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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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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Joe Pass Chord Solos: For Guitar, Vibes & All Keyboard Instruments [Paperback] Review

These are not "Chord Melodies". Rather they are chord improvisations over the changes of six tunes: Misty, Billie Joe, a Blues in Bb, Watch What Happens, Sunny and The Days of Wine and Roses.
Very dense chord arrangements showing different harmonic possibilities with the basic changes. I recorded these as I learnedthem, so I could listen to them to really absorb the material.
Joe gives no harmonic analysis at all, so it is up to the reader to figure out the theory, and boy, there's lots of it.
I'm a professional jazz guitarist and teacher....playing nearly forty years, and I still review these and pick chord licks that I like, transpose them to other keys, positions and strings, analyze the voice leading, chord substitutions, etc. I've had this book for years, and lots of it has slowly seeped into my playing. I'll play a piece, pick a chord lick that I like (like any one of them), and then try to apply it to my improvisations in other tunes.
In my opinion, for advanced players, this is one of the best books out there to dig into some really lush and melodic chord playing. I found it tough reading....and I'm a pretty advanced player. But I have worked through most of the major guitar books out there and this one is one of my mainstays.
While I'm here, I'll also recommend:
Fusion - Joe Diorio
Joe Pass on Guitar
Howard Roberts Guitar Manual Chord Melody
For players new to jazz and not so advanced, a standard book is
Mickey Baker Jazz Guitar Volume 1.

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Product Description:
The art of improvising chord-style solos is an important part of any musician's resources. This book has been written to improve that art for guitar, vibes and all keyboard instruments. A careful study of these solos will give you a thorough understanding of chordal playing and substitutions. It is great for voicing as well as improvisation.

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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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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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Music Tree Time to Begin Activities (Frances Clark Library for Piano Students) [Paperback] Review

My daughter's piano teacher recommended this as a beginner's course for small children (my daughter's 5), since it has child friendly language with illustrations to make concepts clear and at the same time teaches the basic concepts well. The price is not that great however, hence not 5 stars. This goes with the other piano book in the 'Time to Begin" so buying both hurt the purse a bit.

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Product Description:
Time to Begin Activities is colorful, cheerful and a delight for students to complete either at the lesson or at home. Activities reinforce reading, rhythm and theory introduced in Time to Begin. Each unit includes at least one game-like activity. As students near the grand staff, note names direction and intervals become an integrated activity.

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Jazz Piano Best of Bk/Cd (Signature Licks) [Paperback] Review

I don't remember exactly what I was thinking when I purchased this book, but it had something to do with learning licks and styles from accomplished jazz musicians. That is to say, I was looking for a shortcut. I'm finding out what I already suspected, however: there are no shortcuts. What this is then is a road map, with signposts giving a clear concise sampling of solos and riffs in differing styles from eleven great jazz pianists. There are some easy runs and some hard runs, and some slow songs and some fast songs, bits of fifteen different songs in all. There's no fingering marked in the text, so having an instructor to point things out will make this book more practical. The book is staple bound so it works well on the music stand. As near as I can tell, this contains only pieces of songs, so the serious musician will definitely have to have a songbook handy (but what jazz pianist doesn't already have The Real Book: Sixth Edition?). The highlight of this book is the CD that comes with it, which contains samples of the songs, usually both with a backing band and without, as well as examples of the solos at a slower pace and at speed. Fast forwarding through them and back to them is a bit of a chore (there are 94 sample tracks), but having that resource is really great, and the book includes markings for where each track is used, making the pair way more useful. There are also brief biographies of each of the musicians covered, which I think is a nice touch. In short, it is hard not to like this book and CD set. It is well thought out, well executed, interesting, and productive. No, it isn't a shortcut and you will still have to practice. (Sorry.) And though it might not fit every pianist's concept of a learning tool, it fits mine to a `T' and I will get a lot of use out of this book for quite some time.

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Product Description:
Learn the piano styles and techniques of Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Errol Garner, Nat "King" Cole, Ahmad Jamal, and more with this great book/CD pack. Rizzo teaches the styles using examples from actual songs, 15 in all. Includes: Caravan * Come Rain or Come Shine * How Deep Is the Ocean (How High Is the Sky) * I'll Remember April * In a Sentimental Mood * It's Only a Paper Moon * No Moon at All * On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever) * Satin Doll * Speak Low * St. Louis Blues * Stompin' at the Savoy * Take the "A" Train * There Is No Greater Love * Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away). CD includes demonstrations of each.

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Alfred's Premier Piano Success Kit 1B (Premier Piano Course) [Paperback] Review

Alfred's Premier Piano Success is great.Comes with a folder to hold all of the books.Great for organization.

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Product Description:
All the Level 1B components are included (except GM Disks) in a handy zipper portfolio. Contents: Lesson Book & CD * Performance Book & CD * Theory Book * At-Home Book * Flash Cards. This title has received the iParenting Media award as one of the "Best Products of 2006."

