This book made chords, progressions and transposing the different chords “click!” Oh, and not to mention its FUN! It’s got fun exercises that feel more like games than mundane exercises of songs I don’t know or recognize. Within pages you’ll understand how to put your OWN chord progressions together!! Crazy!! I believed I was years away from those capabilities! It made me “see” that pattern of the keys so I wasn’t just trying to read the music and make my fingers play the right thing in the right place on the keyboard. I feel like I have come years in progress understanding what my brain just barely wrapped around before. Use a lead sheet??? Sure can now!!! Quickly identify notes on the staff to the keyboard quickly and without thought? Sure do now!! Amazing book!! What music/piano teaching has needed!! I hope everyone finds this book early enough in their piano journey…..a new love and understanding has broken through with this book. Thank you!!!
O
Old but alive
★★★★★
Keeping It Simple
My husband is teaching himself to play the keyboard, and has been doing so for about 5 years now. He needed some simple instructions for improving his talent. He loves this book and has also ordered book 2. He's happily amused at the simple instructions and drawings.
C
Cherie
★★★★★
Just started living it so far
M
M. Ty
★★★★★
Clear and easy to learn but may be too simple for you
The lessons in this book are very easy but I think they're a bit too simple. The patterns taught here are similar to those found in Grade 1 piano books. See the video I uploaded, which has two of the *last* patterns you learn.
Because the patterns are so simple and the teaching is clear, they're easy to learn. But if you are in piano Grade 3 or above, this is probably too simple, and in my opinion, the patterns are *not* good enough to be used at a party or other social event.
KR
★★★★★
BEGINNERS HELPFUL BOOK
This book is exactly like the picture. You must purchase this product!! Great music 🎶🎼🎶 sheets and easy to follow.
P
Pamela
★★★★★
The best book out there on chords!! I love it!!
I am so happy that I found this book! There are many things I really like about it. It is a fantastic way to learn about chords, accompaniment, patterns, progressions, and improvisations. It gives the information in a clear, easy step by step process. It is written in a very fun way and students (young and old) enjoy the drawings and cartoons. In my opinion it is the best book out there on chords. I wish I had found it sooner!!!
M
ML
★★★★★
Fun, But The Print is Small
I bought this book because I thought it would be a helpful supplement to my weekly piano lessons. And the writing is easy to understand and fun. There are a lot of cute drawings and things that amuse me and make learning the piano seem not so hard.
BUT...
I am in my 50s and I'm just learning to play the piano. The book's cover says it is for "older beginners," so I thought that included people of my age group. Each note has the letter for that note written inside the bubble for that note (see picture). And since I am a beginner, I am dependent (for now) on those letters to tell me what note to play. But the print for the notes is so small, I can barely read it as I'm playing.
I also think some of it has to do with the nature of sheet music in general. There are lines through some notes which, inside a small black circle, make a letter in white print barely legible. I don't think the publishers (who are probably expert piano players) took that into consideration.
So if you can read the letters inside the notes in the picture from the distance your music stands from your eyes, you will be in good shape using this book. As for me, I am in the process of handwriting each letter note above the notes so that I can read them as I play.
Just some things to consider.
L
Lisa Hindmarsh
★★★★★
An Invaluable Resource for Singers, Songwriters, Teachers, and Students of All Ages!
As a professional singer myself, I wish this book had been available when I was young and just beginning to learn repertoire and build my piano skills in order to accompany myself. It has been an excellent back-to-basics resource for building my skills as an adult. I've recommended Chord Crash Course to many fellow singers of all ages, and without exception, they LOVE it. My piano skills as a young singer were not great, and having a book like this early on would have given me a solid understanding of chords and melody such that I could have quickly expanded my repertoire and learned new songs a lot faster than I did. I can imagine some other practical applications as well, including as a tool for singer/songwriters who might have a lot of great ideas in their heads, but limited theory and composition skills to get them onto paper and out into the world. A colleague who’s a piano teacher uses this book (on my recommendation) in conjunction with more traditional method books to help his students who want to be able to quickly learn new songs they hear, while still working on the regular technical aspects of their lessons. My favorite part of the book covers transposition (a CRITICAL tool for singers, songwriters, and accompanists, who often need to play and sing songs in very different keys from the original sheet music), how to read and play from lead sheets, and how to create an “open mic” song by choosing a chord progression and pattern from the lessons learned in the book. I think Chord Crash Course is a practical and fun tool for singers, songwriters, piano students, piano teachers, and accompanists of all ages, and I definitely recommend it!
