5 comments about Fundamentals of Piano Practice.

1. I am very happy to see this book available on Amazon, so that I may publish my gratitude to its author.
   
   Read the Product Description above, carefully. That sums it up, and it is no idle boast.
   
   As a self-taught pianist, I have read many books and articles on piano playing, including some of the greatest teachers and pianists. Though I have learned much from my studies, it was not until I read this book that I had the breakthrough that really opened up my abilities. Reading this book, one has the sense of taking a fantastic excursion to places yet unexplored, and coming away with a sense of astonishment that this is indeed the first treatise to really come to grips with the fundamentals of learning how to play the piano.
   
   The proof of any self-help manual is in the result, and I can say loud and unequivocally that my playing has developed tremendously since I applied the techniques found here. I have taken on repertoire that I never would have attempted previously, and I am constantly amazed to watch myself, my hands, traverse the keyboard with such surety, even in demanding passages.
   
   Before, too, I was hesitant to play in front of persons outside my own family. Through these methods, I have learned my pieces so well that I now have the confidence to play in front of complete strangers.
   
   I could go on and on, but you don't need to be reading this review, you need to get and read this book. For me, it was the single greatest find in all my pianistic ramblings.
   
   A plenitude of stars.



2. Chang's book has a few good points, but for the most part I find it poorly written. Its like he handed his rough notes to the publisher and they printed it. Its seems unorganized and disjointed. I find it hard to follow. I'm not even sure he's a player according to what I've read and heard. In the book he argues with himself on just about every concept. Its overly wordy with little substance. His strong opinions don't seem to be based on science. I should of just read it online, (Its free on his web site), but I like the feel of a book. Oh well...even if I get a couple small concepts, the better...



3. This manual should be required reading for all piano students. It presents unique techniques and incites into the method of practicing the piano. It will surely accelerate the learning process and give you additional incentive for continuing your studies. Highly recommended.



4. i usually do not take the time to write review on products that i've purchased however this one i feel i must. I purchased many books and dvds and have had lessons. This one truly is organized and is taken with respect to the student; he has a very respectful writing style and can relate with incorrect teaching methods.
   
   I've yet to complete this book but am re-energized and feel that there is still hope with this instrument i am drawn to. I cannot recommend this more to any student who has been a victim to horrible teachers and methods, try this out.
   discovered this book from a great site www.pianostreet.com
   
   
   -sean.



5. This book radically improved my piano playing. I was a good amateur classical guitarist when younger, but did not take up the piano until age 40. I assumed it would be impossible to develop enough technique as an adult to play anything very interesting. I spent 8 years or so banging out Hanon exercises and scales and got nowhere at all musically. With much painful labor I could work through some of the easiest Hayden sonatas at 75% of proper tempo. This book taught me how to practice the piano musically and in about a year and a half all of the Mozart and Hayden sonatas are within range and I am able to play for teachers or friends without falling apart. I no longer creep through scores looking for approachable adagios; I go straight for presto and allegro con brio.
   This book clearly shows what's wrong with the way many students and teachers approach piano practice and tells you how to do it efficiently and quickly. Some of the tips I found most helpful were (1) throw Hanon in the trash (2) practice hands apart more than you think you need to (3) whenever you are working on a tricky passage, play it over and over at whatever tempo is relaxed, but end by playing it once very, very slowly (4) start your practice by playing a difficult piece musically without a long warm-up on scales and exercises.
   The author sometimes has an idiosyncratic way of looking at things. For example, he suggests that in order to learn to play an Alberti bass very fast you should just realize that playing all notes of the chord simultaeously is the same as playing the Alberti pattern infinitely fast -so all you need to do is slow down a bit from the infinitely fast tempo. Clever, but not really that helpful. In spite of little quirks like that, though, this book can really help.

5 comments about The Organists' Manual: Technical Studies and Selected Compositions for the Organ.

1. This is the finest universal organ method I have come across to date. I believe it is intended tfor the beginner or intermediate student. All aspects of playing the instrument are covered, with a focus on church service work and the issues dealing with that job.
   I recommend it highly.



