Accessible and encouraging with a down-to-earth approach, 13 Nov 2008
When my teenage son and I started playing the guitar I bought several 'teach yourself' books, and this is by far the best we found. It takes a refreshing, real-world approach to learning, offering plenty of encouragement (to keep you going through those early weeks of sore fingers) in the form of easy music and songs that you will be able to play from the very start. It also acknowledges that some things will be hard at first, and warns about them in advance. Despite this, it isn't 'dumbed-down', and is packed with far more information than the others we tried. Whether you want to play acoustic or electric; rock, folk, classical or jazz, there's everything here that you need to get started, and a good deal for the more experienced guitarist too. All the music is provided in both standard notation and guitar tabulature (which means that you don't have to learn to read music if you don't want to), and is also included on the accompanying CD. We could have saved the money we spent on other guitar courses - this is the one we use on a daily basis.

Strumming away after only two weeks, 20 Sep 2008
I was an absolute beginner when I got the guitar and the book. After only two weeks of vigorous practising I am strumming away nicely. Very easy to follow book and great to play along with the CD. All you have to do is practise, practise, practise.... (and it is true about the calluses on your fingertips). All I now need is a good beginners chord songbook!

Get a lesson!, 14 Feb 2008
I bought this for my son who wanted to learn. What a waste pay for a few lessons with a teacher quite cheap for kids. Used for a couple of days then discarded. Anyone who has been playing more than a month will find this a waste of money.

Dont be a Dummie buy this book., 12 Jan 2008
This book is brilliant from basic through to very advanced.The book plus the C/D I might had must of taken ages to format,ending in a great product.Even if you only learn to play basic guitar,you have not wasted your money.If it was 3 times the price it would be cheap.There are over 380 pages or good info and the C/D OF course.I suggest anyone interested should take advantage of the excellent price currently at Amazon.co uk.I Per sonly think you could sell it on after use for a return of your purchase price [honestly].By the way Jon Chappell as a hand in this book along with Mark Phillips.I would recommend buying both for £15 You wont be sorry.PS i have also wrote a review on Jon Chappell,s DVD.Hope this helps Sincerely Brian B

Brilliant for beginners, 26 May 2007
This takes you from absolute beginner to the point where you are sounding pretty competent in a nicely structured A -> B -> C fashion. It starts off with basic stuff like the most common open chords and how to play simple melodies using tab then goes on to the more difficult stuff like barre chords and techniques like string bends in a solo. The final part of the book deals with techniques related to specific genres - rock, blues, folk, jazz etc.

I've looked at a few how to play guitar books and this one was definitely the winner. The range of material is really good - from basic to advanced you cover quite a lot of ground technique wise and the music is pretty varied and more interesting than a lot of other books that I've looked at. Everything is explained clearly and you don't have to know anything about reading music or musical theory to be able to use it (though some of this is mentioned in passing to give you some idea of what's going on). At the end of the book I was definitely a much more confident guitarist than I was to begin with so it definitely did what it was supposed to. I particularly liked the sections covering different genres of music - being able to relate the techniques that you've learned to the specific types of music you want to play is a big plus which not all "how to" books actually do incidentally. The CD is very useful and easy to use.

Ok a few gripes with the style - I don't really share the authors sense of humour and for that matter his taste at times (thinking of the greatest guitarists lists etc) but these are pretty minor. Stylistic and taste issues aside this book is great in terms of actual information. If you want to start learning guitar you can't go far wrong with this.

Accessible and encouraging with a down-to-earth approach, 13 Nov 2008
When my teenage son and I started playing the guitar I bought several 'teach yourself' books, and this is by far the best we found. It takes a refreshing, real-world approach to learning, offering plenty of encouragement (to keep you going through those early weeks of sore fingers) in the form of easy music and songs that you will be able to play from the very start. It also acknowledges that some things will be hard at first, and warns about them in advance. Despite this, it isn't 'dumbed-down', and is packed with far more information than the others we tried. Whether you want to play acoustic or electric; rock, folk, classical or jazz, there's everything here that you need to get started, and a good deal for the more experienced guitarist too. All the music is provided in both standard notation and guitar tabulature (which means that you don't have to learn to read music if you don't want to), and is also included on the accompanying CD. We could have saved the money we spent on other guitar courses - this is the one we use on a daily basis.

Strumming away after only two weeks, 20 Sep 2008
I was an absolute beginner when I got the guitar and the book. After only two weeks of vigorous practising I am strumming away nicely. Very easy to follow book and great to play along with the CD. All you have to do is practise, practise, practise.... (and it is true about the calluses on your fingertips). All I now need is a good beginners chord songbook!

Get a lesson!, 14 Feb 2008
I bought this for my son who wanted to learn. What a waste pay for a few lessons with a teacher quite cheap for kids. Used for a couple of days then discarded. Anyone who has been playing more than a month will find this a waste of money.

Dont be a Dummie buy this book., 12 Jan 2008
This book is brilliant from basic through to very advanced.The book plus the C/D I might had must of taken ages to format,ending in a great product.Even if you only learn to play basic guitar,you have not wasted your money.If it was 3 times the price it would be cheap.There are over 380 pages or good info and the C/D OF course.I suggest anyone interested should take advantage of the excellent price currently at Amazon.co uk.I Per sonly think you could sell it on after use for a return of your purchase price [honestly].By the way Jon Chappell as a hand in this book along with Mark Phillips.I would recommend buying both for £15 You wont be sorry.PS i have also wrote a review on Jon Chappell,s DVD.Hope this helps Sincerely Brian B

Brilliant for beginners, 26 May 2007
This takes you from absolute beginner to the point where you are sounding pretty competent in a nicely structured A -> B -> C fashion. It starts off with basic stuff like the most common open chords and how to play simple melodies using tab then goes on to the more difficult stuff like barre chords and techniques like string bends in a solo. The final part of the book deals with techniques related to specific genres - rock, blues, folk, jazz etc.

I've looked at a few how to play guitar books and this one was definitely the winner. The range of material is really good - from basic to advanced you cover quite a lot of ground technique wise and the music is pretty varied and more interesting than a lot of other books that I've looked at. Everything is explained clearly and you don't have to know anything about reading music or musical theory to be able to use it (though some of this is mentioned in passing to give you some idea of what's going on). At the end of the book I was definitely a much more confident guitarist than I was to begin with so it definitely did what it was supposed to. I particularly liked the sections covering different genres of music - being able to relate the techniques that you've learned to the specific types of music you want to play is a big plus which not all "how to" books actually do incidentally. The CD is very useful and easy to use.

Ok a few gripes with the style - I don't really share the authors sense of humour and for that matter his taste at times (thinking of the greatest guitarists lists etc) but these are pretty minor. Stylistic and taste issues aside this book is great in terms of actual information. If you want to start learning guitar you can't go far wrong with this.


Not for proper piano playing, 13 Sep 2008
If you want to tap out a tune on the piano then this book is fine but not if you would like to actually be able to play the piano. If you can read music already then you will speed through this and probably not be challenged in the slightest, there is far too much writing and too little music. For learning to play with both hands and popular music there are much better books

A really outstanding book, 25 Apr 2008
This is a well written book. I love playing my piano and this book has really shown me how to do it with ease.

A step in the right direction, 09 Feb 2003
I started the book already having a small amount of knowledge of the piano and music. I wanted to take up the piano seriously with no human instruction, therefore I bought this to see what playing the piano properly was like. It starts off very basic, explaining everthing as it is, with a small amount of justification. It then progresses into melodies and accompanying them with simplistic chords. As you go further, you learn about the sharp keys, sharp chords etc. It's easy, but it's not simple. The book generates the idea of ANYONE being able to play, but you have to have knowledge of the songs and have to be competent with the keys. It moves very quick therefore you have to literally MASTER a chapter before moving on to the next one, and this means being able to play every tune perfectly without the music, otherwise you struggle. Overall though it's a step in the right direction and the easiest piano book you'll ever find, so if you're taking up the instrument and don't know what book to buy, this is the one.

Good book but one small request to the publisher/author, 28 Aug 1999
This book is very good for the person who knows the songs. Now I am a foreign student who wants to learn to play the piano/keyboard, because of interest in Western music. All the songs in the book are totally unfamiliar to me. I know I am in the minority, but I will certainly appreciate it if the publishers include a audio cassette/CD which has the songs in it. Like those programming books which have the source on the CD-ROM. My keyboard has some songs in-built but I don't know how "Silent night..." should sound, so I am stuck at the very first song. Otherwise the approach in the book is good.

