Instant Keyboard Instruction

See this link for a picture of what the music notation, called EZ-Play Today, looks like. The link is to the publisher Hal Leonard and if you search their site for 'music notation guide' you can see pictures of each of their various styles of notation, each tailored for specific skill levels.[...] The author, Gary Meisner, does exactly what he says on the cover of this book. He gets the impatient student playing recognizable melodies very quickly. He explains how the various parts of your typical stand-alone keyboard work (single finger chords and accompaniment). It will serve as a good teaser for those wanting to go deeper. The publisher has around 400 different titles that use this notation style so if you are a beginner who has no interest in learning to sight read music there is a wealth of music at your disposal using this style. Using this style is "probably" going to result in bad habits should you try to switch notation styles later but if you enjoy playing and want to get into things quickly it is hard to beat. If you want to learn how to sight read at the same time you learn to play the keyboard then I'd go for another series of books by the same publisher and author(plus another co-author) called the 'Fast Track Keyboard' series. It uses a more standard notation, with recommended fingerings. This would be a great book to give someone when buying them a keyboard if they have no previous experience. It sets a goal and I think it achieves it well. I can't give it a lower rating because of how I think it "may" lead to improper technique later. It says it will get the impatient student playing fast which it does. The notation style used, if used, will not keep you isolated in what you can learn to play later since there are tons of books written in this form. I am docking it one star because it assumes the reader is using a stand alone keyboard with auto accompaniment and rhythm sections. It does not acknowledge a lot of new players are getting started with playing around on Apple's Garage Band with an inexpensive MIDI controller keyboard that makes no sound, it only triggers the sounds from the software. These controllers don't have single finger chords and other "helper features" which could lead to some confusion in new students.

this book was better then I thought it would be, thank you for the fast great service.

I BOUGHT THIS BOOK IN (...) ITS REALLY HELPFULFOR JUST STARTING OUT. EXACTLY AS AT IT SAYS FOR THE IMPATIENTSTUDENT. I'VE TOLD OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT THIS BOOK. I ALSO LIKE THE STICKERS FOR THE NOTES THAT REALY HELPED I STARTEDPLAYING RIGHT AWAY. THANK YOU FOR SHOWING ME THIS BOOK.