September 2018: First Looks: New Music Reviews
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
New Music Reviews Editor’s noteHo, ho, ho! The holidays are on the horizon. We know how it is for piano teachers (we’re teachers ourselves). We frantically run to the music store, hoping to snag our favorites before the teacher with 120 students cleans out the...
September/October 2017: New Music Reviews
September 2017; Vol. 9, No. 5
Happy Holidays! (S1-4) We Three Kings, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Deck the Hall Hoedown, arranged by Wendy Stevens. For teachers wanting some fun and creative options to spice up their holiday recitals, three new arrangements by Wendy Stevens are fantastic choices. “We Three...
To Play and to Study: The Thrill of Discovery
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
Learning is thrilling. As we feel our own potential expand, we seek to develop our capabilities even further. We feel excitement when a concept clicks into understanding. Our curiosity is piqued when a new challenge reveals itself. The satisfaction of learning is amplified when we are thoroughly engaged in discovery and exploration. Watching...
November 2018: New Music Reviews
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
(S3-4) Big Phat Jazz Piano Solos: 10 Big Phat Band Classics, arranged by Gordon Goodwin. (S3-4) If you’re not familiar with the name “Gordon Goodwin,” you probably haven’t played in a high school jazz band in the last fifteen years or so. Goodwin’s music has achieved near ubiquity in the jazz education world because of his...
November/December 2017: New Music Reviews
November 2017; Vol. 9, No. 6
(S3) From Sight to Sound: 6 Original PIano Solos, by Randall Hartsell. Randall Hartsell composed From Sight to Sound to express the “interconnectedness of nature and our lives,” and this collection contains six reflective pieces characterized by melodic simplicity and harmonic richness. The collection capitalizes...
May 2018: New Music Reviews
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
Festival Sonatina by Eugénie Rocherelle The Classical sonatina is such a pedagogical treasure, as it provides great material to study and perform—teachers can spur growth in artistry, and students love the musically satisfying material. Eugénie Rocherolle’s Festival Sonatina has two commonalities with the Classical sonatina: its...
May/June 2017: New Music Reviews
May 2017; Vol. 9, No. 3
(S3) Aurora: 5 Original Solos Inspired by the North, by Naoko Ikeda. Japanese composer Naoko Ikeda composed five lyrical character pieces based upon “the Scandanavian landscapes of [her] own imagination.” Aurora has the potential to motivate intermediate students, especially those who enjoy music with lyrical phrasing and...
July 2018: First Looks: New Music Reviews
July 2018; Vol. 10, No. 4
Six Progressive Sonatinas for the Piano Forte, Op. 36, by Muzio Clementi. Authentic Revised Edition (“With Considerable Improvements”), edited by Arthur Houle. This volume presents Clementi’s ubiquitous Op. 36 Sonatinas in “the first and only definitive critical edition based on all the primary sources, with...
January 2018: First Looks: New Music Reviews
January 2018; Vol. 10, No. 1
(S1-2) 24 Short and Easy Pieces, Op. 1, Alexander Reinagle. Highly Recommended Teachers and students enjoy Reinagle’s pieces both for their charming writing and their accessibility to elementary students. Reinagle’s biography, moreover, is a fun and interesting one that connects traditions of European classical music to...
January/February 2017: New Music Reviews
January 2017; Vol. 9, No. 1
(S3) Preludes to Mastery, Books 1 and 2, by Chrissy Ricker. Chrissy Ricker’s two books of preludes provide a fresh and varied assortment of pieces in Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary styles. There are twenty preludes in the two volumes; each is in a different...
Technology Review: Slack — A Time-Saving App for Collaborative Projects
Spring 2019; Vol. 11, No. 2
Music teachers who collaborate with other equally busy musicians, must find creative ways around full schedules and unusual working hours. Email, text message, and social media platforms are cumbersome when communicating about team teaching, shared events, and group organizations. Consider a new tool to facilitate shared...
Spring 2019: New Music Reviews
Spring 2019; Vol. 11, No. 2
(S1-3) Imaginations Books 1 and 2, by Kevin Olson. Kevin Olson has a knack for creating fresh and original sounds at every teaching level. While incorporating the reading, rhythmic, and technical skills needed to advance the piano student, Imaginations offers a wide variety of appealing pieces. With...
First Looks: Music for Young Children® (MYC®), A group piano program for young children
Autumn 2019; Vol. 11, No. 4
MUSIC FOR YOUNG CHILDREN (MYC) is a piano-focused music curriculum designed for age-based classes of up to six children (ages 3–9). Founded in Canada by Frances Balodis program’s focus on group learning and parental involvement. in 1980, it was most recently revised in 2015, and is now an international program overseen by directors Olivia and David Ridell. MYC...
Winter 2020: New Music & Materials Reviews
Winter 2020; Vol. 11, No. 5
(S4) TOCCATA “HYGAGAN,” OPUS 229by Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee From the FJH Contemporary Keyboard Sheets, Toccata “Hygagan” by Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee is an engaging and virtuosic late-intermediate piano solo. Born in Massachusetts, Rahbee is a first-generation Armenian American. She was a piano major at Juilliard, and a...
Summer 2021: Questions & Answers
Summer 2021; Vol. 13, No. 2
Q. My elementary students want to explore the piano pedals, but they are too small to reach without straining or dangling off the bench. What do you recommend? A. The piano pedals are certainly wonderful for the resonance and color they provide, and this does spark interest...