2. I bought this as a Christmas present so was very disappointed to find though advertised as new the cover looked like something had been dropped on it. It was scuffed badly. I didn't have time to return it for exchange and the person who received it "said" it was okay I was upset. If something says new it should look new.



3. This book is excellent for learning or reviewing organ skills; uses actual, common organist pieces for learning, not boring exercises like many books;
   
   Speedy, on-time delivery from amazon



4. This is a good book for the beginning organist. The book has good training activities and practice ideas.



5. I am a pianist who recently started studying organ to upgrade my skill for playing in church. This is a great resource, with quite a bit of very fine music. As another reviewer stated, it is quite similar in concept to the classic organ method by Gleason, which I also respect and enjoy. But I find the repertoire here more interesting and serviceable than what you will find in the Gleason.
   
   Also contains very fine chapters on registration, articulation and phrasing. An essential resource in my opinion.

3 comments about Sweeney Todd- Movie Selections- Piano,Vocal.

1. When I saw Sweeney Todd, I tried to find sheet music for it. I was able to find both the original "Vocal Selections" book (the one with the white cover and drawing) and the full score/piano reduction version at local libraries. I was sadly disappointed by both. The original Vocal Selections book has stripped down versions of the songs that were probably rushed out to cash in on the success of the musical. "Epiphany", the song I was most interested in, is notably missing. And some of the music sounds disappointing and flat to me in its original keys (e.g., F minor in "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd").
   
   The full score, aside from being extremely bulky, has a lot of extraneous music designed to stretch out the length of the original. Quite a bit of it is little more than filler. I tried playing the Final Scene as it was in the movie, but in the score it is dragged out and broken up by filler material. And the accompaniment seems a little thin in places, as the musical was written for a small Broadway pit orchestra.
   
   The new book (Sweeney Todd: Movie Selections) is exactly what I was looking for: All the major songs from the film; in their entirety (including interspersed dialogue, intros and outros); in the exact same keys as in the film; and with a full, lush piano accompaniment reduced from the newly enlarged orchestral score. The only minor drawback is that, while the cover says "Piano - Vocal - Chords", I can't find any chords printed in my copy. Seeing as I'm playing it on a piano (and not a guitar), this isn't a problem for me.
   
   The book contains the following songs:
   
   - No Place Like London
   - The Worst Pies in London
   - Poor Thing
   - My Friends
   - Green Finch and Linnet Bird
   - Johanna (Anthony)
   - Pirelli's Miracle Elixir
   - The Contest
   - Wait
   - Pretty Women
   - Epiphany
   - A Little Priest
   - Johanna (Anthony, Todd, Beggar Woman)
   - God, That's Good!
   - By The Sea
   - Not While I'm Around
   
   I would have liked to see the Final Scene in the book as well, but as it stands it's great the way it is. If your first exposure to "Sweeney Todd" was the movie, and you don't have any attachment to the original musical, this is the sheet music book to get.



2. For a bit of background, I've played piano for over 10 years and have over 15 Broadway musical piano/vocal sheet music books.
   
   This Sweeney Todd delivers on all counts. The music is not for a beginner, for sure, but would be appropriate for intermediate to difficult players. The piano part is not shortchanged to get vocals, as it so often is; the vocal part is full of the beautiful rhythms. Another nice touch is that the monologue into the songs are included at the top of the music-I've never seen that before.
   
   However, there is one problem. To get the movie down, some of the middles of songs have been cut. One noticeable cut, which happens to be my favorite song, is "Kiss Me" (performed by Johanna and Antony, and then Todd in the 2nd). If your only exposure has been the movie, though, you will find it exactly as seen.



3. This was a gift for an 11 yr old girl who loves her keyboard. It is her favorite at this time.

2 comments about Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Recital Book Level 1A (Alfred's Basic Piano Library).

1. Even for the most basic beginner, cute, thoughtful songs that could easily be performed for a beginning pianist recita.