Excellent, concise course on how to play the piano, 16 May 1999
It's one of the few books that delivers what it promises. In 10 really easy lessons you can be playing the piano with confidence. He writes in a very down to earth style with explanations that let you intelligently play the piano. It's great.

Accessible and encouraging with a down-to-earth approach, 13 Nov 2008
When my teenage son and I started playing the guitar I bought several 'teach yourself' books, and this is by far the best we found. It takes a refreshing, real-world approach to learning, offering plenty of encouragement (to keep you going through those early weeks of sore fingers) in the form of easy music and songs that you will be able to play from the very start. It also acknowledges that some things will be hard at first, and warns about them in advance. Despite this, it isn't 'dumbed-down', and is packed with far more information than the others we tried. Whether you want to play acoustic or electric; rock, folk, classical or jazz, there's everything here that you need to get started, and a good deal for the more experienced guitarist too. All the music is provided in both standard notation and guitar tabulature (which means that you don't have to learn to read music if you don't want to), and is also included on the accompanying CD. We could have saved the money we spent on other guitar courses - this is the one we use on a daily basis.

Strumming away after only two weeks, 20 Sep 2008
I was an absolute beginner when I got the guitar and the book. After only two weeks of vigorous practising I am strumming away nicely. Very easy to follow book and great to play along with the CD. All you have to do is practise, practise, practise.... (and it is true about the calluses on your fingertips). All I now need is a good beginners chord songbook!

Get a lesson!, 14 Feb 2008
I bought this for my son who wanted to learn. What a waste pay for a few lessons with a teacher quite cheap for kids. Used for a couple of days then discarded. Anyone who has been playing more than a month will find this a waste of money.

Dont be a Dummie buy this book., 12 Jan 2008
This book is brilliant from basic through to very advanced.The book plus the C/D I might had must of taken ages to format,ending in a great product.Even if you only learn to play basic guitar,you have not wasted your money.If it was 3 times the price it would be cheap.There are over 380 pages or good info and the C/D OF course.I suggest anyone interested should take advantage of the excellent price currently at Amazon.co uk.I Per sonly think you could sell it on after use for a return of your purchase price [honestly].By the way Jon Chappell as a hand in this book along with Mark Phillips.I would recommend buying both for £15 You wont be sorry.PS i have also wrote a review on Jon Chappell,s DVD.Hope this helps Sincerely Brian B

Brilliant for beginners, 26 May 2007
This takes you from absolute beginner to the point where you are sounding pretty competent in a nicely structured A -> B -> C fashion. It starts off with basic stuff like the most common open chords and how to play simple melodies using tab then goes on to the more difficult stuff like barre chords and techniques like string bends in a solo. The final part of the book deals with techniques related to specific genres - rock, blues, folk, jazz etc.

I've looked at a few how to play guitar books and this one was definitely the winner. The range of material is really good - from basic to advanced you cover quite a lot of ground technique wise and the music is pretty varied and more interesting than a lot of other books that I've looked at. Everything is explained clearly and you don't have to know anything about reading music or musical theory to be able to use it (though some of this is mentioned in passing to give you some idea of what's going on). At the end of the book I was definitely a much more confident guitarist than I was to begin with so it definitely did what it was supposed to. I particularly liked the sections covering different genres of music - being able to relate the techniques that you've learned to the specific types of music you want to play is a big plus which not all "how to" books actually do incidentally. The CD is very useful and easy to use.

Ok a few gripes with the style - I don't really share the authors sense of humour and for that matter his taste at times (thinking of the greatest guitarists lists etc) but these are pretty minor. Stylistic and taste issues aside this book is great in terms of actual information. If you want to start learning guitar you can't go far wrong with this.


Not for proper piano playing, 13 Sep 2008
If you want to tap out a tune on the piano then this book is fine but not if you would like to actually be able to play the piano. If you can read music already then you will speed through this and probably not be challenged in the slightest, there is far too much writing and too little music. For learning to play with both hands and popular music there are much better books

A really outstanding book, 25 Apr 2008
This is a well written book. I love playing my piano and this book has really shown me how to do it with ease.

A step in the right direction, 09 Feb 2003
I started the book already having a small amount of knowledge of the piano and music. I wanted to take up the piano seriously with no human instruction, therefore I bought this to see what playing the piano properly was like. It starts off very basic, explaining everthing as it is, with a small amount of justification. It then progresses into melodies and accompanying them with simplistic chords. As you go further, you learn about the sharp keys, sharp chords etc. It's easy, but it's not simple. The book generates the idea of ANYONE being able to play, but you have to have knowledge of the songs and have to be competent with the keys. It moves very quick therefore you have to literally MASTER a chapter before moving on to the next one, and this means being able to play every tune perfectly without the music, otherwise you struggle. Overall though it's a step in the right direction and the easiest piano book you'll ever find, so if you're taking up the instrument and don't know what book to buy, this is the one.

Good book but one small request to the publisher/author, 28 Aug 1999
This book is very good for the person who knows the songs. Now I am a foreign student who wants to learn to play the piano/keyboard, because of interest in Western music. All the songs in the book are totally unfamiliar to me. I know I am in the minority, but I will certainly appreciate it if the publishers include a audio cassette/CD which has the songs in it. Like those programming books which have the source on the CD-ROM. My keyboard has some songs in-built but I don't know how "Silent night..." should sound, so I am stuck at the very first song. Otherwise the approach in the book is good.

Excellent, concise course on how to play the piano, 16 May 1999
It's one of the few books that delivers what it promises. In 10 really easy lessons you can be playing the piano with confidence. He writes in a very down to earth style with explanations that let you intelligently play the piano. It's great.

An excellent book for bass players , 07 Oct 2008
This is a great book, it's easy to follow and full of useful tips. It's helpful for beginners (like me) and a friend of mine with 25 years' playing experience found it worth his while too.

You must have this book!, 16 Nov 2007
I have bought a few other books on the subject but my goodness this one takes the biscuit. If you can only afford one book then this is it! It's packed with very good structured playing tips and excercises, (also included on cd) plus other stuff on buying and looking after your instrument. You'll learn something from this book even if you have been playing bass for a while and you certainly won't be wasting your time or money, buy it!

good, but has flaws, 14 Nov 2007
I got this book from the library and he does explain some things well. The book is strangely laid out, with too many lame jokes. I agree with the reviewer who says that Mr Pfeiffer jumps "straight into C minor" too soon. He does have useful things to say, and I did learn from it. He spends tiem trying to explain how modes work, and what they actually are, explaining it well in the text, then gives far too many diagrams amongst the text, making it seem so much more complicated than it actually is. He is good at referring in the text to other parts of the books where it is relevant to do so. I disagree that a beginner would struggle with this; just read the text and think hard about what he's saying.

The accompanying CD is referenced "by the second" in that each musical example refers to a specific minute and second of the cd. It would perhaps be better if he either didnt include every single example on the CD, or grouped them onto individual tracks, leaving a short gap between each example within the track. I'd rather replay the track with one button-press than fiddle about getting to a particular timespot.

Its worth the money, and he's clearly given it a lot of thought; although flawed its amongst the best of a poor bunch.

A Great Disappointment if you know the VERY basic stuff, 06 Sep 2007
I bought this book as I expected it to be a guide for everythign to do with the bass, as I foudn the tremelo guitar version to be. That wasn't the case at all. This book is much thinner, rather poorly written, and that guy should have his photos banned for scaring small children.
I found this book to be bad, but I gave it to my father (an absolute beginner who was struggling a little) and he found it very helpful. So buy it if you're a total beginner at muic who feels a bit lost, but avoid it otherwise

Not for novices, but for dummies with experience., 30 Dec 2006
In line with other reviews, it appears that if you already have some knowledge of the subject,these books are great. However, for the novice, it assumes too often that you already have the basics under your belt.

