Piano The Books

Essential resource if you're buying a piano or just want to know more about this wonderful instrument

I bought this prior to buying my piano and it was a lifesaver. I'd read about it and had to try it myself. I highlighted many passages and re-read many sections while making my selection. I have not only told many others to buy it, but have also "loaned" out my copy many times. A great investment, whether looking to purchase a used or new piano. Good tips for maintaining piano as well.

When beginning to look for a piano, we read Larry Fine's The Piano Book at the recommendation of our local piano technician. It is superbly written and highly informative. It covers everything from the mechanics of pianos in general to the relative features and qualities of various makes of pianos. In the end, it was well worth the effort and helped us make a well informed decision on the type and make of piano we purchased.

Just a few words: This guy loves pianos as much as I do. Buy this book. You won't regret it. I use it with my customers and my piano store, I use it for my own piano. It covers so many details that it will be a big mistake not to buy it. I has very well documented info, so you are very well prepared to buy, sell, rent, move, determine value of a piano. And the author keeps you updated each year.

Congratulations to the author...

The previous positive reviews are true; this is an indepensable book for anyone in the market for a piano.

Full disclosure - I worked for Backbeat Books when they published Robin Meloy Goldsby's wonderful memoir, Piano Girl, and am fortunate to have read Rhythm in its entirety. Re-reading this excerpt just now put me right back into Jane Bowman's world, where her seemingly perfect life is marred by a tragedy perhaps too great to bear. Rhythm is the pulse behind the prose, and the affirming yet mysterious life-force that brings people together when it seems they need each other most. I rooted for Jane the entire way, inspired by her resiliance, warmed by her friendships, distressed when her obstacles felt too real, and richly rewarded for persevering with her through it all. Drum roll please....this one's a winner. Brava!

Robin Goldsby has created characters in her novel that come alive as you read about them and envision them in your mind. This is a novel that both musicians and non-musicians will enjoy reading. Robin, a musician herself, shows her insights into life, passion for music and the characters she has brought to life on her pages. I couldn't stop reading until I finished and now I am waiting for publication so I can find out what happens. Bravo Robin! This deserves to be in the finals. I can't wait to see what Ms. Goldsby will write next.

Having absolutely no musical background, I was mesmerized by the reminiscences of a daughter for her mother and the memories evoked, especially the sound memories. How many of us remember sounds? The bittersweet descriptions were priceless without being maudlin and certainly draw the reader tightly, and immediately, into the story. The idea of having a kickass percussionist for a mother is excellent and unique and something I would enjoy reading in long form. Most of us more modern types of girls would give anything to have that background. The general writing is fluid and easily descriptive, the dialogue just right, and the images clear and sometimes haunting. I especially liked the idea of hiring a maid for the maid. The voice of this writer is amazingly good, especially for a first fiction attempt. This entry has my vote.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R21G6I168MF78D In this short video, I talk about my new novel, Rhythm (Official ABNA Entrant). I reveal some of the stories behind Rhythm and read a short excerpt. You can also find out more about my first book, Piano Girl: A Memoir, (Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review), and my solo piano CDs, Twilight, Somewhere In Time, and Songs from the Castle. Thanks for watching and listening!

I love when novels take me on an insider's tour of a new world, and "Rhythms" is one of those great reads that opens up the world of professional musicians in a way I've never seen before. It also reimagines the traditional musical "Bildungsroman" as a girl's story--something my teenage daughter and I can groove on. Go Piano Girl!

I love the Broadway show and adore listening to the CD. But the music in this book is very difficult to play and enjoy. I'm an advanced intermediate who just plays the piano for fun, and so far, this hasn't been fun! I'll keep practicing - maybe it will become more enjoyable.

Many a time has this book come in handy. It is perfect for a recital or review type performance. If you have the talent and skill to actually play these pieces, kudos to you!

If you love the music from the musical, then you've found the right book. While some of the songs have teeny differences between the recording and what's written, it's not enough to make it awful. The range is simple weather you're a contralto or a first soprano. The accompnament is a bit of a challenge, but easy to overcome with practice.

