Play Piano By Ear (Book & CD) [Paperback] Review

The book should be titled how to play G7 chords. Most of the book is how to play standards-you know like Ellington and such. Oh, it teaches you,um, G7....G9...G... and G13-terrible sounding chords. And it comes with a CD where he plays, but it does not match the songs he uses in the book

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Product Description:
Finally, a book designed for piano players who want to play popular standards and pop songs by ear. Here is an absolutely new and simple method that will enable players to improvise at the piano. This book covers the difference between reading music and playing by ear, chords, rhythms, module chains, and more, to help pianist master the art of sitting down at home or at a party without written music and producing their favorite songs.

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How to Play from a Fake Book [Paperback] Review

I took classical piano lessons growing up, which is a very rote way to learn.I didn't particularly like it and I didn't particularly get good at understanding music -- I got good at fingering specific pieces.

I would have, in retrospect, preferred the method of learning and understanding the chords so I could pick up pieces on my own.The idea of "fake" books is to improvise the harmony based on the chords and play the to melody line along with it.By learning the chords and some ways of stringing them together, you can master just about anything.

It's not that simple -- it's a lot of practice to be able to turn chords on the sheet into realtime music.But it's a lot of fun, and I actually "get it" now on how music is put together.

This book in particular is well written, bringing you quickly to understand how to do this.It assumes basic ability to read music.And it is slightly corny in parts.But aside from that, its a nice self-paced tutorial into playing from "fake" books or other sheet music that includes chord information.

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For musicians of all levels, this book teaches how to use bass lines, countermelodies, introductions and endings, rhythmic patterns, embellish a melody and how to accompany. All the techniques needed to 'fake' a great-sounding accompaniment from just melody, lyrics and chord symbols.

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How to Play Piano Despite Years of Lessons: What Music Is and How to Make It at Home (Instructional) [Paperback] Review

Many of those who have reviewed this book here mention that it is a book on music theory. Yes there is some theory in this book and some of it is hard to find in other beginning piano books. I find the section on harmonic progression particularly enlightening. But rather than a book on theory, this is a cookbook with recipes for creating full sounding music out the vocal lines of sheet music, lead sheets, and "fake books".
One criticism I have seen of this book is that the style of playing is only suitable for playing old standards, like those by Cole Porter or Rogers and Hart. This is partially true, but if you enjoy the kind of music that is the background in so many movies, particularly Woody Allen films, this book is a gold mine.
If you have taken lessons, you will find it fairly easy to pick up on the method here, even if you can't sit down an play anything right now. A lot of it will come back quickly. If you are a rank beginner, this will be a lot of work. Even so, if you put the effort in learning this method that you would put into getting through an adult beginning piano book, you will come away with so much more. That said, I will recommend that you also invest in a beginning piano book and work through that at the same time.
There is, or was, a companion VHS video for the book. It is extremely entertaining and allows you to see and hear examples of the methods taught in the book. It is about two hours long and very well done. I haven't seen it around lately, but if you get this book, try to find the video also.Same title as the book.

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Product Description:
This method is a truly entertaining approach to learning how to play the piano. Written by Ward Cannel of the Piano Consortium, the method breaks down music theory into visual concepts which are fun and easy to grasp, so you can learn to play the music you want to play! Perfect for those piano lesson dropouts!

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How to Play from a Fake Book (Keyboard Edition) [Paperback] Review

I am an adult who used fake books extensively as a teenager when I played an accordion in a small combo.Now, (much, much later), I am trying to learn how to play an electronic keyboard competently - with both hands, and Blake Neely's book has become a very valuable addition to my library.I knew how to use a fake book and play melodies with my right hand, but how to play a tune and have it sound nice on a piano (or in my case, a Yamaha PSR540 keyboard)??? In this book, I found the answer.It starts out with a very simple left hand accompaniment - just play the root of the chord. It then continues to build up competence, step-by-step: add a fifth to the root; next learn the composition of a major chord and play the whole chord; learn about chord inversions and how to play them; learn minor chords and their inversions; learn how to easily switch from one chord to another without having to jump all over the keyboard; learn left-hand options that extend beyond simply playing the full block chord, that is, use a two-part chord, alternate the root and fifth in playing the two-part chord, play the chord as an arpeggio.
Throughout all these lessons, songs are provided to try things out and the chosen songs do, indeed, sound great using the technique explained in the lessons.While learning to play from a single line of music, the songs will show both the treble and bass clef so you can see what your left-hand should be doing. It then will provide some songs with just the treble clef to see if you can do it yourself.
Of course, you, the student, have to take the time to learn these chords.The book shows you what they are, but you have to do your homework -- it will take a great deal of practice for most players to see a chord and instantly be able to finger that chord on the keyboard.
I haven't completed this book yet -- I am still in the process of mastering all the major and minor chords so I can play them instantly.But all of the above was covered in the first 27 pages of this 88-page book (including 20 songs to illustrate the lessons). Coming up are seventh chords, augmented and diminshed chords, variations on the seventh chord, ninths and elevenths -- and 40 more songs to illustrate the chords and techniques discussed in each of the lessons.I am looking forward to devouring each lesson and loving every minute of it.After all, with a fake book, one has hundreds of pieces with which to practice the techniques being taught in this book. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to play well from the many fake books available in today's market.

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Ever wondered how to create better accompaniments for the melodies in your favorite fake books? This "teach yourself" book introduces you to chord building, various rhythmic styles, and much more, so that you play the songs you like just the way you want them. Keyboard players with a basic understanding of notation and sight-reading will be on their way to more fun with fake books. The relaxed tone of the text and selection of fun songs keep How to Play from a Fake Book entertaining throughout - perfect for amateur musicians, or as a supplement for keyboard teachers and their students.

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