|
However, this is a collection of poor transcriptions. "Thanksgiving," for example, I have performed publicly; but an acceptable performance would not have been possible from the printed score alone.
Hopefully, more of his music becomes available. I needed to listen to the recording several times while following along with the score and making corrections--not all the corrections, this is somewhat improvisatory music, after all, but the major ones (and there were quite a number of big bloopers needing correction).Needless to say, even knowing what I know now, I would still buy this collection to have the outlines of these pieces available since I am a fan of George Winston's music.
I was very happy to see this item for sale. But these transcriptions go well beyond that.
but more carefully edited. I have long been a fan of George Winston and have long wanted to see his music available in print.
In transcriptions of this type, I would expect a wrong note here or there, a missed accidental now and then, and not the most accurate of rhythms.
The transcriptions are not perfect but they're a fantastic foundation to start. Although, the music was pretty good off the shelf, I did make a few minor modifications and will probably make a few more once I master the pieces.
His artistic style really makes the music and these transcriptions are perfect to add your own or duplicate his exact style. But that's normal and I"m talking minor stuff - if you have a good ear, can read lead sheets or know chords - it's easy.
I'm not a professional but I've played the piano for over 30 years and have spent a lot of time in music stores reading sheet music and putting it back on the shelf 99.99% of the time out of disappointment. You defintely have to map out some fingerings.
I'd rank this at the same level as some of the earlier Elton John transcriptions or perhaps the Emmerson Lake and Palmer book that came out in the late 70s - both of which are not perfect but high quality transcribed material for the most part. If you're a pianist and like George Winston's work, this is a no brainer bargain.
If you know the songs, the errors are immediately obvious and correctable.
I have all George Winston's music CDs, and love all aspects of his style. This is an excellent book by one of the great piano players of all time. Also, I PRAY that more books are released in the future -- I don't have the time to transcribe all the songs I would like to play myself. If you haven't heard him lately, be SURE to get his latest release - it shows you just how good he is. He may not have actually written everything himself, but he did review the music. Like any other transcribed music, it's NOT perfect, but it almost IS perfect, and a good piano player can easily see any errors - and there are FEW.
Simple copy-edit errors throughout these transcriptions are frustrating, but these tunes are easy and fun to play.
The transcriptions are definitely better than listening to the CDs and trying to pick out the notes by yourself. However, if you're just playing along for your own enjoyment, you can easily fix the wrong notes. A lovely collection, fun and relaxing to play. I've been a fan of George Winston since his vinyl days, so this collection was a thrill to discover. As others have mentioned, there are some errors here and there.
|
