Prince - 3121 (Pvg) [Paperback] Review

I didnt shop carefully. I thought this was a Prince coffee table photo book like the last few I bought. Bought this, and 3121 for the wife for Christmas. Unfortunately She doesnt play an instrument, and I play guitar. Thankfully this wasnt the only gift I gave her because when we saw it was ONLY sheet music, I looked like Fred Flintstone giving Wilma a BOWLING BALL for a gift when she doesnt bowl and he does... all the time.

The publisher really SHOULD post up some pics of the inside contents so the buyer can understand what they are paying for.

A disappointment.

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Product Description:
All 12 songs from his critically-acclaimed 2006 album, including: 3121 * Lolita * Te Amo Corazon * Black Sweat * Incense and Candles * Love * Satisfied * Fury * The Word * Beautiful, Loved and Blessed * The Dance * Get on the Boat. Includes eight pages of color photos.

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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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Allegro Barbaro and Other Short Works for Solo Piano [Unabridged] [Paperback] Review

Bartok was the first composer who really got me interested in what one could still technically call "Classical music." I remember hearing his Piano Sonata No. 1, Sz. 80 for the first time and being completely blown away by it. It was so primal and yet still refined in a musical sense. It was like listening to a man lose his mind at the piano while still retaining enough intellect (musically) to function.

But onto the review:

To my dismay, this collection does not contain the Sz. 80 sonata, but it does contain a myriad of other Bartok works which perhaps define him as an artist even better. Bartok was truly our first ethnomusicologist. His experiments with recording the folk music of his homeland (Hungary) and other Eastern European countries and arranging it in the Western tradition brought Western music as far East as it had been up until that point. Sure, there were Russian composers before Bartok who integrated their own folk music into Western styles (The Five, Tchaikovsky, even Rachmaninov), but Bartok's Eastern European studies are a different animal all together.

For starters, Bartok studied Western music under the care of Hugarian teachers at the Royal Academy of Music at Budapest. Here he was perpetually influenced by teachers (Franz Liszt [indirectly], Janos Koessler) and other students (Zoltan Kodaly) who had already begun studies of their own folk music in comparison to Western styles. This book contains great examples of these folk influences translated into the Western style in the intellectual and profound way that Bartok was known for.

This book features Bartok's shorter works like the Romanian Christmas Carols and Hungarian Peasant Songs that offer the average Western listener an abstract approach to Bartok's homeland. The seemingly unnatural rhythms (which the pianist will undoubtedly have trouble with at first) come second nature to the folk music of Eastern Europe. And by reading and playing through this book, the music student will see that Bartok's fundamental understanding of music is unbelievably far removed from the understanding of music that Westerners are raised in.

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Product Description:
Treasury of rewarding piano works from one of the 20th century's most influential composers. Includes the dancelike Allegro Barbaro, a sonorous, boisterous piece of power and bravura; 15 Hungarian Peasant Songs; six Rumanian Folk Dances; 20 Rumanian Christmas Carols; and eight Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs. Musical gems for pianists at intermediate and advanced skill levels.


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How To Play Boogie Woogie Piano (Music Sales America) [Paperback] Review

I have been playing piano for ten years and I finally decided it was time to move away from classical music and try something new. I looked into several Boogie Woogie books and ended up buying this one about a week ago.

This book has a wonderful collection of songs which are fun to play and sound like professional pieces. The book orders the songs from easy to the more difficult to help build on your skills.

The music is not hard at all. Most of the time the same bass pattern is kept in the left hand while the right hand plays the melody. There are no tricky fingerings or even rhythms. The pieces are all in either C, F, or G (from one flat to one sharp) and use familiar notes and chords. The difficulty of this book is a 6 on a scale from 1 to 10 - 10 being the hardest.

This book is perfect for beginners - beginning piano players, maybe not - but if you've never tried Boogie Woogie before and are looking for something new, this book is for you.

Anyone who has taken a year or more of piano lessons should have no problem with this book.

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Product Description:
A collection of 14 boogie woogie solos for piano, with tips on playing technique. They include such favorites as Barrel House Boogie, Tommy DorseyÂ's Boogie Woogie, and Bad Penny Blues.

