Ukulele Expressions: Illustrated Ukulele Fingerstyle Etudes for the Picking Hand recently received a 5 Star Review from Readers’ Favorite. This is a book review and contest site for authors by authors. You can read the review below or check out the page on Readers’ Favorite here. If you are an author, check out Readers’ Favorite for book reviews, contests, and more.
This post contains an affiliate link, meaning I receive a small commission from any purchases made.
Reviewed by Diana Lopez for Readers’ Favorite
Music is an art that allows us to relax and enjoy the moment, and Susan Montgomery has a motivating story to tell readers about the ukulele. She liked to play music and although she injured her left hand, it didn’t discourage her from playing. Instead, she focused on improving her one-handed skills and composed musical pieces with relaxing melodies. This inspired her to write Ukulele Expressions: Illustrated Ukulele Fingerstyle Etudes for the Picking Hand. Etudes are short compositions designed to improve a technique. Susan used the concept to create her one-handed Etudes. Her book demonstrates her creative nature through her paintings and compositions.
Susan Montgomery is a multifaceted person with a creative mind who shares with us her skills as an author, composer, and painter. Ukulele Expressions is well organized. Susan first recounts her history and explains basic music theory. She then demonstrates her artistic side through paintings and sheet music. All the illustrations are colorful and focus on nature. The music she composed is relaxing and the sheet music is in both TAB and standard notation. This allows beginners to play the melodies more easily. With these arrangements, you don’t need to know how to read music to play the ukulele, although she explains the procedure in detail. She includes a short explanation of musical symbols and hand positions. I recommend this book for beginners and intermediate levels alike.