R&B Keyboard: The Complete Guide with CD! (Hal Leonard Keyboard Style)

I wouldn't recomend this book for those without a solid knowledge of theory or notation but for those who have a moderate knowledge of both shouldn't hesitate to purchase this book. The aurthor breaks down the information into sections starting with the basics such as chord voicings, common R&B chord types, and rythms. The accompnying cd also does a good job of illustrating the concepts aurally and does so with well known artist and songs from the different era's of R&B.The era's from the 50's until today are covered and the piano arrangments are broken down into rhythm, chord type, and are all notated. Later in the book the aurthor brings everything together and breaks down whole tracks into sections (song structure) all the while explaining the contruction of the song (including other instruments). The cd presents all of these songs in an easy to understand fashion and further fleshes out the descriptions.Fully recomended for any aspiring musician or composer who wants further knowledge in the genre of R&B.

I am really impressed with the quality of Mark's teaching material and will be ordering his theory books also. It's quality content at a reasonable price. I'm going through his blues piano book now. It's great too.

Mark Harrison is one of the best teachers in keyboard style methods, perhaps even the best. His approach is always logical, playable and error free. Above all he explores styles quite deeply. This is far more than most other self-teaching approaches. Most books you get out there are shabby interpretations that are not researched, poorly fingered and don't touch on many aspects of the real thing.In this book Harrison takes you through a lot of styles and unpacks them so logically that you can see where all the periods or R&B history fit in. Styles such as Memphis Soul and Neo Soul are presented so you understand them.However, I think in this book Mark Harrison often doesn't go far enough - the book is still basic, even if it is streets ahead of other method books. The style examples of Green Onions and Alicia Keys "Woman's Worth" are too basic. The originals are alive with feeling but the teaching arrangements seem to miss this. Also there isn't a deep enough exploration of each style - is Memphis Soul summarized in a half a dozen examples?Also the range of the keyboard is limited in the book; perhaps for teaching purposes (I think Mark does this in some other books as well). This leaves me wanting to know more - do all R&B keyboard players always play these simple chord structures in the middle of the piano, or do they use the range and chord voicings in more interesting and expanded ways? I want to get more out of R&B piano and play it like the best.I found the CD examples to be very dry and bland, although their accuracy is perfect. I would expect a superior rendition of the tracks with a decent recording ambience. After all I am trying to learn to play R&B in the most musical way possible. You need to rock or be tender to do that - it is missing from the CD and I feel that an important part of the teaching is therefore lost.Other teaching books either present far too difficult and unstructured material and they end up on the bookshelf. Harrison's book and this particular one never have that problem - he really understands popular keyboards, probably better than anyone else. I do recommend this book to intermediate players, but it would be great if Mark added the extra level of keyboard mastery - some advanced techniques and voicing's, and a better CD.

I love this book, the cd really helps me to play the examples. It's clear and gives an easy version and then a more complicated version. Most books overwhelm me, either the way it's laid out is too buy or the level is too high or too simple. I am improving on my timing and skills with this book. I also keep using it, mostly when I have a book like this it stays on the shelf ignored. I really recommend this book.Kim Sutherland

This book explains R&B well. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in this type of genre. Definitely requires a knowledge music theory beforehand.

keine Griffbilder

Great C D and and reference....thanks ! Mark ! ..

To practice on

R&Bを演奏したい人の神本。入門でもいけます小学生以来の楽器未経験者でしたが、ハノンの12x2スケールだけやった後はいきなりこれ系をやりました。最初は1日1-2小節のぺースでしたがプロのミュージシャンが使うような粋なフレーズがいきなり弾けて感動です。課題曲はインターネットラジオとかでよく聞くようなフレーズばかりでお手本CDもついてるのでそれ聞くだけでも楽しいです。五線譜が読めない人はDominoなどのMIDIシーケンサーに打ち込んで、ピアノロールで練習するとハードル下がります。synthesiaでの打ち込みだと更にわかりやすいかも。Hal Leonardのこのシリーズはいろいろありますので好きなジャンルは全部買っとけって感じですね。更なる神本としてContemporary Keyboardist Stylistic Etudeというのもあります。

Si tratta di un metodo didattico base ma molto interessante, che fornisce dei concetti di armonia, ed esercizi pratici, legati al R&B. Lo consiglio per coloro i quali vogliono avvicinarsi al genere e a questi concetti. Per gli esperti è sicuramente poco utile.

Ich habe dieses Buch als Geschenk zu Weihnachten weiter gegeben und eine sehr positive Rückmeldung erhalten. Mehr kann ich dazu nicht sagen.

Takes you through basic concepts to more advanced pieces. Starts with a litle background on the various genres of the style (Early R&B, Motown, Philly Soul, Funk and so on) and moves on from there. A Good CD accompanies the book. Be aware that many of the Mark Harrison/Hal Leonard series cover similar ground in the 2nd chapters (scales and extended chords) and it helps if you have had a year or so of playing and reading before moving on to this book - you will progress much faster and enjoy it more with some prior musical knowledge. Overall a very worthwile buy - you can get a lot out of this book.

This is a great book. Short and to the point, it culminates in real world examples (e.g. Superstition, We are Family, Greatest Love of All), which sound similar to the original keyboard performances. Readability on the Kindle version is good, and the in-built audio is very convenient.