Mel Bay Play Jazz, Blues, & Rock Piano by Ear, Book One [Paperback]

Andy Ostwald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 23, 2003

This comprehensive introduction to jazz, blues, and rock piano will offer easy-to-understand explanations of music theory, and guide you step by step as you develop your skills. Above all, Piano by Ear will help you to explore and develop your ability to improvise. Rather than focus on written notation, you ll learn to express yourself at the piano by relying on your ear and on your own creative instincts.

Book One is designed for students who are brand-new to playing music by ear and improvising. Only basic piano technique and basic music-reading skills are needed. You ll want to have a CD player with headphones at your keyboard a portable CD player will do the job!

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Mel Bay Pub., Inc. (December 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786656859
• ISBN-13: 978-0786656851
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,245,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Good For Those With A Good Foundation in Scales and Chords, July 18, 2007

By 

BountyHunter - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay Play Jazz, Blues, & Rock Piano by Ear, Book One (Paperback)

The author of these books states that he came out with these books specifically designed for classical pianists who never got a chance to learn jazz. These books come with explanations of scales and chord progressions designed to help you improvise. There are also transcription exercises.

While the material in this book is "good", it is very "basic" and slow paced in the fact that if you already know your scales and basic chords, learning jazz should not be that difficult given that you already have at least a decent ear. I started learning jazz piano from a jazz piano teacher and learned it so fast that I did not even have to touch this book again. I transcended these books in about 3 weeks because I already had a knowledge of scales, chords ect.

This book is not a book for those who have a good understanding of keyboard harmony, scales and chord progressions. It is good for those who are total beginners or classically trained who lack a decent or mediocre foundation in transcribing, scales, improvising and chords.

Even if you have never studied jazz and have a at least a decent skill in transcribing, playing scales, chords and basic improvisation, you should NOT get these books. Instead just study with a jazz instructor.

6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific way to get to know your piano, September 24, 2004

By 

Betty Boop (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mel Bay Play Jazz, Blues, & Rock Piano by Ear, Book One (Paperback)

This approach to learning to play piano by ear is terrific. You get familiar with playing in all the keys and can explore improvising without feeling self conscious. It's a great way to learn how to speak keyboard. I'm working on Book 1, but bought and looked at all three volumes. I'm sure that it'll be fun to learn from the whole series.