Learning Together 2: Piano Acc. Score

The piano accompaniment score transforms a class set into a full musical experience, allowing you to add harmonic and rhythmic depth to what might otherwise be a unison reading exercise. This book proves invaluable when you need flexible programming: play a solo with accompaniment for a concert feature, back a section rehearsal with piano support to lock intonation and balance, or layer it beneath small-group performances at festivals.

The piano accompaniment grounds these unison melodies in harmonic clarity and forward motion. What reads as a simple line becomes a complete musical phrase, supported by a sensitive partner that listens and responds.

String teachers and directors who want to enrich their orchestral arrangements with professional-quality accompaniment without hiring a pianist or learning the parts themselves. This score works equally well in class settings, private lesson contexts, and festival performances where a single piano can support soloists, sections, or full ensembles.

• Balance the piano part so it supports rather than overpowers the string lines; the accompaniment exists to serve the primary melody, not dominate it.
• Use rehearsal tracks to help students internalize their parts before adding the piano in performance; this builds confidence in young ensembles.
• Adjust piano dynamics based on whether you're accompanying a solo violinist, a small section group, or a full class ensemble; the same piece needs different support at different scales.
• Reference the CD performances to hear how the accompaniment sits with each arrangement; this gives you a benchmark for tempo and balance in your own rehearsals.

Feature a string soloist or chamber group with piano accompaniment at a winter or spring concert, adding textural variety to an all-strings program. The flexible instrumentation means you can program the same piece multiple ways throughout the year: first as a class exercise with accompaniment in October, then as a trio feature with piano in February.

• Playing with accompaniment and maintaining independence from harmonic support
• Reading unison melodies across different string instruments in treble and bass clefs
• Listening to and blending with a pianist in real time
• Developing ensemble intonation through clear harmonic reference
• Understanding how melody relates to harmonic structure