Piano Reviews: Courses, tutors and compilations

Jacobson, Jeanine, ed. Lancaster and Mendoza: Professional Piano Teaching, Vol. 1
Alfred 00-44565, £51.95

Anne Thomas and Frederick Stocken: Graded Keyboard Musicianship, Book Two
OUP £14.95

Maykapar, Samuel, ed. Lew: Pedal Preludes (Selections)
Alfred 00-ELM00048, £6.95

Lushers: Simply Sol-fa
Dogs and Birds/Alfred, £8.95

Various, ed. Mendoza: Essential Keyboard Etudes (Baroque to Modern)
Alfred 00-44704, £16.50

Various, ed. Lancaster and Renfrow: Piano Masterworks for Teaching and Performance, Vol. 1
Alfred 00-44628, £20.50

Various, ed. Mendoza: Classical Solos
Alfred 00-44279, £16.95

Various, ed. Twelsiek and Mohrs: Easy Concert Pieces 3
Schott ED 22549, £12.99

More Than The Score…

Peters EP 73151-62, £5.95 each
Bach, Prelude and Fugue in C
Cage, In a Landscape
Chopin, Prelude No. 4 in E minor
Debussy, Arabesque No. 1
Field, Nocturne No. 5 in B flat
Grieg, Arietta
Mendelssohn, Song without Words No. 1
Mozart, Sonata ‘Facile’ in C, K. 545
Satie, Gnossienne No. 3
Schubert, Impromptu in G flat
Schumann, Reverie
Tchaikovsky, June

Teach anything – music, foreign languages, driving, you name it – in the right order, and pupils will happily respond. Teach ad hoc, and pupils will be not just confused but alienated too. Professional Piano Teaching, designed as ‘a basic text for a first-semester piano pedagogy course,’ supplies an ideal template for systematic teaching, covering rhythm, reading, technique and repertoire for beginners, pre-schoolers and groups alike, plus two areas new in this edition: adults and pop music. A godsend to new teachers, this book should also appeal to experienced ones, especially the ‘business’ chapter. Not cheap but sound, solid and comprehensive.

OUP's Graded Keyboard Musicianship is aimed at three levels, Grades 6 to 8. Each of its five lessons teaches figured bass, score-reading, harmony, transposition and improvisation, with helpful footnotes throughout and six appendices pinpointing every new feature at a glance. Concise and well thought out.

Pedaling, taught or learned ad hoc, was systematically explored by Maykapar, possibly familiar from early-grade lists. Of his 24 Pedal Preludes, 16 appear here with a brief preface. Split-second timing, a valuable skill, is of the essence. Not covered is joining widely separated chords as the hands leave the keyboard, and the luscious effect of pedal-held textures covering several octaves.

Continental Europeans have an enviable facility with tonic sol-fa, rigorously taught in conservatoires. Less popular here, it can be the perfect solution for aural-training teachers seeking to unlock a struggling student's musicality. The compact Simply Solfa album contains 300 short exercises, from can't-miss elementary through to intermediate, plus helpful footnotes. Good value.

Back to basic repertoire with Alfred's Essential Keyboard Etudes, systematically covering Grades 3 to 6, if unexcitingly – the advertised ‘Modern’ element barely clears the 19th century. Ideal for dipping into, not for playing through on-end. Likewise the 100-piece Grades 2 to 5 Piano Masterworks compilation: the sole exciting composer here is Bartók. Alfred's Classical Solos are more advanced but among the overly familiar, only Rachmaninov's Moment Musical Op. 16 No. 5 stands out. Schott's Easy Concert Pieces Vol. 3 is harder, cheaper and – in stretching from Handel to Casella, Seiber and beyond – far more enterprising.

Fresh angles are always welcome, for inquisitive newcomers and potentially jaded teachers alike. Fresh technologies, too – the More Than The Score series ‘draws from material in its Piano Masterworks collection on Tido Music, a revolutionary web resource and iPad app.’ This release comprises 11 old favourites and one oddity in the Cage. The music is framed by three pages of sound and absorbing historical and musical background, from writers of the calibre of James Grimwood and Roy Howat. Even old hands will learn something from these. Fingering, pedaling, courtesy accidentals or other editorial help is discussed generally, not specified in-situ. Expensive purely as sheet music (especially the Chopin), any one title would nevertheless provide good masterclass or seminar material.