Book Description
Fun-to-play, pedagogically sound piano arrangements include themes from Beethoven's "Pathétique" Sonata and Haydn's Surprise Symphony, along with such favorites as Schumann's "Träumerei," Brahms's "Lullaby," Chopin's "Prelude," Tchaikovsky's "Marche Slave," Moussorgsky's "Promenade" (from Pictures at an Exhibition), and many more. Includes 20 piano arrangements.
Customer Reviews:
First classic Piano Book.......2007-09-11
The book arrived in perfect condition. I am anxious to have my granddaughter try it out. It is one of her upcoming birthday presents.
Thank you.
Great Book.......2007-09-03
This is a great book for beginners to get aquainted with the classics. I teach piano lessons and I'll use this one over and over for recitals! I usually like to see the music before I buy but I took and chance on this one and it paid off. I hope to try other Bergerac books.
Great Supplement!.......2007-05-12
I purchased this book some time ago as a "promise" to my little girl that she would one day have piano lessons. We now have a wonderful piano teacher who encourages us to explore other pieces besides what she assigns us and was happily surprised when we showed her this book that she hadn't seen before. The title is a little misleading; our teacher says that it's more appropriate for a level 3 child student, but it works well for us (a teenager and her middle-aged mom in their 2nd year of study.) What I really appreciate is the way that the pieces can dovetail with the material that we're studying. For example, while I was working on the 1st inversion of the C Major chords, I serendipitously found in this book "Beautiful Dreamer", an arrangement that utilizes the very chords I was studying. Our teacher calls this "an excellent little book" and I recommend it to those who would like to play something more than the pieces found in their lesson books.
My daughter likes it!.......2007-03-30
My daughter is a beginner -- but she loves classical music. This book is probably a bit advanced for her but she is already playing Fur Elise and Ode to Joy...
My first Book of Classical Music: 29 themes by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and other Great composers in Easy Piano Arrangements.......2006-08-28
I would have preferred a sample page of the music to preview prior to purchase. The pieces are too simple for me.
Product Description
A treasury of pieces for easy piano that over the years have captured the imagination of music lovers. Mention a title that is universally known and loved, and chances are you will find it in this volume. Includes Clair de Lune, Country Gardens, Melody in F, Pachelbel s Canon, Debussy s Clair de Lune, and Alb niz s Tango.
Customer Reviews:
Beginner? More like Intermediate.......2007-05-29
I'm a beginner, and although I could play some of the songs in this book, it's definitely not that "easy." I would say intermediate is more like it. Although the songs are simplified compared to their originals, a quick glance of the book shows quite a shocking view to me (a beginner).
Of the songs I could play, it was quite exciting and fun. The collection is definitely something to have for a long time in your music library whether it's truly easy or not.
My favorite piano book!.......2007-02-24
When I sit down to play, this is the first book I reach for to find something that suits my mood. The pieces are modified for the less-advanced musician, but "easy" is a relative term. There are pieces easy enough to give the less-advanced player a sense of accomplishment, but there is plenty of challenge for the more-advanced player, too.
Piano classics book.......2007-02-20
Bought this for my son who enjoys playing classical music. very special book for him and he was quite happy with it.
Easy Piano Classics I and II.......2006-08-19
I love the music and the way the classics are arranged for students who are not very advanced. The selection of pieces are just the best. I can't wait until Classics III is published.
Not a favorite.......2006-05-01
I don't like the music chosen - a lot of it sounds like it is dark or in minor keys. Lots of waltzes which I don't happen to like either. This is what it says it is, but I just don't like music that was chosen for this book.
Book Description
Play the world's most beautiful classical music quickly and easily with this high-quality selection of short, favorite, accessible compositions by the world's greatest composers — Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Haydn, Liszt, Shubert, Tchaikovsky, and others. Includes Beethoven's Für Elise, Three Norwegian Dances by Grieg, Liszt's Consolation, Macdowell's To a wild rose, Schumann's Träumerei, and many more.
Customer Reviews:
Not for Early Players.......2007-08-06
I play piano and the pieces in this book are scaled down from the originals, but they are not easy for early players. I wouldn't recommend for this type of player. I bought it for my daughter, and she found it very frustrating. So it's on the shelf for now. The preface of the book even states that "Early Players" in the title was probably a stretch. For intermediate players, it's fine and probably just the challenge that they need.