I'm loving this book! The arrangements are a great difficulty level- challanging, but not impossible. No One Mourns the Wicked, Defying Gravity, Dancing Through Life, and What Is This Feeling are edited, but not that bad, and Thank Goodness is reduced to Glinda's solo, I Couldn't Be Happier.
There's really no substitute for this book. The arrangements and the chords themselves are too complicated to pick up by ear. I'd encourage anyone who loves this musical and knows piano to invest in this book. It's a real keeper.

Pieces seem to be very true to the original score. Four and Five sharps or flats is common. Multiple changes in time signature within the pieces. Great if you're comfortable playing difficult music.

Steinway pianos are my favorite. Being that I am a professional country/blues pianist, if I can't play a Steinway, I would rather not play! James Barron wrote an historical account of the making of a Steinway. The piano is still made the way they started since the 1800's. No assembly line, no plastic parts, and no artificial wood. They are constructed by hand and skilled craftsmanship.

Why buy a $400.00 piano made in China? That is an insult not only to beginning and professional pianists, but an insult to the piano itself. In 2000, the piano celebrated it's 300th anniversary. Piano is the most famous house hold instrument.

This book is enjoyable, and educational even to those who do not play, but love to hear the glorious 88 keys hitting the strings. The harpsichord was a for runner of the piano. The difference was, you may beat the keys as hard as you can, but you still only received one level of sound. Strings were plucked, and the piano was made for the hammers to hit the strings. The harder you played, the louder a piano sounded. The piano changed the history of the world. I think two of the greatest pianist is Floyd Cramer, and Roger Williams.

Steinway takes you deep into the heart of their factory, and shows you how a piano is meant to be built and played. The history is fascinating.

K-0862 became a living...feeling...emotional entity by the end of this book........A very very original idea (to breath life into this piano) and well written. Actually EXTREMELY WELL WRITTEN book...My NEW favorite among all books...right up there with OVER THE EDGE OF THE WORLD......... The two most enjoyable....... educational........ books I have ever read!!!!!! KUDOS!!!!!!! I hated when i got to the end of this one!!!!!!

I took my copy of "Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand" to the beach with me. I read it in 4 days! Mr. Barron infuses a wealth of information into a wonderful story about this piano,and oh so much more. Before you know it K-0862 is a character you care about. I cannot imagine anyone not finding something to love about this book!!! Masterfully written!

The writing style is very engaging and readable. It is more about the people who build the pianos and the history of Steinway than it is about building a piano, but still a nice read.

After reading this you might be interested in: The Violin Maker: Finding a Centuries-Old Tradition in a Brooklyn Workshop by John Marchese, and then perhaps Guitar: An American Life by Tim Brookes (these two books a longer and more detailed then Piano but are similarly styled).

Excellently and diligently written, this little book tells the story of one Steinway concert grand piano from conception to adolescence. Barron loves the piano, respects the Company, and is dilgent in showing the evolution of Steinway, as well as the creation of one, new opus - a 9 foot concert piano. Barron introduces us to the barons of Steinway and the individual craftsmen who hand make these excellent instruments. To me, the quality and individual character of each Steinway piano are no longer a mystery.

Each time I play my own small grand piano (a quality A B Chase, close replica of the Steinway model S), I think of the efforts that went into it. Unlike Yamahas and such, the Steinway is an almost hand-built piano from a Company which has never relented in its determination to produce the best.

The book also explains why age is not all that becoming in the tonal life of a piano. The instrument has a birth, a development, and an aging process which are measured in tonal character progress, not just years. The aged Steiway seems a time integral of all that has come before - including hundred year old designs and techniques, and all the way up to its last tuning.

If you think a piano is a piano, is a piano, Barron's book will change your outlook.

This product is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much.

My friend wanted it for Christmas, so I got it for her as a surprise, and while I'm not a big fan of Josh Groban, she loves him. I've never had a Christmas gift make someone so happy, she absolutely loves everything about this book.

