Playing the Piano for Pleasure

The classic instructional—and inspirational—guide for amateur pianists, filled with humor, encouragement, and advice from modern masters: "Excellent." —The New York Times Longtime New Yorker writer and passionate piano player Charles Cooke offers concrete routines for improving your piano performance, whether you're experienced, starting out, or starting over. A pleasant and constant cheerleader, Cooke asks readers to practice every day, suggesting that they work through just that section time and again until it is perfect. In addition to his own thoughts, Cooke includes material from his interviews with master pianists, artists, and writers. Delving into topics from techniques to performance tips to memorization tricks, Playing the Piano for Pleasure is a book that has been cherished for generations and will be for years to come. "An invaluable book for amateur pianists when it first came out, and still invaluable." —James Thurber