2 comments about Studying Suzuki Piano: More Than Music : A Handbook for Teachers, Parents, and Students (Suzuki Piano Reference).

1. This is a wonderful comprehensive instuction manual for teaching a child the art of piano playing.



2. After looking into the closest Suzuki school for my 5-year old autistic daughter, the 45 minute drive and $3000 annual tuition was just not possible. My daughter(as well as her sisters) have shown a lot of interest in our piano in the dining room, and were already trying to "play by ear" songs like "Twinkle" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb". I minored in music in college(though I still can't play with two hands), but I figured I knew enough to start my kids out with this method. This book is a great value, and it's easy to get started. I especially liked that it stressed hand position and technique. The best thing is I can teach my daughter when SHE takes in interest in learning and stop when she loses interest, rather than force her to sit for a 30-minute lesson. (And isnt' that something that Suzuki believed in ?) Who knows, when the time comes, maybe we'll both learn how to play with two hands!

5 comments about Chopin: Pianist and Teacher: As Seen by his Pupils.

1. To the general public Chopin is famous for his beautiful piano music. However, in his days he also was a renowned piano teacher with some revolutionary ideas (at least for his time) about piano technique. His students included rich, aristocratic ladies (he had to make a living) and some very talented students.
   Luckily many of the things Chopin told his students during their lessons have been preserved in various diaries and notes by his students and have now been compiled in this book.
   Also, Chopin made a start with a piano method (which he did not complete). This method is also included in this book.
   If you are a piano student this book is simply a must-have.
   If you are not a pianist, but seriously interested in Chopin's ideas about (his own) music and teaching you also should buy this book.
   JJ Eigeldinger wrote more excellent books about Chopin which unfortunately are still only available in French.



2. I satisfied with this book very much.



3. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3V2VGA1KQTPLV Chopin book review that I bought for my mother...



4. What can be better than taking lessons with Chopin? This book is very objective. The sources were his students' letters and the chapters are very well-organised.
   The higher the level you are in playing piano/music, the more you get.



5. This book is just a cut and paste from other publications by and about Chopin. If you want to learn someething about piano playing this will deliver suggestions but with a horrible choppy cadence. If you want to learn more about Chopin you won't find it here. This book is tedious and I'm sorry I bought it.

No comments about Piano Adventures Popular Repertoire, Level 2B.

5 comments about Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand.

1. Excellently and diligently written, this little book tells the story of one Steinway concert grand piano from conception to adolescence. Barron loves the piano, respects the Company, and is dilgent in showing the evolution of Steinway, as well as the creation of one, new opus - a 9 foot concert piano. Barron introduces us to the barons of Steinway and the individual craftsmen who hand make these excellent instruments. To me, the quality and individual character of each Steinway piano are no longer a mystery.
   
   Each time I play my own small grand piano (a quality A B Chase, close replica of the Steinway model S), I think of the efforts that went into it. Unlike Yamahas and such, the Steinway is an almost hand-built piano from a Company which has never relented in its determination to produce the best.
   
   The book also explains why age is not all that becoming in the tonal life of a piano. The instrument has a birth, a development, and an aging process which are measured in tonal character progress, not just years. The aged Steiway seems a time integral of all that has come before - including hundred year old designs and techniques, and all the way up to its last tuning.
   
   If you think a piano is a piano, is a piano, Barron's book will change your outlook.



2. K-0862 became a living...feeling...emotional entity by the end of this book........A very very original idea (to breath life into this piano) and well written. Actually EXTREMELY WELL WRITTEN book...My NEW favorite among all books...right up there with OVER THE EDGE OF THE WORLD......... The two most enjoyable....... educational........ books I have ever read!!!!!! KUDOS!!!!!!! I hated when i got to the end of this one!!!!!!



3. I took my copy of "Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand" to the beach with me. I read it in 4 days! Mr. Barron infuses a wealth of information into a wonderful story about this piano,and oh so much more. Before you know it K-0862 is a character you care about. I cannot imagine anyone not finding something to love about this book!!! Masterfully written!



4. Steinway pianos are my favorite. Being that I am a professional country/blues pianist, if I can't play a Steinway, I would rather not play! James Barron wrote an historical account of the making of a Steinway. The piano is still made the way they started since the 1800's. No assembly line, no plastic parts, and no artificial wood. They are constructed by hand and skilled craftsmanship.
   
   Why buy a $400.00 piano made in China? That is an insult not only to beginning and professional pianists, but an insult to the piano itself. In 2000, the piano celebrated it's 300th anniversary. Piano is the most famous house hold instrument.
   
