100 Left Hand Patterns Every Piano Player Should Know: Play the Same Song 100 Different Ways
- Downloads：4898
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-12 13:56:40
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jerald Simon
- ISBN：1948274027
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews
Jeff
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I've been looking for a resource like this for years！ When I perform a well-known piece for a student， I will often add my own left hand pattern， whether that be a waltz， blocked octaves， or Alberti Bass。 Lesson books do teach these， but they are spread out across multiple books。 Gerald Simon's book compiles 100 of them。 What I can do now is teach harmonization and lead-sheet reading using something like his "Variations on Mary Had a Little Lamb" book， have them learn those in different keys， an I've been looking for a resource like this for years！ When I perform a well-known piece for a student， I will often add my own left hand pattern， whether that be a waltz， blocked octaves， or Alberti Bass。 Lesson books do teach these， but they are spread out across multiple books。 Gerald Simon's book compiles 100 of them。 What I can do now is teach harmonization and lead-sheet reading using something like his "Variations on Mary Had a Little Lamb" book， have them learn those in different keys， and each time have them use a different left hand pattern from this book。 Lessons never get stale， and I feel better knowing that students are learning skills that they can apply regardless of what they choose to do with their piano training。 。。。more
Jennifer
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This is a great resource to use when you are learning chords and how to accompany。 Lots of fun ideas and patterns that can be applied to many songs。 Great for inspiration plus lots of well known songs to start putting the patterns to use with。
Lori Jessen
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This book is a marvelous resource for those who improvise and compose。 It covers loads of accompaniment patterns that you can utilize。 While I have played many of these patterns in repertoire， it’s very handy to have them all listed in one place to peruse instead of just relying on memory to recall all the variations。 It’s also great for those who teach composition…I’ve had three students select patterns to use in their current compositions for contest。 They love being able to hear and see the p This book is a marvelous resource for those who improvise and compose。 It covers loads of accompaniment patterns that you can utilize。 While I have played many of these patterns in repertoire， it’s very handy to have them all listed in one place to peruse instead of just relying on memory to recall all the variations。 It’s also great for those who teach composition…I’ve had three students select patterns to use in their current compositions for contest。 They love being able to hear and see the patterns to give their melody lines interesting harmonies。 Some of these students haven’t played repertoire with these patterns yet， but now they are getting exposure to them thru composition first。 As an accompanist who often has to play from lead sheets， or even just chord sheets， this book gives me new ideas for accompaniment with the singers instead of just the same old thing。 Learning the patterns in all the keys is a nice refresher， but I would probably just focus on the keys that I play in most often。 As a supplement to lessons， this will come in very handy for my students who are learning improvisational skills， such as jazz band pianists。This will be a valuable book for teachers， composers， and improvisational pianists。Lori JessenNFMC Festivals Bulletin EditorSD-FMC Junior Composers Contest Chair 。。。more
Melanie
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Wow， Jerald's new book is seriously amazing！ This is going to add such a great new element to the teaching of my piano students。 Plus it is going to help me as a pianist to develop myself even further。 I'm so excited to start playing around more with this book。 I feel like a serious study of it would be like taking a college class or better！ And the title sure is correct， these really are patterns "every piano player should know"。 Wow， Jerald's new book is seriously amazing！ This is going to add such a great new element to the teaching of my piano students。 Plus it is going to help me as a pianist to develop myself even further。 I'm so excited to start playing around more with this book。 I feel like a serious study of it would be like taking a college class or better！ And the title sure is correct， these really are patterns "every piano player should know"。 。。。more
Fiona Cockling
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This is a very comprehensive guide to lead sheet accompaniment。 The progression is logical from very simple patterns to quite complicated jazz arrangements; however even these are explained in a clear way。 As a classically trained teacher my understanding of this area is more limited than it should be and this is a helpful resource which I am using to further my own knowledge and begin teaching this technique。 The idea of not having a full score is frightening for a lot of pianists and I feel th This is a very comprehensive guide to lead sheet accompaniment。 The progression is logical from very simple patterns to quite complicated jazz arrangements; however even these are explained in a clear way。 As a classically trained teacher my understanding of this area is more limited than it should be and this is a helpful resource which I am using to further my own knowledge and begin teaching this technique。 The idea of not having a full score is frightening for a lot of pianists and I feel that the concepts covered in this book will come as reassurance for many of us。 With a little basic knowledge， this book could be used by anyone to teach themselves to busk with their friends。 As a UK teacher the only comment I would make is that there is a large section pertaining to an American readership ， many of which will be rather unfamiliar to some international readers。 That said， it does no harm to learn to accompany unfamiliar songs。 I love that there is a Christmas section though！ 。。。more
