This wonderful anthology presents a fascinating survey of music by African composers, both those living in Africa and those now resident elsewhere in the world. The music, much of which is published here for the first time, includes a kaleidoscope of different styles, moods, genres, and colours. You will find works influenced by the blues, jazz, and ragtime and works built on exotic scales, African folk-tunes, and drumming rhythms. The volumes are graded, ranging from beginner (Vol. 1) to advanced (Vol. 5). They provide exciting material for pianists just beginning their studies and for those who are looking for new and exciting recital repertoire.

(Schirmer Performance Editions). Schirmer Performance Editions are designed for piano students and their teachers as well as for professional pianists. Pedagogical in nature, these editions offer insightful interpretive suggestions, pertinent fingering, and historical and stylistic commentary. Prepared by renowned artists/teachers, these publications provide an accurate, well-informed score resource for pianists. Beethoven composed 24 bagatelles by definition short trifles in a light vein during his lifetime. This collection contains 14 pieces, including the famous "Fur Elise," which are appropriate for intermediate to early advanced pianists.

A short movement depicting the hibernation of a baby bear cub. 2 minutes.

This ferociously energetic work for two pianos/four hands was inspired by the jungle-dwelling warrior devil of Amazonian Peru known as the saqsampillo. 6 minutes.

Written especially for the older beginner, Pianoworks 1 explains all you need to know to get you started on the piano. It focuses on the traditional concept of learning to play from music but also includes hints on improvisation and playing by ear. At every stage there is an appealing and accessible range of pieces to play, from classical to modern in style, including a number of new pieces by the authors. New ideas are introduced at a steady pace, and examples and exercises reinforce learning and build confidence. There are useful notes on how to approach each piece, and a CD contains performances of all the pieces, accompaniments to play along with, demonstrations, and additional exercises. Pianoworks 1 can be used with a teacher or as a stand-alone resource.

This wonderful anthology presents a fascinating survey of music by African composers, both those living in Africa and those now resident elsewhere in the world. The music, much of which is published here for the first time, includes a kaleidoscope of different styles, moods, genres, and colours. You will find works influenced by the blues, jazz, and ragtime and works built on exotic scales, African folk-tunes, and drumming rhythms. The volumes are graded, ranging from beginner (Vol. 1) to advanced (Vol. 5). They provide exciting material for pianists just beginning their studies and for those who are looking for new and exciting recital repertoire.

A piece a week Piano Grade 2 is ideal to be used alongside the Improve your sight-reading! series, graded piano books to support and improve the reading skills so fundamental to successful sight-reading. These fun, short pieces are specifically written to be learnt one per week. By continually reading accessible new repertoire, the crucial processing of information and hand-eye coordination are established and improved, developing confident sight-reading. The ability to sight-read fluently is a vital skill, enabling students to learn new pieces more quickly and play with other musicians. The best-selling Improve your sight-reading! series, by renowned educationalist Paul Harris, is designed to develop sight-reading skills, especially in the context of graded exams.

(Willis). A comprehensive step-by-step course specifically designed to suit the needs of all children beginning the piano. Includes: characters and illustrations * writing exercises * sight reading drills * review work * accompaniments * and more.

This is the first comprehensive study of the life and work of Bartolomeo Cristofori, the Paduan-born harpsichord maker and contemporary of Antonio Stradivari, who is credited with having invented the pianoforte around the year 1700 while working in the Medici court in Florence. Through thorough analysis of documents preserved in the State Archive of Florence, Pollens has reconstructed, in unprecedented technical detail, Cristofori's working life between his arrival in Florence in 1688 and his death in 1732. This book will be of interest to pianists, historians of the piano, musicologists, museum curators and conservators, as well as keyboard instrument makers, restorers, and tuners.

(Piano Play-Along). Your favorite sheet music will come to life with the innovative Piano Play-Along series With these book/CD collections, piano and keyboard players will be able to practice and perform with professional-sounding accompaniments. Containing eight cream-of-the-crop songs each, the books feature new engravings, with a separate vocal staff, plus guitar frames, so players and their friends can sing or strum along. The CDs feature two tracks for each tune: a full performance for listening, and a separate backing track that lets players take the lead on keyboard. The high-quality, sound-alike accompaniments exactly match the printed music. Volume 12 includes: Blue Christmas * The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) * Do You Hear What I Hear * Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) * I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus * Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow * Merry Christmas, Darling * Silver Bells.

(Piano Solo Songbook). Method book with repertory for the beginning pianist by renowned teacher, arranger and musicologist, Denes Agay. CD tracks demonstrate how the pieces should sound and, in some cases, provide a piano part with which the student can play along.

Learn to play the electronic keyboard and open up a brand new world of musical knowledge with this exciting method from Alfred. Beginners of all ages can start their journey to a lifetime of musical enjoyment. Beginning with the fundamentals, you will learn about MIDI, position at the keyboard, preparing your instrument for use, and proper hand position. You will then move right along to learning about the different keys on the keyboard and basics of standard musical notation. You will immediately dive into playing notes and transforming them into well-known songs, all while continuing to increase your ever-growing knowledge of reading and understanding standard musical notation and keyboard functions. Throughout the book, you will be introduced to a variety of styles, including pop, rock, country, blues, classics, folk favorites, hymns, spirituals and ragtime and upon completion you will know how to use chord symbols to play from pop sheet music, fake books and lead sheets. This book is for keyboards with automatic rhythms and "single-finger" chords.
The book features the following helpful resources for reference during and after your lessons:
* Explanation of the Circle of 5ths
* Improvising techniques
* Exciting arrangements of "The Entertainer," "Amazing Grace," and many more.
Be your own teacher, and let Alfred be your resource every step of the way.

