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Alfred's Basic Piano: Chord Approach Technic Book 2: Piano Book

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Alfred's Basic Piano: Chord Approach Technic Book 2 Cover Image

Alfred's Basic Piano: Chord Approach Technic Book 2: Piano Book

A Piano Method for the Later Beginner

By Willard A. Palmer, Morton Manus, and Amanda Vick Lethco

Level: 2

Item: 00-2699

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The Technic Books are also coordinated page-by-page with the Lesson Books, and provide reading and rhythm drills perfectly paced with each lesson.

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Additional Details
Series: Alfred's Basic Piano Library
Publisher: Alfred Music
Page Count: 32
ISBN10: 0-7390-1766-7
ISBN13: 978-0-7390-1766-1
UPC: 038081012278
SKU: 00-2699

More about this title

About the Authors

Willard A. Palmer
Dr. Willard Palmer stands as an internationally recognized musician, educator, and scholar who created 789 published compositions across multiple instruments and genres. His prolific output includes methods for accordion, piano, guitar, and Hammond Chord Organ, along with numerous solo pieces and choral works translated into German, Japanese, French, Dutch, and Spanish. For many years, he served as choir director at Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas.

Palmer's musical gifts emerged early; he performed piano on radio broadcasts at age thirteen and studied under Mae Vardeman, who cultivated his improvisational talents through rigorous technique training. His college years at Whitworth College and Millsaps College featured regular radio performances and ensemble work. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Millsaps before pursuing advanced study on a two-year scholarship at the Conservatory of Leipzig in Germany and completing post-graduate work at the University of Houston.

At the University of Houston, Palmer pioneered and taught the first successful college-level accordion courses for eighteen years. He became a leading authority on Baroque music ornamentation, a specialization that informed the renowned Alfred Masterworks series. His scholarly contributions earned him a Doctor of Humanities degree in 1971 and a Doctor of Music degree in 1983. Palmer also directed the Riemenschneider Bach Institute and held memberships in the American Federation of Musicians Local #65, the American Accordionists' Association, and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
Morton Manus
Morton Manus served as president of Alfred Music Publishing Co., Inc. from 1952 to 2016. He joined the family business in the late 1940s after earning a business degree from City College of New York. As a clarinetist and pianist, Manus brought both musical expertise and entrepreneurial vision to the company his father Sam had founded in 1922.

During his tenure, Manus transformed Alfred Music from a sheet music publisher into a comprehensive music education leader. In the 1950s, he spearheaded the development of instructional series beginning with accordion, followed by guitar, piano, and recorder books. The company's expansion was marked by significant milestones, including a 1975 relocation of headquarters to Los Angeles and the acquisition of Warner Bros. Publications in 2005, which brought the EMI Catalogue Partnership into the fold.

Manus's sons Ron and Steve continued the family legacy by joining Alfred Music in 1988 and 1992 respectively. Under their leadership alongside their father, the company expanded globally with offices established in Australia, Germany, Singapore, and the UK while maintaining its position as a producer of world-leading instructional methods and performance music.
Amanda Vick Lethco
Dr. Amanda Vick Lethco is best known as co-author of Alfred's Basic Piano Library, one of the world's most widely used piano methods, developed alongside Dr. Willard Palmer and Morton Manus. She earned three degrees from Northwestern University in Piano Performance and Music Education, plus an honorary Doctor of Humanities from Whitworth College in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Her advanced training included study at prestigious institutions with renowned pedagogues: James Friskin at Juilliard, Rudolph Ganz at Chicago Musical College, Douglas Moore at Columbia University, and Ruth Barr in Houston.

As Professor Emeritus of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Lethco built an influential career in music education and performance. Beyond her co-authorship of Alfred's Basic Piano Library, she partnered with Dr. Willard Palmer on Creating Music at the Piano. Her recognition includes listings in both the International Who's Who of Musicians and the World Who's Who of Women.

Throughout her career, Dr. Lethco maintained an active presence as a clinician, workshop leader, and recitalist across North America and internationally. She conducted clinics and workshops spanning the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Her private teaching practice extended across multiple cities including New York, San Antonio, Austin, and Houston.

Why we love this

The Technic Book 2 moves in lockstep with the Lesson Book, so every drills students encounter reinforce what they've just learned without feeling redundant. Palmer and his co-authors understood that technique thrives on immediate application—reading and rhythm exercises land exactly when students are ready for them, eliminating the guesswork of pacing.

What to expect

Focused and purposeful. Each page zooms in on one or two technical concepts without overwhelming the student with choices. The drills feel manageable and achievable, designed to build confidence through repeated, thoughtful practice of skills students already understand in theory.

Who it's for

Piano students in Level 2 who are working through the Alfred's Basic Chord Approach Lesson Book. This book pairs seamlessly with that curriculum and serves students who benefit from concentrated, paced technical reinforcement outside of their main lesson assignments.

How to get the most out of it

  • Approach each drill as a mini-lesson rather than busywork; pause between exercises to isolate the specific technical goal and name it aloud.
  • Vary the tempo of repeated drills across practice sessions to build flexibility; play a passage slowly for accuracy one day, then at performance tempo the next.
  • Use the page-by-page coordination as a teaching tool; when a student struggles with a concept in the Lesson Book, jump directly to the corresponding Technic page to isolate the skill in a focused context.

How to use it

Use this as the backbone of daily practice outside lessons. Assign one or two pages per week that correspond exactly to the current Lesson Book material, ensuring students always have concrete, targeted work between their formal lessons. This approach prevents the common problem of students practicing aimlessly and builds genuine technical independence.

Skills your students will build

  • Rhythmic accuracy and recognition in simple meters
  • Reading fluency at the treble and bass clefs
  • Hand position and finger independence
  • Chord recognition and harmonic awareness
  • Sight-reading confidence through repeated, scaffolded exercises

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