Oscar Peterson – Jazz Workout routines, Minuets, Etudes & Items for Piano

If you put in the work, this book will take you to the next level.
I took piano lessons as a teenager. Now in my late 50s, I am self-teaching piano. The exercises in this book are great for hand strength, finger independence and for reading sheet music, no matter what type of music you play. Not all the fingerings are given, so you will have to make an effort to figure them out, but that’s a good thing. All told, I believe if you are a late beginner or better, are willing to put in a half-hour of practice daily – in addition to your method book practice – this book will take you from good to great. I’ve been working with this book a short while and can already tell my hands are stronger and my 4th and 5th fingers are more independent. Besides that, the pieces sound beautiful! This is music I would be happy to let other people hear me play. I have put all my other finger exercise books on the shelf. It will take me well over a year to go through this book because I want to master each one. Oscar Peterson did all piano players a huge favor when he wrote this book. There is a reason it has never gone out of print in over 50 years: It is simply the best.

Swingin’
This book contains complete musical scores for several nice intermediate level pieces (as well as some beginner level stuff). Not surprisingly, the pieces reflect Oscar Peterson’s musical style, but of course are a good deal simpler (and much shorter) than the great pianist’s recordings. I’d probably give the book 5 stars if it was available with a CD. Having recordings of pieces is almost essential for me– to hear how they sound, and to help select which ones to work on. Recently I was excited to discover that most of the pieces in this book (except some of the very easiest ones) can be heard on YouTube videos. This has been very helpful to me, and for a couple of months now I’ve been using this book a lot and learning and playing several of my favorite pieces. However, JAZZ INVENTIONS for KEYBOARD by Bill Cunliffe (available on Amazon) is about the same level of difficulty as this book, has more good pieces, has more variety, is more instructional….and comes with a CD.

Great book for the students who don’t like scales, so much —
I have a piano student, who wants to learn how to improvise and accompany at dinner parties– I had a devil of a time, finding something that would get her to practice more technical stuff– This book is great, because it helps her apply what she learns when she is here. It is a great book that I use as a sort of technique book, when appropriate.I first have her analyze the exercise– finding the pattern — then I show her how she can improvise within the exercise, once she has conquered the exercise. It has gotten her excited about learning the “boring” stuff.

Excellent Jazz Exercises
This Jazz Exercise Book is great for jazz pianist of all levels: beginning, intermediate, and advance. The book has lots variations in the left and right hand. Compared to Hanon 60 exercise, Oscar Peterson’s exercises were more enjoyable because the pieces offer a more complex and rich sound. Hanon is super repetitive, but Peterson’s exercises are not. The Peterson’s exercises getter harder as you go along the book. Each exercise is followed by a minuet. Each etude is followed by a piece. This book is smart in the pieces that are arranged. You can pull some riffs out of the scores/pieces for your jazz impoverishment as well. Overall, this jazz exercise book is one of the best I’ve encountered.

Molto felice di questo acquisto, trattasi di un metodo di uno dei più grandi interpreti della musica di sempre. È una medicina per chi inizia, chi riprende a suonare e per chi vuole approfondimento. Bellissimo !

This is a piano tutor that will stretch the player in a good way. An ability to sight-read music and some familiarity with piano playing are assumed, so there may be other books that are more suitable for absolute beginners.