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

1 comments about Rent: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical (Applause Books).

1. Celebrating one of the most famous Broadway musicals, "Rent: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical" is the script and songbook for the show that has been running on the famed musical theater street for well over a decade. The play, which focuses on young artists making their way in the world as the AIDS epidemic begins to hit, has gained its popularity for a reason - its no-holds-barred take on contemporary issues is speaks openly to theater goers of all backgrounds. "Rent" is sure to please fans of the play who want a souvenir to cherish as its Broadway run comes to an end.

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.

No comments about Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Prep Course Theory Book Level A (Alfred's Basic Piano Library).

1 comments about The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher.

1. This is a great reference for teachers at all levels. In it's well layed out pages it explores differant methods, types of students and gives practical advice on running a studio. I don't own it, but have checked it out from the library 3 or 4 times!

5 comments about Don't Tell Mom I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse.

1. Working the rigs myself I found this book particularly interesting. Life on land rigs in the jungles of Borneo is definetely something different from the sanitary and well(over?) legislated conditions of the north sea where I work.
   
   The stories have the same feel as the ones I hear from the old guys in the field here although probably even a few notches more hardcore. Really good war stories from the oil field will be my best description. Extremely entertaining read, also for someone not in the oil business. Well reccomended !!



2. Carter's tales of his adventures on various oil rigs around the world make for entertaining and undemanding reading. The book is ideal for an aeroplane trip. The oil industry is a mix of high anxiety and stultifying boredom, and the people who inhabit its odd world are fairly weird as well. Carter seems to have met most of them at one time or another, as they let off steam in numerous unsalubrious watering holes in seedy parts of the planet.
   
   Carter offers some unflattering but humorous depictions of the locals living near oil drilling operations (oil always seems to be found in the most remote and hostile locations, with inhabitants of a similar nature) and brings to life the multinational professional roughnecks who share his world.
   
   His impressions of places are naturally affected by the strange nature of the oil business, which doesn't afford its workers anything resembling a normal lifestyle, and he emphasises colour over factual accuracy at times.
   
   It is an entertaining and knockabout read.



3. This is the best book I've ever read- as it is laugh-out-loud funny, jaw dropping some times and very insightful. After reading this book, I realize that there is a whole mass of people working around us that don't mess about with the standard social concerns that society imparts on us-that the rest of us blindly abide by-and that those that depart from the path of school, family, home; sometimes have the most amazing, adventurous and highly lovely lifestyles. You'll want to change your life after reading this. I love it!



4. A honest story about a boy who is growing up in a contrasting world.
   He ends up in the world of drilling for oil and shows in his stories the bleak and funny sides of this sub universe.
   A very readable book which tells about places and people that most people don't know exist, let alone visit.
   Written uncensored and straight forward although not for the faint of heart.
   I enjoyed it very much and it reminded me about my time in the oil.
   
   John van Ekris. Sydney Australia.
   The second book is called "this is not a drill" also very good.



5. By far the funniest, on the edge of your seat book I have ever read. Paul's amazing stories will keep you laughing for hours. Unbelievably funny and an incredible insight into the oil industry. A must read book!

3 comments about Practical Method for Beginners, Op. 599: Piano Technique.

1. My son has been playing piano for 5 years. He uses this book for his reading exercises. It works out pretty well, except he had to skip the first few pages which were way too easy.



2. I don't know why I keep reviewing Czerny books. If you've seen one (op. 139, 599, 823), you've seen them all. They all start with a marathon of melodies in the key of C, repeating the tonic and dominant chords until you can scream.
   
   They all consist of square melodies in the binary form, with the same chords in the same places, and with the same rink-chink harmonic treatment. Counterpoint, what's that?



