The Piano Handbook: A Complete Guide for Mastering Piano

Generally, you really, really should try to get a teacher. But if you just can't afford it, this book is the next best thing. Combine it with a few videos/DVDs (like the "Van Cliburn competition" - YES!, or even buy "The Pianist" or "Shine" right here on Amazon) so you can get an idea of how pianists hold and move their hands. (not that you'll move like these people for a long while!).

There is a crazy typographical error in my edition of the book, where an entire paragraph is repeated! This is only a little sad, because the space could have been put to use for more of the author's great information. It's not enough to drop my rating! The binding (at least in my edition) is spiral - a VERY SMART move, as it sits nicely on the music desk. I have to make photo copies to use the sheet music in other books!

This one has got my full recommendation. And better yet, if you have any musical background at all, or have had some piano lessons (even in your distant past) this book will have you flying along in no time.


Highly recommended to piano players of all skill levels   February 14, 2003
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
130 out of 133 found this review helpful

The Piano Handbook: A Complete Guide For Mastering Piano by pianist, composers, and music journalist Carl Humphries is a straightforward, "user friendly" tutorial for mastering the art of piano playing. An erudite text (illustrated with both black-and-white and color photographs) deftly detail various styles of play ranging from romantic, to classical, to jazz, rock, blues, and more, as well as technical matters such as hand positions, pedaling, tonal balance, chord progressions, etc. The Piano Handbook is enhanced with an accompanying music CD which has tracks relating to 69 different exercises. Highly recommended to piano players of all skill and experience levels seeking to improve, The Piano Handbook is designed in a spiral bound format which will conveniently lay open flat while practicing music.


A must have reference   March 23, 2003
DFE (Lake Forest, CA USA)
92 out of 94 found this review helpful

Although this book is designed to be a complete keyboard coarse, it is so densely packed with information and moves so fast from one subject to the next, that it would not make a good self-study guide for someone who knows absolutely nothing about playing the piano. The information is all there, but in a no nonsense fashion, not in a more user-friendly, take the time to really make sure anyone can grasp the concepts that are commonly found in beginner courses with much more modest goals. That said, as a comprehensive reference to playing styles, techniques and methology it is unsurpassed. Anyone with a basic grasp of piano playing, will find it most useful. Are you trying to play some Bach or Mozart but can't remember or never knew how to play a trill or mordant? This book will not only show you all of the various ornaments and explain not only how to play them, but offer many examples of what is in stylistic keeping for a given time period for a piece of that tempo. If that is not cool enough, it also explains the reasons for why it was used and relates it to later developments not in that style of music but in current styles of music, so you have a basis of information to make your artistic choices. Want to know how romantic music such as Debusey is traditional pedaled; this book will show you and explain what you are trying to acomplish soundwise. Maybe you studied classical music for year and now want to play a bit of bluegrass or jazz, this book will teach you about that too. Or maybe you want to just pick up some pop sheet music and be able to improvise a bit of additional accompanent, because what is provided sounds so empty. The answers are in this book too.

The book is divided up in too many broad chapters that explore a cluster of concepts exploring both musical theorie and practical techniques. Each section has elaborate exercise and several complete pieces of music, all of which can be heard on the accompanying cd. History notes and biographis on relevent composers round out the chapter. In fact there is so much, sidebar information, that you can learn a lot by just flipping around and reading those. There is also a large reference section in the back containing both suggestive listening and music to play and a comprehensive musical dictionarie. The only thing missing is an index, which would make it much quicker to locate the desired information. The only other thing I didn't care for was the fold out table of contents at the beginning of the book that are subject to damage when you fold them back in. They really should have been printed on the inside of the cover.

Unless you have a degree in music, it is hard to imagine that anyone could not find something to learn from this amazing book. As I look though it, I am constantly amazed by how much has been packed into this 290 page bundle. The book has a sturdy hard cover and opens to spiral bound pages that make the book a pleasure to prop up on the piano. All in all this book is well worth the price.