I now wouldn't buy any dummies book unless I had a rough idea of the subject that needed fine tuning. Look elsewhere if you're new to the concept

Accessible and encouraging with a down-to-earth approach, 13 Nov 2008
When my teenage son and I started playing the guitar I bought several 'teach yourself' books, and this is by far the best we found. It takes a refreshing, real-world approach to learning, offering plenty of encouragement (to keep you going through those early weeks of sore fingers) in the form of easy music and songs that you will be able to play from the very start. It also acknowledges that some things will be hard at first, and warns about them in advance. Despite this, it isn't 'dumbed-down', and is packed with far more information than the others we tried. Whether you want to play acoustic or electric; rock, folk, classical or jazz, there's everything here that you need to get started, and a good deal for the more experienced guitarist too. All the music is provided in both standard notation and guitar tabulature (which means that you don't have to learn to read music if you don't want to), and is also included on the accompanying CD. We could have saved the money we spent on other guitar courses - this is the one we use on a daily basis.

Strumming away after only two weeks, 20 Sep 2008
I was an absolute beginner when I got the guitar and the book. After only two weeks of vigorous practising I am strumming away nicely. Very easy to follow book and great to play along with the CD. All you have to do is practise, practise, practise.... (and it is true about the calluses on your fingertips). All I now need is a good beginners chord songbook!

Get a lesson!, 14 Feb 2008
I bought this for my son who wanted to learn. What a waste pay for a few lessons with a teacher quite cheap for kids. Used for a couple of days then discarded. Anyone who has been playing more than a month will find this a waste of money.

Dont be a Dummie buy this book., 12 Jan 2008
This book is brilliant from basic through to very advanced.The book plus the C/D I might had must of taken ages to format,ending in a great product.Even if you only learn to play basic guitar,you have not wasted your money.If it was 3 times the price it would be cheap.There are over 380 pages or good info and the C/D OF course.I suggest anyone interested should take advantage of the excellent price currently at Amazon.co uk.I Per sonly think you could sell it on after use for a return of your purchase price [honestly].By the way Jon Chappell as a hand in this book along with Mark Phillips.I would recommend buying both for £15 You wont be sorry.PS i have also wrote a review on Jon Chappell,s DVD.Hope this helps Sincerely Brian B

Brilliant for beginners, 26 May 2007
This takes you from absolute beginner to the point where you are sounding pretty competent in a nicely structured A -> B -> C fashion. It starts off with basic stuff like the most common open chords and how to play simple melodies using tab then goes on to the more difficult stuff like barre chords and techniques like string bends in a solo. The final part of the book deals with techniques related to specific genres - rock, blues, folk, jazz etc.

I've looked at a few how to play guitar books and this one was definitely the winner. The range of material is really good - from basic to advanced you cover quite a lot of ground technique wise and the music is pretty varied and more interesting than a lot of other books that I've looked at. Everything is explained clearly and you don't have to know anything about reading music or musical theory to be able to use it (though some of this is mentioned in passing to give you some idea of what's going on). At the end of the book I was definitely a much more confident guitarist than I was to begin with so it definitely did what it was supposed to. I particularly liked the sections covering different genres of music - being able to relate the techniques that you've learned to the specific types of music you want to play is a big plus which not all "how to" books actually do incidentally. The CD is very useful and easy to use.

Ok a few gripes with the style - I don't really share the authors sense of humour and for that matter his taste at times (thinking of the greatest guitarists lists etc) but these are pretty minor. Stylistic and taste issues aside this book is great in terms of actual information. If you want to start learning guitar you can't go far wrong with this.


Not for proper piano playing, 13 Sep 2008
If you want to tap out a tune on the piano then this book is fine but not if you would like to actually be able to play the piano. If you can read music already then you will speed through this and probably not be challenged in the slightest, there is far too much writing and too little music. For learning to play with both hands and popular music there are much better books

A really outstanding book, 25 Apr 2008
This is a well written book. I love playing my piano and this book has really shown me how to do it with ease.

A step in the right direction, 09 Feb 2003
I started the book already having a small amount of knowledge of the piano and music. I wanted to take up the piano seriously with no human instruction, therefore I bought this to see what playing the piano properly was like. It starts off very basic, explaining everthing as it is, with a small amount of justification. It then progresses into melodies and accompanying them with simplistic chords. As you go further, you learn about the sharp keys, sharp chords etc. It's easy, but it's not simple. The book generates the idea of ANYONE being able to play, but you have to have knowledge of the songs and have to be competent with the keys. It moves very quick therefore you have to literally MASTER a chapter before moving on to the next one, and this means being able to play every tune perfectly without the music, otherwise you struggle. Overall though it's a step in the right direction and the easiest piano book you'll ever find, so if you're taking up the instrument and don't know what book to buy, this is the one.

Good book but one small request to the publisher/author, 28 Aug 1999
This book is very good for the person who knows the songs. Now I am a foreign student who wants to learn to play the piano/keyboard, because of interest in Western music. All the songs in the book are totally unfamiliar to me. I know I am in the minority, but I will certainly appreciate it if the publishers include a audio cassette/CD which has the songs in it. Like those programming books which have the source on the CD-ROM. My keyboard has some songs in-built but I don't know how "Silent night..." should sound, so I am stuck at the very first song. Otherwise the approach in the book is good.

Excellent, concise course on how to play the piano, 16 May 1999
It's one of the few books that delivers what it promises. In 10 really easy lessons you can be playing the piano with confidence. He writes in a very down to earth style with explanations that let you intelligently play the piano. It's great.

An excellent book for bass players , 07 Oct 2008
This is a great book, it's easy to follow and full of useful tips. It's helpful for beginners (like me) and a friend of mine with 25 years' playing experience found it worth his while too.

You must have this book!, 16 Nov 2007
I have bought a few other books on the subject but my goodness this one takes the biscuit. If you can only afford one book then this is it! It's packed with very good structured playing tips and excercises, (also included on cd) plus other stuff on buying and looking after your instrument. You'll learn something from this book even if you have been playing bass for a while and you certainly won't be wasting your time or money, buy it!

good, but has flaws, 14 Nov 2007
I got this book from the library and he does explain some things well. The book is strangely laid out, with too many lame jokes. I agree with the reviewer who says that Mr Pfeiffer jumps "straight into C minor" too soon. He does have useful things to say, and I did learn from it. He spends tiem trying to explain how modes work, and what they actually are, explaining it well in the text, then gives far too many diagrams amongst the text, making it seem so much more complicated than it actually is. He is good at referring in the text to other parts of the books where it is relevant to do so. I disagree that a beginner would struggle with this; just read the text and think hard about what he's saying.

The accompanying CD is referenced "by the second" in that each musical example refers to a specific minute and second of the cd. It would perhaps be better if he either didnt include every single example on the CD, or grouped them onto individual tracks, leaving a short gap between each example within the track. I'd rather replay the track with one button-press than fiddle about getting to a particular timespot.

Its worth the money, and he's clearly given it a lot of thought; although flawed its amongst the best of a poor bunch.

A Great Disappointment if you know the VERY basic stuff, 06 Sep 2007
I bought this book as I expected it to be a guide for everythign to do with the bass, as I foudn the tremelo guitar version to be. That wasn't the case at all. This book is much thinner, rather poorly written, and that guy should have his photos banned for scaring small children.
I found this book to be bad, but I gave it to my father (an absolute beginner who was struggling a little) and he found it very helpful. So buy it if you're a total beginner at muic who feels a bit lost, but avoid it otherwise

Not for novices, but for dummies with experience., 30 Dec 2006
In line with other reviews, it appears that if you already have some knowledge of the subject,these books are great. However, for the novice, it assumes too often that you already have the basics under your belt.

I now wouldn't buy any dummies book unless I had a rough idea of the subject that needed fine tuning. Look elsewhere if you're new to the concept

reall good, 13 Jan 2008
one of the worst things when learning an instrument is frustration, something i have experienced whilst reading other books on the subject of piano/keyboards. this book tells you how to play in plain english and goes into good depth on the basics of playing. you never feel overwhelmed.

highly recommended

5 stars to what the book tries to achieve, 15 Mar 2007
This book is very straight-forward and if you're really personally committed to learn the piano, not really caring for the deeply technical part of it, it is a must-have. It is not to be taken very seriously. The book aims to teach you the principles of playing the piano and that Mark Phillips indeed achieved. I bought it without knowing much about music or piano and after 4 months studying it, I already knew how to play 2 pieces like a true prodigy. However, music is a very intricate art and to be a real musician, Piano For Dummies may be your start point, but not your back bone to music.

There is really, indeed, much much more to music after "Piano for Dummies", and beginners must realise that. It is a great buy if you're wanting to play the piano just for the fun of it, but if you want real technical knowledge and to be a professional, you must go far beyond this book.

