Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story, in Music Lessons
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- Create Date：2022-03-21 18:21:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jeremy Denk
- ISBN：0812995988
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Summary
A beautifully written， witty memoir that is also an immersive exploration of classical music--its power， its meanings， and what it can teach us about ourselves--from the MacArthur Genius Grant-winning pianist
"Jeremy Denk has written a love letter to the music， and especially to the music teachers， in his life。"--Conrad Tao， pianist and composer
In Every Good Boy Does Fine， renowned pianist Jeremy Denk traces an implausible journey。 His life is already a little tough as a precocious， temperamental six-year-old piano prodigy in New Jersey， and then a family meltdown forces a move to New Mexico。 There， Denk must please a new taskmaster， an embittered but devoted professor， while navigating junior high school。 At sixteen he escapes to college in Ohio， only to encounter a bewildering new cast of music teachers， both kind and cruel。 After many humiliations and a few triumphs， he ultimately finds his way as a world-touring pianist， a MacArthur "Genius，" and a frequent performer at Carnegie Hall。
Many classical music memoirs focus on famous musicians and professional accomplishments， but this book focuses on the everyday: neighborhood teacher， high school orchestra， local conductor。 There are few writers capable of so deeply illuminating the trials of artistic practice--hours of daily repetition， mystifying advice， pressure from parents and teachers。 But under all this struggle is a love letter to the act of teaching。
In lively， endlessly imaginative prose， Denk dives deeply into the pieces and composers that have shaped him--Bach， Mozart， and Brahms， among others--and offers lessons on melody， harmony， and rhythm。 How do melodies work？ Why is harmony such a mystery to most people？ Why are teachers so obsessed with the metronome？
In Every Good Boy Does Fine， Denk shares the most meaningful lessons of his life， and tries to repay a debt to his teachers。 He also reminds us that we must never stop asking questions about music and its purposes: consolation， an armor against disillusionment， pure pleasure， a diversion， a refuge， and a vehicle for empathy。
"Jeremy Denk has written a love letter to the music， and especially to the music teachers， in his life。"--Conrad Tao， pianist and composer
In Every Good Boy Does Fine， renowned pianist Jeremy Denk traces an implausible journey。 His life is already a little tough as a precocious， temperamental six-year-old piano prodigy in New Jersey， and then a family meltdown forces a move to New Mexico。 There， Denk must please a new taskmaster， an embittered but devoted professor， while navigating junior high school。 At sixteen he escapes to college in Ohio， only to encounter a bewildering new cast of music teachers， both kind and cruel。 After many humiliations and a few triumphs， he ultimately finds his way as a world-touring pianist， a MacArthur "Genius，" and a frequent performer at Carnegie Hall。
Many classical music memoirs focus on famous musicians and professional accomplishments， but this book focuses on the everyday: neighborhood teacher， high school orchestra， local conductor。 There are few writers capable of so deeply illuminating the trials of artistic practice--hours of daily repetition， mystifying advice， pressure from parents and teachers。 But under all this struggle is a love letter to the act of teaching。
In lively， endlessly imaginative prose， Denk dives deeply into the pieces and composers that have shaped him--Bach， Mozart， and Brahms， among others--and offers lessons on melody， harmony， and rhythm。 How do melodies work？ Why is harmony such a mystery to most people？ Why are teachers so obsessed with the metronome？
In Every Good Boy Does Fine， Denk shares the most meaningful lessons of his life， and tries to repay a debt to his teachers。 He also reminds us that we must never stop asking questions about music and its purposes: consolation， an armor against disillusionment， pure pleasure， a diversion， a refuge， and a vehicle for empathy。
Reviews
Bree
，
I received this book as part of a goodreads giveaway and I’m glad I did！！ I thought this book was super well written。 I really felt drawn to Jeremy and only wish I could be as good as him at the piano。 He really loves music and it shows throughout every part of this book。 Music is a passion of mine too and this book has inspired me not only to love the piano more， but to love music more too。 Jeremy wrote this book in a way that makes you really feel like you’re right there with him。 I would abso I received this book as part of a goodreads giveaway and I’m glad I did！！ I thought this book was super well written。 I really felt drawn to Jeremy and only wish I could be as good as him at the piano。 He really loves music and it shows throughout every part of this book。 Music is a passion of mine too and this book has inspired me not only to love the piano more， but to love music more too。 Jeremy wrote this book in a way that makes you really feel like you’re right there with him。 I would absolutely read another book by him。 。。。more