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Music from ""The Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition""" (Easy Piano) [Paperback] Review

This book contains 14 songs from the "Star Wars: Special Edition" trilogy (Episodes IV-VI).For those who truly enjoy the "Star Wars" music and have a desire to play it, this book isworth having.I specifically bought the book for piano playing, so I wishit would have been formatted in a piano solo edition.Despite this, mostof the pieces play very well on the piano.
The first section containspieces from "Star Wars: A New Hope."These are as follows:"Star Wars (Main Theme)," "Cantina Band," "Ben'sDeath/TIE Fighter Attack," "Princess Leia's Theme," and"The Throne Room."Of those probably the main theme is theeasiest to play, but I still enjoyed it."The Throne Room"sounds very majestic on the piano, and I'm glad it was included.
Thesecond section is from "The Empire Strikes Back" and includes:"Han Solo and the Princess," "The Imperial March,""Yoda's Theme," and "May the Force be With You."The"Han Solo and the Princess" theme can be reasonably grasped by anovice player, and it sounds very nice on the piano.The same can be saidfor "Yoda's Theme."
The third section is from "Return ofthe Jedi" and includes: "Luke and Leia," "Parade of theEwoks," "The Emperor Arrives," "VictoryCelebration," and "Jedi Rocks."Of those I particularlyliked "The Emperor Arrives" and "VictoryCelebration."
This book has 60 pages of music plus a few pages ofphotos and a fold-out poster.I could have done without the pictures andposter if it meant having a couple of more songs in there for the sameprice (I hope the publishers read this).But their inclusion was notexcessive (as I have seen with other movie music books).
I enjoyed thisbook very much.Of course, these pieces are not nearly as memorable on thepiano as were the original soundtracks, but for piano-playing "StarWars" enthusiasts, the book is worth buying.

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Product Description:
Music from the most popular films of all time. This book contains rare full-color photos from the revised editions of all three films. Titles are: Cantina Band * Princess Leia's Theme * Star Wars (Main Theme) * The Throne Room * The Imperial March * Ewok Celebration * Luke and Leia * Victory Celebration. Arranged for easy piano by Dan Coates.

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Disney Mega-Hit Movies: 38 Contemporary Classics from The Little Mermaid to High School Musical 2 (Easy Piano Songbook) [Paperback] Review

As advertised this volume contains songs from the more recent Disney movies though "Lilo and Stitch" which was released in 2002 is the newest.I really liked the arrangements from "Aladdin" "Lion King" "Beauty and the Beast" "Hunchback" and "Toy Story".The rest of the songsdidn't seem to be as melodic perhaps because I'm not very familiar with the songs and movies where they originated.Full lyrics are included as well as musical introductions and transitions. Some selections are as long as sixteen pages though most range from six - ten pages. The pieces are pretty easy to play though some songs venture out of the keys of C and F where most beginners are most comfortable.All in all a good collection.

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Product Description:
37 of Disney's biggest hits arranged for easy piano, including: Be Our Guest * Beauty and the Beast * Can You Feel the Love Tonight * Circle of Life * Colors of the Wind * Friend like Me * Hakuna Matata * Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride * I Just Can't Wait to Be King * Kiss the Girl * Out There * Someday * Strangers like Me * Under the Sea * A Whole New World * You'll Be in My Heart * You've Got a Friend in Me * When She Loved Me * and more.

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The Ultimate Beginner Series: Blues Keyboard Basics, Steps One & Two Combined [Paperback] Review

I am a beginning piano player, but this book had me playing the blues within hours. First listen to the CD while following along in the book and I'll bet you'll be so stoked you will stop and try the exercises! This is a winner!

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Product Description:
Take the first step towards experiencing the fun of playing blues keyboards. This book/CD will guide you through everything you need to knowto begin playing blues keyboards: the 12-bar progression, shuffle patterns, triplet feels, inversions, and much more!

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Progressive Rock Keyboard: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series [Paperback] Review

I don't why anyone has'nt written a review for this book yet. Its perfect, and the accompanying CD is so helpful to help learn the rhythms of progressive rock keyboard. I would greatly recommend this book if you are sick of playing yankee doodle or any other book with boring sheet music. Contained in the book is an adequate description of the genre and presents perfect examples that you can learn. I found this book very satisfying and not too hard. I also have the rock keyboard and find that one great as well. So do buy these books.

