Customer Reviews for Gershwin At The Keyboard
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Judy Marshall
Location: from Aurora, IL
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
October 18, 2008
A+ for Gershwin at the Keyboard
This collection of 18 songs arranged by Gershwin himself is a gem. It has not been adulterated or oversimplified by other editors. The kaleidoscopic harmonies are wonderful -- sometimes bluesy, or impressionistic or chromatic. Some of the chords may be a stretch for a small hand, but well worth the effort. I'm a student of classical music and have really enjoyed my foray into jazz with this collection.
14 of 21 people found this review helpful.
Anonymous
Location: from Brooklyn, New York
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate
September 27, 2008
An intriguing collection, well-arranged.
While challenging for my level of ability on the piano, an accomplished intermediate player would find this title in their range. I fumble around, however, and enjoy myself. Good choice of songs, not the predictable "greatest hits" kind of thing. II bought this purely for the music for "sweet and lowdown", but the other titles are well-chosen, well-arranged, clear, and fun to play. An excellent purchase.
11 of 20 people found this review helpful.
Kay Pea
Location: from New Paltz, NY
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
May 29, 2008
George Gershwin Lives!
I consider this book one of my treasures. The pieces are difficult (for me) but I enjoy the challenge. Each one is a small gem. If I were stranded on a desert island (with a piano) and only one book, this would be the one!
13 of 23 people found this review helpful.
Anonymous
Location: from
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
May 1, 2008
For Upright Piano Players
I expected fabulous arrangements and I was somewhat disappointed. These arrangements are packed with full octaves and full-octave chords. Such arrangements will help a weak upright piano sound its best, but they are altogether overdone for a better piano such as a grand or a large upright in good shape. (It will be too many notes and will sound loose and loud.)
11 of 22 people found this review helpful.
William Geiler
Location: from San Diego
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
April 23, 2008
Gershwin is great fun!
Happy to find this music. Played Rialto, Swanee, and I'll Build a Stairway... in recital.
10 of 21 people found this review helpful.
Anonymous
Location: from
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate
September 7, 2007
Delightful Music to Grow On
This collection is some of Gershwin's most delicious writing, full of wonderful pianistic movements- and because they are so short, really "miniatures", they are not too overwhelming for the advanced beginner who loves the songs. This edition is lovely, with many songs complete on a two-page facing layout, and easily readable.
4 of 9 people found this review helpful.
S. Pennywhistle
Location: from Redneck Ridge, CA
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
March 7, 2007
Way too much fun!
This book is a quite impressive collection of Gershwin's works. I enjoyed the fact that these are not arrangements, but the actual pieces by the composer himself. Be warned however, these pieces are not for the faint of heart. Irregular, 5-6 note chords are common, as well as many accidentals. I find that the songs in this book are so much fun to play, that I get in trouble with my teacher for practicing the wrong pieces. I recommend this purchase to add to any collection, large or small.
5 of 11 people found this review helpful.
Bob Jones
Location: from Houston, Texas
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
March 5, 2007
Looking for exercises for your fingers--and brain?
I'm a professional pianist, and these "special" arrangements by Gershwin of some of his best-loved works remain near the top of my favorites list. I've played this collection for over forty years and my audience always loves hearing them. A few of the selections are reasonably easy, three or four are diabolically wicked, but all are more than worth the hundreds of hours of practice required to master them. If you love Gershwin, this collection is a "must have."
5 of 8 people found this review helpful.
Douglas E. Sawyer, MD
Location: from Winona Lake, IN
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
February 8, 2007
A Stairway to Piano Heaven
A few of these pieces are playable by mortal intermediate to advanced pianists. All of them are full of fascinating rhythms and sublime harmonies that only George Gershwin could create. Most are two pages long and not one measure is wasted. Many years ago I acquired a CD with this music played note for note by Francois Joel Thiollier. What a thrill is was when I stumbled on to this music at a sheet music store. This music is in the same league as Bach's Goldberg variations-- a concentrated taste of masterworks -- each on two pages or less -- albeit a different generation and genre. Like the Goldberg's some of these pieces are playable and some inspire long hours of practice and figuring out fingering just to sound out a few sublime harmoniesand incredibly complicated (and fascinating) rhythms. Obtaining this music for $11.00 is a steal. Suggest you get the CD while you are at it. It is also available for about the same price. A smile to you. Douglas E. Sawyer, MD
5 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Bob
Location: from Marblehead MA
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
October 11, 2005
choruses only
In response to the player from GA who reviewed this earlier: If you read the intro by the composer in this book, he states clearly that these are just solos on the choruses. So, with a couple of exceptions, these solos are just 2 pages long. The idea is that you play the "regular" version of the song, either alone or in accompaniment with a singer, and then break into these solos when the time comes...and kick butt like George would have. Along with the Preludes, this book is the best foray into the highest level of GG's piano virtosity without getting into the longer pieces [Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F, etc.]. You can spend years learning one of the long pieces, like me, but what if, like me, you don't have access to an orchestra?
5 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Scott
Location: from Texas
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
February 19, 2004
This is the classic Gershwin Songbook
For people not familiar with all of Gershwin's works, shortly before he died, Gershwin wrote his 'Songbook', which were short, lively, sometimes difficult, transcriptions of some of his most famous songs. This is it in its entirety. There are several recordings of this work, which are all fantastic, and makes this sheet music even better, as you can compare yourself against the pros.
5 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Jonathan
Location: from Grimsby, ON
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
March 15, 2003
Great salon pieces
This is a collection of Gershwin's pure piano transcriptions of his songs. They are short, punchy, fun to play, albeit difficult. There are no lyrics in this book - just piano gems.
4 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Anonymous
Location: from GA
Difficulty Level:
Early intermediate
April 8, 2002
Songs weren't complete
I should've read the details before buying this book. It includes some excellent songs, yet they are all very abbreviated. I don't recommend buying this book, but instead find the complete versions of Gerhswin's music.
5 of 10 people found this review helpful.