Aloys SchmittPreparatory Exercises for the Piano, Op. 16 (Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics): Schmitt - Preparatory Exercises, Op. 16 Schirmer Library of Class: 434

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I really like this and it is exactly what I was hoping for; if you're familiar with the idea of drumming rudiment books then that is basically what this is but for the piano obviously.The first 110 exercises are basically just variations on the same theme but still a valuable sightreading/dexterity opportunity. Things change gear and get really interesting on page 17 for the thumb under exercises that look like they'll be very useful.A huge bonus i hadn't even spotted is that all the major, harmonic and melodic minor scales are included in the appendix along with major & minor triads, dominant 7ths and a whole load of other useful stuff. Just mentioning since i was about to spend around £10 on a separate book that covered that sort of thing since I am only just accepting the fact it is an important side of learning the piano as a musician rather than just a performer.

Don't hesitate to buy this. It's excellent. Approved by my teacher too. It's well presented as I have another book of exercises but the print is too small. This is clear and in an adequate font.The exercises do exactly what they're supposed to: encourage flexibility, agility and strength. It helps with sight reading too. They are graded so that you're not confronted with daunting exercises to start with. I have had the book for only a few weeks so difficult to say how much it will improve my performance. However, as an adult learner, it's giving me the training I need to practise finger autonomy and agility which I sorely need.You will not regret getting a book so cheap and so well-conceived.

This is a great book for finger (and brain) exercises. I wrote easy because each section is short and simple and I simply have to follow what's written. Meanwhile, it trains my fingers and brain so a double bonus for me!

I have only started with this book two weeks ago but I can already see first benefits of those simple 5-finger exercises.The strength of my fingers and dexterity have noticeably improved as well as mind focus/concentration. Note, these exercises must be performed SLOW and consistently and at least 10 times each exercise with each hand before you move on to another one.You will need some patience for this book but if you are ready to take time for the benefit of strength, flexibility and basic sight-reading (which works well in my case) then this book will help you a lot.Highly recommended product.

Good Piano exercises which can help with rhythm and common patterns in music

I have never found a better book for scales more complete and all compacted I simply adore it.

This is kind of a hard review, since the book itself is good and I think offers good advice that is benefiting me as a beginner and it's so cheap that, sure, why not right? But at the same time, there is really nothing in here that you couldn't learn from a 5 minute YouTube video on warm up practice routines, or frankly, with a tiny bit of your own imagination. I'm not even entirely sure it's that beneficial for sight reading as most of the patterns are just natural, obvious progressions. I'm sure the information is solid enough, I just feel like this has stood the test of time because it comes from an era when students couldn't just fire up YouTube and learn a finger strengthening routine in all of two minutes like we can now, but maybe that's just me.