Despite any intention of adhering to the adage not to judge a book by its cover, one can’t help but feel like they will be in for a treat when exploring the piano music tucked inside the enchanting covers of My Forest Notebook by Angeline Bell. And I must say, the music inside is every […]
Repertoire Suggestions
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 […]
Silhouettes – A Delightful New Piano Book by Jakub Metelka
One of my favorite pastimes is sitting down with a new piano book and sight-reading through it. The pleasure is further enhanced when it’s a new collection by a lesser-known composer with a fresh and engaging sound. Such was the case with the trio of books by Czech composer Jakub Metelka that I discovered last […]
Rote Favorites in the Piano Studio this Fall
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that I’m a huge proponent of using rote teaching with all of my students. Here are a few favorite pieces from this fall: How do you get an energetic 8-year old boy who wants to play everything lightning fast to appreciate playing beautiful musical sounds […]
Review of Color Suites Piano Solos by Starr Meneely
A delightful book of piano solos called Color Suites (or Colour if you’re in the UK!) by Starr Meneely made it to my studio this week, and I have thoroughly enjoyed playing through it! Starr lives in the UK and has been teaching piano for 27 years. In addition to this new collection she has […]
Review of Jakub Metelka’s Piano Books
Whenever I’m considering new music for my piano students, there is one important test that a piece must pass. I must like it. If I play through it and don’t like it, it’s a definite pass. If I play through it and feel indifferent, it gets set to the side. But if I play through […]
