Sonatina Masterworks, Book 1 (Alfred Masterwork Edition) [Paperback] Review

Just what I was looking for.I need nice tunes to arrange for autoharp to be published in the "Autoharp Quarterly."

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Product Description:
A combination of rewarding sonatina favorites and less frequently heard sonatinas for the "sonatina enthusiast."The fresh balance of works will be welcomed by teachers and students alike.

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Piano Repertoire / Level 1 (David Carr Glover Piano Library) [Paperback] Review

I got what I wanted in a very timely manner.I could not ask for more.

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Product Description:
The REPERTOIRE books are written to supplement and reinforce the music fundamentals that the student is learning at this level of advancement. They may be used with any Piano Course or Library. The books of the Primer Level and Levels 1 and 2 present familiar folk songs and original solos. Level 1 of 6.

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A Practical Guide to Solo Piano Music (Meredith Music Resource) [Paperback] Review

At first sight this little book, almost a booklet!, looks less interesting or worth buying because there are so many other good listings of graded piano literature (Klaus Wolters; Albert Faurot; Moritz Hinson; Rudolph Ganz; Stanley Butler; Jane Magrath) and good non-antiquated readings (Burge; Kirby; Gordon; Dubal), and this booklet limits itself in listing piece titles with grades only. Still, you will wonder how useful this can be. Problem with Hinson is that he lists too many unworthy composers and sometimes, even worse, also unworthy piano works...of minor quality, minor significance. So Hinson is good for looking up a specific work but not that useful for exploring and discovering. Barnard has done a selection of the more significant piano music composers (from today's point of view) incl. many modern classics and classics of the avant-garde and has focused on their more significant works (similar to the funny Faurot). Unfortunately I am missing a bunch of modern composers who are recorded and performed frequently, becoming populars, and have written tremendously(!!!) for the piano, such as SORABJI, BENTZON, KAPUSTIN, FINNISSY, FLYNN. In the listmania's by amazon top reviewer "scarecrow ginz1" you will find excellent listings which fully represent the most important body of piano composers&works from the early 20th century up to the beginning of our 21st century. Barnard should have looked on Ginzo's listings first before finalizing the edition of this new 2006 book!

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Product Description:
An invaluable, quick reference tool for any teacher, performer or student of the piano who desires an extensive listing of the most significant works composed for solo piano. Accurate, concise and thoroughly researched entries provide an at-a-glance overview of a composer's output, with information on difficulty levels, opus numbers, movement titles, publisher sources and so forth. Whether searching for new material or refreshing one's perspective, this portable database of information will prove itself indispensable for repertoire study and planning. A must-have resource for any pianist's bookshelf or piano.

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Alfred's Teach Yourself to Play Piano (Teach Yourself Series) [Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD] Review

This book is great for people just learning to play piano.I have a keyboard at home that I practice on.It takes you step-by-step through each phase/step, and one lesson builds on the next.I m learning a lot with this book- highly recommended.

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Product Description:
First step: Buy this. Everything after that is pretty self-explanatory.

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Blues, Jazz and Rock Riffs for Keyboards (Instructional) [Paperback] Review

This is a good book for anyone who hasn't played much rock or blues.The book is full of riffs - however, I found that there were sometimes riffs that were almost identical.You might play 2 pages of riffs, but it really is 2-3 riffs with some variations.

I'm not saying that this is particularly bad - especially if you would benefit from working on and perfecting some good finger patterns.These are mainly usable riffs and if you got used to playing them, I think you'd find that you use them a lot.

One of my favorite parts of this book happens to be when Mr. Eveleth writes short compositions that use these riffs one right after the other.This really gives a feel as to how you might go about using these riffs in a practical setting.

Also, almost everything is in the key of C.There are some benefits to this - but if you're going to get your money from this book, better be ready to either write out transpostions, or better yet, learn to transpose in your head.If you get all these riffs down in C, F, G and perhaps Bb and Eb, you will be able to play them without problem in most of the songs you'll come across.

I didn't personally spend much time with this book.I read through it once at the keyboard - played around with the compositions a bit, played the riffs that I liked in a few keys and otherwise, I only get it out once in a while to find a new finger pattern or idea.

This is a pretty good book if you take into consideration a few of the limiations I've mentioned!I would recommend it!