Disappointing, 15 Sep 2005
Too many irritating bad jokes and not enough substance.

the dummy and idiot market is insatiable, 24 Mar 1999
We've learned in the past few years that there are many more dummies in the world than we had reckoned on and that the dummies are much more ambitious than we had supposed. They want to be taught to do everything. In any case, this is a serviceable work for persons of average intelligence (or so), but of course there are many other general method books available, many of them much better (and there are piano teachers as well.) I particularly recommend PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

Accessible and encouraging with a down-to-earth approach, 13 Nov 2008
When my teenage son and I started playing the guitar I bought several 'teach yourself' books, and this is by far the best we found. It takes a refreshing, real-world approach to learning, offering plenty of encouragement (to keep you going through those early weeks of sore fingers) in the form of easy music and songs that you will be able to play from the very start. It also acknowledges that some things will be hard at first, and warns about them in advance. Despite this, it isn't 'dumbed-down', and is packed with far more information than the others we tried. Whether you want to play acoustic or electric; rock, folk, classical or jazz, there's everything here that you need to get started, and a good deal for the more experienced guitarist too. All the music is provided in both standard notation and guitar tabulature (which means that you don't have to learn to read music if you don't want to), and is also included on the accompanying CD. We could have saved the money we spent on other guitar courses - this is the one we use on a daily basis.

Strumming away after only two weeks, 20 Sep 2008
I was an absolute beginner when I got the guitar and the book. After only two weeks of vigorous practising I am strumming away nicely. Very easy to follow book and great to play along with the CD. All you have to do is practise, practise, practise.... (and it is true about the calluses on your fingertips). All I now need is a good beginners chord songbook!

Get a lesson!, 14 Feb 2008
I bought this for my son who wanted to learn. What a waste pay for a few lessons with a teacher quite cheap for kids. Used for a couple of days then discarded. Anyone who has been playing more than a month will find this a waste of money.

Dont be a Dummie buy this book., 12 Jan 2008
This book is brilliant from basic through to very advanced.The book plus the C/D I might had must of taken ages to format,ending in a great product.Even if you only learn to play basic guitar,you have not wasted your money.If it was 3 times the price it would be cheap.There are over 380 pages or good info and the C/D OF course.I suggest anyone interested should take advantage of the excellent price currently at Amazon.co uk.I Per sonly think you could sell it on after use for a return of your purchase price [honestly].By the way Jon Chappell as a hand in this book along with Mark Phillips.I would recommend buying both for £15 You wont be sorry.PS i have also wrote a review on Jon Chappell,s DVD.Hope this helps Sincerely Brian B

Brilliant for beginners, 26 May 2007
This takes you from absolute beginner to the point where you are sounding pretty competent in a nicely structured A -> B -> C fashion. It starts off with basic stuff like the most common open chords and how to play simple melodies using tab then goes on to the more difficult stuff like barre chords and techniques like string bends in a solo. The final part of the book deals with techniques related to specific genres - rock, blues, folk, jazz etc.

I've looked at a few how to play guitar books and this one was definitely the winner. The range of material is really good - from basic to advanced you cover quite a lot of ground technique wise and the music is pretty varied and more interesting than a lot of other books that I've looked at. Everything is explained clearly and you don't have to know anything about reading music or musical theory to be able to use it (though some of this is mentioned in passing to give you some idea of what's going on). At the end of the book I was definitely a much more confident guitarist than I was to begin with so it definitely did what it was supposed to. I particularly liked the sections covering different genres of music - being able to relate the techniques that you've learned to the specific types of music you want to play is a big plus which not all "how to" books actually do incidentally. The CD is very useful and easy to use.

Ok a few gripes with the style - I don't really share the authors sense of humour and for that matter his taste at times (thinking of the greatest guitarists lists etc) but these are pretty minor. Stylistic and taste issues aside this book is great in terms of actual information. If you want to start learning guitar you can't go far wrong with this.


Not for proper piano playing, 13 Sep 2008
If you want to tap out a tune on the piano then this book is fine but not if you would like to actually be able to play the piano. If you can read music already then you will speed through this and probably not be challenged in the slightest, there is far too much writing and too little music. For learning to play with both hands and popular music there are much better books

A really outstanding book, 25 Apr 2008
This is a well written book. I love playing my piano and this book has really shown me how to do it with ease.

A step in the right direction, 09 Feb 2003
I started the book already having a small amount of knowledge of the piano and music. I wanted to take up the piano seriously with no human instruction, therefore I bought this to see what playing the piano properly was like. It starts off very basic, explaining everthing as it is, with a small amount of justification. It then progresses into melodies and accompanying them with simplistic chords. As you go further, you learn about the sharp keys, sharp chords etc. It's easy, but it's not simple. The book generates the idea of ANYONE being able to play, but you have to have knowledge of the songs and have to be competent with the keys. It moves very quick therefore you have to literally MASTER a chapter before moving on to the next one, and this means being able to play every tune perfectly without the music, otherwise you struggle. Overall though it's a step in the right direction and the easiest piano book you'll ever find, so if you're taking up the instrument and don't know what book to buy, this is the one.

Good book but one small request to the publisher/author, 28 Aug 1999
This book is very good for the person who knows the songs. Now I am a foreign student who wants to learn to play the piano/keyboard, because of interest in Western music. All the songs in the book are totally unfamiliar to me. I know I am in the minority, but I will certainly appreciate it if the publishers include a audio cassette/CD which has the songs in it. Like those programming books which have the source on the CD-ROM. My keyboard has some songs in-built but I don't know how "Silent night..." should sound, so I am stuck at the very first song. Otherwise the approach in the book is good.

Excellent, concise course on how to play the piano, 16 May 1999
It's one of the few books that delivers what it promises. In 10 really easy lessons you can be playing the piano with confidence. He writes in a very down to earth style with explanations that let you intelligently play the piano. It's great.

An excellent book for bass players , 07 Oct 2008
This is a great book, it's easy to follow and full of useful tips. It's helpful for beginners (like me) and a friend of mine with 25 years' playing experience found it worth his while too.

You must have this book!, 16 Nov 2007
I have bought a few other books on the subject but my goodness this one takes the biscuit. If you can only afford one book then this is it! It's packed with very good structured playing tips and excercises, (also included on cd) plus other stuff on buying and looking after your instrument. You'll learn something from this book even if you have been playing bass for a while and you certainly won't be wasting your time or money, buy it!

good, but has flaws, 14 Nov 2007
I got this book from the library and he does explain some things well. The book is strangely laid out, with too many lame jokes. I agree with the reviewer who says that Mr Pfeiffer jumps "straight into C minor" too soon. He does have useful things to say, and I did learn from it. He spends tiem trying to explain how modes work, and what they actually are, explaining it well in the text, then gives far too many diagrams amongst the text, making it seem so much more complicated than it actually is. He is good at referring in the text to other parts of the books where it is relevant to do so. I disagree that a beginner would struggle with this; just read the text and think hard about what he's saying.

The accompanying CD is referenced "by the second" in that each musical example refers to a specific minute and second of the cd. It would perhaps be better if he either didnt include every single example on the CD, or grouped them onto individual tracks, leaving a short gap between each example within the track. I'd rather replay the track with one button-press than fiddle about getting to a particular timespot.

Its worth the money, and he's clearly given it a lot of thought; although flawed its amongst the best of a poor bunch.

A Great Disappointment if you know the VERY basic stuff, 06 Sep 2007
I bought this book as I expected it to be a guide for everythign to do with the bass, as I foudn the tremelo guitar version to be. That wasn't the case at all. This book is much thinner, rather poorly written, and that guy should have his photos banned for scaring small children.
I found this book to be bad, but I gave it to my father (an absolute beginner who was struggling a little) and he found it very helpful. So buy it if you're a total beginner at muic who feels a bit lost, but avoid it otherwise

Not for novices, but for dummies with experience., 30 Dec 2006
In line with other reviews, it appears that if you already have some knowledge of the subject,these books are great. However, for the novice, it assumes too often that you already have the basics under your belt.

