Piano The Books

THIS BOOK WAS GIVEN TO ME BY MY SISTER WHO HAD READ IT AND KNEW I WOULD LOVE IT! AND I DID. MONTPARKER WRITES WITH A WONDERUFL CLARITY AND "RIGHT-ON-NESS." WHETHER ONE IS AN ARTIST OF ANY SORT, VISUAL, MUSICAL OR ARCHITECTURAL OR "MERELY" A LOVER OF THE ARTS, CAROL MONTPARKER KNOWS HOW TO GET HER MESSAGE ACROSS. ONE REALIZES THE WORK, THE INSIGHT AND THE DEVOTION THIS MUSICIAN BRINGS TO HER TALENT AND HOW SHE IS OPEN TO MUSIC OF ALL KINDS. SHE NEVER DENIGRATES MUSICIANS, AND SHE LISTENS, NOT ONLY WITH A KEEN EAR,BUT WITH COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE THE PERFORMER AND THE MUSIC. WHETHER YOU ARE A PLAYER OR LISTENER OF MUSIC, CAROL MONTPARKER SPEAKS TO YOU AND SEEMS TO BE IN TOUCH. SHE IS HONEST AND STRAIGHT FORWARD WITHOUT BEING OVERLY SENTIMENTAL. I LOVE THIS BOOK! READ IT!

Carol Montparker writes with insight, warmth, and sensitivity. She has great feeling for the difficulties and rewards of the pianist's vocation. She expresses appreciation to the famous pianists she has interviewed for Clavier Magazine, and yet she speaks of her students with respect, also. Her insights into the challenges facing a pianist and her reverence for the art form make this book eminently worth reading.

First of all, I want to thank the other reviewer of this book, who tells us that this is a TRUE STORY! That makes it even more special.

Today I'm writing reviews of 4 picture books about children playing the piano. But this one is by far the best. The main character is Anna, who at the beginning of the book is reflecting back on her life. You follow Anna's love of music from the time she was a child into old age. I love how the author and illustrator depict Anna's long train ride to Boston for her piano lessons.

As Anna grow up, she gets married and is shown playing the piano with a baby on her lap. After her children are grown and her husband has passed away, she's still enjoying playing the piano.

This book as really warmed THIS piano teacher's heart! See my other reviews for other books about children playing piano - but be sure to buy THIS ONE! The illustrations are just perfect too!

Happy reading!

Anna (not her real name) , in real life, is my great aunt - my grandmother's sister. I have been in "anna's" home many times and have many fond memories. "Uncle Luther" is the minister that married my mother and father in Old North Church in Wilmot, New Hampshire. My Grandfather was the president of the "Grange" for a while. I recall clearly going to the town dances in the Grange Hall where "Anna" played. "Anna" passed away years ago - but, thanks to Mary Lyn Rae, her story will live on for generations to come.

Thank you, Mary Lyn Rae, for keeping this story alive.

No hablo inglés. Como lo anuncié arriba, espero que lo que estoy comprando sea una partitura para el concierto No 1 de brahmns, que estoy muy interesado en comprar y acá en Colombia no he podido conseguirla.

What may at first seem as a mere oddity, is actually a wonderful and extremely clever transcription. The ingenious concept in this arrangement is the synthesis of the piano part and the orchestral part into one big scheme, which is then cleverly divided between the two players, as opposed, say, to a piano vs. orchestra parts,as it would be in a regular "Klavierauszug" (clearly impossible in a one-piano four-hand setting). Both parts are more or less equal in difficulty, and even though it's not an easy ride, it's much less taxing than the original piano solo part in the op. 15. Advanced piano players will enjoy this wonderful arrangement enormously. As another reviewer wrote about Mozart piano 4-hands pieces - playing piano 4 hands is more fun than the law allows, and I might say that playing this arrangement is no exception to this observation.

Whether you have heard these works many times or are new to them, reading and following the score of a masterwork is a way to get yet closer to the piece.

Chopin wrote both concertos when he was 18-20 years of age. His masterly writing for the piano is astounding, and while it's been written and said that he wasn't much of an orchestrator, after reading the score I found this not to be the case. Sure, the piano is the star, spotlight and all, but the orchestra has much to contribute.

There's no finer scores for the money than these by Dover. Recommended!

The I. Paderewski edition of Chopin's Piano Concerto's No. 1 and 2 is the best edition I've looked at. The orchestral part is intricately transcribed for the second piano. Like all Dover products, this book and its binding are virtually indestructible...a major plus for the monumental task of mastering the greatest concertos of them all (Concerto No.2 in F minor). A good buy!

I found that the edition of these two masterpieces of the piano concerto literature absolutely indispensible. Saint-Saens was such a master, and his subtle, elegant and powerful writing for piano and the orchestra leaps off the printed score. We need to have the other piano concerti (1, 3 and 5) printed with the same care, and all of his other concerti, particuarly those for cello and violin needs to be treated with the same consideration. An excellent publication that every music lover should have!

I thought that this book was excellent. I found that the edition was very much as Saint Saens intended and I beleive that it was enlightening and informative. The staves were easy to read and the piano part especially was clear. As far as the actual music goes, it is devine. Saint Saens is a personal favorite and owning this score has been a delight. I recommend this book to any appreciator of music and most definately any pianist.

Misha and Evan are excellent instructors. This book is fantastic. I heartily recommend it.

