Please purchase the appropriate text by the 1st class.
- PCL 101-102:
Note: Keyboard Musicianship, Books One and Two are now in their 9th edition.
We use only the 9th edition.
Keyboard Musicianship: Group Piano for Adults, Book One
by James Lyke, Tony Caramia, Reid Alexander, Geoffrey Haydon, and Ron Chioldi, 2009. ISBN 978-1-58874-844-7 (CD Included)
With the 9th edition, we welcome new co-author Dr. Ronald Chioldi who currently teaches at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. Dr. Chioldi earned his DMA degree at the University of Illinois.
The 9th edition has been extensively revised. New and attractive compositions by Tony Caramia and Celine Bussieres-Lessard appear throughout the book. Dr. Reid Alexander has selected many new Baroque, Classic and Romantic pieces to round out the repertoire sections in each chapter. Additions to technical studies and musicianship work have been re-worked and expanded by Dr. Chioldi and the sight reading and transposing sections have been extensively added to by Dr. Lyke.
In addition, Dr. Lyke has arranged many new accompaniments, ensemble pieces, and American song repertoire. The harmonization sections in each chapter have also undergone some revision in an attempt to teach various styles of accompaniment and increase harmonic knowledge. The holiday music section in the Appendix has been expanded with the addition of lead sheets and several new arrangements by Dr. Lyke, Professor Caramia and Dr. Haydon. Dr. Haydon has recast the CD/MIDI tracks in a newer format.
Keyboard Musicianship, Book One promotes all-around musicianship at the keyboard. Students who complete this first year (two-semester) text should be able to use the piano as an aid in their life long work with music, e.g, studying scores, accompanying beginning level students on their instruments, improvising, realizing lead sheets where only melodies and chord symbols are given including both traditional and jazz harmony, using the body in a very natural way while playing and so on.
American popular music is used extensively in solo and ensemble arrangements. This provides a balance to classical repertoire and introduces the great American songwriters to piano students. Solo and ensemble arrangements of tunes by George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern etc. appear throughout the book.
- PCL 103-104:
Keyboard Musicianship: Group Piano for Adults, Book Two
by James Lyke, Tony Caramia, Reid Alexander, Geoffrey Haydon, and Ron Chioldi, 2010.
ISBN 978-1-58874-930-7; (CD included)
With the 9th edition, we welcome new co-author, Ronald Chioldi, who holds a DMA degree from the University of Illinois.
This second year text for students enrolled in college piano classes integrates the study of solo and ensemble repertoire with technical work. Practical piano skills such as sight reading, transposing, score reading, harmonizing of folk and popular melodies, playing chord patterns, rapid analyzing, and improvising round out keyboard study in each chapter. One important new feature of Book Two is the addition of graded vocal and instrumental score reading exercises at the end of the sight reading and transposition sections found in each chapter. In addition, there are many new arrangements of accompaniments and American song repertoire, as well as ensemble works.
Keyboard Musicianship: Book Two includes eight chapters with a review of traditional diatonic and simple chromatic harmony. More advanced concepts of chromatic harmony and jazz harmony are studied and applied. At the conclusion of working through this book, students will have a familiarity with higher numbered chords in jazz harmony (9ths, 13ths, altered chords) as well as experience with lead sheets and voicing jazz chords between the hands. Each chapter starts with new elements and gives the student experience with these elements in repertoire, technic, and all the various keyboard skills such as sight reading, analyzing, improvising etc.
The organization of the book allows flexibility for both instructor and student. Each chapter contains two accompaniments (including vocal accompaniments by the masters), two duets (with teacher and student Parts), two song arrangements by American popular song writers such as Gershwin, Berlin, Kern etc. and eight solos carefully selected for rapid learning by co-author Reid Alexander. The authors are mindful of the various skill levels within each class. Hence, there are easier selections in all areas for the less-skilled pianist. The opposite holds true for those who are more advanced. Musicianship activities and technical work which appear towards the end of each chapter can easily be worked into each chapter earlier on.
Finally, a play along CD containing both audio tracks and embedded Standard MIDI files in General MIDI format is included. Students will likely download the tracks for use on their mp3 players. These tracks have been created by Dr. Geoffrey Haydon to reflect the latest technological innovations in sound production.
PCL 105-106:
- a technique handout will be dispensed in class
