Review of My Seaside Notebook by Angeline Bell

A beautiful new piano book arrived in my mailbox, begging to be opened, begging to be played. The musical sounds captured in clean black print were even more delightful than the cover. All of this is the work of Angeline Bell, a Malaysian piano teacher and composer in the UK. She kindly sent me a copy of My Seaside Notebook, a collection of “20 intermediate piano solos in pop, jazz, and modern classical styles.”

I always agree to reviews under the pretense of scouting out new music for my students, but I know a book is a winner when I can’t help sitting down at the piano and starting my practice with a play-through of several pieces for my own enjoyment. A couple of the ones I found myself turning to over and over again are “Sand in My Sandwich,” a peppy, swinging tune in A Major that begins with a light-hearted vibe of single staccato notes in the left hand with a syncopated legato melody in the right hand, which gives way to a richer B-section of repetitive blocked chords in the left hand.

Most of the pieces in the book are two pages in length, with four of the twenty coming in at three pages. They capture a wide range of styles, and my other favorite is a stark contrast to the first. “Broken Seashells” is a mellow, lyrical, B-flat piece in 12/8. In her performance notes, Angeline describes it as being a mixture of melancholy and hope. It fits well in the hand and follows a simple ABA form. At the beginning of the book is complete collection of Performance Notes with a brief description of each piece. I love that there is a wide variety of keys employed throughout the book, making it a perfect way for intermediate students to experience many different key signatures. Imaginative titles capture the imagination and well-written music is a joy to play.

You can find additional information on Angeline’s website not only about this book, but also her other beautiful piano books, and if you want to listen to recordings of any of the pieces, you can find a full playlist of My Seaside Notebook on YouTube. I also discovered that Angeline has a website with free Bible-based songs for kids! You can listen to them and download sheet music for guitar and piano.

I’m so grateful to have this repertoire available in my studio (both for myself and my students!) and I look forward to exploring more of Angeline’s piano compositions!