Harmonization-Transposition at the Keyboard Review

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(More customer reviews)I waited quite a while for Amazon to procure this book for me, and it was with high hopes and expectations that I examined it, yesterday, when it finally arrived.The cover looked promising, as did the upbeat introduction.I began leafing through the book, and for the first 23 pages I was pleased.Then, alas, came abottomless pit of worthless, un-explained, un-documented examples beginning on page 24 and continuing up to and including the last page of the book.From page 24 to the end of the book is utterly, totally useless. It consists of melodies, all lifted from the public domain and nearly all attibuted to composers such as Mozart.There are very few chord symbols notated on these melodies, and all of them are treble cleff only.Page 23 says to apply the lessons taught in the first sections of the book, to the practice material that ensues.This book is so useless, and unuseable, that it is actually hard to get mad at the authors.I can only assume that they are so totatlly, utterly out of touch with the real world that they truly don't understand that a huge amount of borrowed melodieswith no explanation or examples of the correct way to harmonize them, is simply unacceptable to the vast majority of readers. There is nothing whatever in this book on the subject of transposition.I cannot imagine why the word "transposition" was part of the title.I say this somewhat authoritatively, as I have personally spent that last 6 months teaching himself how to transpose at the piano in all 12 keys.There are so many excellent books on keyboard harmony and voicing available through Amazon, that is is expecially ironic that this worthless book has a mis-leading title that will probably fool a lot of people into buying it the way I was.I cannot think of anything positive to say about this book. It should never have been published.The authors have not written enough of a book to even consider them real authors.It doesn't get any worse than this book.Any book, even a telephone book, is better than this book.

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Product Description:
While this book was designed for college classes in functional piano, it can easily be used by any high school student who is able to sight-read simple melodies. Part 1 presents clear explanations of the functions of primary and secondary triads, dominant sevenths and secondary dominants, and modulation. Suggestions for developing facility in harmonizing in various free styles rather than the more formal chorale style are also included. Part 2 contains 797 melodies carefully selected and classified to include a variety of keys, chords, rhythms, and accompaniment styles.

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Alfred's Essentials of Jazz Theory Complete Self Study Course: A Complete Self Study Course for All Musicians Review

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(More customer reviews)The book kinda assumes you have some understanding of Jazz Theory, which I did not so the book wasn't for me. But it has useful information if you already have some training.

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Alfred's Essentials of Jazz Theory is designed for jazz enthusiasts and musicians who want to learn jazz concepts and terminology.To get the most out of this course, it is recommended that you have a good understanding of basic theory, such as the lessons in Books 1-3 of Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory.The book contains lessons with both written and music reading exercises and ear-training and listening are addressed through the included CDs.Each unit is complete with a review section.Playing and/or singing along with each example is encouraged throughout the book.The Self Study Course includes lessons, a complete answer key to check your work, and three listening and ear-training CDs.

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My First Book of Chopin: 23 Favorite Pieces in Easy Piano Arrangements Review

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(More customer reviews)-----
This is the perfect book if you are a beginning pianist and are interested in learning the music of Frèdèric Chopin. NOTE: These are 'Easy' Piano Arrangements.

There are a total of 23 titles with 2 of the titles revisited later on:

· Prelude, Op. 28 no. 7
· Mazurka, Op. 67 no. 2

Total = 21 unique songs (listed below)As a beginner to Chopin's music, I also purchased the following two CD's:

Chopin: Greatest Hits contain 10 songs from the book and Chopin: Favorite Piano Works contain 6 songs for a total of 13 unique songs. (3 overlap) .. including:

CHOPIN GREATEST HITS:
· Polonaise for piano No. 3 in A major ("Military"), Op. 40/1, CT. 152
· Waltz for piano No. 6 in D flat major ("Minute"), Op. 64/1, CT. 212
· Fantasy-Impromptu for piano in C sharp minor, Op. 66, CT. 46
· Nocturne for piano No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 9/2, CT. 109
· Prelude for piano No. 7 in A major, Op. 28/7, CT. 172
· Polonaise for piano No. 6 in A flat major ("Héroique"), Op. 53, CT. 155
· Etude for piano No. 3 in E major, Op. 10/3, CT. 16
· Prelude for piano No. 20 in C minor, Op. 28/20, CT. 185
· Prelude for piano No. 15 in D flat major, Op. 28/15, CT. 180
· Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35, CT. 202 Marche funèbre