3. This method is very limited in scope and not for everybody, but it is just what I need, at least so far. It's about training the hands and getting a spacial (sic) awareness of the keyboard. Unlike Hanon,it does not take zen-like attention to relax the hands while doing the exercises. Also, it trains the fingers in chord shapes. I am an accomplished musician (trumpet, bass, vocals) who never learned to play piano properly. My ears and stylistic senses are fine: I can play some Bach inventions, a bit of Chopin etc, but each piece takes me a long time to learn (I wind up memorizing them before I can play them accurately). I also can lift many rock and pop tunes I hear in my cd collection and off the radio (example: Prelude to Angry Young Man by Billy Joel - no easy piece) with plenty of gusto and authenticity but I get tired quickly. I also cannot sight read effectively (esp when chord are involved) - I know the notes and can hear it but my fingers do not automatically obey.
   
   One negative review was accurate in that the musical content is, to say the least, not inspiring. But neither are drills for learning to dribble a basketball, swinging a baseball bat or any form of physical competence. The first page of this book is ridiculously easy musically, but due to the fingering alternations, I have spent days on it, and can feel myself building awareness of my fingers, spacing and developing the neuronal connections that are crucial to good habits. I anticipate eventually being able to look at a piece of music and unconsciously being able to play it. Yes, the musical content is not exciting (this should not be your only form of musical expression or practice!), but getting the true physical fundamentals down is worth it.

5 comments about Wicked: A New Musical - Easy Piano Selections.

1. A must have songbook from the Broadway play WICKED. If you are a fan of the Wizard of Oz, this play is a must see. Who can forget songs like Popular, I'm Not That Girl and Defying Gravity. This is the Easy Piano book so that players of all ages that use it.



2. I purchased this songbook based on the reviewer comments that it represented the full score without the melody. You must be talking about a different book. The arrangement consists only of the melody on right hand (yes you can play the right hand with one finger) and one or two notes of the chord on the left. I'm not even a piano player and it's too simple for my taste. The only thing that would make this a remotely difficult book is that the key signatures are unusual and the annotated chords are sophisticated. I was looking for something suitable to accompany a vocalist. This isn't it. I hate to give it a poor rating because of misleading reviews but I am doing so to let folks know what they are getting.



3. I was so pleased when I opened this book up. The only thing I miss is that in "Defying Gravity" it only includes Elphaba's lyrics, and not Glinda's as the actual recording does on the soundtrack.
   
   Arrangements are definitely easy to play -- but not so simple that you don't get a great sound.



4. I believe this is great for any of those who love Wicked, and are starting off with either piano, or singing.



5. I read all the previous customer reviews for this "easy piano" version and the other piano/vocal version of the musical before I ordered it, but I'm not sure they have matched the right reviews with the right book. The reviews I read for this book said it did NOT necessarily include the vocal line in the piano part, but in reality that's all it is--the vocal line with the simplest of accompaniment. I returned this book and ordered the other version.
   
   The versions in this book are well done. Though they are simple, they sound convincing, with harmonies and rhythms recognizable from the original versions. They are NOT, however, adequate for accompaniment of a performance of the songs, and they are not at all challenging.
   
   The pieces in this book could be easily mastered by a pianist with only a modicum of skill. They are sight readable for a accomplished pianist.

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 How to Play Keyboards: Everything You Need to Know to Play Keyboards (How to Play).

1. This is an amazing book for your loved ones...especially for a growing musican. It gives the basic methods of how to play a keyboard without much confusion or fustration. This book also inspires to play music and write the notes in our own way. I would recomend this book to anyone who is seeking to know how to play a keyboard.



2. I am what you might call "musically challenged", but by slowly following the lessons in this book I have learned to play several simple tunes with chords and accompaniment. I'm having a ball. It's probably not for the serious music student, but if you want to learn keyboard and are starting from scratch, this is the book for you.



3. I have been using this book in tandem with Fasttrack and its been a great book to start self-learning keyboards. Unlike Fasttrack, this one gives you more right from the start using the Auto Accompanyment feature on the Keyboard to play Chords and Drums -- you;re the one who still orchestrates it -- so its more fun!



4. A good book to start.. I wouldn't rate this book as the best as I havent seen any other books. But this certainly helped my cause to get started learning Keyboard.



5. This book is really amazing.at the first i was little bit sarcastic about it but this book can make me play my new keyboard after half an hour of reading it and i had no idea about playing it before. really i'm highly recomended this one and guess what i can read music too now and it's all from one simple,cheap but useful book.