M。
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It was a good read。
Jan
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Pianists， classical musicians and music teachers could all relate to Jeremy's trip through music lessons and finally concertizing。 Loved the quarter rests in between sections。 Be sure to read the appendix， Jeremy was free with his wit and humor following the story。 A success story filled with insights from prominent music teachers。 Get out your scores and add slurs， ideas and pauses。 Pianists， classical musicians and music teachers could all relate to Jeremy's trip through music lessons and finally concertizing。 Loved the quarter rests in between sections。 Be sure to read the appendix， Jeremy was free with his wit and humor following the story。 A success story filled with insights from prominent music teachers。 Get out your scores and add slurs， ideas and pauses。 。。。more
Stuart Jennings
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If you want to get an in-depth understanding of the classics，this gives you a good start。。。The story is just amazing and a good read also。。。The author， seriously knows his stuff。。。and writes deeplyabout his life， his music and everything else。。。A most enjoyable read。。。Highly Recommended！
Dan
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My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an advance copy of this new memoir。The world has never been kind to artists。 From the most successful to the most driven， to those who find after they have given up， either life or their passion， art never stops the outside from forcing its way in to the artists reality。 To a parent berating a child during a school performance， to a bus full of of enraged elementary school students trying to find who had the My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an advance copy of this new memoir。The world has never been kind to artists。 From the most successful to the most driven， to those who find after they have given up， either life or their passion， art never stops the outside from forcing its way in to the artists reality。 To a parent berating a child during a school performance， to a bus full of of enraged elementary school students trying to find who had the affrontery to dare play classical music by destroying everything around them。 Jeremy Denk got to experience this first hand。 Piano and math were his passions as a child under ten， so an outsider he was doomed to be。 In his memoir， Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story， in Music Lessons， the MacArthur Genus Grant and renowned classical pianist Jeremy Denk， shares stories of his childhood， his love of the piano， and of the teachers who showed him the way。 Known his his liner notes， blog and other writings on classical music and how to appreciate it， Mr。 Denk is as good on this kind of keyboard as he is on the piano。 Mr。 Denk tells of his parents， and their interesting backstories， his moves as a child which might have made it harder to socialise， gifted programs， bullying， math love and piano， piano， piano。 Mr。 Denk's early love/ hate with the musical instrument will be familiar to many a burgeoning rock star， he loved to play， hated to practice。 Along with stories of growing up， Mr。 Denk adds in stories and appreciations on various composers and their works， what makes one piece resound so， what makes another one forgettable。 Some musical discussions might be a a bit much for some， but it is interesting and gives insight into how Mr。 Denk's mind works。 The writing is both loose and informative。 Some incidents a reader would like to know more about， some incidents the reader might wonder why they were included。 What comes across is that without good teachers， Mr。 Denk might have been lost。 Not that all his teachers were sterling， but enough of them cared， and tried to help what sounded like a unhappy child， be a little less lost。 A well written memoir about a person with gifts who was lucky to have teachers and even occasionally parents that tried as best they could to make a good person。 The parents had their own burdens， but they tried， and in the end， succeeded。 A very good book about the power of music， family dysfunction， and the Great Composers。 Recommended for music fans of all kinds， and especially for parents whose children might be gifted with musical talent。 。。。more
Lydia Wallace
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What a great book。 I always wanted to learn the piano in my youth， but never had the opportunity。 A uniquely illuminating memoir of the making of a musician， in which renowned pianist Jeremy Denk explores what he learned from his teachers about classical music: its forms， its power， its meaning - and what it can teach us about ourselves。 Everyone should read this book to learn about Jeremy Denk and to learn something about themselves。 Highly recommend。
Cheri
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