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Product Description:
This book presents a practical approach to improvising through a system of patterns in a traditional blues style. Because so much of today's popular music has its roots in blues, the material included here is a vital component of jazz, rock, RandB, gospel, soul, and even pop. The author has compiled actual licks, riffs, turnaround phrases, embellishments, and basic patterns that define good piano blues and can be used as a basis for players to explore and create their own style.

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Selected Songs Without Words (Piano Masters Series) [Paperback] Review

Good study book.Large print.Easy to read.Not the best selection of compositions, but several are nice to play.

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Product Description:
We proudly add this collection of Mendelssohn songs to our highly respected Piano Masters Series. From his fifty songs in the complete set we have selected twelve of the most often taught and performed pieces, spanning all opus numbers in the set. This new collection offers a wide variety of writing styles to help introduce this composer to your students.

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Anthology of Classical Piano Music: Intermediate to Early Advanced Works by 27 Composers (Alfred Masterwork Edition) [Plastic Comb] Review

I recommend this for any serious piano student, who needs to challenge their skills and move to a more advanced level.

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Product Description:
Works by 27 composers are included in this 248-page comprehensive survey of piano music written between 1750 and 1820.The pieces in this collection range in difficulty from intermediate through early-advanced levels and cover the widest range of styles and idioms of the Classical period.Historical and biographical background, performance notes and suggested realizations of ornaments are also provided by Dr. Hinson.

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The Beatles: The Phillip Keveren Series [Paperback] Review

If you are seeking solo piano arrangements of the Beatles songs that when played will sound like what a piano player in Nordstrom's plays, this is a great book for you.As for myself, I was hoping for something that sounded like the Beatles arrangements and, this doesn't cut it.However, many months later, I'm looking the arrangements more and more and would now give it 4 stars.

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Product Description:
18 Fab Four favorites masterfully arranged for solo piano by Phillip Keveren: All You Need Is Love * And I Love Her * A Day in the Life * The Fool on the Hill * Here Comes the Sun * Here, There and Everywhere * Hey Jude * I Will * In My Life * Julia * Let It Be * Michelle * Norwegian Wood * Penny Lane * She's Leaving Home * Something * With a Little Help from My Friends * Yesterday.

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Popular Piano Solos - Second Grade: Pop Hits, Broadway, Movies and More! John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano Series [Paperback] Review

Willis' 'Popular Piano Solos' series fits perfectly with John Thompson's Modern Course piano method and works with pretty much any other method.These books are also available with CD, for interesting accompaniments.

The arrangements are accessible, becoming more difficult as the book progresses.After each title, the corresponding Thompson method page numbers are given.Includes fun, lively pieces like 'Sway (Quien Sera),' and 'Raider's Theme' from Indian Jones.Large engravings make the music easy to see, and Baumgartner includes helpful fingerings.

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Product Description:
11 songs that can be used on their own, or as a supplement to John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano or any other method. Includes: The Addams Family Theme * Alley Cat * Do-Re-Mi * I Could Have Danced All Night * The Masterpiece * Memory * My Heart Will Go On * Raiders March * Nadia's Theme * Sway * A Time for Us.

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Alfred's Group Piano for Adults Student Book, Bk 2 [Plastic Comb] Review

I have taught from this book this year and also used the first edition for several years.This is a good book with lots to recommend it to the teacher and student.The multiple-key approach dovetails very well with college theory courses.The instruction in lead sheet and figured bass harmonization is also excellent.Solo repertoire pieces have been thoughtfully integrated and offer the teacher and student plenty of choices.The only drawback I have found, from a teacher's perspective, is that the presentation of scales is, in my view, unsound.Stressing two octave scales and arpeggios at this level is much too advanced.It would be better to spread the presentation of scales out more (one per week after they are first introduced) and require only one octave.Of course, a good teacher can adapt the scale presentation, but with so many other excellent features, I think that the authors could easily address this (maybe in the next edition).Also, since this is used as a college text, it is preferable to teach natural and melodic minor scales and fingerings too.But other than this slight quibble, I highly recommend this great book, which is useful for the entire first year of piano study.

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Product Description:
Alfred's Group Piano for Adults, Book 2 is designed for non-keyboard music majors with little or no keyboard experience. Upon completion of the course, students will have a strong grasp of functional skills, keyboard technique and musical styles. The text is easy to use, containing 30 units, each designed to be completed in one week.It is fully supported by CDs and MIDI disks with over 500 accompaniments.

