Book Review: The Pop Piano Book

The Pop Piano Book: A complete Method For Playing Piano 
and Keyboards In Contemporary styles by Mark Harrison.

If you are interested in popular styles, as a beginner you won't be scared off by the book because it is lots of fun to learn new things. You'll play better in the end. I'm very impressed with the material in this book.

This 498 page book will teach you licks and patterns.
The Pop Piano Book
 
Let me ask you a few questions:

1. Have you ever bought sheet music for a pop tune, only to be disappointed because you don't know how to fix it to make it snazzy? 

2. Have you ever used a Fake Book or lead sheet but not sure how to interpret the chord symbols? Perhaps you need help with voicings.

Well, the first part of the book provides basic building blocks that are necessary to play contemporary style. The second part gives you specific methods to make your own style of accompaniment patterns.

Mark Harrison is a keyboardist and you can get more information from his website, www.harrisonmusic.com

Here's a breakdown of the book.

The first ten chapters reviews:

a. Scales and chords
b. Triad inversions and voiceleading
c. Chord shapes using fourth intervals

The next eight chapters covers:

Ballad, Rock, RnB Funk, Country and Gospel.

In the back you'll find:

* Glossary terms
* Scale fingering guide for major and pentatonic scales.

Here's a simple Pop Ballad example:

Start off with a simple arpeggiated right hand against simple left hand, playing the chords using half notes on each chord change.

C/EGC to G/DGB, then F/FAC to C/CEG

C/EG to G/DG, then F/FA to C/EG,  G/CF (F/G)

CC/DEG to G/BD , F/FA to C/EGC, B/GBD (G/B)

A/EGCE (Am7)
G/DABD (G)
F/CFAC
C/DEG
E/CEGC (C/E)
F/CC
G/BDGB
F/FAC
C/EGC
AE/CEA (Am7)
GD/BDG
FC/ACF
CG/GCE
EC/EGC (C/E)
FC/FAC (F)
GD/DGB
F/FA
C/EGC

 HearandPlay offers a great music theory book for learning progressions in playing by ear, The 300 page course book.

Hope you're making practice time a habit! Do you have a favorite book on keyboard instruction?

Until next time,






"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King