This sheet music is great. My husband loves to sing and to play the piano. This sheet music is fabulous.

I am not nearly as gifted in the vocal department as Josh is, however, I do play the flute, and after getting hooked on his cd, I got this book. The wonderful things about this book is that since the melody is there, I can play the melody. The songs are in an easy enough key, and the notes are never out of reach. Josh Groban is young still, and I simply can not wait to see what his voice will be like in 10 years. If you like to play excellent music, this book is wonderful. You may find, however, that it will be necessary to raise the songsb y an octave (mainly due to the limitations of your instrument) but the result is the same, and still powerful.

Uh, I'm not sure what the last person was talking about...Josh handles the high notes very well. His voice is so beautiful. Clearly, he's gotten as far as he has for a good reason. If he was the same as the rest of the young vocalists in this country, then tell me why exactly he's famous and selling MILLIONS of albums. Yeah, that's what I thought.

I play piano, and I like this music. The piano parts, for the most part, have the melody in them and are very pretty on their own rather than being just an accompaniment. Like someone else said, a spiral-bound version would be easier to keep open, but it's not a big deal for me, especially since I'm just playing it for fun.

Love it! Love it! Love it! Medium difficulty and beautiful songs. All my favorites are there! Highly recommended!

Worth the wait to finally get Celtic Woman in print! Exceptional music for the vocalist who sings in this range.

I am a huge Celtic Woman fan and I absolutely love this songbook. My only complaint, is I wish there were a sequel to it already! The songs are playable and well written and of course, beautiful. For anybody who loves Celtic Woman, this music collection is a must!

As someone who loves owning the sheet music to my favorite songs, I have bought a lot of different songbooks. Most have just been okay - altered melody lines, altered piano lines to be easy for the beginner. This songbook goes way beyond the beginner - not necessarily in difficulty, but because it gives you a sound closer to the original music than I've ever seen in a songbook. I am so glad I bought this!

If you love music and you love a good novel, this book is for you. From the first sentence you are drawn into the story and want to know more. Duet for Solo Piano--what an intriguing idea! The story is written with a depth of knowledge of classical music and of the music world. Romance, tragedy, redemption--this book has it all. And before you've even finished the first chapter, you'll want to run out and buy the Franck Sonata so you can listen to it while you read the rest of this outstanding novel!

What if you watched your mother pour out her love to your father, to friends--even to the people in the audience at her concerts--and there seemed to be none left for you? Through music and memory, Toll begins her riveting story of a talented musician who must wrestle with the dissonance of the mother he knew and the woman everyone else adored.

I loved this excerpt from Duet for Solo Piano, and wanted to read more. The characters and their world were immediately believable and compelling, the details convincing. Brava!

Even for those not musically inclined, this excerpt offers a comprehensible insight into the refined world of classical music. The character relationships are human, inspiring both sympathy and understanding in the reader. The thought-processes and reactions of the characters are poignantly established and engage the reader instantly. Excellent.

An engaging beginning to what is surely a magnificent novel! In the too-brief excerpt, we have both a strong sense of the tensions that will likely unfold in the rest of book and an expertly expressed limning of the personalities and motivations of its major characters. From the opening paragraphs, Ms. Toll sets up Time as a key element in the book, as the main characters, Laurence Kates and his only son, Adam, look backward at moments in their lives when they themselves were looking forward. This counterpoint between past and present, and the related changes in perspective from father to son, are as compelling as a metronome. They give an energy to the work, and feel organic to the story of the relationships among and between the accomplished musician members of the Kates family. It leaves the reader with a desire for more, with a (delicious) uncertainty about whether the outcome will be in a major or minor key. Brava!

I'm a blues guitarist and I'm in the early stages of learning to play piano, so I can't give the most credible of reviews of this book yet, but I can tell you that it's chock-full of really, really, REALLY excellent comps and vamps and licks. So far I'm only able to work on the simplest of the stuff early in the book, but I've listened to the CD the whole way through, and it's just one example after another after another of killer riffs, the kind of stuff that makes me think, "YES...that is what I want to be able to play." In all kinds of blues styles.

