Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #132139 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Customer Reviews

Excellent foundation
If you're looking for a book for beginning piano, theory, or composition studies, look no further. This book is the total package for building a solid foundation of musical skills and understanding.

The explanations of harmony are very clear and easy to understand. I have a degree in organ performance and was just a couple courses shy of a theory degree, and I have never seen the principles of harmony and voice leading explained so well. Now, I can write and play good music with proper voice leading the first time through without spending hours troubleshooting problems of parallel 5ths and 8ves and doublings. And the great thing is that the concepts aren't just explained abstractly, but practical application at the keyboard is taught at every step of the curriculum. I am using this book to learn to improvise at the keyboard in a classical idiom, and I am extremely pleased with my progress. In about two months of practicing in my free time after my 9-5 job, I am able to improvise the equivalent of basic-intermediate children's pieces in every key.

The book also lays a very solid foundation for general music techniques such as sight reading, rhythmic training, and getting around the keyboard. Personally, I've always struggled with sight reading, but this book has helped fill in the gaps where my abilities were lacking before. My sight reading has improved significantly, and I'm very pleased with that. I am also able to better understand what is going on harmonically in the pieces I am reading, which helps my reading even more, just like how in English you can read more quickly when you understand where the author is going with his thought processes.

Another great thing about the book is the writing style. It is very easy to follow and isn't pretentious at all. That is the mark of a truly intelligent and gifted teacher, to be able to make things sound simple and easy, rather than trying to sound impressive with an obtuse writing style.

The book and DVD also lay a great foundation for the physical technique of playing the piano. Knowing how to play won't do you much good if your hands are crippled by tendonitis from years of improper technique. The DVD has clear examples and explanations of everything from proper posture to finger and wrist movement.

The pedagogical approach is also excellent. You can really tell that the author is an experienced teacher, and the book does a good job of helping you avoid the pitfalls that tend to trip students up. Having a good foundation is extremely crucial if you want to progress to higher levels of music making. Otherwise it is like trying to play hockey when you don't know how to ice skate very well.

The only shortcoming of the book that I have found is that it could use a few more exercises at times. There are enough exercises to learn the material, but sometimes I wish there were more to help me learn the concepts so cold turkey that I don't even have to think about it. Perhaps a computer program to randomly generate drills would be a good addition in the future. (In all fairness, I know the author also has a curriculum that is broken down into multiple books and goes at a slower pace, so perhaps that version would have more drills.)

Highly recommended.

Well worth every penny!
I was a little hesitant about purchasing this book due to its cost. But I did it anyways and "whoa!", what a find it was! I learned a ton from this book and can't wait for the advanced version to come out. The lessons are put together in a very logical order and makes you learn by doing. Each lesson has a few exercises to apply what you learn. I am very pleased with this book and will continue reviewing the material in it. It is a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn how to compose music. For people who already compose, this book will make you sound even better!