mikeNZ1 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Does anyone know how good or useful "The Contemporary Keyboardist" by John Novello is? I'm about to hit the woodshed for a while, and would like some good company. Around here the book is special order, not return so any informed comment would be appreciated. Any other suggestions for advanced training materials for contempory keyboards? Thanks Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangefunk Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Its a decent book but there are 2 problems: 1. The typeface is like that of an old typewriter (Courier)... so the book is very thick like a telephone directory... a new release with better typefaces would really help... plus the paper quality is kinda rough... 2. Unfortunately John Novello is a Scientologist and keeps talking about Ron L Hubbard all the way through... the music content seems cool.. but I kinda tired of the mantra aftera while.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Isn't there a DVD as well? Quote When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Its a decent book but there are 2 problems: 1. The typeface is like that of an old typewriter (Courier)... so the book is very thick like a telephone directory... a new release with better typefaces would really help... plus the paper quality is kinda rough... I have this book as well and must admit this has also been a turnoff for me. "Advanced training" could mean different things to different people. I'm just grateful to Bobadoshe for turning me on to Bach's Two-Part Inventions as a means of improving my keyboard technique AND studying these great compositions from the inside. I got the Alfred Masterworks Edition (Inventions and Sinfonias) with included CD. It clearly shows the fingerings for each trill too - very helpful! I also just got Tim Richards' "Improvising Blues Piano" book after seeing the rave reviews on a jazz piano forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montunoman Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 "The Contemporary Keyboardist" by John Novello The author of the critically-acclaimed "bible" of contemporary keyboard playing, The Contemporary Keyboardist, now brings students 86 studies that cover 17 contemporary keyboard styles - jazz, rock, funk, Latin, country, stride, blues, pop, gospel, and many more. This pack includes notes on playing, and both a CD and a General MIDI disk featuring recordings of each etude for the student to play along with. Governorsilver- what your thoughts on the Tim Richards book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 So far Improvising Blues Piano looks impressive - covering a wide range of blues styles, lots of little profiles on great blues pianists, historical information, etc.. I am a believer in learning via music pieces and this book has plenty of them (60). I disagree with the negative reviewer on Amazon who said "never discusses soloing". Every lesson in the book has a "now YOU improvise" section with a suggested pool of notes to use. http://www.timrichards.ndo.co.uk/bluespianobook.html This book is so focused on the blues, Richard's jazz piano book series reportedly has no blues at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 One thing Youtube has brought about is people posting clips of themselves playing stuff out of whatever book/CD/DVD they're learning from. Here's a guy who learned a piece out of the Tim Richards book: Looks/sounds like a fun piece to learn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I've heard that the Tim Richards Jazz Piano books are good, much more accessible than the Mark Levine ones. Quote "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Governorsilver- what your thoughts on the Tim Richards book? Just started working through the Improvising Blues Piano book. I think Lesson 1 (Beginner's Blues) is the only one in which the reader is not asked to improvise. It's a basic triadic arpeggio-based groove, following a I-IV-I-V-I progression. From Lesson 2 onwards (not 100% sure because I haven't looked at every single lesson), the reader is asked to try some improv. One difference I see right off the bat compared to guitar-oriented instruction is that the reader is NOT introduced to the blues scale or even the pentatonic at the outset. Instead, the reader is asked to improvise just using the chord tones. I'm sitting here listening to the included CD, and with each new track, I hear more elements introduced to the basic triadic framework - eg. more trills, more grace notes, etc. Everything I hear so far seems to also emphasize a strong, steady left hand bass line. The youtube vid that I posted was indeed a performance of the author's transcription of Meade Lux Lewis' Honky Tonk Train Blues and it is indeed the final track on the CD. I figured I'd share an update based on actually starting on this book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 I've been peeking ahead in Tim Richards' blues piano book and saw why blues stuff isn't in his jazz piano book(s) - they're in the blues piano book. Bag's Groove and Blue Monk are in the blues piano book - probably other jazz-blues tunes lurking in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagevictims Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 hi, I found the video: click here https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzY4OTM0MzY=.html?debug=flv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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