Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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‘Magic Beans’ is the latest collection of easy piano pieces by Ben Crosland, and will be published on Saturday 5th March 2016.
Having received an advance copy from publisher Editions Musica Ferrum, I am delighted to offer this first in-depth review of the book…
Continue reading Ben Crosland’s Magic BeansSelected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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In my review of Barbara Arens’ collection of ’21 Amazingly Easy Pieces’ last month I concluded:
“The partnership between composer and publisher has clearly worked brilliantly here, and the resulting book is quite simply a delight. Let’s hope for more to come!”
I’m therefore particularly happy to be reviewing the follow up ‘Piano Misterioso’, especially as all the praise offered in my previous review equally applies here.
Subtitled “28 Magically Easy Pieces”, the collection would suit early intermediate players at around UK Grade 3 level. And it is clear that publishers Breitkopf & Härtel have again given their full professional attention to editorial detail, beautifully presenting Barbara’s latest pieces with class and distinction.
Continue reading Barbara Arens: Piano MisteriosoSelected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Created by leading educator Paul Harris and brought to us by Faber Music, “Practice Starters” is an innovative pack of cards which aims to kick start and refresh your practice sessions. As we’ll see, it’s a great learning resource, and a lot of fun!..
Continue reading Practice Starters – Pick a Card!Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Christopher Norton is very deservedly one of the most famous and beloved educational composers alive today. Perhaps best known for his ground-breaking and million-selling ‘Microjazz’ series, Norton has added many other outstanding collections to his list of publications, with material for pianists at every level.
His piano “Preludes” series from Boosey & Hawkes has proved popular with players at an early advanced level (around UK Grades 7-8), with genre-based collections that include ‘Jazz Preludes’, ‘Rock Preludes’, ‘Latin Preludes’ and ‘Country Preludes’. To these, Norton has also added the more exotic ‘Eastern Preludes Collection’…
Continue reading Christopher Norton: Eastern PreludesSelected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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21 Amazingly Easy Pieces is an original collection of new pieces by Barbara Arens, published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 2014, which has recently come to my attention, and I am seriously impressed with it.
Composer Barbara Arens is a passionately dedicated piano teacher. She began her studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg at the age of 13. After a concert career performing primarily as harpsichordist and organist, she now puts her diverse abilities and experiences into composing for her piano
pupils. She presently lives near Würzburg, Germany, after living in Beirut, Dallas, San Francisco, Singapore, Salzburg, London and Munich.
Knowing that Barbara has such extensive experience – of performing, of teaching, and of the world – gave me high hopes for these books, and I was not disappointed.
Continue reading 21 Amazingly Easy PiecesSelected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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The latest series of new piano music books from ABRSM promises “great arrangements for easy piano”.
Does it deliver? Let’s take a look…
Continue reading ABRSM’s ‘Piano Mix’Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Over the years ABRSM have produced a steady flow of graded piano repertoire books to supplement their exam resources, with series such as A Keyboard Anthology and Short Romantic Pieces becoming standard items in the teacher’s library.
However, one could have been forgiven for wondering whether some of these selections were made up of the most obscure pieces set in previous syllabi rather than the most widely enjoyed. So when Faber Music brought out their “Best of Grade…” books a few years ago, those looking for a one-stop collection of consistently appealing and varied pieces breathed a collective sigh of relief.
This summer ABRSM have responded with the publication of Encore, a set of four books which, based on their own data, include the most popular pieces featured in graded exams over the last decade or so.
Happily these collections include some great in-house pieces and arrangements now unavailable elsewhere. So, might these books play a central role in students learning over the next few years?
Let’s take a closer look.
Continue reading ABRSM’s Encore SeriesSelected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Lucinda Mackworth-Young’s new book “Piano by Ear” fills a massive gap in the market. Quite simply this is the book that I, and no doubt many other thousands of pianists and teachers, have been waiting for. For years!
I even considered writing something like it myself at one point, back at the time my 1990’s Keyquest tuition books for electronic keyboard were just out. But thank goodness: Lucinda Mackworth-Young has saved us all the effort, and has certainly done a great job of it!
Continue reading Lucinda Mackworth-Young: Piano by Ear
