Boogie-Woogie Hanon

I had about 3 years of classical instruction which isn't much but I got bored with the exercises I was doing (Schaum's Alfred series - blecchh!) so I dropped piano for a while. Then I decided to have some fun with it and got this book. For the first time ever I really enjoy practicing and spend a lot of time with it. I was able to work through some of the stuff myself which was fun but it got frustrating. Figuring out the timings is hard for me and it really helps to have a teacher work with me on rhythms. You also need to consider this book as compared to what... There aren't a whole lot of books out there on this so this is the best of the (pretty small) bunch. I personally enjoy the pieces tremendously and my kids like them too - my violin playing 9 year old comes over to play with me and we do a few left hand bass sequences which are simple but fun. My teacher (who plays in a jazz/blues band) says they get pretty hard by the end so I think you can learn a lot. It would really help if they had a CD with it because this stuff is mainly timings and rhythms which can be tricky for a beginner. Also, if it contained a few brief comments about the blues scale and the progressions it would be even better. As it is it is just exercises so beginners like me really need a teacher.

I'm classically trained and have limited experience in the chord progressions and rhythms associated with the boogie; having said that, at the time of writing, I'm still about a third of the way through and am having the best left hand workout I've had in years. Even if you don't want seriously try and develop your boogie, you'll still find the book an invaluable source of 12 bar blues progressions and a brilliant set of exercises to develop your left hand technique. The book contains 100 exercises of increasing difficulty which take you from the elementary rhythms into ever increasing levels of complexity - dotted rhythms, triplet action against left-hand dotted rhythms or semiquavers, that kind of thing. Even if you only do the first dozen or so exercises you'll find yourself becoming quite acquainted very quickly with the basic boogie style. I can't wait to get a bit further through the book and then start augmenting it with a few recordings of real boogie pianists! One note - in my opinion, while the exercises progress in difficulty, boogie as a style probably is more suited to pianists who are reasonably experienced, so if you're a beginner you might find the book too technically demanding to play really securely and accurately.

A superior book....one of the few great boogie workbooks, especially for the beginner but up through the fairly advanced pianist....something here for just about anyone. Many, many different bass and riff examples. Gives you a great start on coming up with your own. Get your transcription gear together; this book and a few Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, and Pete Johnson recordings will have you well on your way. Well worth the money....nothing else quite like it.

What the Hanon exercises are to piano in general, Boogie Woogie Hanon is to 'hot' music. This book starts with the most fundimental rhythms for boogie woogie, and gradually presents more difficult variations and keys.Unlike Hanon, however, these patterns are used frequently in boogie woogie songs, and are also a great basis for improvisation. Mastering the exercises in this book will give you a great leg up on sight-reading boogie woogie charts, boogie-izing other songs, and writing your own compositions.Highly recommended.