with the content of the book, and how it is laid out. There is attention to details that other organ books that I have used in the past do not include.
   
   I like the specific instructions on manual and pedal technique, and I am particularly pleased with the exercises and the selections of organ literature that have been included in this book.
   
   I am very pleased with this book.

1 comments about Country Piano: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series.

1. The town I grew up in never had a lot of country music played, but as I get older, that I all I ever hear! This book by Mark Harrison has allowed me to get feel for what real country music is. I have a few of the other books in this series and find them all great! This book includes important information about scales and chords, patterns walking up and down, comping, traditional and modern country, arpeggio styles, "fretted piano" techniques, fills, and licks...anything that is used in any type of country. It goes through traditional country waltz, western swing, bluegrass, honky-tonk, Nashville country waltz, classic country rock, country rock ballad, country pop "easy listening", country gospel, country blues, and more. The book moves quickly but provides the information that is important for those of us looking to play. It comes with a very handy CD which allows to hear what it's supposed to sound like. I highly recommend this book.

5 comments about Piano Playing: With Piano Questions Answered.

1. I can't begin to tell you how many people make a poor attempt at learning very difficult piano pieces just so they can say "I can play this, and I can play that". However, if they're serious about piano, they will come to a point where they realize that, sure, they can "get through" the piece, but they can't actually "play" it. There is so much more to the piano that so many people are missing out on these days. Technique, dynamics, tempo, and even simple things such as how you are seated at the bench. Most teachers skip over teaching these key aspects of music because most students just want to be able to play what they want as fast as they want. This book covers all the things that many have missed out on. It covers nearly everything you need to know on how to be a great piano player. Combine this book with natural talent, and a desire to bring the piano to life, and you're set. Theres even over 160 pages of frequently asked questions that amatures sent to Hoffman over the years (and answers of couse).

   If you're serious about playing the piano, get this book before your poor playing habbits are implanted in your head even further. If you're not serious, or just like to mess around... then skip it. It would be a waste of your money.




2. I was slightly disappointed in this book. I did not feel that I learned very much that I didn't already know. There were a few
   answers to some problems that I have been experiencing on the piano, however, for the most part the answers to the questions were rather simple and common sense.
   I also felt that this book, written in the early 1900's, was outdated. I did get a good chuckle though from some of the advice.
   I felt that a beginner may have gleaned more usefull information from this book than I did.If you are looking for in depth answers, and advice on piano playing, etc. this didn't do it for me.



3. 
   Probably the greatest pianist of our time telling us the secret of his success: how one should approach the piano and music, how Rubinstein taught him, what music to start with, the advantage and disadvantage of having a perfect pitch... a lot more. Most amusing as well as informative. It deserves more than 5 stars.
   
   However, note that more often than not, a child prodigy wouldn't be able too tell you very much how he got there. And I dare say Mozart's father would be able to tell you more about it than himself.
   
   Say, for instance, how would it be possible to avoid all but really good concerts as suggested by Hofmann? Without the benefit of both, how would we be able to differentiate the two? However, at a certain point of time this is so correct! Hofmann's insistence on the cleanliness of the keyboard, I suppose would carry different meaning for different pianists too. Likewise, soaking one's hands in warm water to warm them up may or may not work for all. And having a terrific memory, Hofmann is celebrated for his ability to learn, like Mozart, a piece by listening to it instead of sightreading any music. As such, Dohnanyi (the pianist), Richter, Gulda or even Nelson Freire might be in a better position to tell anything substantial about it...
   
   All in all, this book is nothing like an anti-biotic that can cure your ailments within virtually a couple of days, but just some very general guidelines or principles which would, nevertheless, takes you years if not months of practice to accomplish, if at all. Nonetheless, there are some good suggestions that would lead you and guide you through some turning points, without which you may get easily lost or else need much more time to unlearn.



4. I have to be honest. I do not like this book. I don't even think I got through the first chapter. I am a real nut about piano playing and piano theory, so if there is something good in the book I guess I just missed it. I was so bored reading it I just tossed it.
   
   I gave it 2 stars just because there may be something good in the book I missed.



