Write Play And Hear Theory Every Day - Book 3: Theory

Book 2 in this series continues helping students learn their theory in the most beneficial way - by combining it with ear training at the same time which promotes well-rounded musicianship.In this book students learn more notes on the staff as well as intervals half and whole steps major and minor five-finger patterns key signatures and more. There is an entire unit on music analysis as well as a final test. It is here that students synthesize everything they have learned throughout the book.As in Book 1 every unit includes a multitude of activities such as: writing playing and listening; 'Count and Hear Your Theory'; 'Write and Play Your Theory';Lesson Day activity; and a CD to reinforce every unit which can be used at home or at the lesson.

This elementary-level book is carefully structured to help students learn their theory in the most beneficial way - by playing writing and combining it with ear training at the same time!Students are asked to write answers to theory examples play them and then reinforce each concept with ear training. The manageable task size and format of each unit makes progress immediately noticeable which helps motivate students.Includes a CD that can be used at the lesson or at home to further reinforce students' knowledge.

Noted jazz pianist, composer, recording artist and educator Andy LaVerne has drawn from his decades of experience playing with master musicians from Getz to Lovano to create this comprehensive compendium of contemporary moving voicings. Quartal, quintal, drop 2, dominant 7b9/diminished, triadic, whole tone and chromatic performance proven voicings pioneered by McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Andy himself are presented and fleshed out in all twelve keys. This book picks up where others leave off, enabling you to replace static chords with voicings that move melodically, dramatically, and gracefully over the entire range of the keyboard. Firmly rooted in contemporary jazz theory, the emphasis is on practical performance applications. Andy ties it all together with illustrations of comping choruses for five standard jazz tunes. Chords in Motion satisfies a long awaited need in actual comping situations, and shows you how to move chords through varying harmonic rhythms. FINALLY ' a book that gives you moving voicings, and sets them in motion in all twelve keys. Chords in Motion is a valuable resource for all keyboardists, arrangers, and instrumentalists. Activate, animate, and energize your comping with this encyclopedic volume. 156 pages, spiral bound for easy opening. Andy carries the flame of jazz piano tradition and just great music. He always inspires me. Chick Corea This is a great book! I am going to sit down and play through this!! I am always telling my non-piano playing students how important it is to work with (and internalize) the sounds that we live with all our lives as Jazz musicians. Coltrane spent years sitting at the piano and so should all of us!!! John Patitucci Berklee College of Music One thing about Andy'he is complete as can be and has been consistently so for years in both his teaching materials and playing. He is completely knowledgeable in such a way that when I play with him, I know he KNOWS!! Plus he is one of the smoothest and polished of players around. Great book'encyclopedic in content. Dave Liebman Founder, Artistic Director, International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ) I've played and recorded with Andy LaVerne many times over the years and in many different settings and he's always come up with the hippest, most interesting chords in the most musical way! His way of playing and looking at chords inspires me as a drummer and his rhythm section partner to play things that are in turn inspiring to the rest of the band. This book, helps musicians, understand, in a clear thoughtful presentation, how to go about getting this together. Billy Drummond Jazz Drummer, Educator, Juilliard, NYU Chords in Motion is an outstanding and comprehensive guide by Andy LaVerne, whose encyclopedic knowledge, decades of experience and brilliance as a performer and educator make this an invaluable handbook of modern jazz piano harmony. Its user-friendly, intelligent design enables musicians to expand their harmonic palette and potentially transform their playing, writing and arranging. Chords in Motion is an invaluable contribution to jazz musicians! Lynne Arriale Jazz Pianist, Composer, Educator, Associate Professor of Jazz Piano, Director of Small Ensembles, University of North Florida Chords in Motion is exactly the book I'd expect from Andy LaVerne. It's clear, openhearted and inspiring, as has been every conversation I've had with Andy over the years. Long a fan of his playing, I have enjoyed this look behind the curtain at how Andy LaVerne formulated his signature style. One other thing -- any pianist, no matter his/her approach, will gain insight into what will surely be new and exciting musical directions. Pete Malinverni Jazz Pianist, Educator, Director of Jazz Studies, SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Music What a great resource for expanding the harmonic palette! Chords in Motion is a must have for the aspiring young jazz pianist as well as the