Customer Reviews

Scales and Chords are Fun / Book 1 (Hirschberg)

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If you are searching for a book that will help you learn your scales and chords, this is the book. If you've just completed the second level of an method book, this truly is the next book for you.

I've been teaching private piano since 1988 and used many different method books. Hirschberg's "Book 1" is one of the best out there and is generally the book I use with my "3rd-year" students. The book is organized in a logical manner, so much so that the student will not struggle with each lesson, but breeze through with relative ease.

Each key is presented within a four-page spread: Page 1 introduces the scale in one octave, two octaves and contrary motion; page 2 is an application piece for that key using the scale; page three introduces the primary chords AND their inversions for that key; page four has another application piece using the primary chords. By the time my students have completed this book, they not only know all of their scales in every key, but they can also take a new piece and sight-read it more fluently because they also know the names of the chords.

For those of you wondering....despite how I feel about Book 1, I would not recommend Book 2, which focuses on the minor keys. It is organized in the same manner as Book 1 as far as how the scales and chords are introduced; however, the application pieces are more difficult than they need to be.

As I've said in other reviews, there are other collections available and I've tried many of them, but they just don't compare to this book. Give it a try - you won't be disappointed.

Easy way to understand tonic, sub-dominant, dominant, and dominant-seventh chords. Exercises are fun and the actual practice pieces sound great! A painless way to "practice."

I bought this book to supplement John Thompson's Piano Course for my first piano student. He is 9 years old and a very smart and dedicated kid. He enjoys working his fingers through the scales, so we use this book mostly as a visual guide to look at more complex music. He is not yet capable of playing the exercises that accompany each of the scales, but has been working on the chording exercises. Overall, this is a nice addition to our piano lessons. It is a useful book that should carry him through most of Thompson's 1st and 2nd grade books. I would recommend this book to someone who has time to practice, is serious about becoming a piano player, and is interested in learning about the major scales and chords.