Just as musical etudes focus on the development of skills and address the technical problems encountered in keyboard literature, the "etudes" in Stewart Gordon's new book also focus on ideas which prepare piano teachers for meeting the problems encountered in piano performing and teaching. This major new collection on the piano teacher's art opens with an assessment of the role of the piano teacher, and goes on to explore various types of students and the challenge each presents: the moderately talented, but ambitious, student; the late beginner; the unusually gifted. Drawing on thirty years of teaching and performing, Gordon then bring fresh ideas to bear on the often-discussed areas of inner-hearing, pulse regulation, improvisation, sight-reading, and collaborative music making. There are sections on performance procedures, memorizing, pedalling, and historical performance practices; a carefully-balanced consideration of the role of the piano student and teacher; and realistic looks at the problems facing the profession today, the dynamics of a performing career, and the stages through which musicians' careers often pass. Designed to open up new avenues of inquiry, to provoke discussion and creative thinking, and to challenge and motivate students, these essays will be vital reading for all serious piano students and teachers.

A comprehensive collection of technical experiences for students in the late elementary and intermediate years. Time-honored etudes, meticulously organized, graded and edited, plus detailed and invaluable suggestions for musical, rhythmic and physical practice. Designed for use with the four-book Musical Fingers series of essential exercises.

This essential collection of 100 piano études is divided into 15 units that survey the technical challenges at the early intermediate, intermediate, and late intermediate levels. The early units review technical issues that students experience at the elementary levels, such as five-finger patterns and articulations. The later units introduce more difficult technical challenges that prepare students for advanced repertoire, such as playing ornamentation, octaves, and large chords. Each unit contains between five and ten études written by master composers from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary periods. Within each unit, the études are arranged in order of difficulty. Each piece appears in its original form; notes have not been added or removed. The composers' original dynamics, tempo marks, phrase indications, and articulations have been preserved. Ornamentation is realized in footnotes. Added measure numbers provide easy reference, and editorial suggestions for fingering and pedaling have been provided. A concise foreword discusses technique at the intermediate levels. Two indexes are included: one by unit and technical skill, and another by level and composer. Unit listing: * Five-Finger Patterns * Articulation * Coordination between the Hands * Scales * Triads, Inversions, and Broken Chords * Double Notes * Left-Hand Development * Velocity * Arpeggios * Finger and Hand Independence * Repeated Notes * Accompaniment Patterns * Ornamentation * Octaves * Four- and Five-Note Chords Titles: * Alla Tarantella (from 12 Études), Op. 39, No. 2 (MacDowell) * Étude in A Minor ("Arabesque") (from 25 Easy and Progressive Studies), Op. 100, No. 2 (Burgmüller) * Étude in B-flat Major (from 25 Melodious Studies), Op. 108, No. 10 (Schytte) * Étude in C Major (from Practical Method for the Pianoforte), Op. 249, No. 65 (Köhler) * Étude in F Major (from The First Steps of the Young Pianist), Op. 82, No. 39 (Gurlitt) * Étude in G Major (from 25 Elementary Studies), Op. 176, No. 20 (Duvernoy) * Étude in D Minor ("Warrior's Song") (from 25 Melodic Studies), Op. 45, No. 15 (Heller) * Étude in G Minor (from Training of the Left Hand), Op. 89, Book II, No. 6 (Berens) * Exercise in C Major (from Étude for the Pianoforte), Op. 39, No. 1 (Cramer) * Little Étude (from Album for the Young), Op. 68, No. 14 (Schumann) * Maria (romanza sin palabras) (from Six Expressive Studies) (Granados) * Menuetto (from First Term at the Piano), Sz. 53, No. 16 (Bartók) and many more!

Carl Czerny (1791 – 1857) was an Austrian composer whose books of studies are still widely used in piano teaching.

*This publication is perfect bound and has a glued spine. BOOK 1: LATE ELEMENTARY TO EARLY INTERMEDIATE. Introducing Etudes is a three-book series of studies specially designed to help students learn technique as effectively as possible. Students face a number of common technical challenges during their development as pianists. Usually, young pianists have to learn pieces from several books of etudes just to cover the basics. The pieces in this series have been carefully selected to include the best of those traditional studies, and every piece is conveniently and strategically matched to the technical challenge it was meant to teach. These pieces are arranged in order of difficulty for students from the late elementary level to the late intermediate level. In addition, the three-book series features eight original compositions by Ward Bowen written specifically to add new artistic repertoire to this genre. For convenience, a listing of technical challenges on page 3 provides a helpful resource for teachers to find the studies that are most appropriate to meet the unique needs of each student. As studies can be useful for many different purposes, they are listed by their most prominent functions. Teachers can use the studies for their primary purpose or use them creatively for added practice on a variety of techniques. This collection can be used by teachers and students to help lay a strong technical foundation for the study of repertoire. By covering the common technical challenges and introducing students to important etudes, the books are also a useful complement to any method. Contents: F. Beyer: Etude Op. 101, No. 18, C. Czerny: Etude Op. 823, No. 7, H. Berens: Etude Op. 70, No. 8, H. Berens: Etude Op. 70, No. 12, B. Bartók:Etude, from The First Term at the Piano, H. Schwing: Etude No. 4, from Easy Lessons in Piano Playing, F. Beyer: Etude Op. 101, No. 22, H. Berens: Etude Op. 70, No. 24, C. Czerny: Etude Op. 139, No. 2, H. Berens: Etude Op. 70, No. 17, C. Czerny: Etude Op. 453, No. 5, B. Bartók: Dialogue, from The First Term at the Piano, F. Beyer: Etude Op. 101, No. 48, W. Bowen: El Cisne (The Swan), W. Bowen: Once Upon a Waltz, H. Berens: Etude Op. 70, No. 13, J. L. Streabbog: A Pleasant Morning, Op. 63, J. L. Streabbog: On the Green, Op. 63, J. B. Duvernoy: Etude Op. 176, No. 3, C. Czerny: Etudes Op. 261, No. 1 and No. 2, W. Bowen: Galloping Horses, J. L. Streabbog: In a Hurry, Op. 63, B. Bartók: Etude in F, from The First Term at the Piano, H. Schwing: Etude No. 19, from Easy Lessons in Piano Playing, C. Gurlitt: The Fair, Op. 101