This is definitely *not* a beginner book. As I said, most of it is still way beyond me. It's not a "here's what the half-rest looks like" kind of book, nor will you find guides for fingering. One of the first signs that told me that this book is still over my head is that it shows chords like, say, a 9th chord, with all five notes shown, in a key where it appears to me that there's no possible way one hand can hit all of those notes. Does the experienced player just hit a broken chord? Is it supposed to be a two-handed chord, even though it's shown in the bass clef, and there are also notes in the treble clef? I don't know.

So this is a book for people who already have some piano playing ability. But the material is terrific, and there's a ton of it. If I can ever learn to play all, or even half, of the stuff in this book, I'll be a happy man.

Having a good musical ear, yet with very weak sight reading skills, I'm always searching for good books that can teach common blues licks/runs on the piano, while also explaining the "why" of how it works. This book is perfect. It can be used for a variety of things to learn:

--Licks/runs...there are hundreds of examples of great sounding, commonly used runs (as opposed to other books, whose runs can sound very un-creative or cheesy). Each run is usually only a few measures long, easy to pick up, and the book teaches you a great deal of different sounding ones in all the various styles of blues (boogie woogie, n. orleans, funky, jazzy, gospel, etc).

--Left hand bass...while only a few pages long, this section is flawlessly explained in a clear, straightforward manner. Harrison covers about 15 major (and fairly easy to pick up) left hand bass teqniques covering all the major blues styles. While it took a lot of practice to get all of them down pat, they have increased my playing monumentally. He also teaches you to always be mixing them to have variation in your bass.

--The "By Ear" element...unlike MANY other books, Mark Harrison's included CD is a god send. If your like me and suck at sight reading, this cd is a blessing. The examples are short enough that once you can pick out the general notes, all you have to do is pop in the cd and hear clearly played note for note examples of what is on the page. I've found that hearing it cements the sound and timing of it in my head, making it easier to play, and also allows you to tinker and improv off the examples he gives you.

--Great summation and lead from basic to complex...the book incorporates more and more licks as it goes on, and covers more and more styles. By the end, when your listening to full 2-3 page blues pieces (the cd gives two tracks each for these; slow solo piano, and a faster one with a backing band), you can really get a feel for how all these runs are simply tools at your disposal to fit any given blues progression. Also great is that Harrison doesn't teach the very beginning licks as forgettable "step 1" sounding fodder...the licks sound great from the beginning by themselves, but are also used as building blocks to form more complex runs and comping later on.

This book is an absolute treasure trove of blues ideas, and a huge reason for my playing having increased so much over the past year. Mark Harrison's Smooth Jazz book is also good (it has a lot of great explanations for jazz chord voicings) but this book, and his "Jazz-Blues" book, are the two to go out and get immediately if you want concrete results without having the theory bog you down.

The day i started useing this book i could play the blues. This books breaks everything down very well. I love it and u will too!!!

This is a very well written book. The author does a great job of first explaining a concept and then showing how it can be applied, far better than other similar books I have read. I have found it easy to apply the ideas in this book to create my own riffs.

It would be hard to cover the entire spectrum of blues in a single book, and this book does not accomplish that. What it does well is to introduce a set of commonly used patterns and phrases which can be used to build a basic vocabulary of blues phrases and comping patterns.

If you are on a budget and don't have a lot of free time, but still want to sit down at a party or open mike and wail the blues, this is the book for you. In chapter 2 you get 20 or so authentic left hand patterns. In chapter 3 you learn a variety of chords from basic triads to sharped fifths and ninths with various timing tricks for comping. And you play those over the left hand patterns you learned in chapter 2. In chapter 4 Harrison introduces the grace note technique and takes it thru Dr. John's "famous lick". That's 90% of what you need to play convincing blues. The key is that Harrison keeps everything in two measure units that you can easily combine. You aren't confronted with a 4 bar melody as in some other books, wondering, "Why am I playing this?" This book dosen't cover everything, but if you learn to play the exercises in this book you will sound good. If you have a few extra bucks, buy Tim Richard's book for a complementary approach.