5. When buying a french cookbook, one can choose from wonderful derivative sources (for example, an American popularist of french cooking such as Julia Childs, or a Betty Crocker clone) or visit with a text written by a master native-born French chef for those who wish to learn how to cook authentic French cuisine from one of the top chefs in France. Interestingly, the same phenenomena exists with books on piano-playing. There are certainly Betty Crocker-style books written by marginally talented pianists who tailor their texts to aficionados who don't wish to think too much about piano-playing theories and methods. Then there are the books written by the real "chefs" or "chiefs" of piano-playing, like Josef Hofmann, who along with Rachmaninoff and a few others, ranked as the superlative pianists of the 20th Century. What Liszt was to the 19th Century, Hofmann was in the 20th Century. In Piano Playing the reader is treated to high-level advice on many of the most important aspects of piano playing. To be sure, unless the reader has had a high level teacher who has provided him/her a legitimately good foundation in piano-playing and piano knowledge, the book may feel less useful. But that's true only if the reader reads too hastily, and with an eye at being entertained instead of educated. Serious, that is "real" pianists, would not want to miss owning and reading this wonderful book.

5 comments about Funk Keyboards: The Complete Method--A Contemporary Guide to Chords, Rhythms, and Licks (Book & CD).

1. Gail Johnson has done a great service to the music community by writing this book/cd. It is chalk full of USEFUL riffs, rhythms and changes actually heard in contemporary and classic funk. The cd has almost all the examples (80+) found in the book and a lot of the riffs will sound very familiar if you are acquainted with the genre. It's a welcome change from examples in other music books/cds which often times are more theoretical than practical. Her writing is very concise yet enlightening and a great variety of styles and topics are covered. I especially appreciated the clav licks. As well her funk discography at the beginning is of the highest order. Price of $15 retail? This deal smokes. Great job Gail and Musician's Institute. More quality publications like this please.



2. I think Jeff K.'s review is entirely correct. There are a multitude of usable examples of runs and progressions. I really enjoy using the cd with Digital Preformer - I'll load up an example, loop it and play over it until I have the timing right.
   After using Levine's Jazz Piano Book (if you don't own this book you should) for five years Gail Johnson has helped me change up my voicings and rhythm - even helping me modernize (if you can consider 70's and 80's funk modern) my personal sound.
   
   If you like Bob James, Deodato, George Duke, etc. this book will get you a little closer to what you are looking for.
   
   I'm not a bass player, but Josquin des Pres wrote an OUTRAGEOUS book on classic funk and r&b grooves for bass. I load some of his audio into my sequnecer and try to incorporate some of Gail's ideas. It's really good practice and infinately more interesting than most of my workouts.
   
   There's a book by Peter Gelling that has a similar title that is no where near as good as this one.
   
   For a fourth of the price of one piano lesson you will learn a lot.



3. Gail Johnson is not only a good teacher but she is an inspiring person aswell. I have not met her and only know her music from this book, but I can say that the method is thorough, and the music is playable and it genuinely builds your technique and musicianship.
   
   She takes you from basic grooves to complete songs. All the while the music is sensible and meaningful, and allows you to grow your knowldege and technique.
   
   This is what good music instruction is about - presenting beautiful music with insight and inspiration. It's not easy to do outside of a music lesson, but she has pulled it off. Now how about a book 2, something with more funk studies, perhaps?



4. very repetitive, midi jam tracks that sound awful,
   and you are with nothing that you can apply
   to real world of playing.
   I gained much more from the Hal Leonard Blues Piano
   and Smooth Jazz Piano Series books. i.e. useful licks,
   chord progressions and basic soloing techniques



5. Well if you are expecting every single version of every single funk song, then you better look elsewhere. This book contains progressions, licks, grooves ect., to get you into the feel of funk and includes a few pieces at the end.
   
   She encourages you to LISTEN to pieces she suggests because that is the best way to learn this style. Transcription of records would more than likely be a must. With this stlye, including R&B, jazz and even blues, transcribing records or even buying transcription books is the best way to learn these styles, although there are some very good, thorough books on the blues that teachers you everything you need to know.
   
   This is a good book, written by a beautiful and intelligent woman.

5 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Piano, 3rd Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to).

1. I don't particularly care for the Idiots and Dummies boks because the title alone speaks down to you, but this book is the crown jewel of bad.
   Every paragraph, and I do mean every pragraph contains some lame joke, for what reason? I don't know.
   And I could only find a few places where he actually told you which finger to put on which key. Isn't that the point of a book on how to play the piano?
   Take my advice, don't waste your money on this book.



2. Yes, the title says it all!
   
   Trust me!



3. The book is great!!! I have limited musical knowledge (what I learned in grammar school) and this book helped me regain what I had previously learned and allowed me to build on it by creating a fun, relaxed atmosphere and always with humour. Thanks.



