Piano Exercises For Dummies
Published on 12. December 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-470-38765-8 (ISBN)
Description
The fun and easy way(r) to tune up your technique and improve your playing
Is the piano your passion? This easy-to-read guide is bursting with fun exercises designed to hone your piano-playing technique, from warm-ups and major and minor scales to octaves, chord cadences, and more. You'll play challenging rhythms, practice with different tempos, play a performance piece at the end of each chapter, and find inspiration for performing music your way.
* Warm up away from the piano - release tension in your hands, wrists, and arms and go to the piano feeling loose and comfortable
* Wake up those fingers - perfect your hand position and develop left and right hand finger independence
* Develop greater control - practice smoother finger crossovers and pass-unders for speedier scales and arpeggios
* Incorporate greater movement - play chords without tension, jump across the keyboard, and move with ease in parallel and contrary motion
* Ramp up your skills - perfect your pedaling, play grace notes, trills, and other fancy ornaments
Open the book and find:
* More than 150 exercises that vary in style, key, and tempo
* Major and minor scales
* Blues, diminished and chromatic scales
* Finger, rhythm, and chord progression exercises
* Left-hand accompanimentpatterns
* Performance pieces with every chapter
* Ten one-page dance pieces
Bonus CD Includes
More than 70 tracks all played by the author
Selected exercises from each chapter
Every performance piece
Ten dance pieces from the book
Is the piano your passion? This easy-to-read guide is bursting with fun exercises designed to hone your piano-playing technique, from warm-ups and major and minor scales to octaves, chord cadences, and more. You'll play challenging rhythms, practice with different tempos, play a performance piece at the end of each chapter, and find inspiration for performing music your way.
* Warm up away from the piano - release tension in your hands, wrists, and arms and go to the piano feeling loose and comfortable
* Wake up those fingers - perfect your hand position and develop left and right hand finger independence
* Develop greater control - practice smoother finger crossovers and pass-unders for speedier scales and arpeggios
* Incorporate greater movement - play chords without tension, jump across the keyboard, and move with ease in parallel and contrary motion
* Ramp up your skills - perfect your pedaling, play grace notes, trills, and other fancy ornaments
Open the book and find:
* More than 150 exercises that vary in style, key, and tempo
* Major and minor scales
* Blues, diminished and chromatic scales
* Finger, rhythm, and chord progression exercises
* Left-hand accompanimentpatterns
* Performance pieces with every chapter
* Ten one-page dance pieces
Bonus CD Includes
More than 70 tracks all played by the author
Selected exercises from each chapter
Every performance piece
Ten dance pieces from the book
More details
Other editions
New editions
Additional editions
Person
David Pearl is the author of The Art of Steely Dan and Color Your Chords. His other books include Burt Bacharach Piano Solos, jazz transcriptions of artists such as Grover Washington, Jr. and Dave Douglas, and arrangements of jazz tunes, classical pieces, and opera arias for piano. He has taught piano and performed jazz and classical music professionally for more than 30 years.
Content
Introduction.
Part I: Waking Up Your Fingers.
Chapter 1: Getting Ready to Practice.
Chapter 2: Isolating and Exercising Your Fingers.
Chapter 3: Music for Five Fingers.
Part II: Developing a Strong, Supple, and Speedy Hand.
Chapter 4: Passing Under and Crossing Over.
Chapter 5: Playing Intervals.
Chapter 6: Playing Chords Without Tension.
Part III: Including Your Arms and Body.
Chapter 7: Extending Your Scales.
Chapter 8: Parallel and Contrary Motion.
Chapter 9: Footwork: Using the Damper Pedal.
Chapter 10: Jumping Across the Keyboard.
Part IV: Integration and Independence.
Chapter 11: Playing Arpeggios.
Chapter 12: Alternating Hands.
Chapter 13: Stretching Out with Octaves and Broken Octaves.
Chapter 14: Chord Progressions and Cadences.
Chapter 15: Trilling Thrills and Other Fancy Ornaments.
Chapter 16: Maximum Independence: Challenging Rhythms and Syncopations.
Part V: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 17: Ten Dances for Your Hands.
Chapter 18: Ten Great Composers and Their Daily Workouts.
Appendix: About the CD.
Part I: Waking Up Your Fingers.
Chapter 1: Getting Ready to Practice.
Chapter 2: Isolating and Exercising Your Fingers.
Chapter 3: Music for Five Fingers.
Part II: Developing a Strong, Supple, and Speedy Hand.
Chapter 4: Passing Under and Crossing Over.
Chapter 5: Playing Intervals.
Chapter 6: Playing Chords Without Tension.
Part III: Including Your Arms and Body.
Chapter 7: Extending Your Scales.
Chapter 8: Parallel and Contrary Motion.
Chapter 9: Footwork: Using the Damper Pedal.
Chapter 10: Jumping Across the Keyboard.
Part IV: Integration and Independence.
Chapter 11: Playing Arpeggios.
Chapter 12: Alternating Hands.
Chapter 13: Stretching Out with Octaves and Broken Octaves.
Chapter 14: Chord Progressions and Cadences.
Chapter 15: Trilling Thrills and Other Fancy Ornaments.
Chapter 16: Maximum Independence: Challenging Rhythms and Syncopations.
Part V: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 17: Ten Dances for Your Hands.
Chapter 18: Ten Great Composers and Their Daily Workouts.
Appendix: About the CD.