Learning to improvise
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I must disagree with the reviewer who thinks that this is simply learning by rote. If you actually work through the book, it gives you a number of exercises where you do have to use your own creativity and understanding. For someone like me who came from a classical background, this book was an excellent way of helping me let go of the printed page.I still found it difficult, but each chapter in this book gives you something tangible to work on. It is not simply "go and do it by yourself"
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Ignore the above review
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The guy above reviewing the book obviously didn't give it the time of day and has written a potentially damaging review about something he knows nothing about.
The writer of this book instructs and encourages ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO IMPROVISE AND CREATE YOUR OWN PIECES.
Yes he gives songs and musical transcripts to play, they are simple at first and get progressively longer and more complicated once the principles have been well practised. But they are simply starting points for his instructions on the same page. You need a context to learn in and he has provided lots of them.
He teaches you to teach yourself, there is ample opportunity to learn and improvise and do your own stuff throughout right from the beginning. I was excited at my progress after th efirst two pages of the book and it never tapered off now I've worked through two and a half chapters.
He even teaches you how to create your own solos and gives well-used 'devices' to make something sound good, that starts right from page 1. These devices were used by professional blues performers even to this day.
The writer himself is a performer, and is a teacher at an established music school. He uses his teaching experience in the book that much is obvious. Don't buy any other book but this one because it's well deserved.
This book is something marvellous. I knew nothing before I started, I have learned more from this book in 7 months than I have in 8 years of tinkering around myself.
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Want creativity and inspiration? Then stay clear of this book
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Blues is notorious for being an improvised, 'inspired' kind of music. Its not something you associate with musical notation or heavy music theory, which makes this book seem misjudged.
I have never studied music formally. I am a keen keyboardist, and can play reasonably well, but I have basically been self-taught and have the philosophy that music is something that can be improved through learning but ultimately has to be something you work out for yourself. I do not subscribe to the idea that pianists are simply music-playing machines that should repeat someone elses musical creations verbatim. Instead I see music as a process of creation, experimentation and life-long learning. I think the best Blues musicians probably think the way I do too.
The writer of this book does not. My heart sunk when I saw what it consisted of - basically you are expected to play through musical passages verbatim written as a musical score. Every couple of pages you get a new musical score, which you are expected to learn and play like a machine. There is no inspiration. There is no sense of 'learning', simply repetition by rote. The is no 'why', only 'how'. Anyone looking to know why the Blues is played the way it is, or be inspired to create new riffs and rhythms of their own, will be sorely disappointed. On the other hand, if you have no creative juices to draw on yourself, you might like the idea of never leaving your comfort zone and simply repeating what has been laid out before you.
The problem is that the title of this book stresses improvisation, which is a sore point for me. The author may be able to improvise well himself, but he does not make any effort to explain the 'feel' or the energy behind improvisation. In fact, there is no inspiration or exposition here at all. He just gives you a specific, narrow list of notes to play for each piece, and tells you to improvise with those notes across certain passages. No clues as to how to do so. Just go ahead and do it yourself. Frankly I don't need to spend a premium price just to be told to get on with it myself!
My first impressions were of total disgust. This book title suggests you are going on a journey to learn how to improvise the Blues. Instead you are given a load of prewritten notation and told to repeat it like a machine, and maybe along the way you might pick up a few pointers. On the other hand, it is just as likely to crush any kind of inspiration or sense of adventure you ever had in music because it does not allow you to wander or explore any musical horizons on your own.
There are some good points. I found it very useful for improving my piano technique and music reading skills. The music written for you is balanced so easy passages begin the book, and get progressively harder as you go through the chapter. This is a great way to brush up on technique and practise. You won't learn much about the Blues by doing so, but you will at least be able to play a few Blues numbers and get your fingers plonking away.
In short, a good book if you are a dumb, middle-class blonde girl looking to play piano because your parents want you to do something arty. Or if you're the kind of person who wants to play piano pieces by rote to impress their friends, but lack the creativity to go your own way and experiment. If, on the other hand, you take music seriously and want inspiration and to expand you musical horizons, steer well clear. This book is a dead end as far as creativity is concerned.
It could even stifle the creativity of a beginner to piano, and so could end up doing more harm than good. If you are new to piano playing and want to open up new horizons and inspiration, avoid this book like the plague. It will cramp your style and drown any fledgeling creativity you may have.
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A must for blues piano lovers!
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Good books about blues piano are hard to find.
After a long search, I finally found this gem !
Most of all, it enables any intermediate player to get to another level of playing in a very enjoyable and useful way.
Enjoyable, because it contains a rich variety of classic blues pieces, representing a wide range of blues styles. A good contribution to enrich the performing student's repertoire.
Useful, because it enables any player to really understand and use all those sophisticated chords ( 9#, 13, etc.), opening doors (and ears !) to the aspiring jazz pianist.
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The best and most comprehensive book on learning blues piano
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I have bought a large number of books on learning to play blues piano. This book is by far the best, taking you logically and progressively through the theory and its application. It also includes a CD of all the tracks in the book. Don't expect to find this book easy if you're not at an intermediate level to start with. Persevere and it won't be long be you can play the blues....
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