I now wouldn't buy any dummies book unless I had a rough idea of the subject that needed fine tuning. Look elsewhere if you're new to the concept

reall good, 13 Jan 2008
one of the worst things when learning an instrument is frustration, something i have experienced whilst reading other books on the subject of piano/keyboards. this book tells you how to play in plain english and goes into good depth on the basics of playing. you never feel overwhelmed.

highly recommended

5 stars to what the book tries to achieve, 15 Mar 2007
This book is very straight-forward and if you're really personally committed to learn the piano, not really caring for the deeply technical part of it, it is a must-have. It is not to be taken very seriously. The book aims to teach you the principles of playing the piano and that Mark Phillips indeed achieved. I bought it without knowing much about music or piano and after 4 months studying it, I already knew how to play 2 pieces like a true prodigy. However, music is a very intricate art and to be a real musician, Piano For Dummies may be your start point, but not your back bone to music.

There is really, indeed, much much more to music after "Piano for Dummies", and beginners must realise that. It is a great buy if you're wanting to play the piano just for the fun of it, but if you want real technical knowledge and to be a professional, you must go far beyond this book.

Disappointing, 15 Sep 2005
Too many irritating bad jokes and not enough substance.

the dummy and idiot market is insatiable, 24 Mar 1999
We've learned in the past few years that there are many more dummies in the world than we had reckoned on and that the dummies are much more ambitious than we had supposed. They want to be taught to do everything. In any case, this is a serviceable work for persons of average intelligence (or so), but of course there are many other general method books available, many of them much better (and there are piano teachers as well.) I particularly recommend PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

Great, 18 Nov 2008
Wow great pictures of Avril as per usual. I so love avril. She the best. If your an avril fan this is a must. and its a great price

Again Too Nice!, 05 Nov 2008
I really love Avril Lavigne. She is a beauty! I had an Avril calendar in 2008, and when I noticed that there had been released a calendar for 2009, I decided to buy it. However, again the pictures are little bit too nice. Only two pictures of May and October fill my passion for Avril. You can see the picture of May in front cover of the calendar. I think there was too many pictures that only show Avril's face. Although she is hot I'd like to see hotter pictures of her. I don't mean that they have to be too hot - just normal calendar pictures. There's much attitude in Avril's music (especially the latest album) and also the live DVD was excellent! I'd like it to see that power more in her calendars. The front cover is a great example of the pictures I'd like to see more.

Accessible and encouraging with a down-to-earth approach, 13 Nov 2008
When my teenage son and I started playing the guitar I bought several 'teach yourself' books, and this is by far the best we found. It takes a refreshing, real-world approach to learning, offering plenty of encouragement (to keep you going through those early weeks of sore fingers) in the form of easy music and songs that you will be able to play from the very start. It also acknowledges that some things will be hard at first, and warns about them in advance. Despite this, it isn't 'dumbed-down', and is packed with far more information than the others we tried. Whether you want to play acoustic or electric; rock, folk, classical or jazz, there's everything here that you need to get started, and a good deal for the more experienced guitarist too. All the music is provided in both standard notation and guitar tabulature (which means that you don't have to learn to read music if you don't want to), and is also included on the accompanying CD. We could have saved the money we spent on other guitar courses - this is the one we use on a daily basis.

Strumming away after only two weeks, 20 Sep 2008
I was an absolute beginner when I got the guitar and the book. After only two weeks of vigorous practising I am strumming away nicely. Very easy to follow book and great to play along with the CD. All you have to do is practise, practise, practise.... (and it is true about the calluses on your fingertips). All I now need is a good beginners chord songbook!

Get a lesson!, 14 Feb 2008
I bought this for my son who wanted to learn. What a waste pay for a few lessons with a teacher quite cheap for kids. Used for a couple of days then discarded. Anyone who has been playing more than a month will find this a waste of money.

Dont be a Dummie buy this book., 12 Jan 2008
This book is brilliant from basic through to very advanced.The book plus the C/D I might had must of taken ages to format,ending in a great product.Even if you only learn to play basic guitar,you have not wasted your money.If it was 3 times the price it would be cheap.There are over 380 pages or good info and the C/D OF course.I suggest anyone interested should take advantage of the excellent price currently at Amazon.co uk.I Per sonly think you could sell it on after use for a return of your purchase price [honestly].By the way Jon Chappell as a hand in this book along with Mark Phillips.I would recommend buying both for £15 You wont be sorry.PS i have also wrote a review on Jon Chappell,s DVD.Hope this helps Sincerely Brian B

Brilliant for beginners, 26 May 2007
This takes you from absolute beginner to the point where you are sounding pretty competent in a nicely structured A -> B -> C fashion. It starts off with basic stuff like the most common open chords and how to play simple melodies using tab then goes on to the more difficult stuff like barre chords and techniques like string bends in a solo. The final part of the book deals with techniques related to specific genres - rock, blues, folk, jazz etc.

I've looked at a few how to play guitar books and this one was definitely the winner. The range of material is really good - from basic to advanced you cover quite a lot of ground technique wise and the music is pretty varied and more interesting than a lot of other books that I've looked at. Everything is explained clearly and you don't have to know anything about reading music or musical theory to be able to use it (though some of this is mentioned in passing to give you some idea of what's going on). At the end of the book I was definitely a much more confident guitarist than I was to begin with so it definitely did what it was supposed to. I particularly liked the sections covering different genres of music - being able to relate the techniques that you've learned to the specific types of music you want to play is a big plus which not all "how to" books actually do incidentally. The CD is very useful and easy to use.

Ok a few gripes with the style - I don't really share the authors sense of humour and for that matter his taste at times (thinking of the greatest guitarists lists etc) but these are pretty minor. Stylistic and taste issues aside this book is great in terms of actual information. If you want to start learning guitar you can't go far wrong with this.


Not for proper piano playing, 13 Sep 2008
If you want to tap out a tune on the piano then this book is fine but not if you would like to actually be able to play the piano. If you can read music already then you will speed through this and probably not be challenged in the slightest, there is far too much writing and too little music. For learning to play with both hands and popular music there are much better books

A really outstanding book, 25 Apr 2008
This is a well written book. I love playing my piano and this book has really shown me how to do it with ease.

A step in the right direction, 09 Feb 2003
I started the book already having a small amount of knowledge of the piano and music. I wanted to take up the piano seriously with no human instruction, therefore I bought this to see what playing the piano properly was like. It starts off very basic, explaining everthing as it is, with a small amount of justification. It then progresses into melodies and accompanying them with simplistic chords. As you go further, you learn about the sharp keys, sharp chords etc. It's easy, but it's not simple. The book generates the idea of ANYONE being able to play, but you have to have knowledge of the songs and have to be competent with the keys. It moves very quick therefore you have to literally MASTER a chapter before moving on to the next one, and this means being able to play every tune perfectly without the music, otherwise you struggle. Overall though it's a step in the right direction and the easiest piano book you'll ever find, so if you're taking up the instrument and don't know what book to buy, this is the one.

Good book but one small request to the publisher/author, 28 Aug 1999
This book is very good for the person who knows the songs. Now I am a foreign student who wants to learn to play the piano/keyboard, because of interest in Western music. All the songs in the book are totally unfamiliar to me. I know I am in the minority, but I will certainly appreciate it if the publishers include a audio cassette/CD which has the songs in it. Like those programming books which have the source on the CD-ROM. My keyboard has some songs in-built but I don't know how "Silent night..." should sound, so I am stuck at the very first song. Otherwise the approach in the book is good.

Excellent, concise course on how to play the piano, 16 May 1999
It's one of the few books that delivers what it promises. In 10 really easy lessons you can be playing the piano with confidence. He writes in a very down to earth style with explanations that let you intelligently play the piano. It's great.

An excellent book for bass players , 07 Oct 2008
This is a great book, it's easy to follow and full of useful tips. It's helpful for beginners (like me) and a friend of mine with 25 years' playing experience found it worth his while too.

You must have this book!, 16 Nov 2007
I have bought a few other books on the subject but my goodness this one takes the biscuit. If you can only afford one book then this is it! It's packed with very good structured playing tips and excercises, (also included on cd) plus other stuff on buying and looking after your instrument. You'll learn something from this book even if you have been playing bass for a while and you certainly won't be wasting your time or money, buy it!

good, but has flaws, 14 Nov 2007
I got this book from the library and he does explain some things well. The book is strangely laid out, with too many lame jokes. I agree with the reviewer who says that Mr Pfeiffer jumps "straight into C minor" too soon. He does have useful things to say, and I did learn from it. He spends tiem trying to explain how modes work, and what they actually are, explaining it well in the text, then gives far too many diagrams amongst the text, making it seem so much more complicated than it actually is. He is good at referring in the text to other parts of the books where it is relevant to do so. I disagree that a beginner would struggle with this; just read the text and think hard about what he's saying.

