Vanessa Carlton - Be Not Nobody (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook) [Paperback]

Vanessa Carlton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

Our matching folio to the debut album by this singer/songwriter includes the smash hit "A Thousand Miles," plus: Ordinary Day * Sway * Wanted * and 7 more.

Product Details

Sample Music Notation [24kb PDF]

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0634088084
• ISBN-13: 978-0634088087
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #704,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is great, July 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Vanessa Carlton: Be Not Nobody (Paperback)

I bought this book because I love Vanessa Carlton's music and wanted to play it myself. The book was wonderful because the song were at a different range of difficulty, some songs I could sightread, yet others I had to work on. This book is great for any Vanessa Carlton, piano playing fan.

4.0 out of 5 stars Not an Ordinary Day Nor Ordinary Sheet Music, April 23, 2007

By 

Kaitlin Blank "Katie" (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vanessa Carlton - Be Not Nobody (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook) (Paperback)

I must admit that I am no expert at playing the piano, intermediate level at the most. But what I love the most about this songbook is that is has a wide array of levels to play. I started with the first one in the book, "Ordinary Day" (which is also in the key of C Major), and managed to learn the whole thing with ease. But then when I look further into the book, I know I'll be challenged beyond what I am used to. Some of the songs have challenging rhythms, and they may be difficult to master at first, but it is well worth it.

The problem with some sheet music for popular music is that it ends up far from the original. Often, the melodies are overused compared to the original piano part the artist plays. The transcriptions in this songbook are incredibly close to the original, with a few exceptions. The biggest exception I noticed was with "Pretty Baby", and it is pretty much only the melody. Sorry to disappoint.

Overall, this songbook is not a bad one to add to your collection. In fact, it's now one of my favorites (for me it ties with Five For Fighting's songbook "A Battle for Everything").

4.0 out of 5 stars Real rock piano not for lightweights, July 14, 2006

By 

paygenie "Pianist and sheet music collector" (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vanessa Carlton - Be Not Nobody (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook) (Paperback)

People are right to compare Vanessa Carlton to Ben Folds, and what you get here is a fantastic songbook that stays true to the original music. Unlike many pop-rock sheet music, this gives you like 90 percent (see exceptions below) of the original sheet music editions from the "Be Not Nobody" CD, not a washed up melody-driven easy-piano like transcription. So what you get is pretty much what Vanessa plays on her CD -- not always the melody, but the piano accompaniment. The REAL piano accompaniment. Because you're not just playing the melodies, songs can sound repetitive, and the rhythms are some of the hardest I've seen -- but you're considering buying this because you want the real deal, right? And this is the real deal.

However, I am rating it four stars because there are 1.5 disappointments: the transcription of Pretty Baby is washed-out, just the straight melody. No lovely piano intro, none of the lovely piano background you hear on the CD. Just a melody. The other partial disappointment is "Unsung" -- the music is written a half step lower than recording. So it's sorta in a different key. (Otherwise "Unsung" still sounds fantastic.)

Otherwise, I really want to give this five stars because for once, you are getting the real music that Vanessa plays on the CD. Because the songs' music notes in the book are more accompaniment than melody, they tend to sound naked -- so I suggest playing them with the CD or if you have a good singing voice, singing along.

If you like just "A Thousand Miles," don't just buy the sheet music for that song. For a few dollars more, I recommend buying this whole book. "Ordinary Day," "Rinse," "Paradise," "Wanted" are each songs you have to play on the piano and to do that you have to get this book. And the whole thing is 80 pages which is a great value for the price you pay. Vanessa's lesser second album, "Harmonium," unfortunately was watered down in its sheet music transcription.

For you guitar players, the book includes the guitar chords and diagrams.

This refers to the edition published in 2002, but I can't imagine they changed much for this new 2004 edition.