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Review of Music Motivation Books – Win One for Yourself!

March 11, 2010 by natalie 36 Comments

Several weeks ago, I received a nice fat stack of books in the mail, compliments of Jerald Simon, President of Music Motivation. Before I even had a chance to play through them, several students eyed the cover of Sea Fever and picked it up to find out what was hidden beneath the cool-looking design. 🙂 The music inside is the same kind of attention-getting music with lots of repetitive figures and big, flashy sounds. Each piece is preceded by a brief lesson that introduces key theory concepts and technical skills contained in the piece. The selections are full of 4-note chords, sixteenth note passages, and lots of moving around on the keyboard, so I would classify the arrangements as late-intermediate to advanced.

Each of these other books contain a similar layout and style, and you can hear recordings and view samples of many of the selections on the Music Motivation Blog.

Triumphant – “10 original piano solos”
Hymns of Exaltation
Jazzed About Christmas – “For beginning and early intermediate students”
Playin’ Around and The Jazz Song – “Two Jazz Piano Solos”
Jazzed about Jazz – “For the Intermediate Piano Student”

An Introduction to Scales and Modes, part of the Theory Therapy series, contains scale and chord letterings and fingerings for all the Major and minor scales and each of the modes. A handy reference guide!

Variations on Mary Had a Little Lamb, part of the Innovative Improvisation series, is designed to introduce students to various improvisation techniques using a familiar folk tune. The Teacher’s Tips scattered throughout the lessons help even the most improvisationally-challenged teachers feel like they can help a student grow in this area.

Now, for the great news…Mr. Simon has graciously offered to give away a copy of a book of your choice to three Music Matters Blog readers! So, take a look at the links above, pick out your favorite, and leave a comment below in order to be entered in the drawing to win your chosen book. The drawing will be held on Wednesday, March 17 at noon, CST, so be sure to leave your comment before then! I’ll notify the three winners as soon as I hold the drawing, and will announce them here on Thursday.

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