Customer Reviews

Piano Exercises For Dummies

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

 

 

What a wonderful book! As an adult intermediate student, I am using these exercises to enhance my finger dexterity and rhythms. I am currently working on Haydn's Arietta con Variazioni in A Major, and my teacher specifically assigned exercises 26-32 to complement the work. Several of the exercises actually parallel the more tricky rhythms. The exercises are not only helpful but pleasing to the ear, often reminiscent of Bach. The book is full of drills far more interesting and challenging than the ubiquitous Hanon.

With wit and clarity and with a great sense of the fun to be found in mastering musical exercises, Mr Pearl has created a gem of a book. He managed to welcome me, step by intelligent step, to hours of enjoyment at the keyboard. As an aging music lover I am so grateful to have found his book. And I just gave it to my fifteen year old nephew for his birthday. It's getting him to the piano again! Mr. Pearl's book lives up to its title in the best possible way--it's deceptively fun and smart. A joy from beginning to end.

I purchased 5 piano books for beginners. This is the one I refer to every day. It is jam packed with what I need... exercises to help me improve.

The exercises in this book are exactly what I was looking for, so why three stars? Unfortunately the font size of the notes in the exercises is really small - when practicing, I find myself leaning closer and closer to the book. This is, of course, not the ideal posture for playing the piano.

This book is good if you've got eagle eyes or you normally play with the sheet music right in your face. Otherwise look for a different book.

This book is exactly what I was looking for. I've purchased so many books only to find them too simple--beginners--or too complex for me. "Exercises" has given me the work I wanted and the challenges--just right--that I wanted. Of all the books on piano playing I've purchased I recommend this one and "The Piano Handbook" by Humphries as the two best. These books are great for intermediate to more advanced students who want to improve.

My skill level is novice. I have never had lessons which is of course unorthodox. But I still love playing and I'm continuing to learn and improve. If you're like me, then find a better book, which there are some out there.

This is obviously a pretty basic book, there are plenty of exercises, but going through the book one page at a time is a pretty big headache. The amount of exercises in this book is good, but the further explanation is poor and kind of assumes that you already have prior knowledge in music theory. So it's a good idea to make sure you get a more basic book before even considering this one. That said, I was disappointed with the brief descriptions and lack thereof. An exmample was the part where the author describes "ten classical composers and their daily workouts" like Liszt, Chopin, Rachmanoff, etc.- One or two sentences about pretty much nothing. Again, get better knowledge elsewhere, this book is an exercise supplement for experienced players.

Another thing I don't like is this exercise book is paperback, which makes it pretty annoying to set on the stand without falling. The size of sheet music is also very small as someone said. That said, go for a spiral spine and unless you're just looking for exercises to do, get a better book. If you have little to no experience, find a basic course or something else on Amazon, otherwise get a better exercise book.

This may have great piano exercises. I liked the warm up routines, but for God's sake, unless you have eagle eyes, you can't make out the fingering numbers unless you stick your face right in the book. You folks that gave it 5 stars, did you run the pages through a zerox that makes the pages bigger? It's like taking an eye test. The notes I can read with strain, but the fingering suggestions (you know, 1,2,3,4,5, where 1 is the thumb, and so on) absolutely can't be made out without straining. I'm 54, but my wife is 22, and she couldn't make the numbers out without leaning forward. And there's so much white space on each page, they could have made the exercises bigger, but they might not have been able to put as many in there. The exercises I have done seem good, but I have to work so hard to read it. There are other books out there more Easy on the Eyes. Unless you got eagle eyes, don't get this book.