The accompanying CD is referenced "by the second" in that each musical example refers to a specific minute and second of the cd. It would perhaps be better if he either didnt include every single example on the CD, or grouped them onto individual tracks, leaving a short gap between each example within the track. I'd rather replay the track with one button-press than fiddle about getting to a particular timespot.

Its worth the money, and he's clearly given it a lot of thought; although flawed its amongst the best of a poor bunch.

A Great Disappointment if you know the VERY basic stuff, 06 Sep 2007
I bought this book as I expected it to be a guide for everythign to do with the bass, as I foudn the tremelo guitar version to be. That wasn't the case at all. This book is much thinner, rather poorly written, and that guy should have his photos banned for scaring small children.
I found this book to be bad, but I gave it to my father (an absolute beginner who was struggling a little) and he found it very helpful. So buy it if you're a total beginner at muic who feels a bit lost, but avoid it otherwise

Not for novices, but for dummies with experience., 30 Dec 2006
In line with other reviews, it appears that if you already have some knowledge of the subject,these books are great. However, for the novice, it assumes too often that you already have the basics under your belt.

I now wouldn't buy any dummies book unless I had a rough idea of the subject that needed fine tuning. Look elsewhere if you're new to the concept

reall good, 13 Jan 2008
one of the worst things when learning an instrument is frustration, something i have experienced whilst reading other books on the subject of piano/keyboards. this book tells you how to play in plain english and goes into good depth on the basics of playing. you never feel overwhelmed.

highly recommended

5 stars to what the book tries to achieve, 15 Mar 2007
This book is very straight-forward and if you're really personally committed to learn the piano, not really caring for the deeply technical part of it, it is a must-have. It is not to be taken very seriously. The book aims to teach you the principles of playing the piano and that Mark Phillips indeed achieved. I bought it without knowing much about music or piano and after 4 months studying it, I already knew how to play 2 pieces like a true prodigy. However, music is a very intricate art and to be a real musician, Piano For Dummies may be your start point, but not your back bone to music.

There is really, indeed, much much more to music after "Piano for Dummies", and beginners must realise that. It is a great buy if you're wanting to play the piano just for the fun of it, but if you want real technical knowledge and to be a professional, you must go far beyond this book.

Disappointing, 15 Sep 2005
Too many irritating bad jokes and not enough substance.

the dummy and idiot market is insatiable, 24 Mar 1999
We've learned in the past few years that there are many more dummies in the world than we had reckoned on and that the dummies are much more ambitious than we had supposed. They want to be taught to do everything. In any case, this is a serviceable work for persons of average intelligence (or so), but of course there are many other general method books available, many of them much better (and there are piano teachers as well.) I particularly recommend PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

Great, 18 Nov 2008
Wow great pictures of Avril as per usual. I so love avril. She the best. If your an avril fan this is a must. and its a great price

Again Too Nice!, 05 Nov 2008
I really love Avril Lavigne. She is a beauty! I had an Avril calendar in 2008, and when I noticed that there had been released a calendar for 2009, I decided to buy it. However, again the pictures are little bit too nice. Only two pictures of May and October fill my passion for Avril. You can see the picture of May in front cover of the calendar. I think there was too many pictures that only show Avril's face. Although she is hot I'd like to see hotter pictures of her. I don't mean that they have to be too hot - just normal calendar pictures. There's much attitude in Avril's music (especially the latest album) and also the live DVD was excellent! I'd like it to see that power more in her calendars. The front cover is a great example of the pictures I'd like to see more.

A "MUST"for Beginners, Simplicity Itself No Gimmick's, Exactly as stated and more., 02 Dec 2007
With this item you can't go wrong, It is EXACTLY as stated and far more. Teaching mainly by diagram's showing exactly where fingers should be on the frets with relevant written text where necessary.
To avoid the sense of simply learning a vast number of cords and "Getting nowhere fast" this book incorporates simple songs which can be played after learning a few simple cords and having gained enough confidence to alternate between them without difficulty. Therefore giving the new guitarist the conviction that they are really achieving something and increasing the desire to learn and practise. With every few new cords leaned you find another song slightly more difficult incorporating all the cords learned thus far.
The diagrams shown are perfectly clear and simple to follow in a way there cannot be any misunderstanding, the text also written in the same clear, concise way. This book instills confidence in the beginner encouraging them every step of the way. Yes, i had read the synopsis on this book and researched it as much as i was able but in honesty this was all i had to go off having only a vague idea of what i was searching for.
Should you be looking for a Beginners book to "Learning Guitar" i cannot praise this book highly enough and at a price to suit all i recommend this book without hesitation.

a very easy to understand guide, 18 Aug 2001
this book was a very uncomplicated and was easy enough for beginners to understand. It shows all the chords & will help all budding musicians

Accessible and encouraging with a down-to-earth approach, 13 Nov 2008
When my teenage son and I started playing the guitar I bought several 'teach yourself' books, and this is by far the best we found. It takes a refreshing, real-world approach to learning, offering plenty of encouragement (to keep you going through those early weeks of sore fingers) in the form of easy music and songs that you will be able to play from the very start. It also acknowledges that some things will be hard at first, and warns about them in advance. Despite this, it isn't 'dumbed-down', and is packed with far more information than the others we tried. Whether you want to play acoustic or electric; rock, folk, classical or jazz, there's everything here that you need to get started, and a good deal for the more experienced guitarist too. All the music is provided in both standard notation and guitar tabulature (which means that you don't have to learn to read music if you don't want to), and is also included on the accompanying CD. We could have saved the money we spent on other guitar courses - this is the one we use on a daily basis.

Strumming away after only two weeks, 20 Sep 2008
I was an absolute beginner when I got the guitar and the book. After only two weeks of vigorous practising I am strumming away nicely. Very easy to follow book and great to play along with the CD. All you have to do is practise, practise, practise.... (and it is true about the calluses on your fingertips). All I now need is a good beginners chord songbook!

Get a lesson!, 14 Feb 2008
I bought this for my son who wanted to learn. What a waste pay for a few lessons with a teacher quite cheap for kids. Used for a couple of days then discarded. Anyone who has been playing more than a month will find this a waste of money.

Dont be a Dummie buy this book., 12 Jan 2008
This book is brilliant from basic through to very advanced.The book plus the C/D I might had must of taken ages to format,ending in a great product.Even if you only learn to play basic guitar,you have not wasted your money.If it was 3 times the price it would be cheap.There are over 380 pages or good info and the C/D OF course.I suggest anyone interested should take advantage of the excellent price currently at Amazon.co uk.I Per sonly think you could sell it on after use for a return of your purchase price [honestly].By the way Jon Chappell as a hand in this book along with Mark Phillips.I would recommend buying both for £15 You wont be sorry.PS i have also wrote a review on Jon Chappell,s DVD.Hope this helps Sincerely Brian B

Brilliant for beginners, 26 May 2007
This takes you from absolute beginner to the point where you are sounding pretty competent in a nicely structured A -> B -> C fashion. It starts off with basic stuff like the most common open chords and how to play simple melodies using tab then goes on to the more difficult stuff like barre chords and techniques like string bends in a solo. The final part of the book deals with techniques related to specific genres - rock, blues, folk, jazz etc.

I've looked at a few how to play guitar books and this one was definitely the winner. The range of material is really good - from basic to advanced you cover quite a lot of ground technique wise and the music is pretty varied and more interesting than a lot of other books that I've looked at. Everything is explained clearly and you don't have to know anything about reading music or musical theory to be able to use it (though some of this is mentioned in passing to give you some idea of what's going on). At the end of the book I was definitely a much more confident guitarist than I was to begin with so it definitely did what it was supposed to. I particularly liked the sections covering different genres of music - being able to relate the techniques that you've learned to the specific types of music you want to play is a big plus which not all "how to" books actually do incidentally. The CD is very useful and easy to use.

Ok a few gripes with the style - I don't really share the authors sense of humour and for that matter his taste at times (thinking of the greatest guitarists lists etc) but these are pretty minor. Stylistic and taste issues aside this book is great in terms of actual information. If you want to start learning guitar you can't go far wrong with this.


