Product Description

Tired of playing Chopsticks?

The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Piano Chords takes the intimidation out of learning to play the piano with a quick and easy method for playing the songs everyone loves—without having to read complex musical notation. This non-classical method of piano playing will teach readers the basics of keyboard geography, chords, scales, pattern progressions, and reading lead sheets.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #95338 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

About the Author
Karen Berger is a pianist on the faculty of the Berkshire Music School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She was an editor of The Instrumentalist, Clavier, and Accent on Music magazines and received the Ed Press Distinguished Achievement Award. She’s the author of eleven books, including seven how-to books. She wrote three titles in the best-selling Trailside Guide series, including Hiking and Backpacking, which has sold over 150,000 copies.

Customer Reviews

Daylight at last
I am one of those who used to play (classical) piano. I had lessons for 8 years in my youth, and continued to play for pleasure for about 15 years as I reared my children. Then.... the decades passed and I quit. Recently, at a friend's house, I discovered an old edition of Charles Cooke's "Playing the Piano for Pleasure." I read it on the train home and it has provided the motivation I needed in my retirement to bring piano pleasure back into my life. [That book, originally published in 1940 is still the best thing around for such as me who want to start practicing and playing again, building on what was learned previously.]

Soon after, I began browsing the music sections of bookstores, and found this little pocket gem. All my life (or at least my piano-playing life) I had wanted to be able to play the piano to accompany tunes at sing alongs but never knew how to do it. I (mistakenly) thought you had to be able to "play by ear", a gift I (mistakenly) thought was restricted to a few.

This little book takes the mystery out of how to accompany thousands of songs by knowing a few simple things about chords and how to pick and mix them. With not much practice and a good fake book, and following the advice in this little book, you will soon be able to switch back and forth from classical to pop. If you learned classical piano and want to be able to play along at family sing togethers, run don't walk and buy this little gem.

I am still learning
This is great book for me. This is for person like me who occassionally play the piano. This is not for the children whose parents yell at them to practice all the time. This is for person who owns a piano and plays whenever mood strikes.