Wicked - Piano/Vocal Arrangement Reviews

• Great score, arrangements! (melody in the piano part)

  
  By A2BIZA0883H8MA on 2004-07-08
  After waiting for so long to finally get this book, I've discovered it to be well worth the wait.

  Stephen Schwartz is releasing two versions of vocal selections for wicked, this version containing the melody interpolated into the piano part, and another book that is billed as a professional acompaniment without the melody necessarily built into the piano arrangement. This led many to speculate that the "with melody" version would therefore be much easier and less true to the music. Although I haven't seen the other book yet as it has yet to be released as I write this, you should definitely know that this book has not one "easy" arrangement. The arrangers have done a really excellent job of keeping the parts interesting while building in the melody. For instance, "Defying Gravity," the amazing Act-One closing number, is particularly well done, and if you can work through the key-- (it remains, as in the show, in Db) you will be VERY satisfied with the richness and fullness of the sound.

  Schwartz has adapted the songs for use as solos or (where applicable) duets, removing longer instrumental breaks, trimming ensemble sections, and providing some new lyrics and endings to make the songs work really well for this new format. This in my opinion is yet another reason to purchase the book, as it gives fans of the show a way to interpret small sections of some of the songs differently.

  Sometimes I do wish some cuts could have been avoided (notably I miss the wonderful "We deserve each other" theme that appears on the cast album intersecting "Dancing through Life" and the counterpoint melody "Who's that mage..." in "One Short Day"), but Schwartz is right, it would have impeded the creation of solo pieces to put those in.

  The score for Wicked is definitely not to be missed, it really is a must have-- (especially while I wait patiently for the imminent release of the other version of the score!)

  Overall, the music is wonderful, the arrangements remain challenging, but are extremely well edited and contain chord diagrams to help you along as well. Well done.
  
  

• Great arrangments of great music

  
  By AKGM3YUZYLR72 on 2004-10-01
  The piano arrangements in this book are very faithful to the orchestrations. If you're like me, you ordered this book because you are familiar with the recording; you will not be disappointed with the accompaniments. A couple of the songs have been edited down, presumably to avoid the selections becoming too long. Very good buy.
  
  

• These keys are hard to play, but I love the music!

  
  By A11J6PLQ6DPDIO on 2004-11-13
  I am musical theater singer who loves to buy sheet music and sing through all the songs I love. This past year I have purchased Avenue Q, Wicked, and Assasins on sheet music. Unfortunately I am an intermediate pianist, so I often find myself player the right hand melody line and adding in as much of the left as I can. All these new musicals have such difficult keys, and they change constantly throughout the songs.
  I can also recommend "Voice Lessons To Go" by Vaccarino. They are voice lessons on CD. They have saved me a ton of money in voice lessons. I may need the money for some more piano lessons to play these scores!
  
  

• Wicked Piano/Vocal Selections

  
  By A28E8JVUNHMOEQ on 2006-04-24
  I bought this book because a friend gave me the Wicked CD and I fell in love with the show. This book is a selection of the most popular songs from the show, in a format where a singer could perform them with only piano accompaniment. Most of the songs are pretty close to the versions that you hear on the CD, but some have been altered to make them easier to perform as solos or audition pieces. Most of the speaking and chorus parts (like in "Popular" and "One Short Day") have been removed and some of the songs have new endings. In "Dancing Through Life", the second half of the song has been cut so the entire song can be sung by only one person. Also, the part in "The Wizard and I" where Elphaba has a vision also appears in "Defying Gravity". Lastly, "For Good" is written so it can be sung as a duet or a solo.
  
  This book is good for anyone looking to sing these songs as a solo, duet or for an audition. The piano part is a simplified version of the orchestral score with the melody line usually occurring in the right hand and it is easy enough for almost any accompanist to play. However, if you are looking for an exact translation of the songs from the show, you will be disappointed. Otherwise, this is a good buy for any Wicked fan who wants to perform their favorite songs from this fantastic show!
  
  

• Wicked

  
  By A2SNEVKJLK9OQQ on 2005-06-14
  Wicked is my favorite musical. The music is inspiring. And although at times the music can be dificult to master, it's nothing that a little practice can't solve.
  
  
• Wicked is Wicked
  By ALK9BO6E2L2P2 on 2005-10-17
  I bought this for my girls, because they are currently obsessed with Wicked. My oldest is taking piano lessons and is going to sing one of the songs for a talent show. She says this is the best book in our collection.
  
  
• Wonderful!
  By A1NUD1TRCQCTVV on 2007-01-19
  I am very pleased with this product. As a beginner, I am playing the vocal piece and will move into the piano piece once my skills improve. Although I'm not a singer, I enjoy having the lyrics to all the songs. The wonderful photos (most in color) are also a plus. Many of them are the same as those included in the Wicked CD booklet, but here they are full-sized and look fantastic. This is a great product for anyone who's a fan of the show or who simply enjoys playing or singing show tunes.
  
