Preludes for Piano, Volume 3: Piano Book & CD

Dobbins writes for pianists who want improvisation to feel purposeful rather than arbitrary. The performance notes ground each prelude in specific harmonic and structural ideas, so your students aren't improvising in a vacuum; they're responding to composed frameworks that actually teach jazz vocabulary and phrasing. The included CD recordings model how these pieces live in real time.

Each prelude balances composed elegance with jazz sensibility. The harmonic language is sophisticated and sometimes chromatic, creating spaces where improvisation feels like a natural extension of the written material rather than an interruption. You move between moments of precision and moments of freedom, each deepening the other.

This collection addresses classically trained pianists who want to develop improvisation skills without abandoning their technical foundation. It also works for experienced improvisers seeking structured contexts that challenge them to break predictable patterns and keep their playing spontaneous.

• Study the performance notes before playing. Dobbins signals which harmonic areas invite soloing and which passages should stay composed, so you know where to take risks and where to respect the form.
• Use the CD to hear how tempo and touch shape these pieces. Notice how the recorded performances treat rubato and dynamic shaping; then choose whether to follow that model or find your own interpretation.
• Record yourself across multiple sessions. Since the goal is spontaneity, tracking your performances over time shows you which ideas feel fresh and which have calcified into habits.
• Separate learning the composed material from improvising over it. Get the written notes secure first, then layer in your own material once the harmonic map is automatic.

Feature one or two preludes in a student jazz recital, pairing them with the classical repertoire your pianists already perform. This signals that improvisation is a legitimate performance skill, not a side project. You might also use individual preludes as capstone assignments in intermediate piano courses, where students demonstrate both score literacy and creative thinking.

• Reading and performing through-composed jazz changes without a lead sheet
• Improvising over chord progressions while maintaining compositional coherence
• Balancing written material with spontaneous invention in real time
• Responding to harmonic geography (knowing when a chord progression invites soloing versus when it needs to stay notated)
• Developing personal touch and phrasing in a jazz context