Marcy
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This book is an excellent resource; patterns included cover a wide range of ability levels， from basic to more advanced。 The included Fun Fake Book （100 songs in the Key of C） is a gold mine all by itself; no more scouring the Internet to find an appropriate lead sheet for public domain songs - this book has enough material to keep a student busy for a long time。I teach exclusively Adults and Teens; this book is a treasure trove of ideas to get them started playing popular music from lead sheets This book is an excellent resource; patterns included cover a wide range of ability levels， from basic to more advanced。 The included Fun Fake Book （100 songs in the Key of C） is a gold mine all by itself; no more scouring the Internet to find an appropriate lead sheet for public domain songs - this book has enough material to keep a student busy for a long time。I teach exclusively Adults and Teens; this book is a treasure trove of ideas to get them started playing popular music from lead sheets。 They can learn the concepts， try them out on a few of the 100 folk/public domain songs， then transfer the skills to their favorite popular music。Because most of my students are very new beginners， I did find myself wishing for a few easier patterns in both the New Age/Contemp and Rock sections - the two styles most popular with my students。 In the New Age section it would have been nice to have more 5-finger position patterns; most of them not only require an octave range but then pivot past the octave。 I would have appreciated more syncopated patterns as well。 Some of my wishes I could achieve by altering the patterns that are already there - taking pattern 61， for instance， and crossing of the top middle C so that the student is playing with syncopated 8th rests instead of the C note。 But some patterns just aren't there for LH - - thinking of the repeated LH rhythm in John Legend's All of Me， which is very popular with my students right now。 In fact， from looking at the examples， the general approach seems to be to keep the LH beat steady and to syncopate the melody in the RH。 This is certainly a valid and useful approach， I was just hoping this would be THE book for my students and I wouldn't have to reach for supplemental resources。 Not a very realistic idea on my part。 :） So it shouldn’t reflect badly on this book。 I would mention that the Jazz/Blues/Boogie section seems to be the most diverse in terms of level - lots of accessible patterns for beginners through advanced。Overall， I think this book would be a good purchase for those wishing to develop left hand improvising and accompanying skills。 I plan to use it with my students in the future。Disclosure - I received a free PDF copy of the book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Priyantha Fernando
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As a piano teacher， I must say this is a welcome addition to my teaching library。 As a classically trained teacher， with mostly pop-oriented students， I'm always looking for ways to spice up lessons and keep my students engaged。 While I'm a medieval warrior when it comes to music theory， but communicating theory concepts in simple terms can often be challenging。This is where "100 Left Hand Patterns Every Piano Player Should Know" comes in。 The book commences with an incredibly inspirational intr As a piano teacher， I must say this is a welcome addition to my teaching library。 As a classically trained teacher， with mostly pop-oriented students， I'm always looking for ways to spice up lessons and keep my students engaged。 While I'm a medieval warrior when it comes to music theory， but communicating theory concepts in simple terms can often be challenging。This is where "100 Left Hand Patterns Every Piano Player Should Know" comes in。 The book commences with an incredibly inspirational introduction （intended for piano students and their parents， but also inspiring for teacher）， and then proceeds with basic left hand patterns （Alberti bass， waltz um pah pah， and polka）。 It then kicks things up a notch with jazz， blues and boogie-woogie patterns--complete with fingering and a basic explanation of the theory behind each pattern。What really caught my attention was the new age and contemporary section。 I'm familiar with some of the initial patterns， as they appear in some of Mark Harrision's books。 However the later new age/ contemporary patterns that Jerald presents are quite captivating--sometimes embodying sounds from the romantic era， or paying homage to the melancholy motifs found in modern film scores。The next section is aptly titled "Practical Application"， as it provides a few exampled of how to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" （my only complaint is the omission of atonal or 12 tone from this book， especially since all children are naturally drawn this style。。。maybe in a 2nd edition， Jerald？ Just kidding）。The final section consists of 100 Fund Songs from the Fun Fake Book--ranging in style from Children's songs， Americana， Christmas Music， Classical and Gospel。 There is also a section entitled "Chords to learn" that provides 16 chords to learn （in all inversions） in all 12 keys。 The cherry on top at the end is the couple of pages that deal with right hand improvisation--something students （and a lot of classically trained teachers） struggle with。 While this sections is brief， it provides a great launching point for further creativity/ experimentation in the classical， blues and jazz idioms。Well done Jerald！ I'm very grateful and very impressed。 Looking forward to checking out your other books！ 。。。more
