Learning companions for all ages
What does a 21st century piano school look like? Perhaps like the "Piano Coach" by Mike Cornick.
Mike Cornick knows how to meet the needs of today's students with this refreshingly innovative piano school in two volumes. It is published by Universal Edition and, according to the foreword, is aimed at "budding piano players - whether young people or adults of all ages up to retirement age". The author is keen to provide the student with a comprehensive learning guide and pulls out all the stops. This work is therefore more than just a progressive collection of lesson pieces. The clearly structured chapters each contain the aspects of notation, playing technique, theory and ear training. What I like about it is the comprehensiveness of the supporting texts and the careful structure.
The basics of piano playing (introduction to two-handed playing, independence, parallel and contrary motion, imitation, polyphony, chord playing, etc.) are laid out in a thoroughly classical manner. What goes beyond the usual content of a piano school are all the explicit instructions on the aspects mentioned above. This means that the pupil can work out a lot of information independently and, if necessary, discuss and deepen it with the teacher. The pieces, many of which were composed by Mike Cornick himself, range from classical music to folk and jazz. The enclosed CD contains the recordings of the pieces, some playalong tracks and ear training exercises. But that's not all, under universaledition.com/pianocoach1 and /pianocoach2 there is further material available for free download: additional pieces, chord charts, triad breakdowns, keys, hints for improvisation. Readers of these lines who would like to get a taste of piano coaching should also click on these pages.
Mike Cornick, Piano Coach, Die Klavierschule für Erwachsene und Wiedereinsteiger, Volume 1 UE 34991, with 1 CD, € 19.95, Universal Edition, Vienna 2010
id., Volume 2 UE 34992, with 2 CDs, € 22.95, Universal Edition, Vienna 2011
