Publisher's Synopsis
For centuries, the keyboard has stood at the crossroads of performance, composition, and improvisation. For this reason, nearly all educational institutions require music majors to become proficient at the keyboard. Yet too often, these secondary piano lessons either remain restricted to technical basics like scales and arpeggios, or they are modelled after the training of concert pianists, such that the goal is narrowly focused on the error-free performance of literature. The solution, we believe, lies in interdisciplinary dialogue, particularly between piano teachers and music theorists. This is because present-day applied Piano and music theory curricula could both benefit from increased historical and stylistic contextualisation. In this way, secondary piano instruction gains greater relevance through specialisation in topics like style-based improvisation, composition, arranging, accompaniment, sight-reading, or ear training. At the same time, the practical interaction with the keyboard brings music-theoretical concepts to life. Drawing inspiration from a diverse array of sources ranging from baroque counterpoint texts to modern jazz piano methods, this essay collection blends scholarship and pedagogy to explore the manifold ways in which the keyboard allows both the hands and the mind to grasp music.