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Product Description:
From the classic sounds of the '70s to modern progressive stylings, this book/CD provides you with the theory and technique to play and compose in a multitude of prog rock styles. You'll learn how soloing techniques, form, rhythmic and metrical devices, harmony, and counterpoint all come together to make this style of rock the unique and exciting genre it is. Also included is an introduction to classic and contemporary keyboard instruments and sounds, and how they can be used in different combinations to produce authentic-sounding keyboard parts. The accompanying CD features many of the examples covered in the book, as well as six complete progressive rock songs recorded by a real band.

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Bebop Jazz Piano: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series [Paperback] Review

I have a few of the other books in this series and find them all great! John Valerio is a wonderful composer and teacher and has a very similar style to Mark Harrison (another composer in this series). This book includes important information about chords, voicings, harmony, chord progressions, scales, tonality, melodic figures and patters, comping, characteristic tunes, styles of Bud Powell and Theolonious Monk...anything that is used in any type of bebop jazz. It goes through the history and evolution of Bebop. The book moves quickly but provides the information that is important. It comes with a very handy CD which allows to hear what it's supposed to sound like. I highly recommend this book and have found that using it with some of the other books in the series is beyond helpful!

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Product Description:
In this book in the Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series, author John Valerio provides essential, detailed information for bebop and jazz pianists on the following topics: chords and voicings, harmony and chord progressions, scales and tonality, common melodic figures and patterns, comping, characteristic tunes, the styles of Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, and much more. The accompanying CD features many of the examples in the book performed either solo or with a full band. Also included are combo performances of five of the tunes featured at the end of the book.

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Rock Keyboard - The Complete Guide with CD!: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series [Paperback] Review

As a mainly classical piano player, I have never been good at playing from lead sheets or improvising.I have a few of the other books in this series and find them all great!Scott Miller is a wonderful composer and teacher and has a very similar style to Mark Harrison (another composer in this series).This book includes important information about vamps, different time signatures, walking bass lines, various modes, octave bass, pedal points, boogie patters, inversions, licks...anything that is used in any type of rock.It goes through classic rock, pop rock, blues rock, southern rock, hard rock, progressive rock, alternative rock, and even heavy metal!The book moves quickly but provides the information that is important for those of us looking to play.It comes with a very handy CD which allows to hear what it's supposed to sound like. I highly recommend this book.

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Product Description:
The Rock Keyboard book/CD pack in the Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series is chock full of authentic rock keyboard parts! Learn to comp or solo in any of your favorite rock styles. Listen to the 99-track CD to hear your parts fit in with the total groove of the band. Styles covered include: classic rock, pop/rock, blues rock, Southern rock, hard rock, progressive rock, alternative rock and heavy metal.

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Blues Piano: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series (Keyboard Instruction) [Paperback] Review

I got this book along with a number of other blues books, and this one has been my favorite.It doesn't contain as much material as the multivolume Alfred series, but I find the organization, presentation, and *especially* the examples to be superior in Mark's work.The way the examples build section by section and chapter by chapter is exquisite.They are musically interesting yet very focused on the point at hand--I always enjoyed playing through the examples, but was never confused by unnecessary complications.

The companion CD is the best I've seen in any music instruction book, ever.Most examples have the left and right hand parts on the left and right channels, so you can mute one speaker or the other for "hands seperate" practicing.I personally don't use this much, as I prefer to work it out with the metronome, but I'm glad it's there and you may appreciate it.On tracks that have a backing band, the band is on one side and the keyboard on the other so you can play along to just the band.Finally, the "complete" examples at the end of the book feature a "slow" and "fast" version on the CD.One nitpick: I wish he'd included (in the text) the metronome settings he used, making it easier to practice/jam without the CD.

I've got several of the Hal Leonard books in this series, and they're not all by Mark Harrison.His books are definitely a cut above.All in all, if you have any interest in the subject whatsoever, you can't go wrong with this book.

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Product Description:
Ever wanted to play the blues, but weren't sure where to start? Blues Piano will teach you the basic skills you need. From comping to soloing, you'll learn the theory, the tools, and even the tricks that the pros use. And, you get seven complete tunes to jam on. Listen to the CD, then start playing along! Covers: scales and chords; left-hand patterns; walking bass; endings and turnarounds; right-hand techniques; how to solo with blues scales; crossover licks; and more.

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