How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons

I got a piano for Christmas and lessons are $65/mo for a half hour class a week! Glad I bought this book instead! It explains in a logical, non-technical way how to read music, find chords, and by the end how to augment and diminish chords, write music, play by ear, or transpose a song into another key for singing accompnament. I was playing "Silent Night" like a pro my first day. Give it a try!

This was the fourth "beginners" book on piano I had tried, but it was by far the very best!! In fact, I could have skipped the first three and been much better off.Monath's style was easy to understand and he included just the right combination of examples and explanation to make it worthwhile.I liked his book so much that I just ordered his guitar book. Not bad for someone who couldn't even find middle "C" just six months ago!!I'd highly recommend this book for the true beginner. You'll be playing songs in no time and with this book you'll learn enough to quickly pick up a music book and give the songs in there a try.

For the beginner, this book is excellent. I have looked at many piano books when I first began playing, and most of them were usually too complicated, or too simplistic. This book, however, was one that fell right in the middle and helped me understand all kinds of important ideas in music, such as harmony and melody, building chords and scales (and understanding HOW), reading music, how to understand progressions, and how to play by ear and improvise. It is certainly geared toward getting you "up and playing" in the simplest, fastest way, at a moderate pace, with a good depth of information that does not get overwhelming. Because of this, this book is probably suited much more for the person who has no music experience and wants to learn the basics of how to play out of fake books and begin improvising. It is probably not good for those who want in-depth and more advanced theory of music, but it is an excellent book to use as a stepping stone toward more adva! nced piano study. This is a must have book for any beginnger.

Norman Monath's book is the most practical music self-instruction book, for intelligent adults, that I've ever seen. It is clearly geared for folks who want to do what the title says, play popular piano, versus becoming serious pianists. You won't learn much about treble clef, finger position, or proper technique here. But you also won't spend months repeating "Tommy the Turtle" and "Camptown Races" (or more likely give up the whole thing in discouragement). The basic idea is to learn how chords work (it's not as complicated as I thought!), and then start playing in a simple but effective style: melody with the right hand, block chords with the left. At age 44, I could read music but not play piano. Within days, literally, of reading Monath's book, I had bought a fake book and begun using it. This is not an overnight system that will turn you into a professional pianist -- but it is a legitimate alternative. I like it!