Salsa & Afro Cuban Montunos for Piano (Book&CD)

Salsa And Afro Cuban Montunos For Piano is an extremely informative 100 page book containing over 400 musical examples showing you how to play in these aforementioned Latin styles. Mr. Campos who teaches a course in Latin piano styles at the Berklee School Of Music originates from Lima Peru and has studied Latin music for over 20 years. This book contains great study material for learning the various techniques and rhythms used in playing Latin piano styles. It can be used as a source to practice reading syncopated rhythms. A CD of Latin percussion rhythm tracks to play along with accompanies the book.
Customer Review: Excellent latin piano playing
I am a full time musician. I am currently studying the materal in this book..Right on the money for learning how to play this style !
Customer Review: Great Resource
As a professional musician seeking to broaden the scope of what I play this book was just the ticket. Very sensibly laid out, easy to follow and some great Montunos to get you underway. A practical useable book and great with the CD to play along with.

Ah, broken chords. The sound. The cascading pattern of chordal notes. It's beautiful. There's no doubt about it. And this technique is one of the easiest to learn. After all, all you need to do to create it is have a chord under your fingers and be able to "break it up."

What do I mean by break it up? You've probably heard of solid chords. This is when all tones are heard at once. For example, if I finger a C Major triad and play all three keys at once, I'm playing a solid chord. But, if I break this chord up into it's 3 notes and play them one at a time you get a broken chord.

Broken chords are used frequently in New Age piano music. There's something about playing notes of a chord in broken style that's very appealing. Maybe it's because it makes the piano sound fuller. Or it could be that it just sounds lovely.

Now, let's take a look at how we can easily create it.

In the lesson "Reflections in Water," we have 4 open position chords. These chords are ideal for "breaking up" because they are so wide-spaced. Over two octaves of notes lay under your finger tips. Once we finger this chord position we are able to play the broken-chord style. How? By simply letting your fingers play around with the note possibilities! And there are many of them.

When you listen to me play this piece, you'll notice that it's nothing to write home about. That is, I'm not after a "sophisticated" sound here. I'm just gently playing around with the notes and using the element of time to create a calm ambiance. And it works! The notes float out into the air and music is created. Not by planning or trying to come up with material but by following a few simple guidelines and letting go of the need to control the outcome.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit http://www.quiescencemusic.com now and get a FREE piano lesson!

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