| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Levine vs. Halberstadt (continued) | |
| scotward57 -- 06/03/2005, 23:26:42 -- #14511 | |
| I think this is a subject worthy of it's own thread. While the Levine books are considered more advanced, the Halberstadt book is not just a "beginner's" book. It ties together concepts that Levine leaves out. The two really work well together. My only problem with the Halberstadt book is that it feels disorganized and strays too far from conventional style of jazz instruction literature. I know a book entitled "Metaphors..." isn't going to be some straight-forward textbook, but I found myself wishing that Halberstadt would just get to the point in many spots. Additionally, I did not care for the way the author formatted sections and chapters in the book. There seems to be a lack of a cohesive logic or a theme that the reader could follow. I had no such trouble with the Levine books. But Halberstadt answers a lot of questions that Levine fails to answer IMO. For example, while Levine does attempt to explain basic fingerings in the Jazz Piano book, Halberstadt does a much better job with providing the reader with exercises that helps explain the question "What fingerings do I use?". Also, Halberstadt's Chapter 20 - Notes That Work - is a very well-written account of the different schools of thought for learning improvisation (scales vs. chord tones vs. licks vs. melody paraphrasing vs. transcribing). The information in that chapter alone is priceless. The Levine books, on the other hand, are more advanced and is the work of a savvy jazz veteran. The chapters are logically laid out and the musical examples are top-notch. Everything Levine attempts to explain is within the context of "what the jazz greats played". So Levine's book has that sense of authenticity that Halberstadt lacks. The only shortcomings of the Levine books, IMO, is his explanation of the blues and an unnecessary hangup about using harmonic minor scales over minor ii-V-i chord progressions. Your thoughts... | |
| Jazz+ -- 06/04/2005, 02:26:52 -- #14522 | |
| Levine's book is disorganized, IMO. And he leaves out so may jazz piano textures along the way. | |
| Scot -- 06/04/2005, 09:34:11 -- #14534 | |
| They are both extremely different books. I've gotten some great material out of both of them, and it would be difficult to choose between the two. One thing I like about Levine's book is of course it's focused on jazz piano, so he goes over neat harmony tricks and stuff that I've been able to use in my solo and group playing. I'm talking about the Jazz Piano book, not the Jazz Theory book btw. | |
| CynBad -- 06/04/2005, 15:37:51 -- #14541 | |
| I have used both of the books, and they're completely different. I don't think you can directly compare apples and oranges. The Levine book is more of a Jazz Piano Course; Halberstadt's explores his unique ways of learning, practicing and teaching -- and thinking. I've learned from very important things from Randy that I never learned anywhere else, including how to practice and learn tunes very effectively, how to practice your STATE OF MIND as well, how to develop improvisation ability, etc. We are all different, and everyone learns differently. Randy and his book filled a lot of gaps for me. I think both of those books are great, for different reasons, and the Halberstat book even refers the reader to the Levine book on subjects like voicings. No one book is going to teach you to play jazz, nor one teacher. | |
| shrock -- 06/04/2005, 17:49:02 -- #14544 | |
| whats the name of hishalberstat's book? | |
| Scot -- 06/04/2005, 19:05:34 -- #14550 | |
| Metaphors for the Jazz Musician I believe. You can find it at: http://www.musicnotes.com/affiliate_redir.asp?sid=631&ppn=bkshmetaphors | |
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