2. I did a lot of looking for piano instruction books, and the Alfred Series is fabulous! This book was referenced from the Basic Course and corresponds to the level the student is at ~ and it makes teaching so simple. One of the things I like best is the great variety of songs - that are actually fun to learn - I highly recommend this book for the younger beginner student.

No comments about Mabel Strikes A Chord (Sister Magic).

No comments about Sonatas - Book 1: Piano Solo (Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics, Vol. 1).

3 comments about ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits for Easy Piano.

1. John Tobler has written a fairly good book on ABBA, but is far too focused on the events surrounding ABBA's UK success (and failures). His style of writing is difficult to read. His sentences seem to ramble on, and at times they are quite hard to follow. There is very little really new information here. That was even true before reading the more recent books by Carl Magnus Palm and Jean-Marie Potiez. And now that those two authors have published their versions of the ABBA story, ABBA Gold seems very basic.



2. I think that the other reviewer was reviewing the wrong book. This book is a book of collections of music sheets that appear in ever popular "ABBA Gold" CD. Considering that all the other individual music sheets are not available, this book is the only source of ABBA songs for the people who wants to play them. This book contains the music sheet quality of scores - piano and chords, as well as lyrics. Not a "easy" version. A true ABBA lover should definitely check this out !

   There is another one which is titles as "Great Songs of ABBA", which contains almost all songs of ABBA. Unfortunately, the book is hard to get these days.




3. This music book was a disappointment. The "easy piano" is too easy so the harmonies of ABBA do not come through.

No comments about Piano Adventures Lesson Book, Level 3A (Piano Adventures).

5 comments about The Piano Tuner: A Novel.

1. Feels like Apocolypse Now in some ways. A good book with vivid imagery and character descriptions...it drew me in and I wanted to see where the story went.



2. In October 1886, Edgar Drake receives an odd telegram from the British War Offices. The telegram contains a request that he leave his wife in London to travel the jungles of Burma, where he'd find an Erard grand piano that is in need of repairing. The piano belongs to an army surgeon major by the name of Anthony Carroll, whose eccentric peacemaking techniques include music, poetry, and medicine. As Drake travels through Europe, the Red Sea, India, and into Burma, Drake meets all sorts of people and learns of their stories.
   
   The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason is a wonderful novel. Although slow to get through in the beginning, it starts to pick up when the journey begins. Each new cultural experience Drake encounters draws in the reader with the desire to know more. If you are looking for a book that you can't put down, one that is adventurous and touching at the same time, The Piano Turner is an excellent choice.



3. You know, I'm not sure what to say about this book. The premise intriqued me--a London piano tuner who specializes in Erard pianos is summoned by the army to go to Burma to tune and fix a piano belonging to a key soldier/doctor in England's army.
   
   The author has done his research--he just as easily talks about tuning techniques and the history of the Erard piano as he does the history of Burma.
   
   Of course, he lived in Burma.
   
   The book takes a while to get into. It has long histories of Burma disguised as letters and preparation papers for the piano tuner. And the piano tuner responds to these by writing his own letter of the history of the Erard.
   
   To be honest, I never figured out why those were necessary.
   
   The language at times his initimate with the piano tuner and other times distant. I think it begins distant and moves closer and closer to him.
   
   Once the tuner gets to Burma (which takes a while and is full of extraneous but at times beautiful stories), the story picks up. That's when I got into it. The piano tuner is swept up by the beauty of Burma--the country and the culture--and by the politics. Unknowingly he becomes involved in espionage? salvation? council? with the eccentric soldier/doctor who has managed peace with the locals through medicine and music, much to the chagrin of officers who wish to use the war for their own ambitions.
   
   The book shows the confusion of war, the messiness not in the blood shed but in the policies.
   
   But that is not its main point.
   
   I don't think. It's about the piano tuner's journey, what he learns about himself in the process. He's completely in love with his wife, who encourages him to go on this journey, but he falls in love with a local beauty. I never understood this.
   
   While we're at it: another thing I didn't understand--he seems perfectly content, but there are a couple of places when he has this attitude of "get the hell outta Dodge." I know better than anyone these contradicting feelings, but Mason never pulled it off, I didn't feel. I didn't get why he really left.
   
