Contemporary Class Piano » (7th Edition)

Elyse Mach is Professor of Music at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. She has given concerts throughout Europe and the United States, appearing as a piano soloist with the NBC Symphony and the Netherlandische Philharmonic Broadcasting Orchestra, among others. She has written ten books on piano and pianists and has been a contributing music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. She is active as a consultant, clinician, master class teacher, and frequent adjudicator, and has guest lectured at St. Catherine's College of Oxford University, Northwestern, Yale, The Juilliard School, and many other institutions. She is the first recipient of the Board of Governors Universities Distinguished Professor Award and was honored by a proclamation issued by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Illinois.

Professor Mach is the 2010 recipient of the Silver Medal presented by The American Liszt Society--the highest honor that the society bestows. She is also the 2010 recipient of the Bernard G. Brommel Distinguished Research Professor Award, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago.

Known for its richly diversified styles of repertoire and ensemble pieces and its abundance of creative materials, Contemporary Class Piano, Seventh Edition, includes the widest-ranging repertoire of solo and ensemble pieces available in any beginning piano text. Elyse Mach presents an abundant solo and ensemble repertoire--which includes classical pieces and folk, jazz, rock, pop, and blues tunes--providing ample opportunities for students to improvise, transpose, harmonize, and compose accompaniments.

FEATURES OF THE NEW EDITION

* Reorganized from six to ten units, the material is now more accessible for classroom use.
* Twenty diverse new reading, repertoire, and ensemble pieces introduce students to music of various styles and levels of difficulty.
* Unit 9 provides additional practice opportunities in interpreting chord symbols and harmonizing.
* More score reading examples in three- and four-part settings provide reinforcement of chorale style reading.
* Alto and tenor clef reading examples are introduced.
* Two new appendices offer more help: Appendix B features vocal and instrumental accompaniments to help students further develop skills, and Appendix E offers a timeline and historical overview of the style and characteristics of music from the Baroque period through the 21st century.
* Appendix A presents new material on transposing instruments.
* New CD and MIDI disk icons in the text indicate track numbers for ease of reference.
* "Practice Strategies" boxes give beginners helpful hints.
* A "Classic Miniatures" section of excerpts contains original keyboard pieces written by master composers.
* Worksheets appearing at the end of most chapters provide further practice opportunities.

SUPPORT PACKAGE

* A new in-text audio CD for students, which includes orchestrations by renowned composers Phillip Keveren and Jason Nyberg, presents selected pieces at both practice tempo and performance tempo.
* A set of four MIDI disks--containing approximately 240 orchestration accompaniments prepared by composers Phillip Keveren and Jason Nyberg--motivates students to practice and complete their assignments more readily. This set is available free to adopters.
* The Instructor's Companion Website (www.oup.com/us/classpiano) will offer suggested lesson plans, teaching tips, and full track listings for the in-text CD and Instructor MIDI disks.