Make sure you hit all the right notes Playing the piano is much more than just learning notes and reading music; having good dexterity, building independent finger strength, and learning proper technique is absolutely essential to mastering the instrument. Packed with everything a player needs to become a great pianist, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Piano Exercises is the perfect companion to the best-selling The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Playing Piano, Third Edition. • More than 100 challenging exercises designed to improve playing skills, including pedaling, hand crossovers, virtuoso arpeggios, playing dynamics, and more • The author owns and operates a very successful home studio, and is a virtuoso pianist

Presents basic lessons in reading music notation, advice on how to select an instrument, and details how to find your way around the keyboard.

Whether you are an aspiring concert pianist or just want to play keyboards in your own band, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Playing Piano and Electronic Keyboards, Second Edition will give you just what you need to know. From reading music and learning chords, to understanding music notation or buying an instrument, expert author Brad Hill tells gets you started. With more music and expanded practice sessions, the new edition of this already popular book will be a necessity for the beginner. Learn posture, positionings, fingerings, notations, drills, and advice from the masters. Also, learn how to fake your way through accompaniment, stay motivated to practice and advance to the intermediate level.

Published in 1992, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theoryhas proven itself as one of Alpha's best-selling books and perhaps the best-selling trade music theory book ever published. In the new updated and expanded second edition, the book includes a special CD and book section on ear training. The hour-long ear-training course reinforces the basic content of the book with musical examples of intervals, scales, chords, and rhythms. Also provided are aural exercises students can use to test their ear training and transcription skills. The CD is accompanied by a 20-page section of exercises and examples.

A beautifully composed journey through music history! Music history is a required course for all music students. Unfortunately, the typical music history book is dry and academic, focusing on rote memorization of important composers and works. This leads many to think that the topic is boring, but bestselling author Michael Miller proves that isn’t so. This guide makes music history interesting and fun, for both music students and older music lovers. • Covers more than Western “classical” music—also includes non-Western music and uniquely American forms such as jazz • More than just names and dates—puts musical developments in context with key historical events