Halloween – Pianodao

Halloween Favourites

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

As Halloween approaches, many teachers and players ask about top choices of easy, but spooky, piano music to enjoy on these darker evenings.

Method books and anthologies often include suitably scary thrills, but for whole collections dedicated to exploring the ghoulish and macabre, here are some chilling choices. Several are also suitable beyond October 31st, offering fantastic, magical music that can be enjoyed around the year.

Between them, these titles will thrill players from elementary to intermediate level, as shown. Simply click on the images and titles below to read the full reviews…

Ghostly Piano Tales

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

In addition to her superb Play it Again Piano series for adults returning to the piano (reviewed here ) and ground-breaking Women Composers: Graded Anthology series (reviewed here), Melanie Spanswick is a busy composer with a growing catalogue of titles to her name, including several from Schott Music.

For her latest, Spanswick delivers 24 Imaginative Piano Pieces for elementary to early intermediate players which dive headlong into the world of the macabre. Is there suddenly a chill in the air?

Facing our Fears

Fermata • The Pianodao Blog
Short Reflections by Andrew Eales

Halloween is a time in which popular culture celebrates the macabre, but for pianists, our most destructive fear is often not an irrational terror of supernatural gremlins, but the panic that fills our hearts at the thought of stepping out on stage, approaching a looming grand piano, and performing to an audience.

I have recently written about the positive benefits of performing, but what about the anxieties that many need to overcome in order to do so? In this companion piece, let’s consider the terrors that must be overcome in order to give a confident performance…

Grooves for Piano Dudes

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Heather Hammond is well established as one of the best-loved educational composers in the UK today, with more than 100 publications in print (piano and woodwind) from a variety of publishers.

The last time I took a good look at Hammond’s music was in my review of her Ballads Without Words, brought to us by EVC Music. In this review, I’m considering a contrasting series of her music from the same publisher.

Grooves for Piano Dudes currently includes three volumes, including one with a special Halloween theme. All are suitable for intermediate players, and between them offer 37 fresh Hammond compositions in jazz, rock, blues and boogie styles…

Donald Thomson’s Halloween Piano Tunes

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Having only just reviewed the Willis Music’s Halloween anthology Spooky Sounds here’s another dastardly publication, this time from EVC Music and scaring us with 19 original pieces from the excellent Donald Thomson.

I have previously praised Thomson’s Celtic Piano Music (reviewed here), and am equally enthusiastic about this collection. Let’s open it up to find out what’s lurking within…

Willis Music’s ‘Strange Sounds’

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

With autumn well upon us, and a new school year firmly underway, many teachers and players will no doubt be looking for repertoire to enjoy as we approach Halloween.

Each year I am asked to recommend suitable music for the annual spook-fest, and for late elementary to early intermediate players, around UK Grades 2-4, a recent compilation of “10 Bewitching Piano Solos” from The Willis Music Company could be just the ticket.

Intrigued? Let’s tiptoe through the gate and investigate the secrets within…

Mystery Piano

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Of the many new piano collections reviewed here on Pianodao over the last couple of years, one of the smaller number to make a particular impact within my own teaching studio has been Hans-Günter Heumann’s Fantasy Piano (reviewed here) which has become a firm favourite with early-intermediate players.

Pieces such as Rainbow Fairy and The Sunken Island of Atlantis have started to appear in our regular student concerts, and clearly appeal to players and audiences alike.

Heumann has now produced a brand new collection: a sequel, again published by Schott Music, and called Mystery Piano. So let’s see how it compares…

Fantasy Piano: 20 Enchanting Easy Pieces

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

With the new term getting underway at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, now is surely a good time to mention Hans-Günter Heumann‘s magical collection ‘Fantasy Piano’, recently published by Schott Music.