Functional Piano for Music Therapists and Music Educators: An Exploration of Styles

This book is an ideal resource for students, professionals, and anyone looking to develop their functional piano skills – from basic harmonic accompaniments to engaging stylistic renditions and improvisations. It can be used as a collegiate text, a supplement to classroom or private instruction, or for self-guided practice by music therapists, educators, and amateurs. Using a step-by-step approach, the book demystifies such diverse styles as blues, country, gospel, rock, pop, Latin, and jazz; explores modal and pentatonic improvisation; and provides a process for simplifying written scores through characteristic song leadsheets, examples, and exercises. Projects at the end of each chapter challenge the reader to take the content in creative directions. Chapter summaries and an appendix of accompaniment patterns are provided for easy reference.

 

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  Table of Contents

Introduction

Functional piano / xiii

Differences between functional piano and classical piano / xiii

Why music therapists and music educators need functional piano skills / xiii

How this curriculum was developed for students and professionals / xiv

Organization and aims of this book / xiv

How to use this book / xv

Acknowledgments / xvii

Chapter 1: The Nature of Chords / 3

Scales, chords and triads / 3

Scales / 3

Chords and triads / 4

Triad inversions, common tone voicing, chord progressions / 7

Triad inversions / 7

Common tone voicing / 8

Chord progressions / 9

Glossary / 11

Chapter 2: Accompanying in Duple Meter / 13

Range and register, basic rhythmic accompanying, basic arpeggiation / 14

Range and register / 14 “Lightly Row” / 14

Basic rhythmic accompanying / 16

Basic arpeggiation / 18

Lament bass and melodic accompaniment techniques / 21

Lament bass / 21 “Erie Canal” / 21

Melodic accompaniment techniques / 23

Basic left-hand-only accompaniments and reharmonization / 26

Basic left-hand-only accompaniments / 26 “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” / 27

Reharmonization / 28

Chapter 3: Accompanying in Triple Meter / 32

Basic waltz accompaniments and waltz pattern alterations / 32

Basic waltz accompaniments / 32 “Amazing Grace” / 33

Waltz pattern alterations / 34

Arpeggiated accompaniments, left-hand waltzes, reharmonization with slash chords / 37

Arpeggiated accompaniments / 37 “Greensleeves” / 38

Left-hand waltzes / 40 “Bunessan” / 41

Reharmonization with slash chords / 42

Projects / 45

Glossary / 46

Chapter 4: Modal and Pentatonic Improvisation and Accompanying / 47

Dorian / 48

“Scarborough Fair” / 50

Phrygian / 51

Lydian / 52

Mixolydian / 54

“Old Joe Clark” / 56

Locrian / 56

Pentatonic / 58

Projects / 62

Glossary / 63

Chapter 5: Blues / 64

Twelve-bar blues, basic blues accompaniments, turnarounds, black key blues improvisation / 64

“Saint Louis Blues” / 65

Twelve-bar blues / 65

Basic blues accompaniments / 65

Turnarounds / 67

Black key blues improvisation / 70

Eight-bar blues, basic stride bass, alternate stride techniques / 73

Eight-bar blues / 73

“Ain’t Nobody’s Business” / 74

Basic stride bass / 75

Alternate stride techniques / 77

“Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” / 78

Projects / 80

Glossary / 81

Chapter 6: Folk, Country, and Bluegrass / 82

Folk: Basic folk accompanying / 82

Basic folk accompanying / 82 “Home on the Range” / 83

Country: Basic left-hand-only accompaniments / 86

Basic left-hand-only accompaniments / 86 “Red River Valley” / 87

Bluegrass: Walking bass accompaniments and melodic breakdowns / 91

Walking bass accompaniments / 91 “This Land Is Your Land” / 92

Melodic breakdowns / 94

Projects / 96

Glossary / 97

Chapter 7: Gospel / 98

Gospel accompanying and reharmonization / 98

Gospel accompanying / 98 “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” / 99

Reharmonization / 102

Gospel techniques for melodic accompanying / 105

Gospel techniques for melodic accompanying / 105 “Down by the Riverside” / 106

Melodic phrasing, diminished neighbor chords and fills / 109

Melodic phrasing / 109 “America the Beautiful” / 110

Diminished neighbor chords and fills / 112

Chapter 8: Boogie-woogie and Rock / 119

Boogie-woogie: Left-hand bass patterns, fills and runs / 119

Left-hand bass patterns / 119 “Midnight Special” / 120

Fills and runs / 122

Rock: Rock and roll, doo-wop, and additional rock accompaniments / 124

Rock and roll / 124 “Rockin’ Robin” / 125

Doo-wop / 127

“Time Is on My Side” / 127

Additional Rock Accompaniments / 132

Projects / 134

Glossary / 135

Chapter 9: Popular Song Styles / 136

Elements of structure in pop songs and common pop song forms / 136

Elements of structure in pop songs / 136

Common pop song forms / 137

Pop ballads: Common chord progressions, rhythmic motives and accompaniment patterns / 138

Common chord progressions / 138

Rhythmic motives and accompaniment patterns / 140 “House of the Rising Sun” / 143

Up-tempo pop: Syncopated accompaniments and fills / 145

Syncopated accompaniments and fills / 145

Projects / 148

Glossary / 149

Chapter 10: Tango, Calypso, and Bossa Nova / 150

Tango: Habanera bass lines, rhythmic and melodic embellishment, alternate accompaniment techniques / 150

Habanera bass lines / 150 “Por una cabeza” / 152

Rhythmic and melodic embellishment / 154

Alternate accompaniment techniques / 155

Calypso: Alternate techniques for the habanera bass line / 156

Alternate techniques for the habanera bass line / 157 “Linstead Market” / 157

Bossa nova: Clave rhythms, clave bass lines and accompaniments, accompaniment variations and additional progressions / 159

Clave rhythms / 159

Clave bass lines and accompaniments / 160 “A Little Bossa Nova” / 161

Accompaniment variations and additional progressions / 166

Projects / 168

Chapter 11: Jazz / 169

Swing: Jazz chord terminology, jazz chord voicings, techniques for comping / 169 “Look for the Silver Lining” / 170

Jazz chord terminology / 171

Jazz chord voicings / 174

Techniques for comping / 177

Jazz Ballads: Ballad reharmonization, additional common jazz chord progressions / 180

“O Tannenbaum” / 181

Ballad reharmonization / 181

Additional common jazz chord progressions / 186

Projects / 188

Glossary / 189

Chapter 12: Score Reduction / 190

General principles of score reduction / 190

Classical score reduction: Left-hand bass patterns, right-hand adaptations / 194 “Rondo alla Turca” / 195

Left-hand bass patterns / 196

Right-hand adaptations / 198

Romantic score reduction: Adapted left-hand techniques / 201 “Nocturne in Eb Major, Op. 9 No. 2” / 202

Adapted left-hand techniques / 203

Impressionism reduction: Textural simplification / 205 “Clair de lune” / 206

Textural simplification / 208

Additional suggestions for score reduction / 210

Projects / 211

Glossary / 212

Additional Projects: A Review of Styles / 213

Appendix: Quick Reference of Accompaniment Patterns / 214

Duple accompaniments / 214

Triple accompaniments / 216

Modal accompaniments / 217

Blues accompaniments / 221

Folk, country, and bluegrass accompaniments / 224

Gospel accompaniments / 225

Boogie-woogie and rock accompaniments / 227

Pop accompaniments / 230

Tango, calypso, and bossa nova accompaniments / 231

Jazz accompaniments / 234

Bibliography / 237

Index / 240