Czerny-Schaum Book 1 (Schaum Master Composer) [Paperback] Review

I purchased this for my son who is a 'later beginner' piano student. He currently is using a couple of the Bergerac "First" books and his teacher was looking for a technic bookto go with them. The Bergerac series had none that I could find, so after reading up as well as I could, I chose this. His teacher was very impressed. This is really a technic book that can be used with other series in that it covers just about any technical problems (e.g. staccato, left hand melody, interweaving hands) a student might encounter in other books. The exercises are short and focus on strengthening both hands. Probably not for a just beginning or advanced student but that murky in between. Highly recommend!

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Product Description:
Carl Czerny was a prolific composer who wrote approximately 1,000 published works. As a pupil of Beethoven and the teacher of Franz Liszt, he was a transmitter of ideas from one great master to another. His many collections of exercises and studies range from the easy and progressive to the virtuoso. The Czerny-Schaum edition is based on selections from Op. 599, Op. 139, Op. 821, Op. 718, Op. 636, and Op. 261. The objective is to bring together, in condensed form, excerpts that stress many varieties of technical problems. Special emphasis is placed on equal development of both hands. The technical points are equally divided between the right and the left hands. The exercises are purposely left brief, thereby avoiding stiffness and tension. Using the Czerny-Schaum exercises will improve piano technic when used in conjunction with a program of balanced repertoire.

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Five Graphic Music Analyses [Paperback] Review

While the technique Heinrich Schenker used for analyzing tonal music is no longer as controversial as it once was, it is still a much more complex, and much more rewarding, way of looking at musical works than simple harmonic methods.It is much simpler to stick roman numerals to notate chords in their various inversions and think that the piece has yielded its mysteries.Not so.The great composers were also geniuses at their voice leading methods that not only provided delight on the surface, but also to the medium and long range structure of their works.

But what practical purpose does this type of analysis yield?It certainly can and should inform they way we play the pieces.For example, in the foreward he discusses how the Bach Chorale he analyzes unifies the piece despite a surface pause at the fermata.His analysis of the first prelude of Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier Book I" is full of wonderful insights that can enhance anyone's performance of the piece.

Felix Salzer, a student of Schenker, provides a short and interesting introduction as well as a glossary of the terms used (not the symbols).A word of warning, while this notation looks like musical notation gone mad, it is adapted from musical notation but does not mean the same thing as the notation you use to play a piece.You will also find much of this opaque without a solid grounding in counterpoint and harmony.The voice leading matters most here, but you do need to have some idea of functional harmony as well.

You can spend a great deal of time with these analyses even though they are only a page or a few pages long.The notation communicates a great deal in a small space and that is its power and beauty.However, it yields its bounty only after serious study.Once you get a handle on how it works, it is wonderfully informative.

It is not necessary to agree with everything Schenker says about a given piece.I have seen skilled analysts take different views and approaches.However, I have also seen people who originally took a different approach, after consideration, come back to Schenker's view.

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Product Description:
Voice-leading, tonal coherence in graphic notation, entire works: J. S. Bach, "Chorale" from St. Matthew Passion; "1st Prelude," Well-Tempered Clavier; Haydn: E-flat Major Sonata; Chopin: Etudes 8, 12, Opus 10.

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The Contemporary Keyboardist - Stylistic Etudes (Instructional) [Paperback] Review

John Novello has composed an excellent collection of contemporary piano studies.All but a few are contained on a single page.Fingering suggestions are plentiful.Chord qualities, progressions, the use of modes, special scales and rhythms are clearly presented.Each piece is annotated at the end of the book and practice suggestions are made.John encourages the player to experiment with these etudes and to write their own.

John describes the work as intended for the advanced beginner to intermediate player.I consider myself at that level.Many pieces in this collection exceed my current abilities.Some are easier.Most are accessible. John's recordings of each etude are on the accompanying CD.I have found listening to the CD enjoyable and helpful.It provides clear examples of how to play his work.Additionally, it has allowed me to quickly pick out pieces I wanted to begin practicing.

While there's not much here for the fan of country music, a wide variety of styles are represented.Jazz, pop and rock styles make up nearly half the collective work.Blues and Latin examples are well represented. The gospel oriented tunes were a delightful surprise.I wish there were more of them.

