Play Piano in a Flash!: Play Your Favorite Songs Like a Pro--Whether You've Had Lessons or Not!

I took piano lessons for 9 years from a classical pianist, as an adult. I had advanced to a fairly high level and could play some hard stuff - pretty well I think. But I never could sit down and just play the piano like I wanted to. It became too much like work, and I quit taking lessons about 12 years ago. But I never lost my love of music, or the desire to play. I have been searching for the perfect sheet music for years and playing off and on without any great success. I watched his show on PBS a month ago. At first I thought "this is stupid - you are not telling me anything". But I started to think about it more and the next day I bought a fake book to give it a whirl. It has been almost a revelation for me. I was hung up on reading music and not playing it. Now I am having more fun playing piano than ever. The benefits of having played for years, or trying to play for years, are paying off. And suddenly, the "music theory" side of it is much more interesting and have started restudying some old theory books that I had from before (but were not interesting before). Maybe people who never played the piano before would benefit from taking some lessons at the same time. This might lead me to try to find a teacher who teaches using a similar approach. The book really reflects more of a philosophy or approach to playing the piano, which is the secret. I regret that I did not see this about 25 years ago.

I took some lessons in grade school in the 50's in violin. In two years of lessons I don't remember ever playing a song that sounded right. I bought this book and skimmed through the high lights and learned to play a song that sounded like a real song the same day. Unbelieveable, I still can't believe I am playing piano. I have learned about 5 songs now. It takes me two or three sessions of 15 to 20 minutes each to learn the melody of a new song and then a few minutes to learn the chords for the song and I am off to the races. It takes quite a few run throughs to get the timing down but when I do I can play the song and have fun doing it. If you don't have a clue how to play piano but would like to for your own enjoyment. You have to buy this book.

I got this book the other day, read through it, and then reread it. Then I sat down with a song I had always wanted to play, practiced the chords, and played it. Good grief! I took lessons, bought theory books, practiced, practiced, practiced. And yet I never played "Bewitched" in entirety. I did last night. I must say to my ear, I sounded pretty darn good. If you want to play for your own enjoyment and don't plan on a gig at Carnegie Hall, buy this wonderful book.

"Play the Piano in a Flash!" teaches how to play the piano using chords and melody lines instead of the "classical" technique. Why would you want to learn this method? Actually that is easy to answer, other than classical piano pieces, most piano players use this method and it is the easiest method to learn.Scott Houston teaches you to play in this style and has you playing your favorite pieces in just hours of practice instead of weeks and weeks of learning to read notes and painstaking lessons. You will not learn classical concert piano techniques, but you will learn to play your favorite pieces with confidence.If you just want to learn to play piano for the purpose of having fun or entertaining at a party or playing for a pop, rock, or similar group then this is a wonderful guide. If you want to learn classical piano then it is not what you need. Absolutely the easiest method and a lot of fun, I enjoyed the book greatly.... and can actually play a few tunes after about four hours of practice.

This is a great tool for those who don't want to be a classical pianist but just want to have fun! The author gets to the point quickly with no "fluff" and tells you exactly what you need to do to sound good immediately. Although I had taken a few piano lessons as a child many years ago, I couldn't play a thing. Now I am able to play songs that I want to play, not songs my teacher wanted me to play... Will it take some effort? Yes, but now I am looking forward to playing what is fun instead of "Chopsticks"! It is also a lot cheaper than lessons...