   This book is enjoyable, and educational even to those who do not play, but love to hear the glorious 88 keys hitting the strings. The harpsichord was a for runner of the piano. The difference was, you may beat the keys as hard as you can, but you still only received one level of sound. Strings were plucked, and the piano was made for the hammers to hit the strings. The harder you played, the louder a piano sounded. The piano changed the history of the world. I think two of the greatest pianist is Floyd Cramer, and Roger Williams.
   
   Steinway takes you deep into the heart of their factory, and shows you how a piano is meant to be built and played. The history is fascinating.



5. When I bought this book, I hope to discover some facts about piano making and I am happy with the purchase. This is a good book for everyone because is the point of view of a writer and is the general view just like everyone who isn't in the piano world just piano technicians, piano teachers, buyers,dealers; is great for pianists, musicians and all the people who wants to know how is the making of a piano for one of the greatest piano makers, isn't a technical book, have historical facts in the way of anecdotic, humorous, and some factory language.

No comments about Piano Adventures Christmas Book, Level 2B.

5 comments about Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature.

1. As a music teacher, I found this book to be a perfect guide to the selection of piano literature from elementary through advanced repertoire. The coverage is comprehensive, representing four periods of music history. It's a pretty solid guide for the experienced piano instructor as well as an important handbook for thw beginning instructor. It is also a dependable sourcebook for the advancing piano student. Highly recommended.



2. It's quite a good book of "teaching literature", but for me an advanced pianist, and as a guide to "performance literature", it is quite unsatisfactory. For instance, even Bach's English Suites are not mentioned in this book at all! Especially if you've read some piano liturature books like in German (eg. Handbuch der Klavierliteratur by K. Wolters), you would feel this book relatively inferior. But it provides good information for the piano instructors indeed, like which repertoire is a good preparative study for another repertoire, etc. Acutally I would still suggest this book, because it is sufficiently informative for the basic piano instructors in my country.



3. This book would be particularly useful for piano teachers or for adult students of piano who are trying to expand their repertoire. It would be less useful for an advanced pianist (which I am not), as the rating scale is too simplistic and many well-known, but very difficult, works are not included.

   There is a great selection of pieces from both well-known and very obscure composers, and includes virtually every significant teaching piece that one might think of. Each piece is graded in difficulty from 1-10. The grading is not as detailed as that used by Wolters, where each piece is given a separate grade for both technical and musical difficulty, but the grading is quite accurate and helpful in selecting pieces that you can actually play, if you're not a top-notch pianist. The biggest advantage of this book over other piano repertoire books is the very extensive coverage of twentieth-century music, including even some pieces for prepared piano, so it's a good place to look for some new stuff to play to annoy your friends and neighbors.

   A minor weakness of the book is the lack of headings at the top of each page, which makes it sometimes irritating to use as a reference, since you may have to page forward or backwards several pages to figure out where you are in the alphabetical listing of composers. The typesetting and page layout make it look a bit amateurish, although it is carefully edited and doesn't contain a lot of typographical errors.




4. This is an outstanding source book for the piano teacher. I have to respond to earlier reviewers in criticizing the collection because it contains only elementary music. If someone purchases this guide thinking they are going to have a list of elementary piano repertoire, they will be very disappointed. The book contains standard teaching literature that is considered elementary through early advanced. Magrath even titles the book "Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature". The term "standard teaching and performance literature" implies that this is not a source of advanced literature. Although, for the average piano student in the United States, this source will cover literature that would be appropriate for them through high school (except for the very precocious). Each piece or collection is given a level of difficulty number, a brief synopsis and the publisher is listed. If you are a piano teacher, you will welcome many of the obscure or forgotten pieces that are classified in the book. There are many excellent teaching pieces that are not normally seen in the best selling collections.



5. I agree, the one thing lacking in this otherwise comprehensive manual is the advanced literature. No Chopin Etudes or Liszt Rhapsodies, here. Overall a good resource for the piano teacher. This one's for the pedagogues like me.

5 comments about Gilda Joyce: The Ghost Sonata (Gilda Joyce).

