AWESOME!
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I have been playing the piano for a few years but have never classed myslef as very good. This book could not have helped me more. I did not in any way have to be any good at theory or be able to sight read like a pro. This book teaches you the esentials. This however is not a book for those people who have never touched a piano. You must have a little knowledge of playing the piano. If you do, this is the book for you.
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Jazz Piano "From Scratch"??? Only if you read music!
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This book was most disapointing... as a complete novice pianist, but lover of Jazz, I had expected this book to provide a gentle introduction teaching from the very basics - "from scratch".
You can imagine the surprise when, on around the tenth page of the book, musical score makes a rather abrupt appearance and seems rather reluctant to leave!By page 20, the book is talking about "B flat pentatonics in G" - again with the use of Mr Musical Score. Sadly, although I love music, I wouldn't be able to spot a pentatonic if it bit me. I'm sure this book is great for those already with a grounding on the piano, but I certainly feel it doesn't live up to expectations.
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No need to think too long over this one
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This is a great book for beginner to intermediate players. It is well structured, teaching first rhythm, then melody and finally harmony (roughly speaking, its not quite so cut and dried as that). The style is so easy and light you'll wonder why more Jazz literature can't be this way. What I like most about this book is it is good fun. It really is just a whole bunch of pointers, ideas and hints to make practising more fun. So you can either work methodically through it, or dip in whenever your wondering what to practice, or feeling in a bit of a rut. Excellent presentation as well as content. Full marks to the authors, they have done a great job here. (Oh the CD is the icing on the cake, with a large selection of audio cues to fill out the concepts in the book).
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Just what you expect from the Music Board
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I found this book (and CD) very useful. Not only has it expanded my horizons on jazz music, it has also caught the imagination of my sister (who has yet to give it back to me!!!) If you just want to keep your skill fine tuned on a basic level, I recommend this book to anyone. Also, if you want to be a better player - GET THOSE SCALES BOOKS :0) For intermediate and professional level, it seems to be rather basic...however, provides insights to the beginner level. In conclusion - this book is ideal for beginners - upcoming, in their infancy musicians.
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Excellent Book
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I recently added this to my collection which includes books by Mark Levine and Jerry Coker which many users of this site recommend. This is a great book for a number of reasons. Firstly it deals with aspects which are often overlooked in other books such as rhythm skills and so forth. These are often the things you miss out on while trying to get to grips with the vaious modes and exotic chords that comprise jazz. It also has a CD with many very useful examples. I'd also like to point out that this is the best presented music book that I own. Often jazz books appear to have paid little attention to presentation. This is an exception. Printed on very high quality paper the music examples are very clear. The sample lead sheet from one of the music boards test pieces is also a revelation. Most jazz lead sheets are ambiguous, this is anything but. My single gripe (which is the same with most music books) is that it is not spiral bound.
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