Customer Reviews

Blues - By You: The Direct Route to Piano Improvisation

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

 

 

I play guitar but I was looking for a good blues book for piano. I came across "Blues By You" and love it.

The book assumes you've had about 3-6 months of piano instruction. You should know how to read a staff, know eight notes, and what a key / scale means. Other than those few items that is all that is needed. The most powerful part of this text is the tone in which it is written. Even though he assumes you're just starting in the blues he doesn't talk down and provides wonderful explanations for the direction he is going, side notes and helpful hints. If you don't have access to an instructor Simpson's thoughtful commentary along the way could be enough.

The content is good and the layout is visually clear and even beautiful. So many cheaper instructional texts have horrible engraving / printing that is too harsh on the eyes or blotchy. Simpson's book is easy to read and formatted so you or your instructor can annotate comments.

This book is not a complete course in blues piano but an excellent start. Once you've completed this text you'll have a good idea of where you would want to go next. In case you don't the author lists a number of interesting advanced books / videos to take you to the next step. He doesn't leave you hanging.

Here are the topics covered:

1. Basic Structure
2. Blues Rhythm
3. Melodic Embellishments
4. Creating Your Own Blues Riffs
*. Interlude
5. Blues Melodic Line I: Subtractive
6. Blues Melodic Line II: Additive
7. Speaking The Blues Language
8. Adding Variety
*. Coda