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Famous & Fun Pop, Book 5 (Intermediate): 11 Appealing Piano Arrangements [Paperback] Review

I love Carol Matz' arrangements in the Famous and Fun Pop series, especially Books 2, 3 and 4.We got 5 because of the Pink Panther song but it has a good smattering of Broadway and older classic songs.The kids often like the Harry Potter as well because it's more recent.Ms. Matz's strength is her arrangements are fun, and even at the earlier levels where duets are employed (student-teacher), the student enjoys playing even the more basic arrangements and they sound good.Carol Matz apparently has more pop arrangements so searching under her name may be best if you're trying to get more variety (the Famous and Fun Pop can get a bit repetitious if the same student does the whole series).

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Product Description:
Arranged by Carol Matz. Contents: Across The Stars, Beauty And The Beast, Double Trouble, Hogwarts' March, The Imperial March, Over The Rainbow, The Pink Panther, Summertime, Theme From New York New York, Under The Sea, When A Man Loves A Woman

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Play Piano Today! - Level 1: Play Today Plus Pack (The Ultimate Self-Teaching Method) [Paperback] Review

Play Piano Today! - Level 1 (The Ultimate Self-Teaching Method), comes with a book and audio CD.The book does a fair job of showing some of the basics, but it could have been a lot better.Right off the bat they start giving you musical pieces to play, but they don't tell you how to do it.This might be ok, if you knew how to play years ago and wanted a refresher.But if you have never played the piano before, this book will not show you how to do it.Likewise, the CD starts right out of the gate telling you to play things, but doesn't first tell you how to do it.Overall, I would call this product far from the Ultimate Self-Teaching Method, or a complete guide to the basics, which is how they bill themselves.

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Product Description:
Start playing piano today! With this book/CD pack, absolute beginners can teach themselves: chords and scales, left- and right-hand fingerings, bass and treble clef notation and more, plus how to play 5 great songs: Limbo Rock * Save the Last Dance for Me * Takin' Care of Business * Wonderful Tonight * Y.M.C.A..

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Famous & Fun Pop, Book 2 (Early Elementary/Elementary): 12 Appealing Piano Arrangements [Paperback] Review

My son uses this for extra pieces to play on his level.He enjoys these books, and his teacher is assigning some of them, because he likes the extra variety.It is great to find books that have elementary piano pieces for new students.

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Product Description:
Arranged by Carol Matz for early elementary/elementary piano. 12 well-graded arrangements of popular, TV and movie songs. With optional duet parts. Contents: The Chicken Dance, Great Balls Of Fire, If I Only Had A Brain (From The Wizard Of Oz),It's My Party,James Bond Theme, (Meet) The Flintstones (TV Theme), Merrily We Roll Along, Star Wars (Main Theme), Talk To The Animals (From Dr. Dolittle), We're Off To See The Wizard (From The Wizard Of Oz), A Whole New World (From Aladdin), Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah (From Song Of The South)

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Michael Aaron Piano Course / Lesson / Primer [Paperback] Review

This book is excellent for young beginning pianists. It takes a slow, step-by-step process to teach notes on the piano, melody, and note names and beats. As a piano teacher who mainly deals with beginners, I love this book and would highly recommend it to anyone teaching children how to play the piano.

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Product Description:
The MICHAEL AARON PIANO COURSE Lesson books have been completely re-engraved, expanded (adding more definitions of musical terms and more musical pieces), updated (with modernized artwork), and re-edited (with less emphasis on fingerings and more on note-reading). Available from the MICHAEL AARON PIANO COURSE: Lessons, Performance, Technic, and Theory for each level: Primer, Grade One, Grade Two, Grade Three, Grade Four, and Grade Five. Also available are these supplementary books: Piano Album, Piano Technic (Book I), Piano Duet Book, Pieces to Play (Primer & Grade I), and Note Reader.

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Popular Piano Solos - First Grade: Pop Hits, Broadway, Movies and More! (Book with CD) [Paperback] Review

Now there's supplementary material for the classic John Thompson Modern Course for the Piano series!!!!Popular Solos book 1 has a dozen songs that fit right in with the method - the corresponding method page numbers are given after every title.All the pieces have large, clear engravings and teacher accompaniments.Includes 'The Rainbow Connection,' 'Go the Distance,' and 'Edelweiss.'

