The Virtuoso Pianist is a good book. It is great for intermediate players. It is good for those who are young, but still learning or those who have taken a break from playing and need a refresher. It helps teach the correct fingering while playing the piano. I know that when I learned to play, I would often make up my own fingerings. This book helps you to correct the bad fingerings of the past and improve on the future.
The book gets harder with every page turn, as expected. It is a great book for learning the techniques.

#TheVirtuosoPianistWithDownloadableMp3s #NetGalley #Music2

A very good pedagogical material with mp3 material support. The book can be used as companion material for classroom or as reference book for self learners.

Helpful

A good resource for learning or improving your skills.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

This is fantastic. I can't count the number of times I've wished I could give the Hanon exercises to my younger pianists, but chose not to because the exercises are too overwhelming to read, require too much explaining in order to keep students from playing them too quickly, with too much tension, etc. This book takes care of those concerns. It stays true to the original while presenting them in a format that's far easier to read and naturally encourages students to take their time; the opening exercises are written so that students pause after each phrase. I appreciate that the downloadable mp3s reflect a moderate tempo, too (because too often, if students hear them played as quickly as possible, that's what they try to do!). I'll definitely be incorporating this book into my studio.

The Virtuoso Pianist can improve any piano player's skill set, no matter how long you've played, or how long it's been since you've played, the piano. A series of fingering exercises that most pianists have been exposed to when learning to play, I found running through these exercises increased my agility, finger-strength, and coordination.

The book urges you to follow the fingering noted rather than making up your own or doing what you're comfortable with, and this proved to be very helpful. Ever played a song and "ran out of fingers" causing a minute awkward pause while you shifted your hand position to continue? I don't know of a pianist that has NOT happened to. These exercises will help make you feel more comfortable with finger stretches that do not necessarily come naturally.

I like that the exercises become more difficult as the book progresses, and that each exercise repeats the finger technique several times moving up or down the scale to reinforce the exercise. It may seem a bit basic to those who have played for several years, but I'm of the thought that reinforcing/refreshing these good techniques will benefit all but the most gifted pianists.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dover Publications for allowing me to read and review this book.