As a side note, Americans should be aware that the author uses the British names for notes values and time signature (i.e. semibreve rather then whole notes and crotchets instead of quarter notes, duple time for double time). They explain the two sets of names in a chart near the beginning and then ever after use the British terms. As someone use to the American/Northern Eurpean names, I find a bit confusing, but am getting used to it.


Utterly and totally fantastic - BUY IT YESTERDAY!   February 8, 2003
64 out of 65 found this review helpful

This is the greatest single book on piano that I have ever seen. It is amazingly dense with information, yet never boring or excessive. It covers EVERYTHING from history of piano, what brands to consider for purchase, how to play from A-Z including basic music theory, performance technique, various styles of music (classical, rock, blues, etc.), who to listen to, what CD's to buy, what reference books are good, etc. etc. I just can't believe what a great book this is- it would have saved me countless hours of wasted time with "sheet music" which gives you nothing but the notes. This book gives you lots of notes (hundreds of songs, along with CD to hear them), but it goes 10 steps beyond that- it gives you history of the song, the composer, things to strive for in performing the song, and all in a step-by-step (actually, unit by unit) fashion. It is bound on a spiral spline so it stays put on the piano rail (thank you!) and sports a very attractive color hard-cover that looks nice just sitting there! THe CD is a great added value, since you can hear what the songs are "supposed" to sound like before launching off on your own. This is especially useful if you are somewhat "rhythm challenged" like me. If this book cost [money]it would be worth it. My only (minor) complaint- the pages are printed on fairly glossy paper which can glare if I don't set my light at just the right angle. Carl Humphries, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Peter


Finally, a book that includes EVERYTHING piano   September 25, 2003
David Cannon--yeehud@yahoo.com (Salt Lake City, USA)
50 out of 51 found this review helpful

Thank you, Carl Humphries, for this book. I have used similar techniques in teaching my students over the last 20 years. I have been trying to write this book for about 3 years, but find myself too damn busy teaching lessons and performing. This book includes everything, from the basics to the most advanced. AND, it doesn't ignore the 20th century. What I mean is that so much great music was made in jazz, rock and latin music in the past 100 years and I find that the local "Ivory Tower" (the BYU piano department) tends to either ignore it or pooh-pooh it.

Also, Humphries shows how these recent styles are related to their influences, including "classical" composers like Debussy and Schoenberg, without making the styles seem like lesser entities of their "legit" ancestors. Now I can start giving my students this book, instead of continuing to promise them that I'll get my book done--and then not delivering for God knows how many years.

My critiques of this book are that I wish there had been more emphasis on ear training, application of jazz voicings and structures and improvisation. There is a CD included, which I love, of all the written material in the text. But while Mr. Humphries does write that ear training is vital, there is little in the text to work with. I have my own approach to this, so it's okay, but I'd love to see it in his book because not only was it the original way to communicate music, it is also the more effective. Don't get me wrong; I am into the whole sight reading thing, but it is so limited in conveying emotion and "feel" that you can get from learning music by ear.

Also, he has a few exercises dealing with jazz voicing, but only from Bill Evans (who happens to be a brilliant example), but I find that quite limiting--especially when the book refers to so many other Early Jazz, Swing, Bop, Post Bop, West Coast and Modern Jazz players. Perhaps a rounding out of these ideas that Humphries brings up would make the book more complete--and that would go for the discussion of Latin and Rock as well.

While I appreciate the discussion of the various scales used in improvisation, I was disappointed to find little or no discussion on improvisation itself, which might include sections on motifs, motif development, counterpoint improvisation, 'comping, and include some transcriptions of great improvisors such as a few lines from Jarrett's Koln Concert.

All in all though, Humphries' book is (to use the critic's ancient term) a TRIUMPH! Bravo; I look forward to a second edition with more cool stuff.

David Cannon