4. Aggressively unhelpful; meandering, rambling style with terrible jokes, terrible prose, and worst of all, a dearth of actual practice lessons. The majority of the book is taken up with third-rate 'scholarship' about the history of piano-related instruments, or with minutiae about electronic keyboards. Avoid at all costs.



5. It's not going to make you a pro but it's a nice step towards being able to play.

3 comments about Electric Sound: The Past and Promise of Electronic Music.

1. This reviewer considers "Electric Sound" to be an important text on the history of 'academic', 'art' or 'classical' electronic music.
   
   The subtitle: 'The Past and Promise of Electronic Music' does indeed indicate the historical nature of the work, but the 'promise' seems to refer more to a promise fulfilled, rather than what is described in the last chapter: 'Where Are We Going?' ( which consists of less than 20 pages ).
   
   To give you an idea of the book's scope, consider the chapter titles: The Early Instruments, The Great Opening Up of Music to All Sounds, Expansion of the Tape Music Idea, Out of the Studios, Computer Music, Synthesizers, The MIDI World, Inputs and Controls, Making Sound, Automata, Interaction, Where Are We Going?
   
   Each chapter illustrates its subject by describing the artists and the particular works that were created using that specific approach to sound realization. The style of writing in the book is conversational in tone, rather than academic.
   
   If you love electronic music, then "Electric Sound" will become a welcome addition to your personal library.



2. Although there was a spate of published historical surveys of electronic music during the early-to-mid 1970's, with the exception of Peter Manning's *Electronic & Computer Music*, there have been almost no synoptic overviews of the subject since then. Now comes Joel Chadabe's *Electric Sound*. One must admit that Chadabe's book does fill a void in the historical consideration of electronic music, and, for that reason alone, I wish that I could be more enthusiastic about it. The focus of this extremely overpriced paperbound book, however, is less on the significant achievements of composers of electronic music than it is on the technological means of creating it. One is hard pressed, indeed, to find references to more than a handful of significant compositions. Such an attitude is typical of the Post-Modern mentality (and, yes, there is such a thing, I'm sorry to say), in which artists of all stripes arrogantly offer over-intellectualized concepts and elaborate compositional and performance processes as justification for whatever results they achieve, no matter how nugatory these results may be. Here, one finds an inadvertent confirmation of that most basic critique of electronic music: That it is ultimately the soundtrack to a futuristic, technocratic nightmare in which the technology itself has become more vibrant and alive than those who create and ostensibly manipulate it. If one were to go by this book, then one would be justified in believing that, with perhaps the exception of Stockhausen's works, there have been no masterpieces of electronic music whatsoever. There has, however, been a lot of interesting hardware and software created for it. Could there be a more damning indictment of any artistic field of endeavor?

   I should add that this book also suffers from the usual flaws that one might expect when a contemporary artist surveys his own field: in this case, aesthetic bias and cronyism. On the other hand, *Electric Sound* does at least cover the activities of most of the putative major figures in the field from the 1970's to the mid-1990's (although, again, it does this principally in terms of what technology they happen to be using). For this reason, I give it a provisional recommendation, simply because it is the only book I know, besides Peter Manning's also somewhat flawed, but generally far better effort, that covers this period at all. The definitive history of electronic and computer music, however, remains to be written.




3. Yes, this is a steep price. But if you are deeply interested in the history of electronic music this book is essential. It covers the origins of electric music synthesis from the turn of the century experiments to fairly current commentary on the digital state of the art. Chadabe, also a fine composer and musician, writes with authority on the classical aspect of electronic music. If this book has a flaw it is that it fails to look at the influence of pop/rock culture on electronic music. But to be fair that is not his purpose and this material is covered well elsewhere.
   I hesitated to purchase this book for some time due to the price but when I did get it I must say that I have no regrets. It is an extremely useful reference which I use regularly and it is well written and fun to read. In short, if you are a fanatic, get this book.

5 comments about Notes from the Pianist's Bench.

1. Very often when musicians, especially performers, attempt to write about music they lapse into a pseudo-poetic and philosophical tone that, although seemingly charming to the uninitiated, remains unworthy of the serious scholarly and academic environment to which the musical community, particularly in North America, aspires. To offer one example I shall quote one of Mr. Berman's illustrious predecessors - Heinrich Neuhaus:

   "polyphony expresses in musical language the highest union of the personal and the general, of the individual and the masses, of Man and the Universe, and it expresses in sound everything philosophical, ethical and aesthetic that is contained in this union. It fortifies the heart and the mind." - The Art of Piano Playing

