Customer Reviews

Berklee Practice Method: Keyboard

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great book for anyone that wants to play keyboards in a band. Unlike a lot of other "learn piano" books, this one is really light on the hand-holding at the beginning, which made me really glad. There is a decent amount of theory and it is presented early on, which I think is important.

I inadvertently found myself in an indie rock band not long ago and this book has helped me out considerably since it's much more practical than a lot of beginner's piano books. You will start learning to improvise and harmonize with other band members very early instead of playing yawn-inducing songs such as Ode to Joy.

To be honest, I was expecting a lot more from Berklee, and my expectations were probably unreasonable. I was expecting a more in-depth study of music theory and chord progressions, when what you end up with is a smattering of useful chords and simple lines to echo. The book is great for musicians that want to pick up a little keyboard on the side of their main instruments. However, for quasi-classically trained (Suzuki) pianists, the book is only an unneccessary reference (nice to have, but not essential). I'm planning on looking into the three-volume modern method from Berklee to see if it's more satisfactory (I'm betting that it will be).

All that you need to get started with playing the keyboard in this great book.