Sheet Music Reviews – Page 3

Bluey: First Ever Piano Book

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Since its launch in 2018, the Australian animated series Bluey has conquered the pre-school world, while winning multiple awards, critical acclaim, and praise for its positive messages, wholesome family values, and focus on playful childhood learning.

Created and written by Joe Brumm, Bluey has spawned a stage show, video game, upcoming feature length movie, and an avalanche of merchandising that includes toys, books, an album of music from the show, and now the Bluey First Ever Piano Book, written by the show’s music supervisor and composer Joff Bush, and published by Faber Music.

Bluey front cover and sample pages NEW with logos — Bluey First Ever Piano Book

The Bluey First Ever Piano Book is, like the television show, aimed at pre-school children, designed for early informal learning without an instructor, and for shared enjoyment by children with their parents. As Faber put it,

“This book is for beginners to play with their favourite grown-up. No musical know-how is required. You’ll be helped along the way by Busker (AKA Bluey composer, Joff Bush). Have fun making Bluey music magic together!”

Bluey First Ever Piano Book is unlike anything I have previously reviewed, so I began by watching a few episodes of the show (purely for research purposes, of course). But as a piano educator, what’s my opinion of the book?

Winter Piano Anthology

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

The Faber Music Piano Anthology series of deluxe bumper books have proven one of the popular publishing successes of recent years, and certainly these robust collections combine excellent value for money with a compelling mix of piano music for late intermediate to advanced players.

With more than a dozen titles now in the series, the anthologies cover a wide range of musical styles and tastes. Some home in on specific genres, such as pop ballads, jazz standards, and piano duets, while others mix core and lesser-known classics, piano arrangements, and relaxed contemporary solos.

For a look at previous titles, you can explore the series here, but let’s now turn to the latest addition, a seasonal chilled Winter Piano Anthology…

Christmas Imaginations

The Christmas Shortlist

Selected and reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Growing numbers of music publishers are embracing the trend of releasing multi-composer compilations of new piano music, a formula which offers them plenty of scope to champion different names, showcasing a variety of contrasting styles and individual voices.

Earlier this year I praised The Sonatina Collection from Hal Leonard, which features nine inspiring late intermediate works by some of American’s leading contemporary composers. Many of the same names now reappear in a fresh anthology of Christmas Carol arrangements from the publisher.

Christmas Imaginations features 16 familiar melodies reimagined in a variety of styles from jolly jazz to more lyrical ‘poignant preludes’, and the collection is again well suited to late intermediate players.

Christmas Boogie and Jazz

The Christmas Shortlist

Selected and reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Brent Edstrom’s stunning series of Jazz Piano Solos collections has reached its sixty seventh volume with Hal Leonard’s publication of the new Boogie Woogie Christmas.

I have previously praised several titles from this series, and in this review I am going to look at the new addition as well as recapping previous three more Christmas books in the series that I have looked at in the past, bringing them together here to help readers decide where to start and which to choose.

Together, these four cover an extraordinary amount of ground, freshly dusted with deep, crisp, and evenly festive brilliance. These Jazz Piano Solos will undoubtedly keep advanced players engaged with their superbly stylish boogie and jazzed up reimaginings of the Christmas canon…

Christmas for Ten Fingers

The Christmas Shortlist

Selected and reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Over the last two years, OUP Music have done a stellar job of refreshing and updating their enduringly popular Piano Time method series (reviewed here) and Tunes for Ten Fingers (reviewed here) children’s primer books, with a fresh new look, audio files, updated pedagogy, and brand new music.

They haven’t forgotten their evergreen Piano Time Carols book, the long-standing studio essential also now benefiting from a contemporary redesign and downloadable audio, which I will consider below.

Best of all, they have published a brand new Christmas for Ten Fingers, which proves to be a superbly engaging easy collection for younger players, with duet parts, and rich with creative teaching potential.

In the review which follows, I will initially focus on the latter (which is written by Michael Higgins) and then check out the new-look Piano Time Carols.

Pianoworks Christmas

The Christmas Shortlist

Selected and reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

I am often asked to recommend a fairly basic Christmas piano book, suitable for Elementary players at around Grade 1 to Grade 2 level, with a selection of traditional carols along with a few more contemporary favourites, and in straightforward, well-crafted piano-friendly arrangements.

Within my teaching practice, Pianoworks Christmas has proven to be that perennial chestnut, and in a crowded market remains my all-time top recommendation for a basic, no-frills Christmas piano songbook.

Although part of the superb Pianoworks series of books for older beginners, the collection has no links to the actual method itself other than branding, and of course the fact that it appeals to adult players as much as it does to youngsters.

Pianoworks Christmas has proven to be hugely and consistently popular with players of all ages, year after year. It’s simply a great book, which essentially reviews itself. But here are my thoughts on it, sample pages, and a full list of its contents…

Calming Christmas Carols for Graded Piano

The Christmas Shortlist

Selected and reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

With so many Christmas-themed piano books on the market, and with yet more appearing to challenge our established favourites each year, it takes something quite special and distinctive to stand out from the crowd.

Calming Christmas Carols for Graded Piano, published by The Willis Music Company, is certainly unique, and may prove to be one of those ‘must-have classics’ that we didn’t realise we needed until it appeared.

Delivering “15 Peaceful Pieces for Piano Grades 1-5” freshly arranged by Alistair Watson, with three designated for each level from Grade 1 to Grade 5, the collection obviously has one eye on the education market, the other on appealing to the vogue for music with a relaxed vibe.

Cleverly, and rather uniquely positioned as the progressive collection to which learners can reliably return each year throughout their Elementary to Intermediate piano journey, and thus maximising the book’s continuing value to teachers, learners, and parents, the concept is certainly attractive. So let’s find out how well it lives up to its promise…

Music We Might Have Played

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

This year is my 50th at the piano and, oh my, how the piano scene has changed in half a century! So it is fitting that the latest publication I have had the honour of working on celebrates the positive transformation of our repertoire in recent years.

Written in partnership with the brilliant musician, composer, broadcaster, and writer Jack Pepper, and with a foreword by Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Music We Might Have Played brings together nineteen solo pieces in a wide range of styles, written by composers from around the world whose piano music we were both unaware of when growing up.