   This is a lovely sentiment, to be sure, but what does it actually mean? Mr. Berman, to his credit, avoids such purple prose in his book. He provides us with an objective and highly informed guide to dealing with the issues that arise in attempting to teach or play the piano and the wealth of great music written for it, as seen through the eyes of one of his generation's most respected pianists and teachers. Of course my purpose here is not to criticize past books on the subject, or even to compare them in any detail. As Mr. Berman himself illustrated in a memorable seminar at Yale University, changes in pianists' approaches to a given body of music cannot be seen as developmental in a scientific sense. It is not that one generation of pianists has more insight into a given piece than did the preceding generation, but simply that each generation has a slightly different set of musical priorities which govern the kind of information they seek out about a piece and the way in which they choose to apply it. Books like Neuhaus' "The Art of Piano Playing" and the two or three others which, together with Berman's "Notes from the Pianist's Bench", make up the highest achievements in this field of study, serve to represent the musical preoccupations of a particular era, just as the finest pianists of a given era do the same through their performances and recordings. Perhaps in another twenty or thirty years a new generation of pianists will once again need their own book on piano playing and teaching which addresses their unique preoccupations. Until then I am certain that "Notes from the Pianist's Bench" will serve as an invaluable guide to students, teachers and even professional pianists of this era who are interested in better understanding the best examples of performance practice in our time and the timeless art of piano-playing.

   Vadim Serebryany, pianist




2. Imagine you are a piano student playing a Haydn sonata for your professor. In the slow movement your teacher conjures up a Classical opera aria as an illustrative example, complete with specific characters, and even ventures to invent an imaginary reconstruction of the opening: "Dio, che guar - da [rest] tut - ti gli~a - man - ti [rest] ..." Chances are that you are among the lucky chosen ones in the class of famous Russian-American pianist Boris Berman.
   Your level of playing (and your budget) do not allow you to study with a professor of international stature at Yale University? There is no need for despair. Professor Berman has crystallized his most nourishing ideas in an astonishingly eloquent and lucid manner. "Notes from the Pianist's Bench" is his highly informative, rational book of advice geared to the undergraduate and graduate piano student. Unlike those dry and overblown piano methods of early German theorists (Deppe, Breithaupt, Tetzel, Martienssen) Berman's prose is striking a perfect balance between the philosophical and the practical, between the erudite and the anecdotal, the comprehensive and the concise, imagination and realism, elementary and advanced; and it can definitely be comprehended by the educated layman, last not least thanks to the many highly appropriate musical examples.
   Unlike Heinrich Neuhaus, the legendary Russian teacher of Richter and Gilels, who opens his "The Art of Piano Playing" with a deliberation on the artistic image (idea, vision), Berman's musical notes do not drop too far off the pianistic bench in the first part of this book. In fact he starts there where most diligent students hopefully find themselves presently: in the pratice room. But what a practice room this is! While yours (and mine) consists of four naked white walls with a big black piano in it, Professor Berman's practice room is a laboratory of experimentation and consideration. His enormous experience in performance practice, spanning all styles from harpsichord to Cage, allows him to approach a topic from several angles at the same time. Berman is especially afraid of exaggeration and dogmatic advice and believes our faults to be the extension of our virtues: "My biggest hesitation about writing this book has been a fear that my advice will be misinterpreted or carried ad absurdum. Guided by the teacher, a young musician must learn to use common sense, both in making interpretive decisions and in deciding on appropriate physical actions to realize them."
   Naturally this approach should be recommended to the modern passive student craving for simplistic recipes and instant solutions. Berman: "Being a good student is not as simple a task as one might think. The objective of one's studies should be to become an artist, not to perpetuate one's status as a student. With some students I have the feeling that they fall in my lap as a piece of clay: `Here I am, mold me.' In some cases such an attitude is a reflection of the individual's general passivity, and in others it comes from being accustomed to spoon-feeding by their previous teacher."
   It is quite obvious that Berman himself is familiar with the specific cultural background of ethnically diverse students. Consider his lesson to a student from Beijing who lacked an understanding of polyphonic texture: "[...] I made the analogy with perspective in painting, but this concept was completely unfamiliar to her, probably because she did not have much experience with Western-style painting. To make my point, I showed her two pictures of birds, one a Chinese drawing and the other a Western landscape. I asked if she could tell me which birds in the first picture were closest to the viewer. That she was unable to do so was not surprising, because perspective was not a component of the artistic system of the picture. The student had no problem in answering the same question in relation to the second picture. Then I tried to explain how the Western artist created the impression of certain objects being farther away than others by making them smaller in size and-very important-more blurred than those in the foreground. In music, I said, we also present the background smaller (that is, softer) and more blurred (that is, less articulated)."
   To the advanced reader the unusual degree of common sense in Berman's carefully calibrated advice may sometimes appear "over-informative." Too much neutrality can obscure a powerful vision. There are moments, I feel, where too much common sense can be an obstacle to the creative initiative of a sensitive student. Neuhaus observed that young pianists of genius go through phases of exaggeration because they have to experience the range and the limitations of their power. But these shortcomings are more than made up for by the second part of the book ("Shaping up a Performance"). Some of the real gems of the book are hidden in these chapters, especially Berman's adaptation of Stanislavsky's psycho-technique and "unbroken line" to musical performance.
   I strongly recommend this book to the amateur. If you are a professional it is a must read.
   In case you haven't read them, I'd like to draw your attention to two other books in this field: Russell Sherman's "Piano Pieces" (aphoristic reflections `laden with culture and atmosphere') and Seymour Bernstein's more methodical "With Your Own Two Hands" (emphasis on practicing and discipline).