If you're a fan of Hal Leonard's keyboard style series, you will like this book.It contains less theory and more great examples of how to create and perform contemporary music.I'm certain I will be enjoying this book for years to come.

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Product Description:
The author of the critically-acclaimed "bible" of contemporary keyboard playing, The Contemporary Keyboardist, now brings students 86 studies that cover 17 contemporary keyboard styles - jazz, rock, funk, Latin, country, stride, blues, pop, gospel, and many more. This pack includes notes on playing, and both a CD and a General MIDI disk featuring recordings of each etude for the student to play along with.

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Movie Songs by Special Arrangement (Jazz-Style Arrangements with a ""Variation""): Piano Acc. [Paperback] Review

This book is markedly better than many of the "play along" books I have purchased for alto sax.
First, the books are aimed only at alto sax--not at a hodge-podge collection of instruments.This means every page of the book is useful to the alto sax player, unlike some books where music for other instruments takes up large portions of the book.
Second, Strommen has created arrangements that have the "basic" melody in the first half of the song followed by melodic riffs/alto sax solos in the second half.The arrangements are targeted for alto sax and are put together to get a full and interesting sound.This allows a novice or intermediate player to sound like a "real" saxophonist instead of someone who is stuggling through a barren and uninteresting melodic line.
Third, the accompanying CD is excellent.Even numbered tracks have a trio made up of percussion, piano and a REAL alto sax.(This is compared to many other CDs which have the piano or bells playing the sax part.) Odd numbered tracks leave out the sax so you can play along.In all tracks the piano and the percussion are arranged to support the sax so again you really feel and sound like a saxophonist.
Strommen has three books that I know of that are all produced in the same style--a movies book, a Gershwin book and a Christmas book.They are all excellent in my humble opinion. If you are looking for an alto sax book that has sound musical values, is playable by a novice/intermediate player, and will make you sound AWESOME then these are the books for you!

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Product Description:
Each collection contains 11 songs arranged for the instrumentalist wanting to play in a jazz style -- without the need to learn to improvise. All of the books are compatible, with only minimal changes in the ""variation"" section to accommodate the ranges and unique characteristics of the instruments.

The immortal and memorable motion picture titles are: Sweet Georgia Brown
* Over the Rainbow
* A Day in the Life of a Fool
* Bye, Bye, Blackbird
* As Time Goes By
* Days of Wine and Roses
* Emily
* The Way You Look Tonight
* Misty
* On Green Dolphin Street
* Almost Like Being in Love.

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The Very Best of John Williams Instrumental Solos, Cello Edition (Book & CD) [Paperback] Review

This is a great book to practice cello and have fun with these movie melodies, the CD is a helpful device, there are some pieces a little bit difficult for me that I'm a begginer but not too much, I'm very pleased with this book and CD.

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Product Description:
The award-winning music of John Williams includes some of the most popular and well-known movie themes ever! This incredibly versatile new collection includes some of Williams' most-loved titles arranged for Level 2-3 instrumentalists. All arrangements are completely compatible with each other and can be played together or as solos. Each book contains a carefully edited part and a fully orchestrated accompaniment CD. Each song on the CD includes a demonstration track, which features a live instrumental performance, followed by a play-along track. The piano accompaniment book includes a CD that features various instrument demonstration tracks from the series. Titles are: Can You Read My Mind? (Love Theme from Superman) (Superman) * Cantina Band (Star Wars®) * Double Trouble (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) * Duel of the Fates (Star Wars®: Episode I The Phantom Menace) * Fawkes the Phoenix (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) * Harry's Wondrous World (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) * Hedwig's Theme (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) * The Imperial March (Star Wars®: The Empire Strikes Back) * May the Force Be With You (Star Wars®: The Empire Strikes Back) * Olympic Fanfare and Theme (1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles) * Star Wars (Main Title) (Star Wars®) * Theme from Superman (Superman) * A Window To the Past (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).