1. Fourteen-year-old Gilda Joyce has a passion for fashion, and a flair for the offbeat; so when she learns that her best friend, and expert pianist, Gwendolyn "Wendy" Choy, has been chosen to be a finalist in a piano competition, that will be held in Oxford, England, Gilda couldn't be more thrilled. Oxford is full of ghost stories, and, as a psychic investigator, Gilda is determined to experience one first-hand; which is why she will do anything in her power to snag a seat on the red eye headed for the British destination. Unfortunately, money is tight, and, seeing as how she gave up piano lessons after a few weeks, she certainly can't try to make her way into the competition, so she does the next best thing...Gilda offers her services as an experienced page turner, and voila! She's out of school for a week, and encountering her next, and very first European, adventure. Packing her pink umbrella, spidery false eyelashes, countless stilettos, her mod outfit, cat's-eye glasses, go-go boots, and an assortment of hats, Gilda couldn't be more thrilled to set off. Unfortunately, her excitement isn't shared by the pianist of the hour - Wendy. For weeks, Wendy has been having disturbing nightmares that have made it near impossible for her to sleep, let alone concentrate on being the best pianist she can be. But winning the competition would mean prestige for her family, as well as a nice chunk of change that Gilda has already begun spending in her mind. But as much as Gilda craves a purse full of money that will purchase her heart's desires, she can't help but sympathize with her closest pal, and feel the need to solve the mystery of Wendy's nightmares. But since arriving in England, Wendy's nightmares have taken an even more bizarre turn. Suddenly, she begins hearing strange piano music playing in the middle of the night, and both she and Gilda have spotted a male ghost, of about their age, traipsing around Oxford. Gilda knows that it's up to her to do a little investigating. But Wendy wants to help. So, waving goodbye to the grueling practice sessions, and extremely stiff competition awaiting her, Wendy trots along by Gilda's side, only to stumble upon an assortment of spooky occurrences that seem to sprout up in every corner. And, to make matters worse, Wendy isn't the only contestant in the competition who has fallen victim to "hauntings." Suddenly, many of the contestants begin receiving creepy tarot cards depicting scary images that have instilled a killer case of the nerves in each and every one of them. Gilda is convinced that a haunting is at hand, and knows that it will take each and every fiber of her psychic investigator skills to crack the case wide open before it's too late. But in between her investigation, and frequent clothes-changing sessions, Gilda begins to find herself falling for a lanky, cute British boy - who happens to be Wendy's competition - and can't help herself from indulging in a little one-on-one time with the accented chap. But if she doesn't keep her mind focused on the task at hand, she may just find herself on a trip back to the States...alone.
   
   I fell in love with Gilda Joyce when Jennifer Allison released GILDA JOYCE, PSYCHIC INVESTIGATOR, and since then, have been unable to resist the quirky sleuth. The fact that, in GILDA JOYCE, THE GHOST SONATA takes place in the fabulous Oxford, England, however, only makes me love it even more. Gilda Joyce is her typical off-the-wall self in this delightful new installment. Stocking up on pill-box hats, wellies, go-go boots, and a variety of crazy colored wigs, Gilda presents herself in the fashion of a modern-day HARRIET THE SPY. Her frequent outfit changes, and daydreams involving a English boy with a crooked smile are humorous. However, Gilda never forgets her friends, and manages to stay on top of her investigation, even with the distraction of a cute. Wendy Choy, on the other hand, is a little more serious, and a lot less fun that Gilda. While this is the first time that readers really get the chance to learn a lot more about Wendy, it's hard to say that you are able to come away with a better understanding of her personality, as she wasn't herself within the pages of GILDA JOYCE, THE GHOST SONATA. Even so, Wendy still leaves an impression, albeit a bland one. Julian, the British boy who has caught Gilda's eye, is probably one of the more intriguing characters within this installment, as he maintains an aloof, careless air about him that intrigues you; while, at the same time, managing to come off as a con artist, of sorts. His various tall tales, and two-timing ways make you loathe him and love him at the same time, and truly make you wish for a chance to learn more about him in the future. Allison has done a wonderful job of showcasing the pain and suffering, along with the joy and happiness that comes along with being in a competition; and also introduces pushy stage mothers that will make you laugh and cry simultaneously as they embarrass themselves, and their children, throughout the story. A haunting story that chills you to the bone!
   
   Erika Sorocco
   Freelance Reviewer



2. Gilda Joyce- The Ghost Sonata is a wonderful mystery that makes you laugh. Gilda's friend Wendy Choy is invited to a national piano competition in Endland, and Gilda just has to go. And of corse, along the way, she bumps into a mystery. Wendy hears, creepy piano music at night, Gilda sees a ghost! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!



3. Yet this book can't get any better. Mystery, adventure, comedy... this book has it all! IF you're looking for a good read this is a way to go. It's about a girl named Gilda and her best friend Wendy. Wendy is chosen to go play in a piano competition in England. Gilda wants to come along and she finds a way to get there. As they go on the plane Gilda shows Wendy her reading of cards(like a fortune teller Gilda's into that she 's a "investigator") The reading turns out to be horrible and the tarot cards keep finding their way into Wendy's dorm room. The piano competition is tough, meanwhile Wendy thinks she going crazy. With a murder investigation near the end and a couple quirky mysteries 13 year old Gilda Joyce battles her way through the English world finding out that being an "investigator" can be scary sometimes!



