Andrew Eales – Pianodao

The Joy of Graded Piano

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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The Joy of Graded Piano is a set of five new repertoire books from Yorktown Music Press, and heralds the return of one of the most iconic piano series of all time.

The five books cover Grades 1-5, offering an enjoyable and well-rounded introduction to the riches of the piano repertoire.

Denes Agay’s Joy of… piano books are one of the great achievements of music publishing. Agay’s anthologies began to appear in 1955, and he went on to produce more than 50 titles for the series, collectively selling millions of copies. These books remain popular with piano students, players, and teachers around the world to this very day, although much else has changed.

This new series of graded piano anthologies builds on that remarkable legacy with care, drawing together new titles to reflect developments in piano education and musical preferences that have occurred within the intervening decades.

It is a pleasure and a privilege to have worked with the publishers on the development of this series over the last three years:

selecting the 120 included works
editing them afresh, looking to the most authoritative sources, and adding new fingering where needed
writing background notes and practice tips for each and every piece across the series

Using the UK grade exam system as a guide, I have tried to ensure each book in the series offers a wide selection of repertoire, including many of the “greatest hits” of the Baroque, Classical and Romantic piano literature, alongside brilliant newer pieces composed by women and men from all around the world, right up to the present day.

Naoko Ikeda Graded Collection

PIANODAO MUSIC LIBRARY

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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Following the success of my series of three Graded Gillock collections published by Willis Music last year, I was delighted to be asked to compile a companion collection showcasing the wonderful music of Japanese composer Naoko Ikeda. The collection, now available from Willis Music, can be purchased from the Musicroom website here.

Naoko Ikeda: The Graded Collection includes 24 of Ikeda’s best solo piano pieces, organised in approximate order of difficulty and appropriately grouped according to the UK Grade system from Grade 2 to Grade 5 level.

These stunning pieces would make wonderful selections as “own choices” in Performance Grades, and with six pieces for each of the four grades covered, they provide a rich feast to enhance the player’s development throughout their intermediate playing years.

The pieces have been chosen to offer a flavour of the musical range of this fine composer, ranging from jazz and pop ballads to emotive pieces infused with the musical language and imagery of Japanese culture.

In the introduction that follows I will offer background to the collection in greater depth, as well as including my own piano recordings of 8 of the 24 pieces, which give a varied, representative preview of the collection.

You will also hear from Naoko Ikeda herself, as she shares about her creative journey in her own words…

Podcast with Chris Woods

PATHWAYS FOR TEACHING

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by ANDREW EALES

Readers may be aware of the Music Education Podcast hosted by Chris Woods of The Chris Woods Groove Orchestra and brought to us by the Soundstorm Music Education Agency.

I was honoured to recently be invited to take part. Below, you can listen to a newly released Podcast in which the genial Chris talks to me about my recently published How to Practise Music, as well as having a more general chat about the important place of practice in our musical journeys…

Graded Gillock • Three Essential Collections

PIANODAO MUSIC LIBRARY

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
Find out more: ABOUT PIANODAO REVIEWS

I have long been an admirer of the brilliant piano music of William Lawson Gillock (1917-1993), so it is with huge pleasure that, in conjunction with the Willis Music Company, I have selected and edited a new series of ‘graded’ collections showcasing a varied range of his best pieces.

Graded Gillock appears in three volumes, now available:

There’s little doubt in my mind that Gillock was one of the most significant educational piano composers of the twentieth century, as adept at turning out distinctively memorable and colourful piano pieces in an accessible style as he was at engaging the imaginations and enthusiasm of young learners, in doing so paving the way for today’s educational composers.

Gillock is perhaps best known here in the UK for his evocatively bluesy New Orleans Nightfall, stomping Swinging Beat and Latin-infused Carnival in Rio, all of which have been popular graded exam pieces in recent years. But what of his other music?

For this new series, I have used these favourites as a starting point, working with the composer’s long-term publisher Willis Music to explore and select Gillock’s most enjoyable and pedagogically useful music.

“The consistency William Gillock achieved in writing music that is both interesting to learners and pedagogically valuable is unmatched, in my opinion, and although a few of his pieces have appeared on exam syllabuses it is puzzling that his music is not better known in this country.

Andrew Eales has therefore done the UK market a great service by curating this series of graded books, which features 40-odd pieces altogether. The notation is enlarged in the first volume to facilitate reading, and reduces in size as you advance from book to book, a thoughtful touch… These books are a great introduction to the composer.”

Michael McMillan, Pianist magazine 128, October 2022

How to Practise Music

How to Practise Music is an affordable pocketbook packed with practical tips to empower your musical progress.
The book is my first publication with Hal Leonard, the world’s leading music publishing company.

How to Practise Music is described by the publishers in these words, and is available in both UK and US versions (Practice/Practise):

“The essential, pocket-sized companion for every musician. Accessible and authoritative, How to Practise Music is an ideal guide for anyone learning to play music. Suitable for instrumentalists and vocalists of any genre, this comprehensive handbook will give you a better idea of how to practise music, good reasons for doing so, and the confidence to succeed. “

UK EDITION • PURCHASE

US EDITION • PURCHASE