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Piano Music Books – A Guide To Selecting The Right Ones

by Tania Gleaves on December 19, 2011

There are probably hundreds of thousands of piano music books available and this number is enough to overwhelm anyone! Fortunately, most of them are organized in various categories to make their selections fairly easy. The following describes some of those categories while disregarding for a moment the cost, language, or locality of where they may be used.

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By Composer

Finding piano music books by composer is always an option and finding music in this category will strengthen your appreciation of the artist behind the music. There are hundreds to choose from and they range from the most popular to the virtually unknown. The following is a list of the more popular composers:

William Byrd
Giovanni Gabrieli
Heinrich Schutz
Henry Purcell
Antonio Vivaldi
Johan Sebastian Bach
George Frideric Handel
Franz Joseph Haydn
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Franz Schubert
Ludwig van Beethoven
Frederic Chopin
Robert Schumann
Franz Liszt
Johann Strauss II
Johannes Brahms
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Richard Wagner
Claude Debussy
Richard Strauss
George Gershwin
Igor Stravinsky

By Skill

By convention, piano music books are also categorized by skill:

Beginner – appropriate for the pianist who is learning about basic music notation, scales, tempo, basic rhythms, scores, and simple melodies for example.

Intermediate – appropriate for the pianist who is learning about chords, dynamics, articulation, cadence, and music variation for example.

Advanced – appropriate for the pianist who is learning about playing solo or as part of a duet, in addition to other complicated aspects of piano composition.

By Genre

Piano music books categorized by genre really shed insight into why classical piano music was written and what external forces in history influenced the way that it was composed. The major genres that we have are the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the Baroque Era, the Classical Era, the Romantic Era, and the Twentieth Century. One of the problems in appreciating classical music (as well as any other form of art) is failing to appreciate the time in which it was created and the societal pressures that influenced its development. Yet it’s really amazing to see how that appreciation transforms into a deep respect the moment that its history is understood.

Since each one of us plays the piano for different reasons, we can select our materials according to our own motives. Whether the motives are technical, historical, or out of sheer admiration, we now have an ample supply of materials that can help shape our experience with playing the piano into one that is uniquely our own. In the absence of such choice, we are left alone to dictation and a situation that breeds conformity instead of creativity.

Click Here And Learn From The Best Piano Music Books!

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Classical Piano Music – Still King in the World of Piano

by Tania Gleaves on November 13, 2011

Classical piano music is an enigma in a world full of techno-laden pop slop. A capsule of a bygone era, the music style lives on with ferocious tenacity. The legacy lives on.

Generally speaking the age of this style of music spans between 1750 and 1820.

During this time master composers such as Bach, Beethoven, and Haydn were at the peak of their game. Many liken this age to the golden age of art and literature.

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Classical piano music is a written tradition. Music notation is the preferred correspondence when dealing with the medium. Most other musical styles are passed on through orally or through a recording, while classical piano music must be transcribed and passed along by paper.

This sense of tradition and posterity translates even to how it is played.

The original composers of the genre had specific visions for how and where the music should be performed. The effect of the music was important.

To really appreciate the complexity of classical piano music you experience it live.

No record, CD, or MP3 will ever be able to capture the mood of this style of music as vividly as a live performance. Most people think such a concert is boring. Nothing could be further from the truth. Concertos and solos can be surprisingly stirring, even moving people to tears.

Improvisation is a cornerstone of the genre and even played a part in some of the most famous and revered works of the time. This sense of play and fun can fill a concert hall with action, drama, suspense and joy.

Who knew that listening to a symphony could be as exciting as watching a football game?

Classical music is a rich tapestry of complex relationships. Composers wanted to create a link between the emotional and intellectual content of their work. This happened through musical development where they created many of the musical phrases and devices that we take for granted in the music of today.

Some of the Composers of the Classical Era

Franz Joseph Haydn was considered one of the first most prominent figures of the classical era. He was considered by many to be the father of the symphony. Haydn’s music was bright and had a bit of humor mixed in.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most famous composers of the classical era. He created over 600 compositions for classical piano music and is a standard part of many concerts and symphonies.

Ludwig Van Beethoven is by far the most widely-known and regarded classical composer of all time. He is considered by many to be the first ever “rock-star”. He is responsible for some for some of the most sweeping piano classical music ever written.

Other famous composers from this era are Chopin and Bach. In fact, my favorite classical piece is “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” by Bach.

To sum it all up, piano classical music has a rich history full of intrigue and has been celebrated by kings, queens, princes and emperors all over the world. Learning to appreciate the genre will give you a better ear for music that can greatly affect your performance as a musician.

Just as a writer gains more skills in his bag of tricks by reading others work, so does the musician who listens to complexly structured music.

Click Here And Impress Your Friends By Learning Classical Piano Music!

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