Get Off My Note, Get Out of My Way ... Please!: 12 Original Piano Duets.(Book review)

[??] Get Off My Note, Get Out of My Way ... Please!: 12 Original Piano Duets, w/CD, by Anne Moot, Hal Leonard Corp. (www.halleonard.com), 2007; 32 pp.; $12.95

With the amusing title, Get Off My Note, Get Out of My Way ... Please!, Anne Moot proclaims her goal--ease in duet playing. The set is a practical compendium of collaborative issues. Important concepts such as accurate entrances, coordination of shared notes, imitation between parts, and most importantly, active listening to both self and partner, are experienced through the music.

As one works through this volume, the level of the music gets progressively more difficult. Students must be secure with accidentals and advanced keys. The hand shifts are comfortable and the spans rarely reach an octave. Although the texture is predominantly two voices per part, Moot explores a colorful harmonic language, particularly evocative in "Looking for India" and Soul. Clear inspiration will be gleaned from the expressive titles.

There are a few editorial missteps-metronome indications for pieces in 6/8 were for quarter notes instead of dotted-quarter notes. Fingerings are helpful, but their placement is inconsistent (for blocked ...