George Gershwin Platinum Collection: Piano/Vocal/Chords Book

Fifty Gershwin songs under one cover gives you the breadth and variety that makes teaching his work genuinely rewarding. The collection spans his gift for rhythmic innovation ("Fascinating Rhythm," "Fidgety Feet"), his unmatched melodic gift ("Love Walked In," "Embraceable You"), and his way with dramatic vocal writing ("Bess, You Is My Woman Now," "It Ain't Necessarily So"). Fresh engravings and careful editorial work mean you're teaching from a reliable text, not piecing together different versions.

These songs carry the sophistication of 1920s and 30s New York, where jazz influences met refined songwriting and lyrics that could be clever without being precious. The emotional range is genuine: melancholy without self-pity, joy that feels earned, romance that avoids sentimentality. Playing through this collection feels like spending time with a composer who understood both the heart and the craft.

Voice students building a songbook foundation will find essential repertoire here across multiple styles and vocal ranges. Piano students gain exposure to accompaniment writing and harmonic language that inform both classical and jazz study. Conductors planning concert programs, revue formats, or educational showcases will return to this collection repeatedly.

• Attack the syncopations in pieces like "Fascinating Rhythm" and "I Got Rhythm" with precision; Gershwin's rhythmic profile is distinctive and slips into generic swing if you're not deliberate about the articulation.
• Accompany singers on these songs by listening closely to the lyric's emotional weight before you settle into a tempo. Gershwin wrote expansively, and a rigid tempo can flatten pieces that shift between introspection and exuberance.
• Explore the harmonic language in the chords provided. Gershwin uses chromatic passing chords and jazz-influenced progressions that sound muddy if played without clarity; let the guitarist and pianist balance those vertical sonorities.
• Work the bridge sections with particular attention. Many Gershwin songs contain modulations or harmonic surprises in the B section that performers often rush through.

Program a full Gershwin evening using selections from different sections of this book to showcase the range of his writing. Pair individual songs with standard art song repertoire to demonstrate how Gershwin elevated the American popular song into concert material. Use it as a semester-long resource for voice or piano students studying American songwriting, pulling five or six songs at a time rather than committing to the entire 50.

• Reading and performing syncopated rhythms specific to jazz and American popular song idioms
• Understanding harmonic language that blends jazz influences with classical chord function
• Interpreting lyrical content alongside vocal line and accompaniment texture
• Sight-reading with guitar chords and realizing from figured bass-style notation
• Balancing legit and belted vocal production across different emotional contexts