  
• Wicked Piano Music
  By ALRF2H9SYZ859 on 2007-01-04
  The piano book is fun to look through - with photos from the original Broadway cast. The songs are well laid out and seem to be easy enough for an intermediate piano player. They also include the chords for guitar and the melody line. Very weel laid out.
  
  
• So good, but so hard!
  By A2IRNBQU3AZUZS on 2007-05-04
  Five stars to this book because the songs are beautifully adapted and true to the musical. However, I bought this book so I could tinker with it on my piano, and it is way too hard for me to get anywhere! I played piano for 8 years as a kid, and am now just a rusty beginner/intermediate player. I thought I could eventually get these songs down by playing them over and over, but after flipping through everything I think the only near-manageable song is "For Good." My favorite, "No Good Deed," is completely impossible and I'll just have to listen to my CD. I would suggest this book for the highly advanced pianist. As for me, I'm going to go check out that easy piano version.
  
  Note: The songs are edited to make more sense when sung by just one or two people. This significantly changes some parts though - I was disappointed to find that the entire "we deserve each other" and "I hope you're happy" segments were deleted from "Dancing Through Life" and "Defying Gravity," respectively.
  
  
• hard, but worth it
  By A3KC1O8FKP0O5B on 2005-05-18
  I consider myself a decent pianist, and these arrangements are fairly difficult. ie: several flats, sharps and key changes. But I am recommending it because they're very well done. The music is fantastic, addicting, and so fun to play. The musical is one of the most exciting in years to come to broadway. I saw it in April 05' and the new cast member, Shoshawna Bean, who plays the wicked witch was a show stopper. She was fabulous.
  
  
• Good Arrangement
  By A1INDX8EW34GQ0 on 2005-10-17
  Its a good arrangement and extremely challenging. I'm enjoying learning the music immensely BECAUSE it is so very difficult. I highly reccommend this piano book to those that know what they're about musicall, but don't mess with this if you're just a beginner.
  
  
• Unexpected Surprises
  By A5ON0BWWYXQT7 on 2007-01-09
  The music is not overly difficult to play. What surprised me was that I received FIVE copies of it. I know music books are costly so I was expecting the $12.00+ to be for one book. I did not realize was the $12.00 I paid was for 5 copies OF THE SAME BOOK.
  
  
• Good Piano Arrangements
  By A1GZPFFYA535FV on 2007-01-09
  I really liked the Easy Piano Arrangment book of "Wicked." The keys and rhythms are very user friendly and good for the young piano player. I have also purchased the harder piano arrangement version, but found some of the keys to be trickier and therefore somewhat more frustrating to play. I also like having the words included, so someone could easily sing the part as a vocal solo or just a piano solo. Overall it is nice arrangment of some trickier modern music.
  
  
• Wicked- Piano/vocal arrangement
  By A1PJDQEUOVVSNN on 2007-01-11
  Very well arranged. Written in the same keys as the actual songs from the musical.
  
  
• Wicked - not the best
  By A3LA1LOA49DIB on 2007-12-26
  I love the Broadway show and adore listening to the CD. But the music in this book is very difficult to play and enjoy. I'm an advanced intermediate who just plays the piano for fun, and so far, this hasn't been fun! I'll keep practicing - maybe it will become more enjoyable.
  
  
• Great musical, great score!
  By AT5JLU5PTRES0 on 2006-01-19
  Anyone who wants to enjoy the music of this production at home will enjoy this book for piano and voice. It makes the tunes very accessible. Thank you.
  
  
• What is this Feeling? LOVING
  By A1PQ8CD5445CL0 on 2006-02-25
  There have been a lot of different feelings on this book. One of the first pages is a note from the composer Stephen Schwartz, giving a discription of why some of the songs are altered a bit. He goes on to give his e-mail address if you need further assistance (very cool).
  Now Of course any songs taken away from a full orchestra, to perform on your own or with a small group, are going to need some changes. My skills at reading and playing music are limited and this is deffinately not an EZ play book but it's great just the same, and knowing Stephen Schwartz himself worked on it and not some schmo from who-knows-where makes it worth it.
  
  
• "wicked" is good!
  By A1M3HHEE0Y5JCE on 2006-08-23
  stephen schwartz has found a way to incorporate "godspell", "pippin" and "the hunchback of notredame" and top them all! i've played many scores and never have i read liner notes as laid out here explaining his reworking of the pieces for individual vocal performance. a great insight. buy it!
  