About the book:

This book offers a way for adults to learn or relearn piano playing in a comfortable musically rewarding setting. This method is designed for individuals whose time is limited, therefore it makes efficient use of time. The development of music reading and playing abilities is gradual but thorough. The book uses a hand-position approach together with solfege, counting and singing, which create a symbiotic natural way of learning, similar to European schools. Playing through this book is easy and fun, and at the same time it develops all the necessary piano skills and techniques. CD accompaniment is available from www.pianoforadults.com.

About the author:

Misha V. Stefanuk has composed for programs such as One Life to Live(ABC), All My Children(ABC), First Monday(CBS) and the Chris Isaak Show(Showtime). He is a winner of Stereotypes and Nations Composition Competition and Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. Among his other works is the Mel Bay bestseller Jazz Piano Chords.

Evan Dozier-Stefanuk graduated from Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music. Evan was involved in writing nine educational books for Mel Bay publications. She performs with companies such as the Atlanta Opera and the Atlanta Lyric Theatre. Evan and Misha teach over a hundred students including winners of National and regional competitions, finalists in American Idol and America's Most Talented Kid and a winner of the Chopin Young Artist Piano Competition.

I bought this product for my 3year old daughter and she loves it! We are not doing structural teaching, I am just letting her play on her own and she already has a good hand position and almost plays the first song by memory. I am very happy with this product and I recommend it to anyone 100%.

I purchased this program for my 4 year old daughter after researching several programs/books that claim to be the best for introducing piano to young ones. I also checked with a friend of mine who majored in music and teaches piano; and she said this was a good system to start with because it teaches sight reading from the very begining versus trying to undue bad habits later. The child plays the notes by looking at the colors on the grand staff, and then playing those colors on the piano/keyboard. My daughter learned which notes were higher on the keyboard versus lower in just 2 lessons. She plays the songs in the book everyday and doesn't even know that she's learning to recognize notes. Also, the author is great at answering emails. I had a question regarding what to do next with my daughter since I started with her system, and she answered me with a very detailed and thoughtful email. I highly recommend this program if you would like to introduce your preschooler to the piano in a fun and rewarding way. My 2 1/2 year old, who is getting really good with colors, can also play Twinkle Little Star with my help(eye hand coordination is a work in progress, but this a great way to work on that!). With free shipping and money back guarantee, you can't go wrong. Try it!

Amazingly comprehensive text, with objective, intelligent reviews of most of the works listed, written by the author and/or those who heard the music first-hand. I didn't find a listing for the composer Kjerwulf, but I found listings for many others, including many I never heard of. Every piano piece of importance, and many others, are listed here, along with publication histories for most all works, and suggested bibliographies. You don't know how much piano music has been written until this book informs you of it. Very interesting biographical sketches are included of the most important composers.

Maurice Hinson's _Guide to Pianist's Repertoire_ is now a standard fixture on the bookshelves of performers and teachers everywhere. The current volume is another staggeringly comprehensive repertoire guide, listing published chamber music written with the piano as an equal partner, in combinations of up to eight instruments, composed since 1700 (although a few works prior to that date are included). Hinson follows the format he has used before, grouping works by instrumentation, with the emphasis being on locating publishers. Other information is given as available, for example, movement titles, timings, no. of pages, level of difficulty, etc. (It may be noted that no discography is attempted.) Selected works are given descriptive annotations and evaluations. While a volume of this type will invariably require multiple editions to stay current, the information contained herein will be of value for many years to come.

This is Book 2 of a five book series that will bring your child to the equivalent of the Grade 4 level of the Royal Conservatory of Music. It is non-threatening and comprehensive and will give your daughter or son a solid foundation in the piano. Brightly illustrated, it will never bore. This series is enhanced by a large number of supplementary volumes from Hal Leonard, including books on piano theory and classical music solos. This series can't be beat and as a parent whose child is using this set of books, having begun with the two excellent Usborne ones, I give the Hal Leonard program the highest rating. Warmly recommended.

This is Book 3 of a five book series on piano for kids. This is a great book and my daughter is getting into it right now, having completed the two Usborne books and Book 2 of the Hal Leonard series. (The Usborne books are a great beginning for any child and actually land them about in the middle of the Hal Leonard Book 2 when they are completed.) The Hal Leonard piano instruction program is full of good tunes and bright colours, very user-friendly and child-friendly. The back cover of each book lists many excellent complementary volumes which can be obtained. (They don't list their classical music solos volumes though, I'm not sure why, but these are also a good buy. Entitled Classical Themes they follow the instruction books level by level up to and including level 5.) Book 3 is an excellent advanced beginners program and the entire series is a good investment. A local piano teacher informed me that the Hal Leonard series teaches her kids the notes and the music better than any other teaching method out there. Highly recommended!

I took up reading this book because it reminded me about when i played the piano when i was a child. It taught me infinite amounts. It shows about the important morals in life. It shows how important children are to future. The children are our future. Even if you haven't had any musical experience you should pick up this book. It may even inspire you to pursue learning a musical instrument yourself! This book has shown how much we can learn from children without even knowing it. Children dream big and dream of being whatever they want to be as they grow older. In my experience this book has shown me that "the little things in life... do truly matter."

I picked up this book not having an idea of what exactly to expect. As I began reading, I found myself not being able to put it down. I may not be a piano student (anymore) but you don't have to be one to be able to relate to the stories and reflections in the book. It's simple yet the messages throughout the book touches the deepest recesses of the heart of the reader. No highfalutin words, no jargons of any kind. Just pure, straight-from-the-heart, sincere insights and lessons. Lessons which can be applied to Life and how the Lord is Life's greatest teacher.