Indian Rāgas for Piano Made Easy (2020 edition)

Description

“Indian Rāgas for Piano Made Easy” New second edition (January 2020) – now with two additional new rāgas. 

Take your first steps in Indian Classical Music with 8 Indian rāgas reimagined for Easy Piano Contents: Rāgas Latangi, Madhuvanti & Todi (each in 3 versions), Rāgas Vachaspati, Patdeep, Desh, Malhar* & Chayanat* (*New to this edition). 

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This book is a collection of eight Indian rāgas (5 Hindustani and 3 Carnatic), re-imagined for piano, and simplified for fledgling pianists (both children and adults). The purpose is to provide an introductory experience of classical Indian music-making in an easy, hands-on way at a piano, offering a very accessible first encounter with improvisation. It is designed for near-beginners through to early intermediate players, and can be used as a stepping stone to the 258-page book for more advanced pianists: “How to Play Indian Sitar Rāgas on a Piano”

Videos and recordings of each piece in this book are available free at www.pianoraga.com, where you’ll also find recordings of the left hand parts of the first three rāgas – to allow you to practise just the melody with a recorded backing. Indian rāgas (or raags) have an extraordinary musical heritage dating back several centuries (from the area that is now India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) – a truly unique musical genre of fascinating melodic beauty and rhythmic intricacy – freely combining elaborate composed melodies with carefully rehearsed improvisation. 

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The first edition “Indian Raags for Piano Made Easy” was published in 2018. This second edition (2020) differs from the first edition in four main ways: 1) spellings of some musical terms from Indian classical music have been updated to conform to more widely recognised academic usage: most notably, raag is now rendered rāga. 2) Two additional rāgas have been added to the six in the first edition. 3) Some entirely optional suggested fingerings have been added. 4) There is some additional guidance on how to approach the free tempo ālāpa section of each rāga – with fully-notated ‘free’ rhythms which some teachers may find helpful.

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REVIEWS of 1st Edition (“Indian Raags for Piano Made Easy” 2018): 

“… immediately accessible and enjoyable … utterly enchanted … a fabulously colourful and rich new sound world … a brilliant boon … this stunning music … an essential purchase … HIGHLY R*E*COMMENDED” Andrew Eales, Piano Dao —– 

“… a wonderfully approachable insight into Indian music…” Fiona Lau, Music Teacher Magazine —– 

“A Very Out-of-the-Box Book for the Improv-Challenged Pianist … extremely accessible …” Natalie Weber, Music Matters —– 

“…intriguing, attractive and engaging…” Frances Wilson, A Piano Teacher Writes —– 

“…exposure to the actual practice of this music will leave a valuable bit of programming in my neural circuits that will enhance my musical thinking and ability to appreciate other musics. …highly recommended.” Allan Cronin, New Music Buff