A question for proficient (or reasonably proficient) keyboard players.

[GuitarPlayerFL]

I'm looking for a self teaching book that will allow somebody who has had 1 semester

of piano (using Alfred's Basic Adult All-In-One Course) to "get up to speed" as efficiently as possible in playing real *songs*.

I can read music.

 

Something with real world examples in which one lesson logically leads to the next....your

keyboard ability keeps building as opposed to a lot of disjointed information.

Chord progression examples that show voice leading and a lot of common (and not so common) chord changes.

 

The Alfred's books were fine in learning basic technique, but I'm not interested in playing "Down In The Valley".

I'd rather learn simple Steely Dan type songs....I lean towards learning jazz/pop style plus eventually

getting good enough (i.e. practice) to play jazz standards....a long way away I know.

 

I've been playing guitar since 1975 (had an excellent jazz guitar teacher) , have an excellent ear for picking things off recordings (not instantly, but being

able to figure chords and solos out on *guitar*). I have a knowledge of chord construction, scales, and basic jazz theory

so I wouldn't be learning from scratch....simply applying what I know to the keyboard.

 

Lessons are out of the question as I work full time and attend college at night taking 2 or more classes.

A book or video is ideal as I can learn when I have the time.

 

Although I realize picking things from recordings is a wonderful device in learning, my time is limited.

I really need written examples (with CD if possible) to learn as fast a possible.

 

Have I demanded enough? LOL.

 

Does anybody have an recommendations?

 

Thanks to all!

Carl

[Jojje]

Two books I love are "The pop piano book" by Mark Harrison and "The jazz piano book" by Mark Levine. The problem with method books are that a lot of books has some great parts in them. No book has it all. And the best way to learn to play is still to listen to music you like, transcribe it and learn to play it. Then you´ll get all about rythm, phrasing, tone, interpretation and all that stuff you cannot learn from a book.

[Analogaddict]

Two books I love are "The pop piano book" by Mark Harrison and "The jazz piano book" by Mark Levine. The problem with method books are that a lot of books has some great parts in them. No book has it all. And the best way to learn to play is still to listen to music you like, transcribe it and learn to play it. Then you´ll get all about rythm, phrasing, tone, interpretation and all that stuff you cannot learn from a book.

I couldn´t agree more.

/J nas

[Postman]

I second, er, third that. I suggest the Pop Piano Book first. Levine's book is far more advanced.

[GuitarPlayerFL]

Originally posted by Jojje:

Two books I love are "The pop piano book" by Mark Harrison and "The jazz piano book" by Mark Levine. The problem with method books are that a lot of books has some great parts in them. No book has it all. And the best way to learn to play is still to listen to music you like, transcribe it and learn to play it. Then you´ll get all about rythm, phrasing, tone, interpretation and all that stuff you cannot learn from a book.

Wow! I looked at both books online...The Pop Piano Book at Amazon and the other at Mark Levine's website.

 

They both look like winners.

 

Carl

[alby]

Try this link.

 

PG Music Jazz Piano Master Class

 

This is a great resource to be used in conjunction with the two books mentioned. It has the advantage of Miles Black playing what he is teaching.

 

Regards

Alby

[CP]

Originally posted by alby:

Try this link.

 

PG Music Jazz Piano Master Class

 

This is a great resource to be used in conjunction with the two books mentioned. It has the advantage of Miles Black playing what he is teaching.

 

Regards

Alby

Alby,

 

Thanks, this is a great site. The lessons are well thought out and clear. Never heard of this site before, but I will definitely use it in conjunction with my lessons.

 

By the way, every talks about transcribing music. But nobody really tells you how to do it. When you hear a song with multiple chords it is extremely hard to figure out what notes are being played by the pianist. I tried to transcribe Ellis Marsalis (I think that's the right spelling) rendition of "My Romance", and stopped after the first measure. When I realized that he was playing in a different key than the one the song is written in, it totally threw me off. Now that I am beginning to learn how to transpose songs, I guess I will get back to it. However, I find transcribing to be very difficult, but it is probably worth all the pain and heartache.

 

Peace.

[Byrdman]

Originally posted by CP:

Originally posted by alby:

Try this link.

 

PG Music Jazz Piano Master Class

 

Alby,

By the way, every talks about transcribing music. But nobody really tells you how to do it. When you hear a song with multiple chords it is extremely hard to figure out what notes are being played by the pianist.

Peace.

Practice will make it easier. Your ear will improve and you can use ear training exercises such as that that is built into band in a box to help with that.

 

I've been working on just these skills this year and while I am no where near expert level I find I am now passable, wheras I was hopeless.

 

I even find myself occasionaly knowing not just which notes were played, but with which fingers, because I can hear the thumb turns. On the other hand, I still have to go over some passages time after time to work them out.

 

I load songs up into cakewalk and use the mouse to repeat sections. Or a really tough bit can be looped. Its also capable of slowing stuff down, although the quality suffers.

[Dave Pierce]

Originally posted by GuitarPlayerSoCal:

I've been playing guitar since 1975 (had an excellent jazz guitar teacher) , have an excellent ear for picking things off recordings (not instantly, but being

able to figure chords and solos out on *guitar*). I have a knowledge of chord construction, scales, and basic jazz theory

so I wouldn't be learning from scratch....simply applying what I know to the keyboard.

Carl, good luck with this. One thing to keep in mind -- much of what is done "naturally" on a keyboard is either difficult or impossible on a guitar (and vice-versa in some cases). So while the theory and general knowledge you have will prove quite useful in learning the keyboard, the specific tricks and techniques you know on guitar will probably hurt you more than help. Try to keep that in mind while you're learning, awareness of this potential problem goes a long way towards fixing it.

 

Why do I know this? I find the same thing in reverse when I try to play guitar! Which I don't do very well. But since few guitarists play keyboards much, when I catch a guitarist laughing at me I can usually say, "Hey, I play guitar better than you play keyboard!"

 

Here's wishing you can become one of the guys I can't say that too!

 

--Dave

[schmoron13]

My advice to you would be to get a teacher...Since you're in Socal and I went to school at UCR, I can reccomend Larry Flahive for jazz piano in the Riverside to Palm Springs area...he's an awesome player, palyed with all the big boys, and knows his theory inside and out...One thing to look out for with Mark Levine's book, is that it's great for general theory, but you really need a teacher to explain a lot of it in detail. I spent 2 years learning the various forms of Block Chords (for example), and through Mark puts a chapter in his book for it, it is rather brief, and he himself notes that what he shows barely warrants an introduction to it...kind of like teaching someone how to write a fugue in 7 pages. (write 3 chasing melodic lines following certain forms and rules that I won't get into here...get my drift)...But since you can read and such, your best bet again is to visit one of the local schools in your area (errr Universities) and ask who the local jazz piano teacher is...that way, your teacher is sure to "know his stuff" and he or she will also be profficient at teaching to various skill levels...

[alby]

The best way to transcribe music is to use a software program such as Transcriber.

 

You can find it on www.seventhstring.demon.co.uk .

 

It is freeware. It can slow down a wave file without changing the pitch. Also has like a spectrum analyser that shows the frequency at a particular point.

 

Regards

Alby

[GuitarPlayerFL]

Thanks for all the additional replies....I did read every one and they're all appreciated.

 

The Pop Piano Book will get me up to speed. Hopefully, after my degree is completed, I can get a great teacher.

 

Carl