  
• Wonderfully Wicked
  By A2J433M7MGO140 on 2006-11-04
  This Piano/Vocal Arrangement is wonderful. The songs from the show are set here for solo voice and piano. It is wonderful for voice students high school age and up, for professionals looking for audition or recital pieces, and for people who just want to play and or sing the music at home.
  
  
• GREAT SING ALONG BOOK!
  By A3953W115WUU71 on 2006-11-10
  I ORDERED THIS BOOK SO THAT I COULD LEARN THE LYRICS AND LEARN HOW TO SING THE SONGS OF WICKED!! IT'S VERY HELPFUL AND HAS WONDERFUL PICTURES IN IT FROM THE MUSICAL AS WELL! IF YOU LOVE WICKED, YOU'LL HAVE TO HAVE THIS!!
  
  - JENN S.
  
  
• FOR ALL PAINO PLAYERS!!
  By A6C8HYPCDATTS on 2007-05-12
  this book is great for all piano players. it is fun and easy. also, it has the lyrics so you can sing along while you play. this book is the best.
  
  
• 5 Stars for Accomplished Players - 2 Stars for Beginners
  By A1JZ4LJQNNW0EP on 2007-08-06
  Pieces seem to be very true to the original score. Four and Five sharps or flats is common. Multiple changes in time signature within the pieces. Great if you're comfortable playing difficult music.
  
  
• "Wicked" songbook
  By on 2004-09-09
  I bought this book about two weeks ago. I had never actually seen Wicked, but I recieved the soundtrack as a gift. I enjoy the music very much, and I found out shortly after that there was a piano and vocal selection book. I like to sing, and I play the piano as well. So, I bought the book, and I am very happy with my purchase. The piano pieces are challenging, which I think is a good thing. My only negative about this book is that I wish some of the cuts hadn't been made, even though it does make the selections easier to perform. However, I am still very happy with this book and I give it 5 stars.
  
  
• Great arrangements of Wicked soundtrack!
  By A2LQ1548FD845H on 2006-02-21
  If you're familiar with the Wicked soundtrack, you know that there are a number of songs with lots of dialogue -- things that are hard to translate to a sing-able performance for those of us non-broadway types. This book does an excellent job of providing fun piano pieces (intermediate level) for pianists who love the show, and it provides sing-able versions of the Wicked songs for vocalists. If you're range-challenged, do note that several of the favorite songs (like "Defying Gravity") do require a lot of vocal flexibility.
  
  
• Something to Sing About
  By AXQ43KVNU6TVN on 2006-02-23
  I found the piano/vocal arrangement to be very easy to follow.
  Now, please know I am not a piano player, but I have yet to find an accompianist that had trouble playing the pieces. The vocal arrangements are great and when needed Stephen Schwartz did make the necessary changes so that songs that were duets can be done as solos.
  
  Wicked is one of the best shows to come around in a very long time and I feel like I'm right there in Oz when I get to sing this stuff! (And I don't want to go home!)
  
  
• WICKED Piano/Vocal Arrangement
  By ATZH9NP2LOIQI on 2006-03-10
  Great book! Easy to read with good arrangements from the incredible musical, WICKED. Probably best-appreciated if you have seen the show.
  The "storybook" is great, too! The music and the story work so well together! And, if you read WICKED, the book, you will want to read SON OF A WITCH, as well (by Gregory Maguire).
  
  
• WICKED
  By A120JLJ57QI2R0 on 2006-03-16
  JUST WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. RECEIVED THE VERY NEXT DAY. "COULDN'T BE HAPPIER"
  
  
• Wickedly fun!
  By A28L5B1O7Y9VE1 on 2006-07-22
  If you've seen the play, you will love this book. The arrangements are great as well as fun to play.
  
  
• Wicked piano/vocal arrangements that are 'good.'
  By AUJSD8WITJY5Z on 2006-07-31
  The accompaniment is quite good. It is beyond the intermediate player's skill. Some of the song texts have been altered a bit from the original cast recording to make sense as a stand alone piece. For instance "What is this feeling" utilizes the dueting parts but doesn't include with background chorus. However it still "rocks" and stands alone extremely well.
  
  Highly recommended if you have a super accompanist. What a musical!!!
  
  
• Wicked: Piano/Vocal Arrangement
  By A1FVYDV98HG25K on 2007-01-04
  It's not Easy Piano it's normal, regular, I know how to play the piano, piano. I enjoy this musical. I like Wicked and other books by the same author: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister .. I want to say Gregory Maguire, but names leave me. So yes, all good. =)
  
  

• Wicked (2003 Original Broadway Cast)
• Wicked: The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical
• Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Harper Fiction)
• Sing The Songs of Wicked (Accompaniment)
• Wicked: A New Musical - Easy Piano Selections