This collection is much better than many other sheet music books that I have. It contains famous, lovely, easy to play melodies of the richness of Italian music, like La Dona e Mobile, Come Back to Sorrento, O Sole Mio, and many others. If you are not a master pianist, and you wish to quickly entertain your audience, this is the book for you.

These pieces are mostly quite easy to play, and so are suited to beginners, beginners at dueting, or people who just want some fun things to play with a friend that won't need too much work to get going.

The pieces are quite short, only a couple are longer than a page, and cover a big range of styles - themes from classics, folk songs and jazz. Also, Agay has made the bars line up for the Primo and Secondo parts (doesn't seem like much until you play a duet without that and have to write the bar numbers on each part).

Tunes include: Oh Come All Ye Faithful, The Harmonious Blacksmith, All The Pretty Little Horses, The Trout, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Fasination, and themes from classics and operas.

I bought this book when I wanted to advance in my playing, it is graded , and gives great introduction to various styles of playing , and less known romantic composers. also it has beautiful pieces like "Scottish Legend"

These two volumes are very good books to have as a piano teacher. It is a wonderful reference book for those with a lot of education in music but also makes a good learning tool for those with limited education. One great perk is that even though it is only a comprehensive guide and does not go too deeply into any subject, it provides dozens of recommended reading lists for every subject. The first volume has piano performance and theory lingo. There is also a section on teaching techniques for students or every age or ability including a chapter about teaching handicapped students. The second volume has helpful lists and descriptions of method books and piano repertory available (although I was a little disappointed at the limited amount of method books listed). It also delves into different styles of music, pedegogy, and even has a chapter on construction and care of the piano. I am glad to have this book not only for the information it has in it but also for the recommendations on how to get more information on any subject you are most interested in as a piano teacher.

Good book for beginners-intermediate learners.To be a very good one it lacks,however,a CD with the songs recorded.A reference to the speed in the metronome would also be helpful.

A teacher gave this book to me as a child. Now, many years later, I've started playing again and I STILL love this book. The pieces are difficult enough to be interesting, with some sophisticated sounds, yet there are enough downright easy arrangements (3-4 in the beginning of the book) that you shouldn't get too frustrated. This is not a beginning, learning-to-play book, but you don't need to have any background in the blues. My biggest complaint is that most songs do not have the words, even when I know they exist. Some songs have words, and all songs have chords listed. I only recently looked at the back of the book and realized that there are many more in the Joy series. I've tried a few, and so far they are all interesting and right at my level. Also note that there is a Joy of Boogie and Blues, Book 2.

This is the second time I've bought this book; I completely wore out my first copy. It has an excellent selection of music from Baroque to Modern, including several pieces that are familiar to most music lovers. Finger suggestions are provided, to the extent of being helpful, but not distracting. In fact, most of the editing has been judicious. This volume will be used and enjoyed for years as the performer will come back to it after having advance to higher levels.

I am very pleased with this book. It includes a wonderful variety of good old fashioned Irish songs (such as "Irish Eyes are Smiling", "The Irish Washerwoman", "Danny Boy", "The Kerry Dance" and "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral" just to mention a few) and are arranged with the beginner in mind. 37 songs are contained in this 80 page book.

Any beginner interested in Irish music would appreciate this book. Though, I am no critic, I would suggest this to all interested.

this is a great book for those who are just starting out. It is easy to understand and gives you a full review on all of the major classical composers. It is a good pocket book.

if you like classicle music and you're just starting out, then this book is for you! It's easy and edited well, making it simple to play but it doesn't loose it's classicle theme.