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The Complete Absolute Beginners Keyboard Course with CD, DVD, and Book [Color, DVD] [Paperback] Review

I bought this package anticipating a collection of trite midi files on the discs and a pretty basic instruction book that would not teach me much about music. I had tried other similar courses before and was always let down by the content. This course is well worth the money. The music on the CD's is surprisingly good and the DVD is very helpful for getting your head round the basics of learning the keyboard. The book itself starts slowly and cleverly evolves at a steady pace to the point where you can understand the intricities involved in music and keyboard playing. This is neither a complex or easy manual but a great way to start a serious and rewarding study of the keyboard.

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Product Description:
The complete Absolute Beginners course in one DVD and CD pack. The pack contains Books 1 & 2, and the songbook combined into one unique book, DVD plus booklet. 2 CDs to listen and learn with professional backing tracks. fingering charts.

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Beginning Blues Piano (Music Sales America) [Paperback] Review

Amazon, to balance two bogus reviews from:

A Reviewer: Chris (Dorset,england) -
B Reviewer: Joshua Carter (Lafayette, CO USA)

Obviously someone wrote two fake reviews under two different names:

Compare:
Chris: bought this book about 3 weeks ago, and I've been having a load of fun with it. I needed something that would be reasonably easy to play,

Joshua; bought this book about 2 weeks ago, and I've been having a bunch of fun with it. I wanted something that would be reasonably easy to play, but still be interesting.

then compare:
Chris; About half the songs are in C, the other half in pretty easy keys, so you don't get tangled up in reading the music

Joshua; About half the songs are in C, the other half in pretty easy keys, so I don't get tangled up in reading the music.

then compare:

Chris; You can tell he loves this music, loves its roots, and he wants you to love it, too.

Joshua; you can tell he loves this music, loves its roots, and he wants you to love it, too.

The only original sentence is a plug for his other book:

Joshua; I just bought Eric Kriss' other book, "Barrelhouse and Boogie Piano," ....

If someone can't put enough time into creating simple reviews to make them different, they won't put much time into writing their book.

My experience is , I purchased several similar books, including those by David Bennett CohenandMark Harrison..
both of those were far better books.

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Product Description:
Expert blues piano teacher and player, Eric Kriss presents a step-by-step format of the major styles and techniques essential for mastering the blues. He explains chord structure, tonality, bass lines, slides, and syncopation.

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Premier Piano Course Theory 2a (Alfred's Premier Piano Course) [Paperback] Review

Great set of books (4 in all).My child has used this series for over 2years now.All books are clear to read and have fun pictures.

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Product Description:
Correlated page-for-page with the Lesson Book, each new musical concept is reinforced through fun-filled writing, listening and playing exercises. With games and puzzles added to compositional and creative activities, students retain concepts more easily and learn more thoroughly.

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Music Reading For Keyboard: The Complete Method (Musicians Institute Essential Concepts) [Paperback] Review

I have recently started using this book. I also have the sight reading secrets book by Richman, which I have reviewed separately.

I was trying to decide between both these books when buying originally.While the other book contains some very good tips, this book is more comprehensive and is widely used as a text book for musicians.

It is very well organised, and well written in the style of a sight reading course, and has good rhythm and sight reading exercises to work on before doing the specific examples which are done in a variety of contemporary styles including rock bebop and Latin Jazz. The examples are interesting and not too complicated. As with many things, the more you practice, the more you improve to the point where you are naturally better.

I consider this better than the Richman book, although that book really helped me with breaking down more complicated rhythms, and I do recommend both books.

I hope you find this review helpful.

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Product Description:
A complete method for: notes, rhythms, keys, time signatures; treble and bass clefs; right and left-hand patterns and accompaniments; popular song styles; repeat signs, accidentals, codas; and more.

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The Art of Teaching Piano (Yorktown) [Paperback] Review

Not only does this book cover technical aspects of piano playing and is straight forward and easy to read, but it also prepares prospective teachers for real-life challenges such as how to teach handicapped students and students who are determined but have very little confidence, among those other psychologically extra-demanding teaching situations. It equips piano educators with knowledge that they don't teach you in music school and I'd recommend it to anyone who is seriously considering teaching.

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Product Description:
The popular two-book set now in one large volume is a guide and reference book for the piano instructor. Covers theoretical, practical and technical matters as well as piano performance and basic keyboard skills for the young or adult beginner. Contains numerous charts, glossaries and bibliographies. An essential handbook for all piano teachers.

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Alfred's Basic Piano Library All-in-One Course, Book 2 [Paperback] Review

I use this book to teach my students, ages 5-11 how to play piano from the most basic level.It has been wonderful.Not only are the songs fun to play, but a lot of them are tunes that the kids know, which makes it more fun for them.It also incorporates the theory in with the playing, so my students never get too bored!I highly recommend these books to any piano teacher looking for a good book to start their students on!

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Product Description:
The Universal Edition is designed for all English-speaking countries outside of the United States, including Canada, the U. K. and Australia. This edition uses the British system of terminology for rhythmic values such as ""crotchet"" for quarter note.

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