Palette of Touches, Intermediate

By Joanne Haroutounian

Palette of Touches–Intermediate offers a way for developing pianists to gain an aural awareness of tonal colors available on the piano and the technical tools needed to produce them in performance.

The book introduces a variety of legato, staccato, and chordal touches through the following:

• Detailed descriptions, photographs, and online video clip demonstrations
• Recommended touch symbols to apply to printed exercises and scores
• Exercises specifically written to match each touch
• Excerpts from traditional piano literature for quick application
• Selected pieces of classic repertoire that feature each touch

Teachers and students learn to define interpretive decisions in music being studied using a descriptive, clear-cut "touch vocabulary," assigning a level of weight into the key (key depth) to define dynamics, and through exercises and repertoire that allow students to physically fine-tune the sound and feel of these touches. The results can be remarkable. Student performances suddenly gain life and vitality!