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Is anyone using any of these music books?

The one thing that I don't like is the lack of information given regarding the various pieces.

It helps me to hear the music - but finding a CD or even sometimes on You Tube is an adventure. Most times it is part of a larger work - one example is Joseph Hayden Seven German Dances this in Vol. 17 page 46 (the one I was working on, another is Bachs Musette from English Suite No.2 - Vol. 37 page 39. I have Angela Hewitt's recording of the English Suites and she dosen't play Musette/Gavotte. In fact no-one that I can find plays this Musette/Gavotte. I Googled this and found out the Musette is also called Gavotte. There are many others with missing information, sometimes I think Agay makes up Titles.

It would be nice if we could write the publisher and get the info. I'd be interested in your opinions. Tis a puzzlement. Thanks

Learning By Example Series, Vol. 1
by Mordecai Shehori

Check iTunes.

A lot of the pieces are on that CD from that book.
Not sure about the one's you mentioned though

I was introduced to this book many years ago by a piano teacher.I still have it somewhere. I think if you have a piano teacher to help interpret, it's an okay book. Not my favorite. If you have a nearby music store, look at the Alfred's Essential Keyboard Repertoire- they have differing editors, so some books of the series are better than others. You can get a CD with them. What I like about the pieces is that they are written as the composer wrote them- but that means you need to know something about what the composer had in mind- how to interpret.

Oksy- about those names- I think the Gavotte is a type of dance so calling a piece gavotte is like calling something waltz, hip=hop, tango. Also throughout history, lots of things get changed around, renamed, etc,

What helped me in getting background on pieces was a very good piano teacher. I also took video courses on music history from the College of Saint Scho;astica in Michigan.

This is another example of what I think is the problem with Agay's Classics to Modern.

Joseph Hayden German Dance, page 60 - where is it from etc., on page 62, minuet - again none of the usual information. Both pieces are in Vol. 37.

It would be a "good thing" if there were some way of getting this information for all the music in these volumes.

Jousff thanks, I'll check it out.

qtpi - thanks for the info, why didn't Agay call it a Gavotte - still no-one plays this particular piece, or none that I could find.

A gavotte is "a gracious Baroque dance movement in duple meter". the musette is a dance with a pastoral theme with a background "drone"'- the drone is a background instrument playing only a pitch or two over and over. sometimes in the Baroque period, a piece was written not necessarily for keyboard but for a lute, a sackbut, a reed- whatever was available at the time. Then again sometimes written for harpsichord. Composers such as Haydn wrote many many pieces- some to teach or celebrate his employer's niece's birthday- not necessarily to express himself. His employer may say we are having a ball next month- we need some new dance music - and Haydn would write for whatever dance step(Gavotte, Sarabande, etc. ) was desirable at the time. Probably not all of these were saved- Haydn may not have even named them. He'd think- OK, I need 2 minuets, 3 gavottes, a sarabande-I'll write some new and I'll pulls some of my old works out. People with money and time took dance lessons to learn the steps for the celebrations.

THe Agay books are good for a teacher to teach about the style of the pieces and the history. I looked over Vol. 37- snd you msy prefer Volume 7. of Essential Keyboard Repertoire, if you want more info at your fingertips. Each piece has a short historiacl perspective, the names may not please you - but they are written out as written by the composer and editorial markings are in grey. Trills are interpreted in grey, lots of written info on timing, expression, etc. Good luck!!!

Thanks qtpi for taking the time to write a very interesting response. I don't know if you teach, but you should.

Finally learned what a Gavotte and Musette is - all these years of dance training - we can always learn.

I like the music book for the most part, I'd just like to hear the pieces that I'm learning, it helps me. My teacher would agree with you, it does teach different syles of music and that's a good thing. I'll take a look at vol.7.

Many thanks.

You're welcome!! Thank you for the compliment! I used to teach and I like to teach adults the best. I work as a nurse now and I notice I really enjoy just having the piano to my own self!!

If you are doing research, I would LOVE to know where the Bouree II on pp.34 and 35 are from. Bach wrote French Suites but I never heard of the French Overture, but this is one of my favorite pieces to play and it is the reason I kept the book. Also for To A Wild Rose- and the piece on page 132 Romance is exquisite-looks like it was included without any editting- a fine example of Romantic composition- although I notice Gliere lived untl 1956. I would be interested in hearing more from this composer.

