Berklee Practice Method: Keyboard

Rating:
Summary: Rock on
Review: This is a great book for anyone that wants to play keyboards in a band. Unlike a lot of other "learn piano" books, this one is really light on the hand-holding at the beginning, which made me really glad. There is a decent amount of theory and it is presented early on, which I think is important.

I inadvertently found myself in an indie rock band not long ago and this book has helped me out considerably since it's much more practical than a lot of beginner's piano books. You will start learning to improvise and harmonize with other band members very early instead of playing yawn-inducing songs such as Ode to Joy.

Rating:
Summary: Great beginners' book
Review: To be honest, I was expecting a lot more from Berklee, and my expectations were probably unreasonable. I was expecting a more in-depth study of music theory and chord progressions, when what you end up with is a smattering of useful chords and simple lines to echo. The book is great for musicians that want to pick up a little keyboard on the side of their main instruments. However, for quasi-classically trained (Suzuki) pianists, the book is only an unneccessary reference (nice to have, but not essential). I'm planning on looking into the three-volume modern method from Berklee to see if it's more satisfactory (I'm betting that it will be).