Rachel Wilke
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I would highly recommend this book for all pianists， students and teachers。 It will be an invaluable resource in every teachers library and I will use it with all my students as soon as they begin learning about chords and the Circle of Fifths。 It has multiple styles of music and left hand patterns represented ranging from basic patterns， to jazz， rock， new age， classical and hymns。 There is a very good selection of pieces in different styles to use the patterns with。 It is well organized so you I would highly recommend this book for all pianists， students and teachers。 It will be an invaluable resource in every teachers library and I will use it with all my students as soon as they begin learning about chords and the Circle of Fifths。 It has multiple styles of music and left hand patterns represented ranging from basic patterns， to jazz， rock， new age， classical and hymns。 There is a very good selection of pieces in different styles to use the patterns with。 It is well organized so you can easily go to the section that interests you。 There is truly something for every pianist in both musical styles and playing levels。 It begins with the most basic of left hand patterns that are simple enough that a student who has had only a short time of lessons and is just beginning to use hands together can play。 Left hand patterns range from easy to advanced in each section。 The left hand patterns are easy to learn and use since most of them are built on previously learned patterns or are variations of them。 This book is a wonderful to get students and pianists to apply their knowledge of chords in a fun， useful way that gets them arranging and transposing music。 everything is written in the key of C but you are to transpose and play each pattern and piece in every key。 It is an exceptional value for the price because it contains not only the 100 Left Hand Patterns book but all the Fake Book of songs plus bonus youtube videos that explain key concepts。 I just wish I'd have had a book like this when I was a student learning about chords！ This book will turn boring theory lessons into a fun musical adventure that will keep students coming back again and again as they learn how to arrange and transpose pieces into multiple styles and keys。 。。。more
Rebecca
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An invaluable collection， presented clearly and organized well。 This book is perfect for anyone who is ready to expand their piano-playing into the realm of improvisation， composing， or arranging。 All of the patterns are written in the key of C， but there is a section that deals with transposing and what the common chords in each key are so you can play along with your favorite instrumentalist in a key that’s comfortable for them， or transpose for your vocalist’s range。 Most patterns are simple An invaluable collection， presented clearly and organized well。 This book is perfect for anyone who is ready to expand their piano-playing into the realm of improvisation， composing， or arranging。 All of the patterns are written in the key of C， but there is a section that deals with transposing and what the common chords in each key are so you can play along with your favorite instrumentalist in a key that’s comfortable for them， or transpose for your vocalist’s range。 Most patterns are simple enough to fit on one line， with a few that extend to two or three， maximum。 Many of the patterns are simple variations on a basic pattern， which I feel helps those who are beginning to improv realize that it’s okay to make small changes ‘just to see’ instead of trying to pull stuff from thin air。The book is divided into several distinct sections， making it very easy to go straight to whichever style is most interesting。 It starts with very simple patterns; as a teacher， I can use these even with those in the first few months of instruction。 I wish I had had the section on jazz patterns back when I first started playing in jazz bands， as my teacher at the time couldn’t help me much in that regard！ It’s also easy to see the practical application of theory。 No more students asking “Does it really matter if I know what a diminished chord is？” Fingerings and chord symbols are written in， and Mr。 Simon is obviously a teacher himself， as the reader is constantly encouraged to recognize patterns and make their own cognitive leaps。Best of all for those using this book independently instead of with a teacher， there is a “Practical Application” page where Mr。 Simon has taken several patterns and written out several possible realizations of them with “Twinkle， Twinkle， Little Star”。 This really sets the reader up for success as they move on to the fake book section （or their own fake book if they have one they prefer） and try the patterns there。 The fake book itself has a good selection of music。 Everybody is bound to find several songs they enjoy to play with in this section。I would highly recommend this book to teachers for use with their students， but also for those learning piano without a teacher - it’s that clear and easy to use。 。。。more
Therese Bertrand
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