There have been many keyboard musicianship tutors over the years, and here now is one for the 21st century. The areas covered are not new - the core skills of figured bass, score-reading, harmonizing, transposing and improvising remain as ever. But the language used, the examples chosen and above all the structure of each book are imaginatively rethought. The eight ... Read morelevels, corresponding to ABRSM grades and therefore ranging from pre-grade 1 to pre-diploma, have five lessons in each, and each lesson includes the five skills - presented in an integrated way. So, as each key is introduced, the transposing and harmonizing examples utilize these, leading at the end of each lesson to improvising exercises derived from the preceding tasks. The structure makes the books suitable for private as well as directed study, and either used alongside conventional organ or piano lessons, or as an intensive keyboard musicianship course.
Stephen Patterson, rsmc.com
All the usual disciplines - figured bass, score-reading, transposition and harmonisation - are treated from the earliest stages as interlinked, fluency in one informing fluency in another (often taking in some early-stages organ technique along the way). Each book is organised into levels - five in the first, three in the second - and each level is divided into five lessons, with new concept summarised and analysed as they are encountered. The material offered helpfully incorporates familiar hymns and melodies, and editorial material is succinct and cogent. A number of appendices and glossaries add to the usefulness of the books. Every teacher and student of keyboard harmony will find helpful material and fresh perspectives in these thoughtful volumes, and the compilers' holistic approach to the development of these skills is invaluable.
Stephen Farr, Choir & Organ, November 2017
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