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Product Description:
12 songs that can be used on their own, or as a supplement to John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano or any other method. Includes: Edelweiss * Fly Me to the Moon * Go the Distance * It's a Small World * Let's Go Fly a Kite * Love Me Tender * Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' * The Rainbow Connection * This Is It * What the World Needs Now Is Love * You Are My Sunshine * You'll Be in My Heart.

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Belwin Complete Adult Keyboard Course [Paperback] Review

This is a great book for beginners who are looking for simple piano instruction. It is packed with songs(more than 40). Some examples: "This Old Man", "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow", "Over The Rainbow", "Minuet" and "A Tisket, A Tasket". This book introduces the terms and methods with brief definitions, then gives you short songs sheets to practice with before applying each new method in the songs. This book is available with an additional cd (which I believe this issue does comes with it)containing all of the song peices. You can play along to it to help you get the hang of the music. There are also review pages to help you understand the notes. This book is all you really need to learn piano. (I should also add that I am a high school senior & this is the book we use in my piano class).

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Product Description:
A practical, enjoyable approach to learning to play all keyboard instruments. This exceptional beginning method has sound teaching philosophies, music of all styles, strong visual reinforcements and modern technology components. Well-suited for either class or individual instruction, the method includes familiar folk songs, well-known classical themes and popular favorites. It includes theory workbook pages and writing assignments that reinforce student lessons.

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David Carr Glover Method for Piano / Performance, Pri" [Paperback] Review

My child's piano teacher uses this book in conjunction with the Piano Student book by the same authors. These two books seem to work very well together. My child really enjoys this book, as it has interesting tunes that she can play even though she is just beginning to learn how to play the piano.

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Product Description:
This PERFORMANCE book provides supplementary solo materials to reinforce music fundamentals and concepts presented at this level of advancement. Original compositions, folk songs, and the sounds of today are included for enrichment of the student's repertoire. This PERFORMANCE book is correlated page by page with the LESSONS book and other supplementary materials recommended for this level. It may also be used with other methods of piano study. Supplementary materials correlated with LESSONS, Primer Level, from the DAVID CARR GLOVER METHOD FOR PIANO include: Sight Reading and Ear Training, Theory, Technic, Performance. Additional materials are also available.

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Dan Coates Easy Piano Collection (Pop, Country, Movie" [Paperback] Review

As far as the content, I love this book.I love Dan Coates arrangements.My mom has one of his older books with many of the same songs but it has a spiral binding.My only complaint is that it's hard to get this book to stay open.

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Product Description:
Seventy-five of the most popular titles in music, including: Because You Loved Me * I Swear * Stairway to Heaven * The Keeper of the Stars * Angel Eyes * Your Cheatin' Heart * We're Off to See the Wizard * Up Where We Belong * Jeopardy Theme * Theme from "The Simpsons" and more. Includes lyrics and chord symbols.

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Carpenters Anthology (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook) [Paperback] Review

Perfect for any Carpenters lover.Merry Christmas Darling is not in Karen's original key, but if you don't mind transposing, it's great!

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Product Description:
Features 43 of the best songs from this beloved sibling duo, including classics such as: Bless the Beasts and Children * (They Long to Be) Close to You * For All We Know * Goodbye to Love * Hurting Each Other * I Just Fall in Love Again * I Won't Last a Day Without You * It's Going to Take Some Time * Let Me Be the One * Merry Christmas, Darling * Please Mr. Postman * Rainy Days and Mondays * Sing * Solitaire * Superstar * There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World) * This Masquerade * Ticket to Ride * Top of the World * We've Only Just Begun * When I Fall in Love * Yesterday Once More * and more. Includes two tables on contents: one alphabetically by song title, and one chronologically by album.

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Alfred's Piano 101: An Exciting Group Course for Adults Who Want to Play Piano for Fun (2 Volumes) [Plastic Comb] Review

This book explains everything really well and has some great practice songs in it. My only complaint would be that it's a little too easy - I had taken a little piano before and I could pretty much play everything in the book with some practice. If you are just starting out though, and have never played before, it's a great resource. Highly recomended!

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Product Description:
This comprehensive approach to functional musicianship at the keyboard includes varied repertoire, theory, technique, sight-reading, harmonization from lead sheets, ear training and ensembles. Great for college non-music majors, continuing education classes, music dealer in-store programs and group piano classes at the middle and high school levels. Book 2 contains 15 units each with a variety of repertoire, exercises, unit review worksheets and an assignment page.

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