Rating: 
Summary: `Die yuppie scum' comes to mind
Review: A few years ago, `Die yuppie scum' was a popular bumper sticker. This book could inspire a comeback of that sticker. Smug, pretentious, rich enough to buy an 11,000 piano, expensive software audio tapes, and a sailboat in the same year, he gives capitalism a bad name. I don't get a sense of his love of the piano as much as his love of himself.
Rating: 
Summary: Piano Lessons
Review: After reading most of the reviews, it seems that people had different expectations of the book and sometimes read it for the wrong purpose. I don't believe Mr. Adams wrote the book as a guide for people on how to buy a piano and learn to play it. It was more of an account of his love of music, his family, his career, and how he managed to juggle all three at once. I totally agree that if you're looking for a book that will show you how to seriously learn to play the piano, this is not it. This book is--to me--inspiring and delightful in every way. I didn't run across any boring passages, nor did I ever want to skip any of it. It was beautifully written and I loved every word.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing learned
Review: An awful book. A preening book. A silly & self-satisfied book.
Adams spends most of it avoiding his piano; attending twee
little piano workshops, fussing with some witless computer
piano lessons, buying a boat with a literary pedigree (E.B.
White!), wondering about those drab people in malls who
wear bright white sneakers & lack boats with a literary
pedigree, and piddling on with his busy life. Meanwhile,
his Steinway sits there! Hey, Noah Adams, if you don't have
the time to put it to use, send me the piano! And throw in
the bench, too! Also, whoever wrote "die yuppie scum", c'mon over and we'll have a sing-along! Everybody else, read "Men, Women & Pianos" by Arthur Loesser for its wit and depth,even if it is way out of date. Or "The Piano Shop
on the Left Bank" by Thad Carhart, a short book that's like
pornography for piano lovers.
Rating: 
Summary: A year spent with Noah Adams as he tries to learn the piano.
Review: At age 50 Noah Adams wanted to learn to play the piano,
but had no idea how to go about it, other than to buy an
expensive piano, which he did. The book is his account of
how he tried to learn, using several different approaches.
It's also about what the piano means to him, and what it
means to those who play it well.
I loved this book, because I'm only a bit younger
than 50 myself, my wife and I have also bought a piano that
we can't play,
and we also want to learn, but haven't yet begun.
This book isn't the Zen-and-the-Art-of-Motorcycle-Maintenance of
piano literature, but, like that book, it's about much more
than piano lessons. Even if you're not in our situation,
you'll enjoy the book, and you'll learn something about
pianos, pianists, and about what learning is like. It's not
only for kids!
Rating:
Summary: A year spent with Noah Adams as he tries to learn the piano.
Review: At age 50 Noah Adams wanted to learn to play the piano,but had no idea how to go about it, other than to buy anexpensive piano, which he did. The book is his account of how he tried to learn, using several different approaches. It's also about what the piano means to him, and what it means to those who play it well. I loved this book, because I'm only a bit younger than 50 myself, my wife and I have also bought a piano that we can't play, and we also want to learn, but haven't yet begun. This book isn't the Zen-and-the-Art-of-Motorcycle-Maintenance of piano literature, but, like that book, it's about much more than piano lessons. Even if you're not in our situation, you'll enjoy the book, and you'll learn something about pianos, pianists, and about what learning is like. It's not only for kids!
Rating:
Summary: Blah!!!
Review: I agree with the author of the review on april 25 97. How can you blow all those big bucks on a Steinway, get all psyched up to take on the world and then think that a computer program or quick learn tapes can possibly teach you one of the most complex tasks that a middle aged human can achive. Nicely written though ( I kept hearing those darn NPR trumpets though out the book). Sell that crappy sailboat, get a teacher, roll up your sleeves, shutup and play your Piano!!!
Rating:
Summary: A musical journey
Review: I am confused and disappointed by other reviews of this book that claim Noah Adams went about learning the piano all wrong. Readers who were hoping for hints about practice and technique have missed out on a thoroughly good read, all because of their misguided approach to this wonderful story of one man's musical quest. This is not a "how to" book, and nor should it be. What makes this book such a treasure is the exact same thing as what one reviewer callously calls "banal fluff": talking about his wife, his love for a piece of music that he longs to play but fears he can't, his experiences of meeting and talking with other musicians, his knowledge of pianos and of music in general, and his passion and appreciation for music of many styles. The process of learning a musical instrument is a journey, and Noah tells us of his. From the first chapter, when he talks of the secret desire he has held for years to buy a piano, to the last chord of Schumann's 'Träumerei' which he plays as a Christmas present for his wife, this book entranced me with the joys and the struggles of learning to play an instrument. Yes, he may have got there faster if he'd spent more time practicing and less time procrastinating, but chances are the results would have been far less rewarding, and the book would certainly have been far less interesting. Ultimately, if you genuinely have a passion for music, there is no right or wrong way to go about learning. Noah did it this way, and he got there in the end. Who are we to criticise?
Rating:
Summary: Piano Lessons rings true
Review: I began my second round of piano lessons at age 37 last September, the first round abandoned at age 11 when my mother decided to stop shelling out the money if I refused to touch the piano all week between lessons. So I found much in this book to identify with. Though, unlike Adams, I didn't for a minute think a computer version would do much for me, I did understand his feelings about the piano: pull/repulsion. Something very powerful goes on for me in the relationship I feel with my piano (and piano teacher too). I want to keep trying, but I am flummoxed by my dimness frequently too, humbled by how hard it is to improve at some aspects of learning piano. Adams seemed to really express articulately these feelings I've been having. For every time he drew away and left off playing, I knew he would eventually return and try again. I also very much understand his persistence in playing a very difficult piece, "Traumerei" by Robert Schumann. Even when I know I'm presently very outmatched by a certain piece, my piano teacher knows enough to keep helping me plow through it because it speaks to something deep and compelled within me. I will keep coming back to the piece, even if I only get through a single measure, because I feel some connection to the work. I felt, reading Piano Lessons, that Adams' stubborn efforts, first to get somewhere with that computer program, and then to master various pieces at the piano itself, echo my own stubbornness in trying to improve my piano skill on my own terms. If you're just embarking on this adventure, or another similar adventure with another instrument or skill, what Noah Adams muses on has relevance to your own experiences too. Even if you are not, you can still enjoy a quick read related with humor and humility.
Rating:
Summary: Good book but...
Review: I enjoyed the book with it's warm, personal sytle, information about famous artists and a little musical history thrown in. However, there's just enough profanity in it that I could not in good conscience recommend it to my piano students. I wrote Noel and asked him for a G rated copy.
Rating:
Summary: 12 month gig is literary gem!
Review: i liked this book. i started playing guitar at age eleven, and took my first lesson at age 30, because i wanted to learn something about "music", which i mention because there may have to be something dormant in the reader to appreciate what Noah's up to. the 12 month gig is a literary gem!
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