We piano teachers spend so much time working with students on finger technique. What about the feet? Here's a method suitable for intermediate and advanced students! Even elementary students can benefit from the first exercises, and gradually progress through the method over the succeeding years. Informative and insightful, this comprehensive book presents pianists with lessons for developing an artful pedal technique. Features include exercises to develop control of the damper pedal at various depths; and lessons in playing with such techniques as syncopated pedal, simultaneous pedal, flutter pedal, and legatissimo pedal. An entire unit discusses the stylistic principles of applying the pedal to Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic, and Contemporary music. Examples are provided from the music of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, Bartok, and others. Examples from the music of North American composers such as Samuel Barber and Aaron Copland are also found in this unique volume. Highly recommended.

A practical series containing five sets of a dozen exercises each. These technical exercises, each named for a different physical exercise, are meant to be done each day before practicing. The trademark stick figures add character to each exercise. The accompanying CDs and General MIDI Disks make practicing fun.

Publisher Description:
The Exploring Piano Classics: A Masterworks Method for Developing Pianists series pairs motivating performance repertoire with thoughtful technical studies. Each level contains a Repertoire book with CD and a Technique book, both with convenient page-by-page correlations. When used together, the books give students a deep understanding of the art of music, performance practices, and the necessary skills to play the piano with technical ease. The Technique books are designed to give students a highly structured program of technical development. They include basic keyboard patterns (five-finger patterns, scales, chords, cadences, and arpeggios in the major and minor keys found in the Repertoire books), exercises and etudes, and other necessary technical drills for mastering each piece in the Repertoire books. Suggestions for efficient practice are also included.

The Exploring Piano Classics: A Masterworks Method for Developing Pianists series pairs motivating performance repertoire with thoughtful technical studies. Each level contains a Repertoire book with CD and a Technique book, both with convenient page-by-page correlations. When used together, the books give students a deep understanding of the art of music, performance practices, and the necessary skills to play the piano with technical ease. The Repertoire books include pieces from the major style periods, selected and graded based on festival, competition, and examination lists from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Background information on each style period, its instruments, composers, and the music itself is included. The CD recordings of the repertoire are performed by internationally known clinician and teacher Nancy Bachus. Level 1 features historical notes on the composers and actual classical pieces written by famous composers such as Satie, Gurlitt, Hook, Haydn, Bartok and more.

The Exploring Piano Classics: A Masterworks Method for Developing Pianists series pairs motivating performance repertoire with thoughtful technical studies. Each level contains a Repertoire book with CD and a Technique book, both with convenient page-by-page correlations. When used together, the books give students a deep understanding of the art of music, performance practices, and the necessary skills to play the piano with technical ease. The Repertoire books include pieces from the major style periods, selected and graded based on festival, competition, and examination lists from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Background information on each style period, its instruments, composers, and the music itself is included. The CD recordings of the repertoire are performed by internationally known clinician and teacher Nancy Bachus. The Preparatory level is an introduction and features easy to follow pictures and diagrams which teach the students how to learn proper technique and proper keyboard etiquette.

Fingerpower offers short, progressive technic exercises for students of all ages. Equal attention is given to both hands. The series may be used with all piano and keyboard methods. The Primer book, at the elementary level, features exercises employing blocked and broken thirds, easy thumb crossings, legato and staccato, melody and accompaniment, sharps and flats and simple cross hand patterns. The exercises in Level 1, at the late elementary level, feature blocked and broken triads; broken thirds, fourths and fifths; legato and staccato; phrase development; rhythmic variety and 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures. Level 2, at the early intermediate level, covers ascending and descending trills, chords, chromatic scales, contrary motion, thumb crossings, hand expansion, 6/8 time, syncopation and wrist rotation. Level 3, at the intermediate level, covers chord inversions, hand stretching, interlocking hands, legato thirds, sixteenth notes and rests, and sustaining each of the five fingers in both hands. Level 4, at the late intermediate level, covers chromatic hand contractions, finger expansion, grace notes, legato triads and thirds, scales in contrary motion, thumb passages, tremolo and two-octave arpeggios. Level 5, at the early advanced level, covers arpeggios in parallel and contrary motion, ascending and descending broken octaves, diatonic and chromatic octaves, finger repetition, legato sixths, and sustained octaves and thirds with tremolo. Finally, Level 6 at the advanced level, offers major and minor scales and arpeggios in all keys, melodic and broken chord patterns, chromatic broken chord inversions, major preludes in all keys and minor preludes in all keys.

The exercises in Hanon for the Developing Pianist are compiled from Charles-Louis Hanon's classic book The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises. These exercises have enjoyed tremendous popularity since their debut, and are still the most widely used technical studies in the pianist's library today. Hanon (1820-1900) espoused the most advanced pedagogical thoughts of his time, and sought through his exercises to codify these ideas into a system for strengthening the fingers equally. His ingenious exercises continue to have great merit today for developing finger independence and agility. This book includes informative historical and biographical facts, and retains composer comments and practice instructions from the original edition. Phillip Keveren's orchestrated accompaniments (available on both CD and General MIDI disk) feature a variety of engaging styles - from Baroque to Jazz - and are sure to motivate students to play their best. Both practice and performance tempos are included for each exercise in the book.

The Virtuoso Pianist first appeared in 1873, won a silver medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1878 and since the time of Hanon's death in 1900, it has become one of the standards of piano technique. Part 1 offers early intermediate to intermediate level exercises engraved on two pages, showing a fingering on every note of the first system. This particular edition of Part 1 also includes six variations adaptable to any of the exercises and little known biographical information. Part 2 introduces the core of piano technique. It begins with a continuation of the exercises found in Part 1, gradually introduces exercises designed to prepare the student for playing scales, covers the twelve major scales with their harmonic and melodic minor scales, major and minor arpeggios, chromatic scales and arpeggios of the diminished seventh and dominant seventh. The Complete volume includes Parts 1 through 3. Part 3 contains advanced technical exercises to develop the skills required to play the most difficult piano literature. Octave playing is especially emphasized in Part 3.

A great new collection of original jazz studies and study pieces, spanning a host of jazz idioms from blues, big band, gospel, ballad and traditional styles. These carefully composed studies show a broad range of techniques including left and right hand chord shapes, larger hand stretches, more complex rhythms, blue notes, ornaments and chromatic phrasing. Book 1 introduces swing rhythms, anticipation and syncopation. Book 2 introduces repeated harmonic patterns combined with heavy melodic and rhythmic improvisation.

Because Hanon's studies are so important, editors Allan Small and Morton Manus have compiled this crucial edition with early intermediate-level students in mind: the exercises are cut in half, hands are placed two octaves apart and eighth notes are substituted for the original sixteenths. Junior Hanon includes the complete Book 1 and excerpts from Books 2 and 3 of C. L. Hanon's famous studies, The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises, arranged in a simplified and condensed format. Alfred's Junior Hanon now makes Hanon's work accessible to most students.