Andrew Eales

Did I play it right?

Fermata • The Pianodao Blog
Short Reflections by Andrew Eales

It’s shocking, really, this thought that the way we play a piece of music can be regarded as either ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. And I’m talking about attitude of course, not outcome, because basic accuracy, precision and technical control have always mattered, and always will. But they are far from the whole story. And nor is there only one ‘correct’, valid interpretation of a piece.

We all want to play the best we can, and help students hone their ability and understanding. But where did we get the idea that talking about piano playing in such a binary way, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, is appropriate? Certainly, the overstated opinions of teachers have played their part; the more esteemed the expert, the more authoritatively correct their views are supposed to be.

Exams, competitions, and ‘masterclasses’ further instil a sense that music has to be played in a certain way, points and prizes typically awarded according to how successfully a performance meets a set of prescribed criteria, how well it conforms to received wisdom, or how closely it resembles the judge’s or examiner’s own interpretation.

Curiosity, the playful spark of original thinking and creative exploration, is easy enough for anyone to appreciate and enjoy, but perhaps harder to codify and quantify in an agreed mark scheme.

Florence Price • Concert Works

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Interest in the music of Florence Price (1887–1953) has grown considerably in the last few years, with her music becoming a regular feature in concert halls and recording studios, and her piano music firmly reestablishing its place in music education.

Price’s music has appeared in several piano compilations that I have reviewed here, including my own Joy of Graded Piano Grade 4 book, and a couple of years ago the Hal Leonard publication Florence Price: Rediscovered Gems for intermediate pianists was widely heralded as a publishing success.

In the Pianodao review of that book, I concluded:

“These are pieces of substance and quality that will universally delight, motivate, inspire, and win over players and audiences everywhere. They are indeed rediscovered gems!”

Florence Price: Rediscovered Gems was the work of editor and Price expert Michael Clark, who has subsequently compiled a new anthology for late intermediate to early advanced pianists, with a nucleus of repertoire that, in my estimation, would suit players around UK Grade 6-7 level, and simply called Price Piano Works. This new collection is published by Edition Peters.

Also newly available, author, pianist and music historian Dr. Samantha Ege has delivered a stunning new edition, published by OUP Music, of Price’s celebrated Fantasie Nègre: Four Fantasies for Piano.

This is arguably among the most important scholarly critical performing editions I have ever been sent for review, offering as it does four milestone concert pieces, presented in complete editions for the first time, that will suit diploma recitalists and professional pianists.

In this review, I will consider each of these two new publications in turn…

Autumn Repertoire Project

Active Repertoire Project
Written by Andrew Eales

Pianodao’s popular Active Repertoire Project nudges and reminds us to develop a set of three or four pieces which we can play with confidence, fluency, and expression, for our own and others’ enjoyment, and preferably from memory.

By making this a top priority, we can:

start our practice sessions positively, with music we enjoy
more quickly memorise our favourite pieces
overcome our anxiety and feel more at ease playing to others

The Autumn Repertoire Sheet is FREE to download, and includes the regular spaces to list pieces to continue enjoying, as well as space to keep track of new projects and core technical work. Click here for the download:

Autumn Repertoire Project Sheet

Essential Piano Education Resources 2026-7

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

It can be overwhelming keeping track of all the latest and best resources, and I have found that my annual roundup of my favourite new releases and returning classics can be just as helpful to me as it is for other teachers reading this.

As we begin another academic year, here’s my selection of standout piano education publications from the last few months, evergreen classics that are still at the heart of my teaching, and must-have music collections with an educational focus.

To read my in-depth evaluations of any of the publications shared below, and for a better understanding of which might suit your and your students’ particular needs, simply click on the titles to open the full reviews, or right-click to open them in a new tab.

ABRSM • Encore Plus

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Spin the clock back to 2015, and ABRSM’s Encore series of four graded piano books was among the first ever reviews on Pianodao. I loved the series then and still do, although much has changed in the intervening years, and Encore has been due an update that accounts for the intervening decade of syllabus publications.

That now arrives in the form of Encore Plus, a new set of four books that broadly match the grade groupings and spirit of the original series, again compiled by Karen Marshall and complete with her teaching advice.

The original series remains available; these new volumes are not so much replacements as complementary collections, bringing together a more contemporary selection of repertoire drawn from recent ABRSM syllabuses.

ABRSM are certainly no strangers to graded compilations of this sort, but I think Encore Plus is among their best series yet. In this review I will reflect on the included repertoire, consider Marshall’s supplementary teaching material, and assess the overall quality of the resource…

First 50 Left-Hand Patterns

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Over the last couple of years, Hal Leonard have been expanding their hugely popular First 50 series of bumper songbooks for easy piano to include some interesting educational titles that fill a particular niche. The first of these titles that I reviewed was Alistair Watson’s First 50 Chords, about which I wrote,

“I have no doubt that this book will find significant popularity, and deservedly so. I am sent plenty of educational material to evaluate; this particular book is a real “keeper”, and one which I anticipate making plenty of use of in the years to come.”

That said, I also mentioned a few caveats, questioning whether the publication offered sufficient material to help players effectively realise lead sheets in practice::

“Learning to vamp using the given chord patterns is likely to be the key that unlocks real enjoyment of the material, but many learners particularly struggle at this point”

Few things sound as unpleasant on the piano as bashing out root-position triads at the lower end of the keyboard. So for pianists who want to play from chord notation or create vamp accompaniments, learning stylistically appropriate left-hand patterns is an essential skill to prioritise, but one for which there are too few methods or manuals.

Happily, Watson’s latest book in the series, First 50 Left-Hand Patterns is a brilliant sequel to his previous outing, and aims to address this point…

Classics for Ten Fingers

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Over the last couple of years, OUP Music have done a stellar job of thoroughly updating, revising, and giving a fresh new look to their beloved Piano Time series and Tunes for Ten Fingers books, refreshing the musical content of the existing bestsellers and adding additional titles to reinvigorate the range.

When I first heard of the latest title, Classics for Ten Fingers, I wasn’t immediately inspired, imagining it to be a collection featuring dull arrangements of the usual classical hits, but I’m happy to report that the book has far exceeded my initial expectations.

Written by Michael Higgins (who also brought us the excellent Christmas for Ten Fingers) and published by OUP Music, Classics for Ten Fingers is billed as A first piano book of easy classical pieces with accompaniments, and is a beautifully presented, colourful collection full of unexpected musical surprises.

In fact, it is so good that it’s not just a must-have for existing users of the series, but could equally entice those who prefer other methods but want to expand their beginner resources to include a wide and diverse range of great piano composers from previous generations…

The Piano Scale Book

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

When I reviewed Ben Andrew’s first three graded Piano Scales Books a couple of summers ago, I wrote in my conclusion:

“Ben Andrew and Hal Leonard must surely be congratulated for bringing so useful and innovative a new approach to a crowded market, and one which so uniquely supplements those already available… I suspect that for many beginners, Ben Andrew’s Piano Scale Books could transform the early stages of scales learning for the better.”

Now Hal Leonard have published his complete version of The Piano Scale Book, a manual that applies his unique visual approach to learning scales and arpeggios across every major and minor key (up to six sharps and flats).

To understand his method, you need to read my main review here, and I won’t repeat the same content again. Rather, in this review I will look specifically at the new complete manual and comment on anything that is new or different…