seasoned veteran. Another winner from Andy! Paul Schmeling Jazz Pianist, Educator, Chair Emeritus, Piano Department, Berklee College of Music In Chords in Motion, I recognize chords and sounds that have inspired me to compose and play: harmony from the music of Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner. This book is well organized, and from the beginning gets you playing. Each chord structure is explained and developed. There is plenty to practice. I especially like the exercises using contrary motion, arpeggiation and pivot, and the application to tunes. The reader will be tempted to stop on every page and compose. I found the Lost Chord, but won't tell you the page number. Bert Ligon Jazz Pianist/Guitarist, Composer, Arranger, Educator, Director of Jazz Studies, University of South Carolina Ever wonder how to move harmony around instead of repeating the same chord voicing over and over' Then Chords in Motion is a must have book for you! Andy has included a ton of information that will open up your comping and should keep you busy with new ideas for a long time! I highly recommend it! Dan Haerle Jazz Pianist, Composer, Author, Educator, Professor Emeritus, University of North Texas Chords in Motion is an essential guide to expanding one's conception of modern Jazz Piano Harmony. Andy LaVerne has managed to outline in a very practical and concise way, modern principles of piano chord voicings, as they pertain to the Jazz Pianist's primary group function of comping. David Hazeltine Jazz Pianist, Composer, Educator, SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Music Chords in Motion should be fun to take into the practice room to explore new ways of sustaining harmonies over the entire register of the piano. It is encyclopedic and thorough in its content. No stone is left unturned! Stephany Tiernan Pianist, Composer, Educator, Chair, Piano Department, Berklee College Of Music Chords In Motion is an excellent practicing resource that provides a garden of harmonic sonorities for a musician to choose and explore at the piano. I like the way that Andy has made the information accessible to any level of student. I look forward to discovering some different sounds with this book. Phil DeGreg Jazz Pianist, Author, Educator, University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music I am delighted to recommend Andy LaVerne's Chords In Motion to aspiring jazz pianists! Andy is a superb pianist, very capable of addressing this topic. Prior to pianists like McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, and others, most pianists were content to have acquired a small handful of chord voicings, generally with the chord roots on the bottom of the voicings. Though 'rootless voicings' were adopted in later years, they were primarily for the left hand and generally only used the 3rd or 7th on the bottom. But now the serious jazz pianist needs to be able to move his or her voicings in a more diatonic manner, as shown in Andy's book. Jerry Coker Jazz Saxophonist, Author, Educator Andy LaVerne's Chords in Motion is a study of encyclopedic scope on the use of harmonies based on fourth intervals in the context of jazz harmony. There is a wealth of information in terms of voicings, voice leading and chord/scale relationships and their application to common harmonic formulae (ii-V, etc.) and the chord progressions used in blues and common standard tunes. Jazz musicians interested in this vocabulary should find this book to be a useful launching pad for exploring this important corner of the world of jazz harmony. Bill Dobbins Jazz Pianist, Composer, Arranger, Author, Educator, Professor of Jazz Studies, Conductor, Coordinator Jazz Composition and Arranging, Eastman School of Music Chords in Motion is a highly detailed, informative and filling-in-the-gap text. It's an important and welcome addition to the jazz piano literature, which can be applied to any level of proficiency. Stefan Karlsson Jazz Pianist, Educator, Professor/Jazz Studies Division, University of North Texas Fantastic pianist Andy LaVerne has put together an amazing, detailed, and incredibly comprehensive guide for effectively implementing quartal and related voicings. He has honed in on the 'secret' to using these structures musically and creatively: moving the voicings through changes in logical and interesting ways. Clearly presented, extremely thorough, and loaded with information, Chords in Motion is a must-have for any pianist! Martin Bejerano Jazz Pianist, Composer, Educator, Assistant Professor, Jazz Piano, Frost School of Music University of Miami Chords in Motion is an in-depth look at fourth and related voicings that give an atmosphere that you want to improvise on. We play over the voicing, not the chord symbol. Chords in Motion targets that modal atmosphere that horn players love playing over. Love this book - can't wait to start practicing it! Jerry Bergonzi Jazz Saxophonist, Composer, Author, Educator, New England Conservatory I was thrilled when Jazz Piano Great Mulgrew Miller agreed to write a quote for this book. I was deeply saddened to hear of Mulgrew's passing just days before publication. All who loved Mulgrew and his music will sorely miss him, and are grateful for the rich musical legacy he left us. Rest easy, Mulgrew. Andy LaVerne

