PDF Alfred's Basic Piano Course: Sight Reading Book 1A (Alfred's Basic Piano Library) by Gayle Kowalchyk; E. L. Lancaster in Arts-Photography

Review

187 of 189 people found the following review helpful. Ukulele Players: This is the one youhave been searching for ***UPDATED***By D. SilviaI am an advanced-beginner Ukulele player. I know a few different strums; a load of chords; can competently strum most songs; and I can pick (not perfect - but I am learning). There are plenty of books out there for beginners and there is a lot of very advanced stuff but not a lot to help players learn to bridge the gap between beginner and expert. With a lot of books that say they are for more advanced players I often start off ok but later get stuck. This book breaks up concepts into small easy to digest daily pieces. The book walks you through and though it starts with super easy "work outs" I do them as there is always something to learn. I am just starting out with this book (past two weeks) but already I highly recommend it. I play every day and I use the exercises in this book to warm up.UPDATE: I am on week 10. I would be a liar if I told you it would be easy; some of the exercises are tricky to get right (Be sure to listen to the CD). BUT so far so good. I am actually noticing an improvement in my playing!107 of 110 people found the following review helpful. a lot of great information : definitely for intermediate playersBy M. R. TaylorWho this book is NOT for: Beginners. The only reason this book got a one-star rating from someone is that it is marketed as an ALL LEVELS book; which I consider false advertising (which is why I see it as a four star book). I can say this with some confidence because Ive taught hundreds of beginning students to play the ukulele and this book would leave most of them in the dust; discouraged and disheartened. Also; this book is NOT for people who prefer to learn the ukulele organically . . . by which I mean one song at a time (the book includes drills for skills in seven categories; there are no songs in this book). Despite these drawbacks . . . this is an awesome book.Who this book IS for: players with a firm grasp of the basics; that have a good number of chords already under their belt; have good practicing skills; arent afraid of standard staff notation and are glad to see it side by side with tablature. If this is you; youre going to get a lot out of this book.That said; I consider myself an intermediate player with a lot of musical knowledge that translates over from other instruments Ive learned to play. Even with that kind of background; theres some pretty tough stuff in this book that youre going to have to be patient with . . .The toughest part may be the advanced/tricky chord shapes that are thrown out pretty early in the book (I have a hard time understanding the rhyme/reason for the order in which chords are introduced). But; if youre like me; youll enjoy stretching yourself a bit to make your fingers fit these shapes.I like what one of the other reviewers said about using each week as a daily round of seven drills. I think people will get a lot more out of the book practicing this way as some of the drills are not going to be mastered in a day.WHAT I LOVE: Theres stuff in this book I havent seen anywhere else; and Ive bought about twenty instructional ukulele books in my quest to be a better teacher. Also; as a singer/songwriter; it is so nice to be able to pick up new techniques; fingerpicking; strumming; chords; riffs to inspire my own writing.53 of 55 people found the following review helpful. Totally satisfied with this well thought out uke book.By Gregory WhitfieldIm a professional pianist and have been practicing the craft my whole life. I picked up the uke a couple of months ago because I wanted to learn an instrument which was portable and could play both chords and melody. I tried the guitar but found the learning curve with 6 strings too much. The uke is a perfect alternative for me. I looked through several method/beginning books which got me started but most were so simplistic they put me off. The beauty of this book is that he starts you off with interesting chords; scales and riffs. Having learned a great many chords already; I am ready for the challenges presented here. Kudos to the author for not producing just another "basic" book. Im going to leave my innate desire to move ahead and just do the daily work of mastering each lesson.Pedantic note to non-musicians: learning any instrument means putting in the time. Go SLOWLY! If you cant play an exercise SLOWLY you cant hope to ever play it smoothly at a faster tempo. Slow study builds the muscle memory. Period. Learning almost anything--think of learning a foreign language--is all about repetition: endless repetition. There is nothing natural to your fingers and hands in playing the uke (or the piano). Your body needs time to adjust to awkward new demands. End of lecture. Enjoy your uke! Youll enjoy it even more if you buy and use this book. Thanks; Jake!