   Rolf-Peter Wille




3. I've been teaching piano full time since 1981. I am constantly reading material to learn about performance practice as well as other musical matters.
   
   If I had to recommend one book to either students or teachers of piano this would be it. It covers a wide range of practical and interpretive matters in one very readable and unintimidating volume.
   
   Boris Berman proves to be a knowledgeable yet down to earth teacher who is able to cover a lot of ground without merely glossing over the territory. There is so much food for thought here that can nourish pianists for a long long time.
   
   Highly recommended!



4. Berman early on tells you that this is not a "how-to" book. It's not. But it is a book that explores playing the piano in depth in a clear, understandable manner. I've taken piano lessons for four years now and this book shows me what's ahead for me and, most importantly, that learning is doable. If you have some knowledge of music and piano playing you will love this book. No one who wants to excel at playing the piano should be without this book. Most excellent.



5. In my opinion, this book is at best completely useless for the average reader. First of all, in spite of what the preface wants to make you believe, it is aimed exclusively at very advanced pianists; for instance, all the musical examples are from the concert repertoire.
   
   More seriously, the book has very little structure and is basically a collection of random thoughts, some of which are used as starting points for completely absurd theories. For example, the author elaborates at length on a notion of "in" and "out" touches that supposedly produce different tone colors at the same dynamic level (he is unconcerned by the fact that this plainly contradicts the laws of physics, but will admit that non-pianists are not capable of hearing these gradations of tone color).
   
   As is often the case in such books, the author writes down to his readers in a patronizing tone; on pg. 29 we learn that he sometimes will not correct mistakes in a student's hand position if that student is a hopeless case anyway.
   
   While other reviewers seem to have liked the book, my advice to the average reader would be to stay away from this. There are much more useful books on these topics out there; one of my favorites would be Improve Your Piano Playing.

4 comments about Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments.

1. This an historically significant work worthwhile for a number of reasons--of course--, but I am particularly interested in its treatment of figured bass. Why? Although it was composed after Rameau published his revolutionary theory of root progression, C.P.E. Bach repudiated Rameau's theory, and this work remains untouched by it. Consequently, reading this is the easist way to get a feel for how things stood before Rameau and (ironically for C.P.E. Bach) to appreciate truly Rameau's achievement.

   Also recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.




2. The previous reviewer is referring to "part two" of this text, the portion which deals with counterpoint, etc. However, players of J. S. Bach will especially appreciate the first part of the text, which has a large chapter explaining the various embellishments which one finds in J. S. Bach's works; it is a fine reference for anyone playing music with Baroque markings for trills, turns, mordents, etc.



3. Interesting to see how J.S. Bach's perhaps most important composer son, who had a large influence on Mozart, viewed the art of figured bass and counterpoint. Apparently the Bachs were aware of Rameau's theory of harmony and root progressions, but preferred the contrapuntal approach to harmonization. This book bears serious study by those interested in music theory and composition.



4. I recently consulted this book - Chapter 2 - and found it helpful to me in interpreting ornamentation/embellishment in flute music written during the early Classical period (after 1750).
   
   In this context, embellishment is defined as a note or notes written around a main note which ornaments a melody, rhythm or harmony. In the words of C.P.E., a musical ornament/embellishment "joins notes . . . enlivens them . . . gives them emphasis and accentuation, and . . . brings out their expression."

1 comments about Teach Yourself to Play Electronic Keyboard (Teach Yourself).

1. I have been trying for a short while and the books steps are great for a real beginner like me.