4. The first two entries in this series were laugh out loud funny and didn't require any suspension of disbelief in ghosts -- the mysteries were perfectly explainable without any resort to the supernatural. The protagonist's obsession with ghostly explanations could easily be understood in terms of her desire to find a way to communicate with her dead father. In this third volume, there are no longer any rational explanations. The only solution to the mystery requires you to assume the involvement of an other-worldly spirit. Here, the author took the easy way out. I hope she returns to the real world in the next installment.



5. ...but I wouldn't let him have it until I was done! Like my son, I am a big fan of the Gilda Joyce series. I read a lot of young adult fiction, and I have found the Gilda Joyce books to be not only highly entertaining but compelling in their exploration of 'tween experiences; how kids that age create such a vivid blend of imagination and reality to make sense of their emerging understanding of the adult world.
   
   THE GHOST SONATA is my favorite Gilda to date. I almost never laugh out loud when reading, but the mix of humor and dread in the tarot reading scene at the airport put me over the edge with laughter. The humor throughout the book was wonderful. Wendy's competition rivals were so much fun. Her piano teacher was appealingly zany and a bit treacherous. And the competition judges and the rivalries that played out in their comments to the contestants were an absolute riot. Allison gives us an entertaining insider's view of the workings of a major piano competition. Having Gilda act as Wendy's page turner and the unexpected consequences this brings is an inspired bit of humor.
   
   I also loved the central mystery, with Wendy being a ghost's chosen medium for his final, secret sonata. It's a rich metaphor for resolution to the guilt and grief associated with a tragic death. I also found the local color and texture of Oxford and the English countryside both amusing and touching. I particularly liked the scenes by the treacle well. Spooky and evocative. Allison drew the rich history of the places, especially with the associations to ALICE IN WONDERLAND, with such detail, yet always kept the tone and action appealingly spooky and light.
   
   Wendy has always been my favorite character besides Gilda herself, so I was happy to have her point of view balanced with Gilda's. I loved the theme of a reasonable person having to confront and ultimately accept something unexpected and unexplainable. It's a parable of faith for my son to think about, since he is at the age where he is asking a lot of questions about faith and chance circumstances that can't easily be explained. I was intrigued by Wendy's personal journey to an adult understanding of artistic freedom and faith in her own abilities. Allison portrays Wendy's gradual moving away from pleasing her piano teacher and committing to her own artistic expression with realism and insight. I found this aspect of the novel particularly touching.
   
   The fact that Jennifer Allison can bring togother so many serious themes - faith, love, death, redemption, adult regrets contrasting with young peoples' emerging identities of hope and confidence, not to mention a whole host of literary touchtones that adults will recognize - in such an entertaining story and fun cast of characters is, I feel, a rare accomplishment in literature for any age group. Kudos to Allison. My son can't wait to get started on THE GHOST SONATA, and I can't wait to talk to him about it.

1 comments about Professional Piano Teaching: A Comprehensive Piano Pedagogy Textbook for Teaching Elementary-Level Students.

1. Dr. Jacobson explains the art of piano pedagogy in the most comprehensive text available. New and experienced teachers alike will benefit from her expertise in the field of piano teaching. She is very dedicated to making us the best teachers we can be! This book is essential for every music teachers library as a reference and inspiration!!!
   
   Sincerely,
   L.Cook
   piano teacher for over 20 years

1 comments about John Thompson's Adult Piano Course - Book 1: Book 1/Mid-Elementary Level.

1. This a great book for beginners. It is non-assuming, starts from the very basic, and takes a step by step approach on fingering and theory. It's easy to make real progress with this book.
   
   After I got thru the first half of this book, the pieces in this book starts to become boring. I still used this book for theory, but got other books on classical music made for beginners as practices.

4 comments about Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus (Piano/Vocal/Guitar) (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook).

1. Decent product, good for a young person who is both interested in Hannah Montana and learning how to read music. Book contains lyrics, tabulature, and written music for Piano/Vocal/Guitar parts of the songs on her Hannah Montanna 2/Meet Miley Cyrus 2 Disc set.



2. I think this book is a great book for my daughter just starting the guitar! Keep up the great work on the song books! Also, maybe you should make song books, but titles like for beginners and starters! Thanks!



3. I am very happy with this product. I can play all the songs while my friends sing along. All these pages are worth the price. This book is a lot of fun! Thank you Amazon!



4. My daughter and her guitar teacher use the book weekly. They seem very pleased with the purchase