Re[2]: GG: piano playing

[mwilliamson@alston.com]

        If you already play another instrument and are learning to play 
        the piano, then an adult method book is probably all you need, 
        together with some really good music that is not too hard to 
        play:  Handel suites, easier Mozart pieces, etc. etc.  Also I 
        think the red, blue, and gold books from the "Music for 
        Millions" series (easy classics to moderns, more easy classics 
        to moderns, and classics to moderns in the intermediate grade) 
        are excellent repertoire books offering short, easy pieces from 
        a variety of style periods.
        
        If don't play *any* instrument or read music, and you're trying 
        to learn to play the piano, I think you could save a lot of time 
        by making a *separate* study of music theory.  That way you 
        could learn to read at an expedited rate and you could learn 
        some basic theory and harmony at the same time.  I like the 
        Robert Ottman books "Elementary Harmony" and "Advanced Harmony" 
        (if I am remembering the titles correctly:  the first two books, 
        I think one is blue and the other is purple, I think . . .)
        
        mw  :-)

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: GG: piano playing
Author:  Arin Murphy <la_murph@alcor.concordia.ca> at internet
Date:    1/31/97 12:40 PM


Hi Bradley - are we doing this almost simultaneously?
     
Yes, I know about the John Holt book - I've tried to order it, but it's 
a bit expensive. Anyone seen secondhand copies?
     
There's a similar title for starting the piano as an adult called _Piano 
Lessons: Music, Love and True Adventures_ written by Noah Adams. It's 
available in hardcover now, but it's being issued in trade paperback in 
April, at about fifteen dollars. (I love working in a bookstore - 
although it gets a bit dangerous financially!)
     
Arin Murphy
Concordia University, Montreal
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