Piano Time Pieces 1 presents a sparkling selection of pieces in all styles. Here are classical and jazzy pieces, folksongs and specially written tunes, and songs and character pieces of all kinds. Practising the range of techniques and keys introduced in Piano Time 1, these pieces provide a wealth of enjoyable practice and repertoire material for all young pianists.

Piano Time Pieces 2 presents a sparkling selection of pieces in all styles. Here are classical and jazzy pieces, folksongs and specially written tunes, and songs and character pieces of all kinds. Practising the range of techniques and keys introduced in Piano Time 2, these pieces provide a wealth of enjoyable practice and repertoire material for all young pianists.

French Language Edition. This easy step-by-step method emphasizes correct playing habits and note reading through interval recognition. Lesson Book Level 1A begins by teaching basic keyboard topography and fluent recognition of white key names in relation to black keys. It focuses on simple rhythms and prepares students for intervallic reading with entertaining songs that focus on "same," "stepping up" and "stepping down." It then introduces lines and space notes in treble and bass clefs, melodic and harmonic intervals of 2nds, 3rds, 4ths and 5ths, and graduates to reading on the grand staff. It also introduces the flat and sharp signs. This course is most effective when used under the direction of a piano teacher or experienced musician.

Jazz, Rags & Blues, Books 1 through 5 contain original solos for late elementary to early advanced-level pianists that reflect the various styles of the jazz idiom. An excellent way to introduce your students to this distinctive American contribution to 20th century music. Available separately (item #18115), the CD includes dynamic recordings of each song in Books 1-3 of this series.

The Art of Ballet Accompaniment: A Comprehensive Guide addresses every imaginable topic and challenge that a ballet accompanist—whether a novice or a more experienced practitioner—might encounter. More than just a facile anthology of accessible music, this inclusive guide details all aspects of playing for ballet, including a complete manual for editing piano literature to accompany ballet technique classes. Author Gerald R. Lishka encourages ballet accompanists to be imaginative, creative, independent artists who can also communicate effectively with dance instructors. In addition, he clarifies the necessary balance between the use of existing musical scores and the art of improvisation. Featuring a new foreword by Kyra Nichols, an expanded section on Lishka's personal philosophy, an updated section on barre from Alison Hennessey, and over 100 music examples, The Art of Ballet Accompaniment offers invaluable advice for all levels of pianists and accompanists.

Shura Cherkassky's life story, like his piano playing, is provocative and captivating. At his death in 1995, Cherkassky was considered one of history's greatest pianists, as well as the last direct link to the Romantic piano tradition of Chopin, Liszt, and Anton Rubinstein. Cherkassky's story merits telling not only for his musical achievements but also for the inspiration he provided by demonstrating tenacity, integrity, common sense, and uncommon courage. Cherkassky began his concert playing life in Ukrainian Odessa at a time of lethal civil strife. Escaping with his parents to America, the child prodigy came under the tutelage of famed pianist Josef Hofmann, whose unfailing personal and professional assistance continued for more than twenty years. Cherkassky overcame poverty, prejudice against his Jewish origins, and unhappiness from his ambivalence over his homosexuality to forge an impressive touring and recording career, an enormous musical repertoire, and an intriguing personality both on stage and off. From his sensational 1923 American debut tour to sold-out concerts on six continents, Cherkassky retained his brilliance throughout a seventy-five year professional career. As a close friend for his last twenty years, author Elizabeth Carr traveled with Cherkassky on tour, attending recording and rehearsal sessions and watching him practice, plan programs, and cope with pianos, acoustics, conductors, and orchestras. Her role as confidante results in a keen understanding of Cherkassky both as a human being and a performer. Through observations, anecdotes, sixteen pages of photos, and personal correspondence reprinted in the book, this biography offers extensive research never before published, and an intimate look at the man and his music.

Chopin's oeuvre holds a secure place in the repertoire, beloved by audiences, performers, and aesthetes. In Harmony in Chopin, David Damschroder offers a new way to examine and understand Chopin's compositional style, integrating Schenkerian structural analyses with an innovative perspective on harmony and further developing ideas and methods put forward in his earlier books Thinking about Harmony (Cambridge, 2008), Harmony in Schubert (Cambridge, 2010), and Harmony in Haydn and Mozart (Cambridge, 2012). Reinvigorating and enhancing some of the central components of analytical practice, this study explores notions such as assertion, chordal evolution (surge), collision, dominant emulation, unfurling, and wobble through analyses of all forty-three Mazurkas Chopin published during his lifetime. Damschroder also integrates analyses of eight major works by Chopin with detailed commentary on the contrasting perspectives of other prominent Chopin analysts. This provocative and richly detailed book will help transform readers' own analytical approaches.

Rock & Pop Studies: Piano, written by rock & pop music experts, comprise 88 studies that develop all aspects of pop piano playing through focused technical work. Styles covered include Motown, metal, the blues, soul, funk, ska, reggae, disco, country, indie, dance, classic rock, synth pop and many more. Each study features accompanying teaching tips and further listening ideas, with a focus on syncopation, different basslines, gospel chord progressions, classic rock arpeggios, twelve bar blues - and how to rock out like Jerry Lee Lewis! Suitable for the established beginner to intermediate level piano and keyboard players, this progressive collection helps players learn and understand the many different challenges of popular piano playing.