Nice Collection But Not For Beginners.......2007-06-17
As advertised this book has ninety-seven classic compositions from esteemed composers. Included are several selections from Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Mozart and many other well known piano masters. There are really no pieces for very early beginners though perhaps 25% of the collection could be played fairly comfortably by a student who has mastered book two in most piano teaching series. The other 75% is definitely for an intermediate to advanced student and as another reviewer noted there are no guides for fingering and there are also no or few markings for pedalings or dynamics. The editor states in a note this is an asset because it makes for a "cleaner" page but again perhaps not the best format for a beginning student. A glossary of musical terms is included as well as dates of birth and death for each composer.
Beautiful piano book.......2007-05-11
As a music student, it is hard to find cheap, good quality collections, but this one is excellent. Instead of being printed on harsh, white paper, the music is printed on a softer more ivory colored paper. Makes those late nights practicing a little easier on the eyes! Great book, lots of variety!
NOT an 'Easy' piano book as stated.......2007-03-23
This is definitely not for someone with basic piano knowlege or even lessons 'a few years ago'. This is a challenging book for someone who hasn't been playing for awhile (or recently). I'm through book 2 of Alfred's adult lessons (and played as a kid) and it is challenging for me. I'll put it away for later.
misleading- more for a intermediate to advanced.......2007-03-13
This is not for the beginner. I would agree that you need to be through Alfred's third book, before attempting this.
Book Description
Treasury of inspirational music includes pedagogically sound, fun-to-play arrangements of "Amazing Grace," "Rock of Ages," "Deep River," "Go Down, Moses," "Go Tell It on the Mountain," and 21 more beloved favorites. Includes 15 black-and-white illustrations by Thea Kliros.
Book Description
Beginning pianists will love playing these beloved favorites in musically attractive, easy arrangements: "Jingle Bells," "Deck the Halls," "Joy to the World," "Silent Night," "Away in a Manger," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," 12 more. Includes illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
All the Best for Christmas and beyond.......2005-09-07
I have never played the piano before this past year and at 56 years of age, it isn't the easiest thing to pick up! However, this book not only let's you play 'like a pro' right off the bat, but the stylings are simple, understandable, and with the number of the finger of each hand attached to each note, one can play with confidence immediately! Lovely and very satisfying. E.
A couple of sour notes, but overall...good........2005-01-11
Having purchased this for my kids to use and practice in time for Christmas 2005, I pretested all the music and found it to be a nice starter set of Christmas music for the piano student in their first or second year of training. The arrangements tend to be minimalistic. Caveat: there are at least two obviously wrong notes in The First Nowell and Jingle Bells, so you'd be well advised to correct them once you find them; hopefully they'll fix them by the time a second edition rolls out. Nice features: Each song can be played without turning pages. A charming black-and-white illustration accompanies each song. There's also a list of the songs in order of difficulty for those who want to learn the songs that way.
Not bad for the price.......2004-11-17
Here are the 20 songs in the book:
Angels We Have Heard on High; Jingle Bells; Away in a Manger; Joy to the World; Silent Night; Deck the Halls; O, Come All Ye Faithful; Song of the Birds; The Coventry Carol; O Come, O Come, Emmanuel; We Three Kings of Orient Are; The First Nowell; O Little Town of Bethlehem; What Child is This?; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; O Christmas Tree; We Wish You a Merry Christmas; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Pat-a-pan; Shepherds, O Shepherds.
There are illustrations throughout the book for children to color, and all-in-all it's not bad for the price. I do wish, however, that all the verses of the songs could have been included (only the first verse is given) so that you wouldn't have to buy a Christmas songbook separately or hunt down verses on the Internet.
SWEET CHRISTMAS GOODNESS.......2004-09-18
THIS HAS ALL THE GREAT CHRISTMAS SONGS EXCEPT FOR "I WANT A HIPPOPOTAMUS FOR CHRISTMAS" AND "ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH" AND "THE CHIPMUNK SONG" OTHERWISE IT IS A GREAT COLLECTION OF TUNES AND ARE EASY TO PLAY ON ANY EUPHONIUM, HARPSICORD, VIBRAPHONE, OR PIANO YOU MAY HAVE LYING AROUND THE HOUSE.
