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How to play the piano despite years of lessons: What music is and how to make it at home
by Ward Cannel
Product Group: Book
Publisher: DoubleDay (1978)
ISBN: 0385121911
EAN: 9780385121910
Unknown Binding: 239 pages
SKU: T070807-5529
Condition: Very Good
Comments: Very good overall condition. No writing, very tight binding. No dust cover. Ships same day or next in a bubble mailer. Enjoy.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
This method is a truly entertaining approach to learning how to play the piano. Written by Ward Cannel of the Piano Consortium, the method breaks down music theory into visual concepts which are fun and easy to grasp, so you can learn to play the music you want to play! Perfect for those piano lesson dropouts!
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Customer Reviews
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A reference only
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-10-31
I am a professional musician who has more than 50 years all kind of musical instruments playing experience. I learnt every instruments (Guitar, Piano, Violin, Sax, Flute... you name it) from the books and by watching people playing. My personal opion is this book can only read as a reference book, it doesn't teach you much. The title "..Despite years of lessons" seems kinda wrong. If the reader already had years of lessons or playing experience, they could figure it out or they are already playing like this. If you are a first time learner you don't know what this book is talking about without any musical theroy. Anyway the first 1/4 of this book is very helpful.
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Not for beginners!
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-10-15
This is a great book with big concepts, but it's not for beginners! You probably want to come at this book with a couple of years of lessons or practical experience before you can expect to get much benefit from it.
2 years ago I picked this up among a few other books, hoping to teach myself piano. I spent a year trying, but progress was minimal. The technical requirements were too much for me - I've made much faster progress working with a piano teacher for the past 12 months. I plan to return to this book sometime in another 12 months or so, when my hands are able to keep up with the concepts in the book.
It gets 4 stars, minus one because the introduction led me to believe that I could master its contents, despite lacking any musical prowess whatsoever. It's hard stuff if you haven't been playing piano for a decade or two!
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This book is amazing!!!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-04-03
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I bought this book a few months ago after reading some very skeptical reviews. I've read every chapter and have to say that the content was truly eye opening for me, as I am a classically trained pianist with very little time to play piano. After reading this book, I can play confidently from a fake book while playing interesting chord progressions. I can also apply this to my own songs, which up until now, I've composed by ear only. Perhaps to some who have never been exposed to music theory this information is hard to handle. I would say that if you are truly motivated to learn this stuff, it will set you free at the keyboard.. Thank you and Kudos to the author of this wonderful book! (And yes, I have the circle of chords in a frame on my piano!)
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If you're trying to decide...
Rating (3)
Date: 2007-09-26
7 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful
...whether to buy "How to Play Piano Despite Years of Lessons: What Music Is and How to Make It at Home" or "Play Piano in a Flash! Play Your Favorite Songs Like a Pro--Whether You've Had Lessons or Not!" by Scott Houston, buy BOTH--- and do read Scott Houston's book FIRST. He explains the whole premise of playing off chords so much more clearly and simply. After reading Scott's book, you can delightfully play all sorts of piano music you may have around your house effortlessly after a few tries. To give you an example, I used to practice fairly simple folktunes for about a week before (somewhat joltingly) being able to play up to tempo at an even pace. Now, knowing what I know from Scott's book, I can play any such song in about 15 minutes. Really! And I can play faster and more eloquently than I ever could before. Now, I have confidence that I could accompany any singer (including myself)-- a trick I used to think only "good pianists" could do (with much practice). In short, it motivates you to play music almost immediately in a fun and joyous manner.
Now for "How to Play Piano Despite Years of Lessons: What Music Is and How to Make It at Home". It's A LOT more philosophical, and a lot more wordy. It explains everything in much greater detail, and is very fond of the basic Oom-pah-pah sort of playing. The "standard" technique call for playing the melody an octave higher, the root note in octaves on the lowest possible section of the piano (for the Oom) and the chord (reconfigured so as never to reach higher than middle E nor lower than middle C) for the Pah-Pah. This takes quite a bit of PRACTICE. I certainly do not master this in 15 minutes! However, using this technique, I sound like one of those pianist that play at cash bars in restaurants that used to send my mother in the other direction because the "noise" gave her a "headache". It may work exceptionally well for some pieces, and it is certainly not the ONLY device taught in this book. It *is* a good book, with lots and lots of ideas of how to vary the bass notes and such to get a "full" sound from your piano. But you might get a headache or two... and might get discouraged and give up playing piano after all. (DON'T!) It is less motivating, and much more practice than Scott's book. I just can't decide whether I even like the result of the techniques shown. But music theory is explained in a somewhat harmless manner....
Now, I again suggest you buy BOTH books so that you can read them both, try them both, and make your own decisions. However, if you're relatively new to this topic, I suggest that you at least buy Scott's book first. Yes, you'll probably finish it in one sitting and it will seem so OBVIOUS after you read it that you'll wonder whether you ought to have spent the money for the book at all. Yes! Now, sit down and play the piano using these technique to see for yourself!
(To give you some point of reference, my level of playing beforehand using the classical method was Book Four of John Thompson series.... about intermediate I'd say.)
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How To Play Piano Despite Years of Lessons
Rating (2)
Date: 2007-09-14
0 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I was disappointed that this book does not actually show you how to play the piano. There is a lot of theory in the book, but nothing to actually help me with my piano lessons.
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