You probably know that Digital Music Notebook is Yamaha's official digital sheet music store, with over 14,000 songs available for you to instantly, download, print and transfer to your keyboard. But Digital Music Notebook also offers lesson books, which you can print out, or play along with on your keyboard using interactive audio guides and practice phrases.There are a variety of lessons; some for experienced players, some for new students - some cover rock and pop, and some cover jazz. So which lesson books are right for your skill level and musical interests? Here's an overview of Digital Music Notebook's most popular lessons that will help you decide.
Rock Keyboard
If you're looking to learn rock's most famous piano riffs or accompany a rock band of almost any sort, this book is great references. It covers basically any style of rock music from the Beatles and Rolling Stones onward, with lessons in heavy metal, prog, and blues rock. Each section lays out recognizable examples of each style, while breaking them down to their essential elements, so that rather than learning just specific riffs or songs, you're learning the building blocks of the style that you can then use with your own band to create original songs or play the classics with confidence.
Rock Keyboard's lessons are designed for players who are thinking of playing keyboard in a rock band, but some of the concepts and techniques might be a little too advanced if you're just starting out.
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Amazing Phrasing - Keyboard
For keyboard and piano players looking for an introduction to improvisation, this is the book to start with. Starting with simple melodic embellishment, the lessons progress through figuring out which scale to play in all the way to improvising chord progressions and rhythms in different musical styles. All lessons include a lot of clear explanatory text, as well as practice riffs, songs and progressions with real audio that you can play along with to practice comping or soloing.
Amazing Phrasing is not for beginners - it assumes that you already have a pretty firm grasp of note reading, playing technique, chords and harmonies and some music theory - but it's an incredibly useful guide, especially for pianists who want to make the leap into a jazz combo.
FastForward Boogie Woogie Piano
This series of lessons guides you through everything you need to know to play blues and boogie woogie piano. Each lesson offers in depth, detailed explanations of different blues and boogie playing styles, along with tons of demos and play along sections to help you grasp the nitty gritty of chord and melody formation. Piano players will emerge from these lessons as accomplished bluesmen (or blueswomen).
Again, though the book will help you build your skills progressively from one lesson to the next, you'll want to have some start in piano playing and music theory before starting in on these lessons.
Beginner's Piano Lessons : Units 1-3
This discounted pack of books includes the first three volumes of the Hal Leonard Student Piano Lessons series. Designed primarily for children who are just starting out on the piano, these books cover the basics of technique and theory from hand placement and note reading to major and minor chords.
Each lesson includes short introductions to new musical concepts as well as practice phrases and songs. A great source for beginning piano exercises, these books are a great place to start for burgeoning young musicians.
FastForward Rock & Roll Piano
Like FastForward Boogie Woogie, this book is a detailed handbook for anyone who's looking to get their feet wet playing piano in a rock band setting. Lessons cover all the elements that comprise the styles of rock piano's legends, like Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. Each section is built around practice phrases each of which demonstrate and help you practice an essential part of the rock and roll style.
The book's introduction recommends 6-12 months of prior piano instruction before starting in, and while Lou Reed's assessment of rock and roll ("One chord is fine. Two chords is pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz") generally holds true here, the lessons do get into some reasonably complex rhythmic and harmonic issues.
Feel free let me know through the comments if you have any questions or suggestions about Digital Music Notebook's lessons. And remember to have fun!
- Doug
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4 comments:
I'm an adult that learned to play wind instruments though college, but now 20 years later want to learn piano. I have zero piano experience. What would you recommend? Does Yamaha have a Digital Music Notebook that would be good for me to learn with?
If you have some musical experience, with some background in reading music and music theory, the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library books may be a little simplistic. If you are at all interested in rock music, I'd suggest Rock and Roll Piano. The book has a number of free sections which should give you a good idea about whether or not this is what you're looking for.
- Doug
I went through your blog, and I found it really good thanks for your advices. I agree with these advice and look forward to more such advices.
Great blog.
.., I love my piano so much.. I'm actually thinking if I will put letter chords in it.. lol.. thanks for the advices anyway..
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