This book is an ideal resource for students, professionals, and anyone looking to develop their functional piano skills – from basic harmonic accompaniments to engaging stylistic renditions and improvisations. It can be used as a collegiate text, a supplement to classroom or private instruction, or for self-guided practice by music therapists, educators, and amateurs. Using a step-by-step approach, the book demystifies such diverse styles as blues, country, gospel, rock, pop, Latin, and jazz; explores modal and pentatonic improvisation; and provides a process for simplifying written scores through characteristic song leadsheets, examples, and exercises. Projects at the end of each chapter challenge the reader to take the content in creative directions. Chapter summaries and an appendix of accompaniment patterns are provided for easy reference.