In Recital® with Jazz, Blues, & Rags, Book 4: Early Intermediate Piano Book

Stepping off the concert stage and into a smoky jazz club without leaving the practice room. These pieces have the sophisticated rhythmic architecture of art music paired with the accessibility and swagger of vernacular styles.

Students in their second or third year of study who need exposure to idioms beyond the classical canon. This book works equally well for pianists preparing for jazz electives or simply wanting to understand American popular music through their fingers.

• Record yourself playing the duets and listen back to how the parts interlock. Imbalances that feel fine in the moment reveal themselves immediately on playback.
• Use the full-performance recordings as a rhythmic anchor during first read-throughs, then step away and establish your own tempo once the form becomes familiar.
• Blues and rags live in their rubato. Allow yourself to sit slightly behind the beat in the left hand while the melody leans forward; that tension is the genre's heartbeat.
• Spend time with the "About the Pieces and Composers" notes before you begin. Context shapes interpretation, and knowing whether you're playing a Joplin standard or a later blues arrangement changes how you approach the phrasing.

Slot these solos into spring recitals to break up all-classical programs with genuine American repertoire. The duets also serve as excellent sight-reading material for studio classes and provide natural bridges for students curious about jazz but not yet ready for jazz method books.

• Swing eighth-note interpretation and triplet feel
• Blues scale navigation and improvisation foundations
• Syncopation in both hands independently
• Reading dotted rhythms and syncopated figures
• Left-hand stride and walking bass patterns
• Ensemble listening and part balance in duet contexts
• Jazz articulation and phrasing conventions