Piano for Adult Beginners: Hacks on Music Theory

The book Piano for Adult Beginners. Hacks on Music Theory will be useful for both music school students and the growing number of adult beginner musicians. Many music theory guides aimed directly at children or school audiences seem either too... complex or too simple for adult beginners, resulting in a chaotic understanding of music theory without a foundation, often leading to playing by ear. This guide contains important information on music theory, along with many practical hacks to make playing more conscious and professional. The exercises, useful tips, or hacks collected here effectively help master the notes of the treble and bass clefs. A significant emphasis is placed on the rhythmic aspect of music. Unlike similar guides, the rhythmic pattern is always written from a specific recurring sound, suggesting the performance of this rhythm on the piano. On one hand, the musician visually perceives the rhythm along with the notes, as the exercises encompass all seven notes of the first octave, and on the other hand, the attention is not distracted from the rhythm by a complex elaborate melody. The textbook covers a wide range of theoretical and practical issues, such as: detailed study of rhythmic patterns within the main time signatures, mastering the bass clef and the second octave, hand coordination from simple to complex, and studying accompaniment. The musical material used for learning music theory is unusual: it consists of ancient, not overly familiar Slavic tunes mainly from the collections of folk songs by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. K. Lyadov, M. A. Balakirev, and N. N. Gilyarova. A highlight of the book is the author’s arrangements of well-known compositions, such as For Elise and Ode to Joy by L. van Beethoven, In the Hall of the Mountain King by E. Grieg, Moscow Nights by V. P. Solovyov-Sedoi, and many others.