Anything Goes (from the 1987 Revival "Anything Goes"): Piano/Vocal/Chords

This collection captures Porter at his peak, offering singers and pianists access to some of the most beautifully crafted standards in the American songbook. The inclusion of rare archival materials and song-by-song analysis transforms this from a simple sheet music book into a resource for understanding how Porter's compositional voice evolved. You get substantive musical material paired with genuine historical context, which deepens both performance and appreciation.

Porter's songs possess an elegant restraint paired with rhythmic drive. Melodies sit naturally in the voice while harmonies shimmer with unexpected color, creating music that feels both intimate and theatrical. There is humor without snark, sophistication without pretense.

Singers preparing audition material, pianists building fluency with jazz-influenced standards, and music students studying the craft of musical theater composition all find value here. This book works equally well for solo recital preparation and for ensemble singers looking to deepen their understanding of essential American repertoire.

• Listen to multiple recordings of the same song; Porter's melodies reveal different possibilities depending on how phrasing and tempo interact with the chord changes.
• Pay attention to the lyric rhythm. Porter's words and music lock together deliberately, and following the natural speech patterns will guide your phrasing more reliably than strict metric divisions.
• Explore the chord voicings on the piano. Porter's harmonies are sophisticated but singable; understanding why each chord is voiced the way it is will strengthen both interpretation and technique.
• Use the rare sheet music images and historical photos to connect the music to its original context. Knowing the show, the era, and Porter's own recordings informs meaningful choices in your own interpretation.

Program these songs for jazz or cabaret recitals, solo recitals featuring American standards, or as audition material for musical theater training. The historical images and analysis make this particularly useful for educational recitals where you want to contextualize the work within Porter's career and the Broadway tradition.

• Reading chord symbols and performing lead-sheet style arrangements
• Interpreting lyrical phrasing in relation to harmonic rhythm
• Understanding jazz-influenced harmony and voice-leading
• Performing with stylistic authenticity in early-to-mid twentieth century popular song
• Analyzing how melody, harmony, and lyric work together in songwriting