New Directions® For Strings, Piano Accompaniment Book 1: Piano Accompaniment Book

Purposeful and encouraging. The music avoids condescension while respecting where beginners are, building momentum through accessible melodies and thoughtful harmonic progressions that make tuning and intonation work feel musical rather than rote.

String educators introducing students to ensemble playing with reliable harmonic and rhythmic scaffolding. Pianists who accompany beginning orchestras and want materials that grow with their students' technical demands.

• Balance the piano texture so individual string voices remain audible; this isn't a reduction of a full orchestra, but a thoughtful collaboration between the ensemble and the keyboard.
• Use the assessment checkpoints built into the method to inform your accompaniment choices, adapting dynamics and articulation clarity to match what students are focusing on that day.
• Shape phrases with the strings rather than imposing a predetermined tempo; flexibility in the first year of playing creates confidence and musical awareness.

Anchor your rehearsals with these accompaniments as you establish your string program's foundation; the book's structure supports incremental skill-building across the school year without requiring supplementary materials. The collaborative arrangement also works well in mixed ensembles where piano students need supportive repertoire that builds their sight-reading and ensemble awareness.

• Left-hand tetrachord development and proper hand position
• Sustained tone production and bow control
• Interval intonation within the context of harmonic progressions
• Rhythmic accuracy in ensemble settings
• Reading and responding to musical phrasing cues from accompaniment
• Understanding equal voice integration across different string instruments