CHOPIN FAVORITE PIANO WORKS:
· Fantasy-Impromptu for piano in C sharp minor, Op. 66, CT. 46
· Nocturne for piano No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 9/2, CT. 109
· Waltz for piano No. 3 in A minor, Op. 34/2, CT. 209
· Waltz for piano No. 9 in A flat major ("L'adieu") Op. 69/1, CT. 215
· Ballade for piano No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, CT. 2
· Polonaise for piano No. 6 in A flat major ("Héroique"), Op. 53, CT. 155 Each song in the book is also preceded by a paragraph with background details. For example from the first song:

"(This is) The seventh Prelude from Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op.28, composed when he was 26. The music is really a delicate waltz, made up of rhythmically identical two-measure phrases. Originally in the key of A major, this version states the melody alone in the easier key of G major, then adds a simple bass line. The music is light, airy and elegant."Here is the complete song list and the introduction from the title page:

"Chopin knows what sounds are heard in our fields and woods," wrote a critic. "He has listened to the song of the Polish villager and he has made it his own." But the composer's adopted France brought a new elegance and refinement into his music, and Frèdèric Chopin, revered as "the poet of the piano," was welcomed into Paris's highest social and courtly circles. The story and music of a great composer forever torn between two worlds appear in the pages that follow.

CONTENTS
In approximate order of difficulty

01. An Elegant Chopin Melody (in French Ballroom Style): Prelude, Op. 28 no. 7
02. A Plaintive Chopin Melody (in Polish Mazurka Style): Mazurka, Op. 67 no. 2
03. Lullaby: (Berceuse, Op. 57)
04. Mazurka: Mazurka, Op. 67 no. 2 (revisited)
05. Mazurka in F: (Mazurka, Op. 68 no. 3)
06. Etude No. 3: (Etude, Op. 10 no. 3)
07. Prelude No. 7: (Prelude, Op. 28 no. 7 (revisited)
08. An Early Nocturne: (Nocturne, Op. 9 no. 2)
09. A Late Nocturne: (Nocturne, Op. 55 no. 1)
10. First Ballade: (Ballade No. 1, Op. 23)
11. Ballade in F: (Ballade No. 2, Op. 38)
12. Funeral March: ("Marche funèbre" from Sonata No. 2, Op. 35)
13. Mazurka in C: (Mazurka, Op. 33 no. 3)
14. Grand Waltz in A Minor: (Grande Valse Brillante, Op. 34 no. 2)
15. "Farewell" Waltz: (Waltz, Op. 69 no. 1, "L'adieu")
16. "Minute" Waltz: (Waltz, Op. 64 no. 1)
17. "Organ" Prelude: (Prelude, Op. 28 no. 20)
18. "Raindrop" Prelude: (Prelude, Op. 28 no. 15)
19. Fantaisie-impromptu: (Fantaisie-impromptu, Op. 66)
20. "Butterfly" Etude: (Etude, Op. 25 no. 9)
21. "Military" Polonaise: (Polonaise, Op. 40 no. 1)
22. "Heroic" Polonaise: (Polonaise, Op. 53)
23. Scottish Dance: (The first of the Trois Ècossaises Op. 72 no. 3)

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Beginning pianists and their teachers will love this attractive compilation of immortal music by Chopin. Fun-to-play, pedagogically sound arrangements include the theme from the "Raindrop" Prelude, "Minute" Waltz, the charming "Lullaby," and melodic highlights from the most familiar preludes, mazurkas, waltzes, impromptus, and etudes. From the lyrical "Fantaisie-impromptu" and delightful "Butterfly" Etude to the brilliant strains of the world-famous "Military" Polonaise and "Heroic" Polonaise, these arrangements of twenty-three of Chopin's best-loved pieces are guaranteed to be favorite additions to any beginning pianist's repertoire.