A good entree into Christmas for musical prodigies.......2004-07-23
Many kids get this book before the age of 10, and even 5 is not too early to start them learning their Christmas songs. On any given day you will see the children streaming from music school or music camp, clutching this durable Dover book to their chests while the music in their heads strums through their fingers, and conjures up a jolly Christmas to come. The sadder aspects of Christmas are not forgotten either, and the minor keys in which some holiday gems are written (e.g., O Little Town of Bethlehem which, even if not in a minor key borrows some mournful tones from Russian and Jewish music) will provide an adult counterpoint to the brainless holiday rock music that's a staple to US top 40 radio around this time of year.
Give your kids (or nephews and nieces) this book of Christmas songs. Bergerac is one of the best arrangers around, and knows the mind of a child every bit as extensively as the late Dr. Seuss. Indeed, one hopes that Bergerac goes to work next on a book of Seuss-inspired tunes, that would be awesome.
Book Description
Easy solo arrangements of 8 songs from this swashbuckling Disney blockbuster: Jack Sparrow * The Kraken * Davy Jones * I've Got My Eye on You * Dinner Is Served * Two Hornpipes * Wheel of Fortune * Davy Jones Plays His Organ.
Book Description
Contents: Arabesque No. 2 * Ave Maria * Ballade * Barcarolle * Consolation, Op. 33,, No. 1 (Karg-Elert) * Douce Plainte * Innocence * Inquietude No. 18 * L'adieu * L'harmonie des Anges * L'hirondelle * La Babillarde * La Bergeronnette * La Candeur * La Chasse * La Chevaleresque * La Gracieuse * La Petite Reunion * La Styrienne * La Tarentelle * Le Courant Limpide * Le Retour * Pastorale No. 3 * Progres * Tendre Fleur.
Customer Reviews:
one of the best instructional books for beginners.......2007-09-17
I started taking lessons at 8, with Ferdinand Beyer's beginner's book, which deserves the highest praise, though it's not widely used in this country. After Beyer, I proceeded with this book, Burgmuller's 25 pieces. Each song has a title, and each song trains you not only technically, but how to express, how to interpret, how to use your imagination, and most of all, how to play beautifully. The pieces are easy, but they are of quality which advanced students can play them in really professional ways. That means, these pieces have depth that challenges the student's true musicality, imagination, and creativity.
I have owned this book for more than 35 years now, still in very good shape despite the heavy usage. I am much more advanced now, of course, but I still use it frequently. These pieces can be played, for their beauty, grace, and integrity, at church, wedding, etc. I can't count how many of my church congregation have expressed their appreciation whenever I played any one of the pieces. They are just such precious jewels of music.
Now I teach piano at home, and this book has been a delight for both my students and myself. I'd say these pieces are just as immortal as Bach's inventions. I'd recommend this book to anyone, from beginner to advanced students. It's for advanced beginners (if there are such thing), but very much enjoyable for even professional pianists, for whoever truly appreciates and loves music.
popular in the piano studio, and deservedly so.......2007-03-03
When I was a kid, I enjoyed this book because of its pungent chromatic progressions (#25, ms. 7-8), its dominant chains (#23, ms. 17-24), and its modulations into relative major and minor keys (#14, ms. 13-20; #18, ms. 9-16).
One might also praise the book for its motive play (#2, ms. 12-17), its contrapuntal sprinklings (#4, ms. 15-18), and, in two of its numbers (#12, #15), its liberality of phrase lengths.
In circles of musical snobbery, the title of "great composer" is reserved for one who is consistently contrapuntal and consistently liberal with phrase lengths. Burgmuller may not be a great composer, but he is good enough for most of us.
A must for teachers/students library.......2006-01-13
I use this book for all my students and they love it! The pieces are very nice. They make learning piano technique and artistry really enjoyable. This book is for the intermediate students. Better to use this book after students learn scales, chords, and arpeggios so they can learn the pieces by recognizing patterns, which make them learn the pieces faster. Highly recommended!
Exactly what it says it is.......2004-10-25
I'll start with a preface: I have been playing piano for four years, I started when I was 18, and aside from six one-unit community college classes, I've never had any formal training. That said, this book is (in my opinion) a little tougher than the first "First Lessons in Bach" book and at the end is still easier than most of the second "First Lessons" Bach book. It fits squarely in the middle, which would be a good run up towards Schumann's Album Für Die Jugend or a book of Bach's inventions.