   There are moments of beauty, and, as I said, once the tuner gets to Burma, you get more into his head, but I don't think I'd recommend this book. I enjoyed it for the most part. Nothing really new--the old romantic books (not as in love romance but as in sentimentality).



4. "Let me tell you a story" the old man said. "What is the story about?" replied the boy, his eyes bright with anticipation. "A book" said the old man as he settled into his favorite chair. "Is it a good book?" asked the boy. "Listen to the story, then you can decide yourself." And so he began, "There was a writer who loved words, and he loved to put them together into beautiful sentences. His words made the world of old Burma come alive. Spice scents fill the air, flowers glow like beacons, insects sing in the humid, fertile wet-lands. He decided in order to describe this hypnotic place someone from far away would have to view it for the first time. The traveler's reactions would give him an opportunity to write in rich detail about it. This made the man very happy." "So far I quite like this book" smiled the boy. But the old man held up his hand and continued,"And because the feeling of the place was so magical to the writer, he wove fantasies, strange tales, and many dreams into his book." "I like those things" said the boy, "but baba, what is the book about?" "Here is where the problems lie", sighed the man. "The writer made up a very strange circumstance to allow his traveler to reach Burma. It is a circumstance that would never happen, and even as you read his beautiful sentences, you know this." "Well then, what of the traveler?" asked the boy, "will I love him, or hate him, or find him an interesting human being?" "I'm afraid not" sighed the man, "He is almost bloodless in his interaction with the world. As an observer, he is first rate, but that is all. He is a tool to allow the writer to express his lovely words. One thing the traveler does very well though, is he falls into deep reverie, almost a trance, often. Other times he dozes, even in the midst of historical meetings. And when he is in either of these half-waking states, wonderful things happen. Candles glow golden against crimson silks, chopped peppers the color of ox-blood sit pungently in bowls, and bright water courses down beautiful tanned arms of Burmese women" "Well then, is the book well put together?" the youngster asked. "There are many strange things in the make-up of this book" the man replied, "A piano is carried on a journey, by six strong men who find it arduous. Yet, a man and 3 young boys are able to easily lift the piano off a raft while it floats on a river. Quotation marks come and go. Often entire conversations take place without them. I wondered if this was done on purpose to catch the reader off guard, to make one feel off-kilter." "Hmmmm" pondered the boy, "so far you have told me many things about this book, but you did not tell me if you enjoyed it." "I suspended the need for a believable plot or deep characterizations, so yes, I enjoyed reading it" replied the man "but not as much, I suspect, as the author enjoyed writing it."



5. Oh how worthy an enterprise and how promising a beginning! Yet, how many worthy enterprises have begun well only to run out of ideas and, ultimately, steam? If the preposterousness of the initial premise doesn't put you off - the British Army sending a piano tuner to the far reaches of empire - in this case, the road to Mandalay - just to comply with the eccentric caprice of a supposedly indispensable martinet - then you do get some enjoyment from the first hundred or so pages. However, suspicions begin to set in when, for example, our hero tuner meets, during one stage of his mammoth journey, a bizarre `native' who relates to him, what the reader supposes to be a portentous tale only for this to prove to have been something of a `red herring'! So the first signs of irritation become apparent and as our Marlow-like hero penetrates further into the unknown, along the Irrawaddy, a la, Heart of Darkness, he eventually meets his Kurtz who turns out to be something of a bore! The one hope the reader has is that the enigmatic guide, a beautiful Burmese woman, for whom Drake, the tuner, develops an infatuation, actually becomes his lover, simply to make the story more interesting.
   
   Ultimately nothing of any interest does develop, not even the dreary Drake and the prose, initially, quite commanding and sure, becomes, along with the `story', merely turgid and ultimately, extremely irritating.
   
   Apparently, it's to be turned into a film to be directed by, wait for it....yes, so, so predictably by Werner Herzog!

No comments about Piano Adventures: Lesson Book Level 2B.