This book is concise, practical, and has modular content that can be taught in several flexible formats. The introduction of one hundred musical elements is supported by three hundred activities.Ten core melodies and seventeen other authentic pieces are carefully sequenced in mostly fixed hand positions. The intervallic reading of melodic notation is emphasized. Melodic repetition and gradually more demanding accompaniments help students with divergent abilities to play successfully. Students with prior musical experience will find that this course introduces them to aspects of musicianship that will enhance their future efforts.

This book will facilitate meeting the Core Music Standards for grades 5 through 8, and the novice/intermediate Harmonizing Instruments Strand. It will help prepare students for the novice/intermediate Ensemble Strand, the proficient Composition/Theory Strand and the proficient Technology Strand. It will also facilitate introductory college instruction.

Patricia Melcher Bissell received BM and MM degrees in piano and composition from Peabody Conservatory and Yale University, and she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. Bissell has been a keyboard class teacher at Gateway Community College in New Haven, CT since 2004, taught K-12 music in suburban and inner city schools, operated piano studios, and she was the floor exercise arranger/pianist for two U.S. Women's Olympic Gymnastic Teams.