Not for proper piano playing, 13 Sep 2008
If you want to tap out a tune on the piano then this book is fine but not if you would like to actually be able to play the piano. If you can read music already then you will speed through this and probably not be challenged in the slightest, there is far too much writing and too little music. For learning to play with both hands and popular music there are much better books

A really outstanding book, 25 Apr 2008
This is a well written book. I love playing my piano and this book has really shown me how to do it with ease.

A step in the right direction, 09 Feb 2003
I started the book already having a small amount of knowledge of the piano and music. I wanted to take up the piano seriously with no human instruction, therefore I bought this to see what playing the piano properly was like. It starts off very basic, explaining everthing as it is, with a small amount of justification. It then progresses into melodies and accompanying them with simplistic chords. As you go further, you learn about the sharp keys, sharp chords etc. It's easy, but it's not simple. The book generates the idea of ANYONE being able to play, but you have to have knowledge of the songs and have to be competent with the keys. It moves very quick therefore you have to literally MASTER a chapter before moving on to the next one, and this means being able to play every tune perfectly without the music, otherwise you struggle. Overall though it's a step in the right direction and the easiest piano book you'll ever find, so if you're taking up the instrument and don't know what book to buy, this is the one.

Good book but one small request to the publisher/author, 28 Aug 1999
This book is very good for the person who knows the songs. Now I am a foreign student who wants to learn to play the piano/keyboard, because of interest in Western music. All the songs in the book are totally unfamiliar to me. I know I am in the minority, but I will certainly appreciate it if the publishers include a audio cassette/CD which has the songs in it. Like those programming books which have the source on the CD-ROM. My keyboard has some songs in-built but I don't know how "Silent night..." should sound, so I am stuck at the very first song. Otherwise the approach in the book is good.

Excellent, concise course on how to play the piano, 16 May 1999
It's one of the few books that delivers what it promises. In 10 really easy lessons you can be playing the piano with confidence. He writes in a very down to earth style with explanations that let you intelligently play the piano. It's great.

An excellent book for bass players , 07 Oct 2008
This is a great book, it's easy to follow and full of useful tips. It's helpful for beginners (like me) and a friend of mine with 25 years' playing experience found it worth his while too.

You must have this book!, 16 Nov 2007
I have bought a few other books on the subject but my goodness this one takes the biscuit. If you can only afford one book then this is it! It's packed with very good structured playing tips and excercises, (also included on cd) plus other stuff on buying and looking after your instrument. You'll learn something from this book even if you have been playing bass for a while and you certainly won't be wasting your time or money, buy it!

good, but has flaws, 14 Nov 2007
I got this book from the library and he does explain some things well. The book is strangely laid out, with too many lame jokes. I agree with the reviewer who says that Mr Pfeiffer jumps "straight into C minor" too soon. He does have useful things to say, and I did learn from it. He spends tiem trying to explain how modes work, and what they actually are, explaining it well in the text, then gives far too many diagrams amongst the text, making it seem so much more complicated than it actually is. He is good at referring in the text to other parts of the books where it is relevant to do so. I disagree that a beginner would struggle with this; just read the text and think hard about what he's saying.

The accompanying CD is referenced "by the second" in that each musical example refers to a specific minute and second of the cd. It would perhaps be better if he either didnt include every single example on the CD, or grouped them onto individual tracks, leaving a short gap between each example within the track. I'd rather replay the track with one button-press than fiddle about getting to a particular timespot.

Its worth the money, and he's clearly given it a lot of thought; although flawed its amongst the best of a poor bunch.

A Great Disappointment if you know the VERY basic stuff, 06 Sep 2007
I bought this book as I expected it to be a guide for everythign to do with the bass, as I foudn the tremelo guitar version to be. That wasn't the case at all. This book is much thinner, rather poorly written, and that guy should have his photos banned for scaring small children.
I found this book to be bad, but I gave it to my father (an absolute beginner who was struggling a little) and he found it very helpful. So buy it if you're a total beginner at muic who feels a bit lost, but avoid it otherwise

Not for novices, but for dummies with experience., 30 Dec 2006
In line with other reviews, it appears that if you already have some knowledge of the subject,these books are great. However, for the novice, it assumes too often that you already have the basics under your belt.

I now wouldn't buy any dummies book unless I had a rough idea of the subject that needed fine tuning. Look elsewhere if you're new to the concept

reall good, 13 Jan 2008
one of the worst things when learning an instrument is frustration, something i have experienced whilst reading other books on the subject of piano/keyboards. this book tells you how to play in plain english and goes into good depth on the basics of playing. you never feel overwhelmed.

highly recommended

5 stars to what the book tries to achieve, 15 Mar 2007
This book is very straight-forward and if you're really personally committed to learn the piano, not really caring for the deeply technical part of it, it is a must-have. It is not to be taken very seriously. The book aims to teach you the principles of playing the piano and that Mark Phillips indeed achieved. I bought it without knowing much about music or piano and after 4 months studying it, I already knew how to play 2 pieces like a true prodigy. However, music is a very intricate art and to be a real musician, Piano For Dummies may be your start point, but not your back bone to music.

There is really, indeed, much much more to music after "Piano for Dummies", and beginners must realise that. It is a great buy if you're wanting to play the piano just for the fun of it, but if you want real technical knowledge and to be a professional, you must go far beyond this book.

Disappointing, 15 Sep 2005
Too many irritating bad jokes and not enough substance.

the dummy and idiot market is insatiable, 24 Mar 1999
We've learned in the past few years that there are many more dummies in the world than we had reckoned on and that the dummies are much more ambitious than we had supposed. They want to be taught to do everything. In any case, this is a serviceable work for persons of average intelligence (or so), but of course there are many other general method books available, many of them much better (and there are piano teachers as well.) I particularly recommend PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

Great, 18 Nov 2008
Wow great pictures of Avril as per usual. I so love avril. She the best. If your an avril fan this is a must. and its a great price

Again Too Nice!, 05 Nov 2008
I really love Avril Lavigne. She is a beauty! I had an Avril calendar in 2008, and when I noticed that there had been released a calendar for 2009, I decided to buy it. However, again the pictures are little bit too nice. Only two pictures of May and October fill my passion for Avril. You can see the picture of May in front cover of the calendar. I think there was too many pictures that only show Avril's face. Although she is hot I'd like to see hotter pictures of her. I don't mean that they have to be too hot - just normal calendar pictures. There's much attitude in Avril's music (especially the latest album) and also the live DVD was excellent! I'd like it to see that power more in her calendars. The front cover is a great example of the pictures I'd like to see more.

A "MUST"for Beginners, Simplicity Itself No Gimmick's, Exactly as stated and more., 02 Dec 2007
With this item you can't go wrong, It is EXACTLY as stated and far more. Teaching mainly by diagram's showing exactly where fingers should be on the frets with relevant written text where necessary.
To avoid the sense of simply learning a vast number of cords and "Getting nowhere fast" this book incorporates simple songs which can be played after learning a few simple cords and having gained enough confidence to alternate between them without difficulty. Therefore giving the new guitarist the conviction that they are really achieving something and increasing the desire to learn and practise. With every few new cords leaned you find another song slightly more difficult incorporating all the cords learned thus far.
The diagrams shown are perfectly clear and simple to follow in a way there cannot be any misunderstanding, the text also written in the same clear, concise way. This book instills confidence in the beginner encouraging them every step of the way. Yes, i had read the synopsis on this book and researched it as much as i was able but in honesty this was all i had to go off having only a vague idea of what i was searching for.
Should you be looking for a Beginners book to "Learning Guitar" i cannot praise this book highly enough and at a price to suit all i recommend this book without hesitation.

a very easy to understand guide, 18 Aug 2001
this book was a very uncomplicated and was easy enough for beginners to understand. It shows all the chords & will help all budding musicians

Excellent value for money, 29 Aug 2008
Lots of good songs for the price. I found the A5 format fine (not "much too small" as another reviewer commented). Piano arrangements are of intermediate difficulty - perhaps grade 4 or 5 on average.

piano novice, 08 Aug 2008
This book is an excellent compendium of pieces to inspire confidence and encourage development for the novice player of the piano any age

Excellent "cruise ship" repertoire!, 28 Sep 2007
I love this book. I took grade 8 a long time ago and still love piano but don't have the time or energy to learn new pieces, so enjoy being able to dip into this book.
It's a wide range of music in v large print. Don't buy it if you want a song book (it's not sold as such anyway...) but if you're a tired lapsed pianist this still kids you into believing you can tickle those ivories as you always did. I have all 3 book in the range and actually prefer this one, the first one (red) because it's has the best choice of soft classics for me, but obviously that's a very personal thing. The 2nd and 3rd books are in much smaller print so I find them much less user friendly.
I believe the level is around Grade 5 (chap in a music shop told me).

