Measures of Success Piano Accompaniment Book 1: Piano Accompaniment Book

This accompaniment book transforms the piano from a supporting instrument into a teaching partner. The carefully crafted parts support student intonation and phrasing while providing pianists with genuinely musical material that keeps them engaged rather than relegated to rhythm section duty.

The writing feels purposeful rather than decorative. You move through progressions and textures that mirror what students are learning in their method books, creating a sense of musical coherence across the full ensemble.

This accompaniment book serves pianists who support concert bands using the Measures of Success curriculum. Whether you're a teacher playing for your own ensemble or a pianist collaborating with a band director, you'll find parts that grow alongside your students.

• Balance your dynamic presence with the band's developmental stage; early in the book, anchor the ensemble gently without overwhelming young players still finding their sound.
• Listen through the band's harmonic progression before doubling it; this gives you room to voice inversions or adjust your registration based on what the winds are actually producing.
• Mark the conceptual learning moments the method emphasizes (key centers, phrase structure, harmonic function) and lean into those passages to reinforce what students are studying off the page.

Use this as part of your regular rehearsal setup from the first day; the piano part is woven into the method's pedagogical design, so accompaniment from book one creates immediate harmonic context students need to hear. It also works beautifully for community or family concerts, where the band plus piano creates a fuller sound without requiring additional instrumentation.

• Harmonic awareness through ear training with consistent accompaniment patterns
• Intonation refinement by matching pitch and vibrato to accompaniment tone
• Phrasing and shaping by responding to piano's dynamic and articulation choices
• Understanding voice leading and chord function through listening to harmonic support