Songs to Sing and Play

Songs to Sing and Play presents a fun and easy way for early intermediate level piano students of all ages to learn basic keyboard improvisation skills. Through this method, students learn to play in an "accompanimental" approach, playing block chords in the right hand and bass notes in the left, leaving the melody to be sung, played in the upper range of the piano by the teacher or another player, or played on another instrument. As the course progresses, other accompanimental styles are presented, including the waltz, march, and two-beat. The last lesson demonstrates how to improvise while including the melody. The songs are presented in a lead sheet format such as may be found in a fake book (i.e., a single line of music with melody, lyrics, and chord symbols). By the end of the book, students will have learned 18 songs A popular folk songs, spirituals, and patriotic songs, including: "Home on the Range" "Old MacDonald" "Kum Ba Yah" "Amazing Grace" "Marine's Hymn" "Dixie"