The Reader's Digest Keyboard Course: Learn to Play 100 Unforgettable Songs the Easy Way

By Reader's Digest Association

Book Overview

Designed for beginners who read little or no music, here is the perfect songbook for the millions of would-be pianists and keyboard artists-providing the ideal, easy way to learn and play all your favorite songs. Special features include: * Color-coded piano and organ notes, guitar chords, beat lines, and melody lines for easy instrumental playing * Peel-off stickers that can be placed on the keys to help beginners find the right note every time * A smaller, portable format that's easy to carry and store The Reader's Digest Keyboard Course contains 100 songs that have endured for generations. Presented in 6 musical categories are celebrated songs, which include: * The Great Show Tunes: includes "Tea for Two," "April in Paris," "Send in the Clowns," and "Tomorrow" * Great Film Memories: includes "Born Free," "Three Coins in the Fountain," and "As Time Goes By" * Inspirational, Country and Folk Favorites: includes "Amazing Grace," "Tennessee Waltz," and "Don't Fence Me In" * Special Songs for Celebrations and Seasons: perfect for family gatherings, this section includes "Winter Wonderland," Auld Lang Syne," "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," and "Happy Birthday to You" This classic songbook is sure to be a welcome addition at parties, family get- togethers, and sing-alongs. REVIEW AUTHORBIO

• Format: Hardcover-spiral
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1606520393
• ISBN13: 9781606520390
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Reader's Digest Association, Incorporated, The
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 2.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 12.3" x 0.8" x 10.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Fabulous

This book has a lot of helpful info and is really fun to use. There's a wide variety of songs in several genres and they're marked well to help a person learn to play them. I think it's a fabulous book for beginners like me.

the reader's digest keyboard course: learn to play 100 unforgettable songs the easy way

this is the best book I have found so far to learn to play keyboard it is so easy a child can learn five stars easy. It is awesome 2 thumbs way up JME in Tx

If you have heard the songs, start playing

One of the things I miss in regular sheet music is marks in the middle of the measure which show where there is a beat. THE READER'S DIGEST KEYBOARD COURSE provides that between a blue staff at the top that shows melody with numbers under the notes. Not quite everything is in the keys of c, F, or G, with only one sharp or flat on the staff, but there is a song on pages 90-91 which has four flats all the way through. The melody never goes higher than an e-flat numbered 9+, and the lowest melody note, middle C is number 1, so anyone who can't remember which notes are flat in a key which has four flats does not have to look anywhere but at the numbers: 9+ and 2+ being an octave apart, 5+, 6+, and 8+ being the numbers for the other black keys that are used. There are red letters for bass notes under the normal piano score, F, A-flat, B, B-flat, C, D, D-flat, G, which absolutely tell you which note to play without looking at any numbers. Chord designations above the staff will be familiar to guitarists, and anyone who would like to put in full chords if it suits their fancy can easily supplement the two and three-part arrangement that is printed in this book. I have learned to play a few things in simple arrangements. Most people who played instruments in school but never mastered anything on the piano should find it easy to play through tunes which they know in this book. The songs are organized in six sections, Hits, show tunes, Film, Way Back, "Inspirational, Country, and Folk" and special seasons and celebrations. I started at the beginning because "Dream a Little Dream of Me" from 1930 was on page 8, and I can remember the song from a Cass Elliot version in 1974. I must have played this song numerous times before, but not on the piano, and not with a bass line. Some songs I remember hearing when I was much younger, and Linda Ronstadt recorded a bunch of these songs in 1983. Some of these songs have a style that is particularly suited for piano. What is not in this book is `Tiger Rag (Hold that Tiger)' which always sounds great when I hear it, but you wouldn't be able to play it all the way through the first time you sat down at the piano. Other than that, this book aims at "more people than ever will be able to sit down and plunk out some of the best popular music ever written."

Presenting actual songs rather than routine chords for practice

Beginners will appreciate this oversized keyboard course: it has a lot of extras the usual sheet music format misses. For one, it addresses all kinds of keyboards for both absolute beginners and those who may be re-starting after many years of non-practice. Peel-off decals help identify piano keys to make playing easier, while color-coded music also enhances the effort. It's easy to get discouraged when just starting out: that's why Reader's Digest Keyboard Course: Learn To Play 100 Unforgettable Songs The Easy Way works to get the beginner up to speed as quickly as possible, presenting actual songs rather than routine chords for practice.