Books – Exercises for Modern

This book provides the advanced pianist with a modern alternative, or addition to the standard repertoire of exercise books we all know – Hanon, Czerny, Pischna, Brahms. While those are all excellent, much has happened in music since they were written. Material is included to give pianists of any genre (be they Classical, Jazz, Pop, Country, R&B, or anything else) technical and mental exercises that draw from modern harmony and rhythm, while taxing the hands in ways we all need. 

The six sections of the book are Scalar, Contrary Motion, Movable Shapes, Chordal, Diminished Scale, and Jazzy. Exercises are included in each section to give the hands, and the mind challenges that are not found in other books, and reflect both the kinds of things pianists are expected to be able to play today, and the way they might see them notated on the page. Time signatures are expanded from the standard 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 found in most exercise books to include: 7/8, 5/4, 9/8, 6/8, 12/8, 1/4, 7/16, 15/16 and 10/8. “Mixed” meters are also included where exercises change time signatures within the exercise.