Circles

Beginner

You can never have too many pieces for this hand position. When pupils have mastered pieces like this, they are certainly ready for the Prep Test. Here there are lots of opportunities to practise dynamics.

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Big Cat Groove

Grade 3

This piece needs lots of energy to drive the left hand quavers, which are straight, not swung. Learn to play this and you'll be one cool cat!

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Tip-Tap Toes

Grade 3

There's quite a lot going on in this piece - staccato, legato, swing rhythms, crossing of hands, left hand melody - lots of details to perfect!

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Rollercoaster

Prep Test Level

Try to play this piece so that the music passes from one hand to the other without any gaps or bumps! Also, make sure you add the dynamics!

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Chromatic Rag

Grade 3

From Grade 2, students need to play chromatic scales. Here's a more fun way to practise them!

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Bouncing Ball

Prep Test Level

It's never easy to play staccato in one hand and legato in the other. Here's a piece which is mostly staccato (the bouncing ball) but there are a few legato passages for the right hand.

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Wandering Along

More advanced

This little theme meanders along in various registers of the piano, offering a chance to practise the crossing of hands.

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Three Little Pieces

Beginner

Sometimes piano courses move on too quickly, and children need consolidation. Hence now and then simple pieces like these will appear on this site. They won't change the world, but they will give valuable extra practice.

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Mermaids in the Mist

Grade 4

This atmospheric piece is unusual in that the player must keep the sustain pedal depressed throughout. The right hand must remain soft, which is a good challenge.

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Magic at Midnight

Prep Test Level

I love the book Tom's Midnight Garden, it's so atmospheric. I've tried to conjure up a magical, mysterious atmosphere in this piece.

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The Steeple Clock

Prep Test Level

This piece offers an opportunity to practise using ties. I've woven a little story through the tune - children might like to ask someone to narrate the story as they play.

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A Simple Song

Prep Test Level

This should be within the grasp of a Prep Test student. There are some notes outside the familiar range, but I have helped out here by naming the notes! It's fun to explore a range which is normally out of bounds for the beginner.

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Swimming With Seals

Grade 2

This title was suggested by Pelagia, who swam in the English Channel recently with a seal watching from close by! A Grade 2 student who is willing to have a go at pedalling will be able to try this piece.

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Fairy Twinkle in Happyville

Grade 1

I think I'd like to live in Happyville. One of my students wrote a story about it. Then I wrote a song about it.

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Horizons

More advanced

A more sophisticated piece today, which would challenge a grade 4 or 5 student, in terms of pedalling and interpretation, so I have categorised it as grade 6.

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Autumn Leaves Falling

Grade 3

One of my students suggested a piece representing leaves 'zigzagging' to the ground. I think my leaves are falling in a more controlled manner, but hopefully it has still become a nice piece of music.

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Cave of the Trolls

Prep Test Level

One of my pupils wrote a story about trolls who live in a cave - so I wrote a piece about it! Although I've categorised it as Prep Test level, it's a little trickier than the infamous 'Train Ride'.

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High Spirits

Grade 2

I wrote this tune to cheer up some of my students during the lockdown. The semibreves in bars 6 and 8 can be omitted if this is an awkward stretch.

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Three Practice Pieces

Beginner

Useful pieces to give pupils who are not quite ready to move from the traditional 'starter' position.

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Pterrifying Pterodactyls

Grade 2

This piece should be played entirely with the thumbs and fifth fingers of each hand. It's good practice for keeping the fingers rigid while the wrists do all the work.

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