Stardew Valley Piano Collections

I am disappointed with these arrangements because they are too difficult for an intermediate pianist. Like the other reviewers have said, the pieces are awkward to play. It takes forever for me to count the letters up from the top or down from the bottom of the staff to get to the notes that are written. There are also several pieces that have 4 or 5 sharps or flats, which I won't even attempt even though I love the songs. I am really upset that I spent money on a book that I can't use.

This piano book has some lovely art and a lot of compositional work behind it, but I was not as impressed as I could have been. When I got this piano book, I was expecting the arrangements to be similar to David Peacock's arrangements in his Undertale and Hollow Knight piano books. Peacock, in my opinion, takes the spirit of the characters (or scenery, depending on the song) and arranges it to fit for piano. This is what I call an "arrangement" instead of a "transcription." This Stardew Valley piano book is closer to the "transcription" category. I found that Bridgham did not imbue much personality into the songs, and did not arrange them very well for a pianist. Most of the songs felt like a piano rehash of the original soundtrack, which might be okay for some, but I was looking for a more original take on the source material. I am by no means a professional, but I have been playing for 12 years, and can play a few songs out of the Undertale and Hollow Knight books, albeit after a solid year or two of practice. Some of the songs in the Stardew book are quite difficult to understand and manipulate my hands around---not well made for piano, in my opinion. Additionally, when Bridgham's own style does come out, it is often confusing and feels "out of character" for the song. Unlike Peacock's arrangements, when I listen to these songs, I feel like I might as well go and listen to the real soundtrack. There was clearly a lot of love put into this book, and I fully appreciate that, but I was still disappointed that the arrangements here were not as well-adapted and original as they could have been.

It was apparent upon opening the book that as the other reviewers have stated, these are advanced piano arrangements. I have a lot of sheet music and books and I would say the arrangements could have been a bit better and not so complex. A more simplified version for beginner or intermediate players would probably be appreciated in addition to this one. Would make this more user friendly to people who aren't an expert with their piano skills. Very pretty book though with nice illustrations. I would also suggest spiral binding as it makes opening the pages to play easier and doesn't cause a crease or damage by trying to keep it open to read while you play.

I bought this for my wife who is learning piano and loves Stardew Valley. I didn't expect the songs to be so advanced! You wouldn't expect the plinky-plunk music that you hear on the game to transpose in to such complex piano music. I've been playing for many years (though, admittedly, only recently started playing again after many years of not playing at all) and I have trouble with a lot of the songs too. If you love the music of Stardew Valley I wouldn't hesitate to get it. Even if it is above your skill level you can use it as inspiration and motivation to practice more!