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Alfred's Essentials Of Music Theory (Teacher's Activity Kit, Complete) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a very good book for those who have little knowledge of musical theory, and those who have none. It contains three books which can also be bought seperatly. This book was used as a textbook for me for my voice lessons. It proved to help me a great deal since I am going to be studying music in college this fall. It's best to buy the CDs so you can do the ear trianing as well. You have no way of checking your answers unless you also purchase the teacher's answer key. I gave it a three just because you have to buy the CDs and teacher's answer key to get the most out of the book.

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There are five reproducible Activities in each of the eighteen Units, which correlate specifically to the eighteen Units in the Complete Book of "Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory."The wide variety of Activities includes Scale Writing, Interval Naming, Triad Identification, and others for a total of 90 Activities in all.There is also one Test per Unit, eighteen total, that covers all the theory concepts introduced in that Unit.Each reproducible page includes scoring boxes to help the instructor grade the page.

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Everything About Guitar Chords (Music Sales America) Review

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(More customer reviews)www.absoutelyunderstandguitar.com ... I bought that course after watching it, I understood the books.

I owned these books for 4 years. They collected dust on the shelf because they were too hard to follow. I bought these books because my guitar teacher (at the time) suggested I buy them for him to teach me theory. I realized the classes were going no where fast and costing me too much money, so I quit before we even got off the first chapter of the Chord book (never touched the scales)

Well recently I came across the 32 hour DVD courses from www.absolutelyunderstandguitar.com ... all I can say is WOW!

Get the course if you can. Don't waste your money on guitar teachers. You get 32 hours of a teacher (who really knows his #$%#) teaching you theory. The lessons flow together. I retained all the information. He made theory very easy to learn.

After I finished the 32 hours, I went back to the Everything about Scales and Everything about Chords books. They're great books now that I understand what he's talking about!

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An easy-to-use self instruction book explaining barre chords, basic chords, jazz chords, chord theory, and substitution.

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Practical Theory Complete: A Self-Instruction Music Theory Course Review

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(More customer reviews)This book serves as an excellent introduction to very basic but important concepts in music theory and gives a small introduction for composition. Being spiral bound and with each lesson being in a worksheet format, I have used this book with my private lesson students (junior high school and high school students) with much success. All the material is easy enough to be self taught or does well in reinforcing review material.
With such a good review, why only 4 stars you ask? If you are looking for a book to learn the details of basic music theory and all the extra tidbits (i.e. why duple time is preferred for particular compositions; what is duple time; what would compound time be good for?) then this will leave you displeased.Consider what you are trying to get out of the book before purchasing this one. This book would come no where close to an academic level theory class. I would recommend :: Steinke - Basic Materials in Music Theory :: for a thorough examination of basic music theory if that is your intended goal.

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A combination text and workbook in three volumes. All areas of music theory are covered in a concise and practical manner and each level contains 28 lessons.

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Music Theory: A Practical Guide for All Musicians (Music Instruction) Review

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(More customer reviews)Barrett's practical and accessible books show how good he is as an instructor. I own his books on Music Theory and Guitar Fretboard and these are THE BEST that I have seen on music instruction... period.Difficult concepts are broken down into small steps and driven down using the workbook approach (i.e. written practice) with the answer key included. When I look for new stuff I check first to see if Barrett has written about it. I've also found books by Mark John Sternal to be very good.

I hope Barrett (and his publisher) continues to produce more advanced music instruction material, and arranges his books into a "recommended" program. The workbook format works great and can be complemented by cds, dvds, web instruction, computer music software (sonar, cubase?) etc.

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Get the rock-solid fundamentals of rhythm, pitch and harmony with this easy-to-use book/CD pack. Learn the universal language used by all musicians, regardless of instrument. Includes concise, detailed explanations, illustrations and written exercises with a full CD of examples and practice drills. This book will teach you how to: construct scales, chords and intervals * identify major and minor key centers and common chord progressions * accurately play various rhythm feels and figures * learn the basic principles of form and compositional analysis.

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