Toy Box - Very First Pieces For Piano contains 26 simple yet impressive Piano songs composed by experienced teacher June Armstrong. This book is ideal for a beginner to put theory into practice with a wide variety of pieces in a number of styles.Each title in this songbook is evocative of the way the piece is meant to be played, with songs like Ballerina, Hula Hoop and Kaleidoscope suiting the instructions that Armstrong has provided like ?Daintily? and ?Steadily?. Unique touches like this make Toy Box perfect for a young child who is working their way towards grade one standard, as the composer has skilfully attempted to represent the nature of various toys through the medium of music. This will help a young musician to learn the basic concepts of musical theory in a fun and familiar context, with songs like Jumbo and Slinky sure to entertain all who are within earshot through humour and musicality. If you would like to listen to audio recordings of all the songs included in Toy Box, they are all available to download free of charge from the author's website.What sets this songbook apart from other beginner books is the personality and dedication that June Armstrong brings to her compositions, noting that her pieces are all inspired by her own Piano students and giving detailed and informative notes for each song at the beginning of the book. For the song Dinosaur, Armstrong writes that ?You will want to create a very scary atmosphere?The right hand note heads are strange bird calls in the forest. The left hand Ds, Es and Fs are the dinosaur??. The care that has been put into creating this sheet music shows that Armstrong is acutely aware of the best way for students to learn, and that she truly wants students to learn effectively, but in a fun and light-hearted way.Each song in Toy Box occupies a single page making it easy for a player to track their progress and learning, while there are additional helpful bits of information peppered throughout to clarify anything that may be unfamiliar to the student. Armstrong is keen on developing a student's ear for tone and atmosphere, so these extra notes not only reinforce how to play the piece physically, but also how to include emotion and feeling in music, for example how to conjure imagery like that of Blowing Bubbles. The songbook will be perfect for a child who already understands basic musical terms, will be able to play in a few keys other than C Major and is able to play in simple time signatures. As a first step into new compositions, Toy Box will introduce new concepts as well as reinforce what a student is already accustomed to, nevertheless, Armstrong's message is clear - ?Have fun!?. / Piano

June Armstrong's songbook The Girona Suite - Eight Evocations For Piano features eight original and challenging compositions for grades five to seven standard, all inspired by the shipwreck of the Spanish galleas, the Girona.The pieces included in this songbook were all composed specifically for this collection by revered pianist and teacher June Armstrong. Her many years of experience in teaching have allowed her to craft compositions both subtle and powerful that stretch the ability of students while giving them an engaging story on which to base their expression and feeling when playing. Armstrong is an advocate of focusing learning on atmosphere and tonal awareness, which, when combined with the necessary techniques and theory, makes this songbook a learning tool that is theoretically sound and musically enticing.From the first page, the composer has shown her commitment to creating pieces specifically for students learning the Piano, as she writes of how many people, including former students, have inspired her. She then writes in detail about the historical context of the theme of the work, before giving more practical advice on the music itself and how to go about playing it. The friendly and warm approach that Armstrong brings to presenting her suite makes it more than a simple songbook, it becomes a personal journey, where the composer herself guides you through the characters and settings that the music has been composed to evoke. As well as presenting challenging and entertaining pieces, Armstrong's work serves as a fantastic introduction into how major and minor keys can be manipulated to different ends, and how motifs can be used together with a theme. Armstrong writes:?The final piece, Sarabande for the Lost Souls returns to the desolation of Eb minor, closing with a final statement of the No Tengo theme.?The songs in The Girona Suite are designed to cultivate a student's ability to play in keys containing more than three flats or sharps, as well as a number of different time signatures and with varying degrees of expression. This songbook would be ideal for a student of any age who is unafraid to experiment with evoking feeling and emotion in their playing, while also learning and practicing numerous techniques in an appealing and informative context. If you would like to listen to any of the songs that are listed below, these can be heard free of charge on the composer's website. / Piano