Top 25 Reasons Why Jazz/Pop Should be Blended with Classics in the Piano Curriculum

Why should piano teachers incorporate contemporary vernacular idioms and various styles of improvisation, including jazz, into the teaching of traditional piano repertoire? Here are the top 25 reasons:

• 1) "Recreational music making" has taken on much greater value; the social reasons for teaching jazz/pop/folk are influencing lesson goals now, more than ever. Often, students simply need music to play, to share with friends who love music but are not trained musicians.
• 2) Students who are flexible enough to play familiar pieces such as movie themes and favorite church pieces frequently interest their non-piano playing friends in taking lessons.
• 3) When a student can easily pick up and learn a song from the school musical, they become part of that cultural event, even if they don't have a role in the play.
• 4) Students who develop facility in skills such as playing from lead sheets, transposing, and harmonizing folk, jazz and/or religious songs by ear, increase their opportunities for gaining ensemble experience.
• 5) They become accompanists for their singing or instrumentalist friends or family members. They often take a more active role in their summer camp's music time. They are asked to play in their school's jazz band. Frequently, they play for their church or temple's events, and take part in town concerts.