Charlie Brown's Greatest Hits [Paperback]

Lee Evans (Author), Vince Guaraldi (Composer)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1984

18 solos , including the theme music "Charlie Brown All Stars."

Product Details

Sample Music Notation [20kb PDF]

• Paperback: 56 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation (June 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0793508207
• ISBN-13: 978-0793508204
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 8.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book, November 8, 2003

By 

Sara Swihart (Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Charlie Brown's Greatest Hits (Paperback)

There is some information that Amazon really should put in their descriptions of the products, especially music books.

Two Versions:
There are 2 versions of the book. The BLUE book is a Piano Solo book. The YELLOW book is an Easy Piano Solo book.

Difficulty:
The BLUE book is rated about a 6-7 on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the easiest and 10 being the most difficult. This book is for late intermediate to beginning advanced pianists.
The YELLOW book is rated a 4-5 on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the easiest and 10 being the most difficult. This book is for late beginners to beginning intermediate pianists.

Keep in mind that these have been ARRANGED for piano solo, so they aren't going to sound exactly like the music from the Peanuts specials. I believe that music on the specials was performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, not just a piano.

76 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Book, But If You Want The Real Music, Look Elsewhere., December 28, 2002

By 

GreyEminence (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charlie Brown's Greatest Hits (Paperback)

If you're like me, you just can't get enough of Vince Guaraldi's "Peanuts" music, and if you're like me, you've been searching for a while to find the "real" music, and not some watered-down children's version. I ordered this book expecting advanced jazz arangements, and while the songs in this book are better than most I have found, they are still simplified to a certain degree. However, the real arrangements are available in "The Peanuts Illustrated Songbook". "The Peanuts Illustrated Songbook" contains the full, authentic, advanced jazz arrangements of many Guaraldi "Peanuts" songs including "Linus & Lucy" (except one improved piano solo), most of the songs from "A Charlie Brown Christmas", and many others from the various other "Peanuts" specials. If you are a reasonably experienced piano player, then "Charlie Brown's Greatest Hits" is a good book, but if you are an advanced piano player with impeccable rhythym and a desire for unsimplified Guaraldi "Peanuts" songs, then "The Illustrated Peanuts Songbook" is a much better buy.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good starting place, May 1, 2000

By 

Jefferson T. Packer (Taos, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Charlie Brown's Greatest Hits (Paperback)

The key words on the cover of this book are "Arranged By." This is not the actual music that you hear on "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and the other magical Guaraldi CD's and on the TV specials; it is "arrangements" of that music; which means simplified versions.

However, for pianists who want to take a first step towards seeking out the hippest cat who ever touched a keyboard, this collection of sheet music is a good start. I haven't yet found a better collection, and there are moments of magic in the chords. To really go further, however, you'll have to listen to the CD's, run back to the piano; listen to the CD's, run back to the piano, until you've worn a trench in your carpet between your stereo and the bench.