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Perfect Wrong Note - Learning to Trust Your Musical Self (Softcover) (Amadeus) [Paperback] Review

I am a professional musician, a retired piano teacher of 25 years. In October of 2004, I produced my first cd of pre-Baroque pieces into an album called, "Carry the Light."Recently, I found out about "The Perfect Wrong Note" by William Westney from a friend. The book is stunning, progressive and suffice it to say, it will rub some traditionalist the wrong way.Westney totally challenges traditional teaching methods and rightly so. There is a revealing "Question and Answer" section in the book on pp. 95-97 which provides an astute summary of Westney's teaching philosophy. I found the following Q and A challenging to some very traditionalist teachings on using the metronome; "Is it a good idea to use a metronome?"Westney's replies, "Only for short periods, as a check of tempo consistency.If we use it too much we become passive slaves to it, and our inner rhythm stays dormant."Westney emphasizes that playing the piano is a "whole body, whole brain" experience.In terms of Westney's approach being a "feel good" philosophy, nothing could be further from the truth. When asked (p. 97), "Can your approach be simply stated as, "Just don't fret about wrong notes, after all nobody's perfect.?"Westney's response is clearly direct; "No.This isn't a feel good philosophy: it's a pragmatic problem-solving plan along the road to artistry.Control, accuracy, and refinement are still the goals."Westney takes a groundbreaking approach to teaching piano without killing the hope and aspirations of the student.That is to be herald and this work will be deeply respected by teachers willing to take on new and exciting challenges that take heed to an important ethos Westney holds for anyone practicing the piano."As you practice sense that you are taking care of yourself at every moment.Expect musical performing to be fun and feel good.Question any part of it that doesn't feel that way.Think of yourself as a healty athlete. Relax frequently and take stock." (p.227) I can't think of any performing philosophy that is more hope filled than that.

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Product Description:
In this groundbreaking book, prize-winning pianist and noted educator William Westney helps readers discover their own path to the natural, transcendent fulfillment of making music. Drawing on experience, psychological insight, and wisdom ancient and modern, Westney shows how to trust yourself and set your own musicality free. He offers healthy alternatives for lifelong learning and suggests significant change in the way music is taught. For example, playing a wrong note can be constructive, useful, even enlightening. The creator of the acclaimed Un-Master Class workshop also explores the special potential of group work, outlining the basics of his revelatory workshop that has transformed the music experience for participants the world over. Practicing, in Westney's view, is a lively, honest, adventurous, and spiritually rewarding enterprise, and it can (and should) meet with daily success, which empowers us to grow even more. Teachers, professionals, and students of any instrument will benefit from this unique guide, which brings artistic vitality, freedom, and confidence within everyone's reach.

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The Music Tree (Part 2A) [Paperback] Review

As a piano teacher, I have been on the lookout for the perfect piano series for a long time.

The Music Tree has been the series I constantly return to. I have tried "Piano Adventures" and other books, but I find that the way this book teaches notes and rhythms helps students like no other.

Learning the songs in these books take effort, but kids learn their piano very well.The president of the college I take piano lessons from uses this series and highly recommends it.

Use the Music Tree. You will be grateful that you did.

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Product Description:
THE MUSIC TREE series continues the development of complete musicianship by providing the beginner with delightful and varied repertoire. The pupil learns a variety of idioms encompassing folk, jazz, and pop. The creativity of the students is emphasized since they are given musical segments to rearrange, transpose, complete or to use as the basis for a new composition. Technical aspects are also addressed including greater facility, blocked intervals and chords, and more hands together playing. Guided training steps are used to encourage intelligent practice skills.

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Contemporary Music Theory - Level Two: A Complete Harmony and Theory Method for the Pop and Jazz Musician (Piano) [Paperback] Review

Mark continues from Contemporary Music Theory Level 1 to take you through chapters on 'II-V-1' progressions, 5-part chords, substitutions, harmonic analysis, voiceleading, 'upper structure' chords, and pentatonic& blues scale applications in this Level 2 continuation. Again, likethe Level 1 book, Contemporary Music Theory Level 2 has very detailedexplanations and exercises to test what you've learnt. An excellent seriesof books by Mark Harrison.

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Product Description:
The Music Theory series is designed from the ground-up to explain the terminology and musical structures needed for modern applications. Level One is an introductory course which covers music notation, key signatures, basic scales, intervals, modes, diatonic relationships and 3-and 4-part chords. Level Two is an intermediate-level course covering larger chord forms, "definitive" chords in major and minor keys, substitutions, analysis of key centers in tunes, "upper structure" chords, voiceleading, and pentatonic and blues scale applications, a complete glossary of terms, and hundreds of written theory exercises with answers.

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