Also it would be useful for an accomplished pianist to run through these as one would Hanon or Czerny, only these are actual songs, which helps to break up the monotony of finger exercises. Not to say Hanon or Czerny aren't important; diversity is simply a good thing to have.
I'm a total amateur, and I was looking for something less intense than Bach, less repititious than Hanon, and less insane than Czerny. Burgmüllers Twenty-Five Easy and Progressive Studes fits the bill nicely.
Book Description
The ideal benchful of easy-to-play classical music with hundreds of great masterpieces from the baroque, classical, romantic and modern eras. Contains pieces from the standard beginner's repertoire plus pieces from the great symphonies, chamber works, operas and ballets by the master composers.
Customer Reviews:
Great Collection.......2005-07-04
The Good:
1) A very wonderful and complete collection of classical songs. Can't tell exactly how many songs, probably 100-150+, nearly 400 pages.
2) Sturdy pages, plastic spiral binding - easy to open, STAYS open, pages can be removed if desired.
3) Nice compositions - songs sound close enough to originals, not so dumbed down that you can no longer recognize them.
The Bad:
1) Most of the pieces are *too* easy - I'm really not very good, and have never had lessons, but could play most everything in here right away - which is great if you just want to play for your family or friends, but if you want to learn, there's probably nothing in here that will challenge you. The alternative to this book, "The Piano Bench of Classical Music" (i.e., not easy classical music) is also a great collection but far far too difficult for anyone with less than years and years of lessons. I wish they made something in between the two... It's great that most of this book is easy, but a few more difficult pieces would have been nice.
2) The index of songs is pretty crummy - Sorted by period (Baroque, Romantic, etc) then by composer ... So if you don't know both, you might be looking for a while...
Overall:
The good far outweighs the bad, and I can't punish the book for being easy when that is what they were going for : ) 5 stars.
Fabulous!.......2004-01-13
I have only been playing the piano for eight months. I ordered this book, thinking I would, maybe, find one or two pieces I could play right away. Rather, I got a "piano bench" full of new music to learn. Not only was I thrilled, but my piano teacher was impressed also.
Book Description
Expert settings of 26 American folk classics by a well-known composer and arranger for young pianists. Includes "Amazing Grace," "Aura Lee," "Blue Tail Fly," "The Gift to Be Simple," "Go Down Moses," "Pop Goes the Weasel," "Shortnin' Bread" and "Sweet Betsy from Pike."
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-01-15
Product was exactly what I wanted and it arrived in a timely manner. Very satisfied
Book Description
This collection of remarkable jewels by Mozart will be invaluable to teachers and students. The book features some of Mozart's earliest works, a few of which were composed when the young Wolfgang was only six years old. Already present are signs of remarkable taste and talent: beautiful melody, impeccable formal construction, and unsurpassed elegance. These pieces are wonderful tools for teaching articulation, independence of the hands, and the classical style. Recordings of this literature are difficult to locate so this pack includes a beautifully refined recording by the editor. Contents: Air in A-flat major (KV Anh. 109b Nr. 8 [15ff]) * Allegro in B-flat major (KV 3) * Allegro in F major (KV 1c) * Andante in C major (KV 1a) * Andante in E-flat major (KV 15mm) * Contradance in G major (KV 15e) * Larghetto in F major * Minuet in B-flat major (KV 15pp) * Minuet in C major (from KV 6) * Minuet in D major (KV 7) * Minuet in D major (KV 94 [73h]) * Minuet in E-flat major (KV 15qq) * Minuet in F major (KV 2) * Minuet in G major (KV 1e/1f) * Minuet in G major (KV 15c) * Minuet in G major (KV 15y)
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My First Book of Christmas Songs: 20 Favorite Songs in Easy Piano Arrangements
Teaching Little Fingers to Play: A Book for the Earliest Beginner (John Thompsons Modern Course for The Piano)
Easy Piano Classics : 97 Pieces for Early and Intermediate Players
Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course: Lesson Book, Level One
My First Book of Hymns and Spirituals: 26 Favorite Songs in Easy Piano Arrangements
