Information on Revision History, How to purchase or use this book, Notes for Translators.
By Chuan C. Chang, Updated Feb. 7, 2010Year 2007
Year 2008
Year 2009
Year 2010
Request: to those who have found this material useful, please make an effort to let at least two people know about my web site, so that we can start a chain reaction of ever more people that will be informed of this site.
I need volunteers to translate this book into any language. See "Notes for Translators" below. Please email me at cc88m@aol.com to discuss this matter.
This book is also available at another web site; that page may work better (downloading, navigation, printing) for some readers; however, my Home page is the only site that is always up-to-date.
You can purchase this book at Amazon.com ($25.25, free shipping), or other bookstores (ISBN1419678950), for those who would rather have a printed book. It is also available in
ebook format for Kindle.
Teacher Discounts: I can give 55% discounts to teachers who order in packs of 8 books for $90 per pack, which includes shipping by Priority Mail (USPS, where available), handling, and taxes for both US and abroad. These books can be resold for up to $25 each, or $200/pack (teacher's option). Write check to Chuan C. Chang and send to:
C. C. Chang
16212 Turnbury Oak Dr
Odessa, FL 33556, USA
For credit card orders go to Paypal and log in or, if you don't have a Paypal account, click "continue"; (close the window if you want to cancel the ordering process at any time):
Teachers can use this book as a textbook for teaching practice methods. It can save a lot of time, allowing you to concentrate on teaching musicianship instead of struggling with technique. Good teaching methods will attract more students than you can teach, and help popularize the piano. The Preface is an excellent overview of the whole book and the Testimonials section can give you some idea of students' and teachers' opinions on this book; the References section contains informative reviews of many popular books on Piano.
Students: It is a good idea to bring this book to your teacher's attention. However, don't say things like "why don't you teach TO and why do I need Hanon?" to the teacher; that is disrespectful, inappropriate, and counterproductive - you are not the teacher. Show this book to the teacher and simply ask for an opinion. If you don't have a teacher (not a good idea if you are serious about piano), pick any piece of music you want to learn (that is within your technical skill level) and start practicing it using the methods described here; the methods are arranged roughly in the order in which you will need them as you start learning a new piece. Read the entire book quickly the first time, starting with the Preface which gives a quick overview. Skip any section that you think is not relevant or is too detailed; do not try to understand every concept or to remember anything -- read it like a science fiction novel, mainly for fun -- you just want to get acquainted with the book and get some idea of where certain topics are discussed. Finally, read as much of the Testimonial section as you find interesting. Then re-start from where you think the book gives material that you need; most people will need to read all of Chapter One, sections I and II. Then you can skip around to specific topics that apply to the composition you are learning. If you don't have a clear idea of what compositions to learn, this book cites many examples, from beginner material (Chapter One, III.18) to advanced.
Notes for Translators:
Translators should know some HTML, and be able to provide a site for the web page. The memory requirement of even all potential translations is modest, since each language requires less than 1 MB. Translators are responsible for their own web sites and will need to keep up with the updates. There is plenty of software for comparing updated versions with older versions, so this should not be a problem, but you will need to keep a copy of the older version in your computer, because the older version will disappear from my web site when it is updated.
Translators should preferably be pianists or piano teachers and know something about the piano itself (tuning, regulation, rebuilding). If the translator is deficient in a particular subject, we can find helpers just for that subject, so a lack of total expertise by any one translator is not a problem.
I am writing this book on a voluntary basis and cannot afford to pay translators until some benefactor shows up. I will of course be happy to help with anything I can do to expedite the translation, and will provide a link to the translation in this book.
We are clearly pioneering a unique type of internet book which is the wave of the future, and is really exciting. This book should evolve into the most complete textbook on learning piano that is free, always up-to-date, in which errors are eliminated as soon as detected, and which will be available in all major languages. There is no reason why schools and students have to pay for fundamental textbooks from Arithmetic to Zoology. In the future, they will all be downloadable free. The world economy will be helped enormously by making all educational material free and accessible to everyone. It is simply mind boggling to contemplate the future of education on the internet. Because all you need is a few of the best experts in the world to write the textbook, and other volunteers to translate them, funding requirements are negligible compared to the economic benefits.
END of info section.