Finally available in the United States, a singular story collection that Time Out declared "unsettlingly brilliant" Astudent's suicide note is not what it seems. A high school football rivalry turns absurd—and deadly. A much-loved cat seems to have been a different animal all along. A pair of identical twins aren't identical at all—or even related. A man finds his own yellowed birth announcement inside a bureau bought at auction. Set in a small upstate New York town, told in a conversational style, Pieces for the Left Hand is a stream of a hundred anecdotes, none much longer than a page. At once funny, bizarre, familiar, and disturbing, these deceptively straightforward tales nevertheless shock and amaze through uncanny coincidence, tragic misunderstanding, strange occurrence, or sudden insight. Unposted letters, unexpected visitors, false memories—in J. Robert Lennon's vision of America, these are the things that decide our fate. Wry and deadpan, powerful and philosophical, these addictive little tales reveal the everyday world as a strange and eerie place.

Covering a span of time and styles ranging from jazz beginnings to some of the most recent developments, this book collects and analyzes many of the most frequently used jazz, blues, and Latin jazz left-hand piano techniques. Generally, each proposed technique is first introduced by a "model" figure derived from original sources, followed by an explanation of its pattern, and finally by some sample applications using well-known songs, harmonic progressions, or original pieces. For the sake of completeness, most of these left-hand applications are integrated with sample right-hand parts that validate the efficacy and concrete application of the left hand figures. Numerous styles of jazz piano are taught, including: stride piano, Latin stylings, blues, boogie, swing, walking bass, jazz waltz, rootless voicings and many other concepts. Characteristics of jazz legends including Erroll Garner, Jelly Roll Morton, Earl Hines, George Gershwin, Fats Waller, Eubie Blake and many others are explored. As with all books in this series, it includes a unique lay-flat binding to help keep the music open on the music stand.

"Bravo to Edel on his excellent presentation of the subject! . . . highly recommended . . . " —ARBA 96 ". . . filled with information for pianists with injured hands and for players and teachers seeking unusual repertoire or ways of developing left-hand technique." —Clavier "Thanks to Edel for cataloging this largely unknown area of piano repertoire and to Indiana University Press for publishing this most welcomed book." —American Music Teacher A descriptive catalog of solos, chamber works, and concertos with piano parts written for one hand, including nearly 1,000 solo compositions for the left hand. Publication data, length, level of difficulty, style, and often brief biographical information about the composer are provided for each piece.

Position Pieces for Cello is designed to give students a logical and fun way to learn their way around the fingerboard. Each hand position is introduced with exercises called "Target Practice," "Geography Quiz," and "Names and Numbers." Following these exercises are tuneful cello duets which have been specifically composed to require students to play in that hand position. In this way, students gain a thorough knowledge of how to find the hand positions and, once there, which notes are possible to play. Using these pieces (with names like "I Was a Teenage Monster," "The Irish Tenor," and "I've Got the Blues, Baby"), position study on the cello has never been so much fun!

Students with an injured arm or hand can continue their piano studies in spite of their injury with this series by Melody Bober. Each volume features pieces written especially for the right or left hand in a variety of styles, keys, meters, and tempos. Book 5 contains eight pieces for intermediate students---four for the right hand and four for the left hand---each one providing the unique opportunity to develop the other hand while still progressing technically and musically. "This collection is perfect for isolating and curing reading and technical weaknesses associated with a particular hand, as well as developing awareness that one hand is capable of voicing and artistic performance." ---Yiyi Ku, MusicTeachersHelper.com Titles: * Ragtime Romp (RH) * Trumpet Call (RH) * Dance at Twilight (RH) * Chaconne in E Minor (RH) * Malagueña Mood (LH) * Whispers in the Wind (LH) * Bassline Bravo! (LH) * Skater's Dream (LH)

The first substantial collection of short fiction from "a writer with enough electricity to light up the country" (Ann Patchett) "I guess the things that scare you are the things that are almost normal," observes one narrator in this collection of effervescent and often uncanny stories. Drawing on fifteen years of work, See You in Paradise is the fullest expression yet of J. Robert Lennon's distinctive and brilliantly comic take on the pathos and surreality at the heart of American life. In Lennon's America, a portal to another universe can be discovered with surprising nonchalance in a suburban backyard, adoption almost reaches the level of blood sport, and old pals return from the dead to steal your girlfriend. Sexual dysfunction, suicide, tragic accidents, and career stagnation all create surprising opportunities for unexpected grace in this full-hearted and mischievous depiction of those days (weeks, months, years) we all have when things just don't go quite right.