Customer Reviews for Keyboard Signature Licks
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Hermione Harris
Location: from Adelaide, Australia
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate
July 6, 2007
Ben Folds is a God
This book is really good at highlighting Ben Fold's most prominant piano licks, but leaves out some of each song- which can be frustrating! It does provide interesting commentary, however- I'd recommend this book to those wanting to know more about Mr. Folds and who don't care if some of the song is missing... a good book, overall though!
22 of 41 people found this review helpful.
Anonymous
Location: from RIverton, Ut
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate
March 22, 2007
why??
When this book was transcribed, it was defianantly not done correctly. I am not going to lie, the average painiast will be sorely disapointed with this book. most songs are not complete with all the auctual whole song, and it skips out on lots of important stuff. I Would defianantly reccomed a book such as "Songs for Silverman" over this book. it is way more pricer than it is worth.
23 of 48 people found this review helpful.
Lindsay
Location: from Rochester, NY
Difficulty Level:
Early intermediate
July 1, 2004
Get the "jist" of BFF
As a young pianist teaching herself, I found this book QUITE helpful. Not only did it provide some interesting little tid-bits about my favorite band and the evolution of the songs, and a variety of songs from each album; it included a helpful cd for learning rote-style. Although the songs are not complete, it is a great book to use when starting out on Ben's amazing piano. If I hadn't had this book when I got it a couple of years ago, I would never be able to tackle the full scores and other complicated pieces. Above all, this book should be prized by anyone who enjoys great piano, and a stepping stone for the aspiring pianist.
19 of 42 people found this review helpful.
Anonymous
Location: from Atlanta, GA
Difficulty Level:
Early intermediate
May 4, 2003
It Rocks
This is the greatest song book ever! It has a lot of good songs in it and it is pretty easy! Ben Folds Rocks!
18 of 43 people found this review helpful.
Anonymous
Location: from St. Louis, MO
Difficulty Level:
Early intermediate
May 1, 2003
Better Think Twice
This book did not achieve the goal for which it was written. This book was written as an elementary look at the riffs of Ben Folds. The excerpts are simplified versions of what Ben Folds actually plays. Beyond that the songs are not complete. So the beginners that would be interested in the book wouldn’t even be able to play the complete songs anyway. Finally, there is little explanation or analysis to the style of Ben Folds. The short transcriptions are pretty much left to explain themselves. One good note is that the solos are transcribed fairly accurately. However, if you’re a beginner you might find them difficult to play. In conclusion: unless you’re a beginner with a good ear get the complete scores.
22 of 45 people found this review helpful.
Chris George
Location: from Charlotte, NC
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
February 8, 2003
A good introduction
This book is great as an introduction to the piano style of Ben Folds. However, to those of you who, like me, do not play by ear: this book only includes *excerpts* from each song featured. So just keep that in mind if you can't fake your way through a song. If you are a fan of this style of piano playing, buy the book. It will provide hours of bangin' and rockin' piano enjoyment.
8 of 16 people found this review helpful.
Craig Sampson
Location: from Melbourne, Australia
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
August 28, 2002
Fantastic Concept
I have all the Ben Folds Five music books and this one is the best of the lot. I have found the transcripts here more accurate to what Ben actually plays than the other books in print. His trademark licks are there in black & white and even the Jazz ending to Underground which is note for note. The CD is great as some of the faster tracks like Philosophy have a slowed down version to help you pick up speed when learning the piece. He is a dynamic Pianist who is just as good live if you ever get the chance to see him play. The only down side of the book is that each song is only about a third of the complete song, but if you have any of his other books they will complement this one. Or if you you are quite good with your ear you wont have much trouble.
7 of 11 people found this review helpful.
Justin Roberts
Location: from Tyler, TX
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
August 11, 2001
Great Compilation
This book is great simply because it takes some of the best piano signatures from the Ben Folds Five CDs and puts them into one book. The book is solely piano, so no other instruments in the way and bigger notes to read, making it easier and 1/3 the pages required for each song. Excellent commentary and interview with Ben Folds in this book. Even if you don't have a clue who Ben Folds Five is, but play piano, this book is a blast to play and extremely fun to have. A must-have.
9 of 16 people found this review helpful.
Michael Bluejay
Location: from Austin, TX
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
July 25, 2001
THE best BF5 songbook
An incredible resource for learning to play BF5. First there's the included practice CD, featuring studio musicians playing BF5 without the vocals so you can hear the instrument parts clearly. (Could be even useful for drummers and bassists who have trouble hearing their parts over the vocals on the band's CD's.) Also, several tracks feature the piano alone playing slowly so you can hear the nuances. The sheet music itself is first-rate. Notably, it features 5 songs from the first album, giving many fans their first opportunity to play them, since the songbook for the first album sold out years ago. And even if you have songbooks from the other albums, you'll still appreciate that the writing in this book isn't tiny so it's a lot easier to follow. There's more -- commentary by the transcriptionist on the songs, as well as interviews with Ben about them.
8 of 15 people found this review helpful.