I've just started learning the piece you mention - Bouree 1 from Bach's French Overture (French Suites?) - and I've tried to find more information, even borrowed the French Suites from the Library - unless I'm missing something, this particular piece wasn't there. It could be that I don't know what it sounds like.
This is where my good ear for music is no help. Maybe that's a good thing. If I hear any music often enough it puts me ahead of what I can really play. It would be great if there were someone we could contact - tried Sheet Music Plus, they haven't gotten back to me.

If I find the information, I'd be happy to send it on to you.

I've just started learning Bouree 1 from Bach's French Overture (French Suites?) - and I've tried to find more information, even borrowed the French Suites from the Library - unless I'm missing something, this particular piece wasn't there. It could be that I don't know what it sounds like. This is where my good ear for music is of no help. Maybe that's a good thing. If I hear any music often enough it puts me ahead of what I can really play. It would be great if there were someone we could contact - tried Sheet Music Plus, they haven't gotten back to me.

If I find the information, I'd be happy to send it on to you.

I just emailed my nephew - he is a pianist/organist with our question.

Hope he'll be able to solve the mystery.

guess what- I found it- go to Wikipedia and search for Bach French Overture and it will come up. There are some links there for the music- again, the music is editted but the number is BMV 831. It is a set of dances and ther are 2 BOurees.

.

i use wikipedia all the time to research music info. Sometimes it's there and sometimes it is not.

I have learned many pieces from that book.. it's a great collection of pieces.

The only thing is, what if we aren't that familiar with piano music yet? When Agay changed a Gavotte to larghetto when it is played a lot faster, I didn't know that this was a weird tempo. There was no reason to google because I assumed it was right. If there is a teacher, then she can say "Don't play it at that tempo." If I'm teaching myself, then I want to be able to rely on what's written. It's confusing to play something at the wrong speed with the wrong dynamics and not know why it seems strange.

Thats why i like Alfred publications so much-lots of explanation and sometimes historical context. There are different opinions however on how to play- like Bach wrote for harpsichord, so some teachers say never use a pedal. well, if Bach had a piano he may have written in pedal marks.

i play for my own personal pleasure. so especially in popular arranged music, I change and alter whatever i think improves it for me.

When you look at alfred's Bach inventions for a single invention, several pianists play the same piece at all differnt tempos. TRills and other markings can mean different things depending on the composer,historical context, etc.

Thanks so much qtpi - it really helps to hear the music.

To one and all I enjoyed reading all the replies to my post. It would be great if there were some way of contacting whoever the publisher is in order to suggest a way of improving the music books.

i don't think changes will be made to the Agay books- they were published initially so long ago- before CD's etc. - used as a teaching book- so tempi, articulations were not how an advanced player would play them, but they then became accessible for the student with a teacher. To publish as written and then explain evrything or convince the student it is ok to play at a different tempo , would take so much time and effort and just be confusing but it sounds as though it is time for you to take the best from this book and move on.

Re: Music for Millions: Classics to Moderns, Vol. 37 (Editor Denes Agay);

I have just compiled annotations for each of the Baroque/Early Music selections with You Tube performances and IMSLIP/early edition URLS and publishing information.

Here is a sample:

p.54 C P E bach Alla Polacca, Clavierstuecke verschiedener Art , Wq112:11, [p.35/57];

http://ks.petruccimusiclibrary.org/files/imglnks/usimg/5/51/IMSLP384280-PMLP170104-Bach,_CPE_-_Clavierst%C3%BCcke_verschiedener_Art_-N-Ok-.pdf

http://ks.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/3/31/IMSLP384279-PMLP170104-Bach,_CPE_-_Clavierst%C3%BCcke_verschiedener_Art_-N-Ok-_-BW-.pdf p.29;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylDfNxCvS1s

Effectively ornamented;

PMS/emails accepted to receive this Microsoft Word document.

Have you checked in the UIPianoPed YouTube channel? They have recorded a huge number of the Music for Millions series.

I have the first two of these now. I've looked through and understand that they are not edited as a modern editor would edit each piece - for example, I see above in this thread that the Baroque pieces are missing ornamentation and there seems to be a general lack of articulation.

But besides these two issues, are these works original or are they simplified arrangements? Also, within a volume, are they all roughly at the same level? I'm looking at the two that I got and it seems some of the earlier pieces are easier than some of the later pieces, but I wonder if that is actually intention or accidental.