You could play them if the format was much larger!!, 21 May 2004
I don't like the overall choices in"More of the tunes ... play" because there are not nearly enough classical items. But also the A5 format is much too small to play from. Does this title or the first book "Tunes you've ... to play" exist in a sensible A4 format? and if not, why not ???

excellent, 05 Jun 2003
This book has loads of classic songs written for piano. It is written with new commers to the piano in mind, but it is still fun for all standards!
I would recommend it to anyone no matter how advanced you are. But if you are like me and are a beginner but want to play pieces that sound difficult then this is the book for you!

his brand-new Apple-certified guide, reconceived for Logic's new interface, uses all-new projects and media files to show you how to record, produce, and polish your musical creations with Apple's professional audio software. Veteran audio producer David Nahmani uses step-by-step, project-based instruction and straightforward explanations to teach everything from basic music creation to advanced production techniques.Using the book's DVD files and either Logic Pro 8 or Logic Express 8, you'll begin making music in the first lesson. From there, you'll learn to record audio and MIDI, edit sequences, master mixing techniques, and use Logic's software synthesizers, sampler, and digital signal processors to put the perfect aural polish on your audio creations. A special troubleshooting section helps you set up and optimize your studio and Logic system effectively. Whether you're looking to use your computer as a digital recording studio, create musical compositions and cutting-edge surround-sound mixes, or transfer that song in your head into living music, this comprehensive book/DVD combo will show you how.

Accessible and encouraging with a down-to-earth approach, 13 Nov 2008
When my teenage son and I started playing the guitar I bought several 'teach yourself' books, and this is by far the best we found. It takes a refreshing, real-world approach to learning, offering plenty of encouragement (to keep you going through those early weeks of sore fingers) in the form of easy music and songs that you will be able to play from the very start. It also acknowledges that some things will be hard at first, and warns about them in advance. Despite this, it isn't 'dumbed-down', and is packed with far more information than the others we tried. Whether you want to play acoustic or electric; rock, folk, classical or jazz, there's everything here that you need to get started, and a good deal for the more experienced guitarist too. All the music is provided in both standard notation and guitar tabulature (which means that you don't have to learn to read music if you don't want to), and is also included on the accompanying CD. We could have saved the money we spent on other guitar courses - this is the one we use on a daily basis.

Strumming away after only two weeks, 20 Sep 2008
I was an absolute beginner when I got the guitar and the book. After only two weeks of vigorous practising I am strumming away nicely. Very easy to follow book and great to play along with the CD. All you have to do is practise, practise, practise.... (and it is true about the calluses on your fingertips). All I now need is a good beginners chord songbook!

Get a lesson!, 14 Feb 2008
I bought this for my son who wanted to learn. What a waste pay for a few lessons with a teacher quite cheap for kids. Used for a couple of days then discarded. Anyone who has been playing more than a month will find this a waste of money.

Dont be a Dummie buy this book., 12 Jan 2008
This book is brilliant from basic through to very advanced.The book plus the C/D I might had must of taken ages to format,ending in a great product.Even if you only learn to play basic guitar,you have not wasted your money.If it was 3 times the price it would be cheap.There are over 380 pages or good info and the C/D OF course.I suggest anyone interested should take advantage of the excellent price currently at Amazon.co uk.I Per sonly think you could sell it on after use for a return of your purchase price [honestly].By the way Jon Chappell as a hand in this book along with Mark Phillips.I would recommend buying both for £15 You wont be sorry.PS i have also wrote a review on Jon Chappell,s DVD.Hope this helps Sincerely Brian B

Brilliant for beginners, 26 May 2007
This takes you from absolute beginner to the point where you are sounding pretty competent in a nicely structured A -> B -> C fashion. It starts off with basic stuff like the most common open chords and how to play simple melodies using tab then goes on to the more difficult stuff like barre chords and techniques like string bends in a solo. The final part of the book deals with techniques related to specific genres - rock, blues, folk, jazz etc.

I've looked at a few how to play guitar books and this one was definitely the winner. The range of material is really good - from basic to advanced you cover quite a lot of ground technique wise and the music is pretty varied and more interesting than a lot of other books that I've looked at. Everything is explained clearly and you don't have to know anything about reading music or musical theory to be able to use it (though some of this is mentioned in passing to give you some idea of what's going on). At the end of the book I was definitely a much more confident guitarist than I was to begin with so it definitely did what it was supposed to. I particularly liked the sections covering different genres of music - being able to relate the techniques that you've learned to the specific types of music you want to play is a big plus which not all "how to" books actually do incidentally. The CD is very useful and easy to use.

Ok a few gripes with the style - I don't really share the authors sense of humour and for that matter his taste at times (thinking of the greatest guitarists lists etc) but these are pretty minor. Stylistic and taste issues aside this book is great in terms of actual information. If you want to start learning guitar you can't go far wrong with this.


Not for proper piano playing, 13 Sep 2008
If you want to tap out a tune on the piano then this book is fine but not if you would like to actually be able to play the piano. If you can read music already then you will speed through this and probably not be challenged in the slightest, there is far too much writing and too little music. For learning to play with both hands and popular music there are much better books

A really outstanding book, 25 Apr 2008
This is a well written book. I love playing my piano and this book has really shown me how to do it with ease.

A step in the right direction, 09 Feb 2003
I started the book already having a small amount of knowledge of the piano and music. I wanted to take up the piano seriously with no human instruction, therefore I bought this to see what playing the piano properly was like. It starts off very basic, explaining everthing as it is, with a small amount of justification. It then progresses into melodies and accompanying them with simplistic chords. As you go further, you learn about the sharp keys, sharp chords etc. It's easy, but it's not simple. The book generates the idea of ANYONE being able to play, but you have to have knowledge of the songs and have to be competent with the keys. It moves very quick therefore you have to literally MASTER a chapter before moving on to the next one, and this means being able to play every tune perfectly without the music, otherwise you struggle. Overall though it's a step in the right direction and the easiest piano book you'll ever find, so if you're taking up the instrument and don't know what book to buy, this is the one.

Good book but one small request to the publisher/author, 28 Aug 1999
This book is very good for the person who knows the songs. Now I am a foreign student who wants to learn to play the piano/keyboard, because of interest in Western music. All the songs in the book are totally unfamiliar to me. I know I am in the minority, but I will certainly appreciate it if the publishers include a audio cassette/CD which has the songs in it. Like those programming books which have the source on the CD-ROM. My keyboard has some songs in-built but I don't know how "Silent night..." should sound, so I am stuck at the very first song. Otherwise the approach in the book is good.

Excellent, concise course on how to play the piano, 16 May 1999
It's one of the few books that delivers what it promises. In 10 really easy lessons you can be playing the piano with confidence. He writes in a very down to earth style with explanations that let you intelligently play the piano. It's great.

An excellent book for bass players , 07 Oct 2008
This is a great book, it's easy to follow and full of useful tips. It's helpful for beginners (like me) and a friend of mine with 25 years' playing experience found it worth his while too.

You must have this book!, 16 Nov 2007
I have bought a few other books on the subject but my goodness this one takes the biscuit. If you can only afford one book then this is it! It's packed with very good structured playing tips and excercises, (also included on cd) plus other stuff on buying and looking after your instrument. You'll learn something from this book even if you have been playing bass for a while and you certainly won't be wasting your time or money, buy it!

good, but has flaws, 14 Nov 2007
I got this book from the library and he does explain some things well. The book is strangely laid out, with too many lame jokes. I agree with the reviewer who says that Mr Pfeiffer jumps "straight into C minor" too soon. He does have useful things to say, and I did learn from it. He spends tiem trying to explain how modes work, and what they actually are, explaining it well in the text, then gives far too many diagrams amongst the text, making it seem so much more complicated than it actually is. He is good at referring in the text to other parts of the books where it is relevant to do so. I disagree that a beginner would struggle with this; just read the text and think hard about what he's saying.

The accompanying CD is referenced "by the second" in that each musical example refers to a specific minute and second of the cd. It would perhaps be better if he either didnt include every single example on the CD, or grouped them onto individual track