This is a great product for Josh Groban fans who want to (attempt to) sing like him. Although the music itelf is simplified, it still gets the point across. I recomend it!

This music book is just what I hoped it would be. Easy to read/play, and the price was great!

This has everything I could have wanted.All the songs are complete and in the rights keys.Nothing is missing.It's magic to play Groban by yourself.Plus it has the English translations to the foreign language songs and great shots of Josh.

The sheet music here is challenging, but playable and close enough to the composition on the CD that it's amazing! the vocal is soprano, the piano moderate difficulty, it's exactly what i expected, and i would encourage it's purchase if you're looking for the sheet music to the Josh Groban Closer album, all songs are in the book.

Love the fact that the words and translations are provided. Not an expert pianist but the music works for my purposes (playing for fun and to sing along with).

Don't love the fact that when I tried to press open the book so that it would lay on the music stand of my piano, the whole cover fell off (cheap binding materials, apparently). But at least now I can use it.

I am becoming so much more aware of my body in all of my life and also a much better piano teacher. It will help you to be a healthier and happier person if you take it to heart.

Very informative book. I have to read it again and consult with a physiotherapist. But as far as I understood, it is an extention of Alexander Technique and it further explains all what is used on piano technique. It further explain forearm rotation which is essential for proper piano technique. It also demystifies wrong picture about fingers, wrists, shoulders. In simple words it's a musthavebook.If there is a BODYMAPING course in area where i live, i would already be on that piano class.

Update, I have just finished the book. All pianists should have this book. I am anxious when they release DVD Video related to this book. There is a VHS version for purchase but i'll probably wait for digital one.

This book contains a great deal of useful information for all kinds of pianists so the name is actually quite apropiate : What every pianist needs to know about the body. And that's exactly what it is. Unfortunately I discovered this book late, but fortunately, not too late; I've just recovered from a injury that's kept me away for over half a year from playing my beloved instrument. Now I know what I did wrong, and also how to correct it. I'm not saying I'm already done, I will need some rereads of the book. Taking in the process some notes to apply to my daily playing. It won't be easy but it will surely be worth it. I reccomend this book to everyone interested in not just recovering from injury, but also to everyone interested in improving their technique.

I am a 17-year-old pianist from New Jersey. I am almost finished with reading this book, and I found this book very useful for mapping my body and applying it to my own playing. This book is not just for pianists, but every musicians. You will be satisfied, and this book will make your playing easier, freer, and more expressive. You will enjoy reading this book. This book will lead you to better playing and you will be aware of your body movements. This is a very well-written book that deserves not just 5 stars, but maybe 10 stars! A wonderful guide.

I'm seeking a way to return safely to piano after recovering from bi-lateral tendonitis. Several approaches stand out: Taubman Institute, Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, and body mapping. I want an approach that is safe and effective, specific to piano, and economical (everything else being equal). Mark's book is my first purchase: the book is piano-specific, exceedingly cheap relative to the full $800.00 Taubman 10 DVD set, and sufficiently packed with accurate anatomy to impress my occupational therapist (hand specialist w/ Ph.D.). So far, so good . . .

Now for the fine print: the book is 90% anatomy, not piano playing. There are isolated pointers based on anatomical facts, but the emphasis is, "Musician, heal thyself." The methodology is for the musician to learn their body, listen to their body, trust their body, obey their body. I'm looking for a recipe book (it is safe and effective to play scales like this, arpeggios like this, reach with your thumb like this, . . .), not a book about how to grow my own ingredients.

This book has merit and value, and I'm glad I bought it, but it is not enough by itself to get me back in the saddle. Looks like I have some Taubman videos in my future.