A FABER MUSIC MAGAZINE FOR PIANO TEACHERS SUMMER 2008

Joanna MacGregortreads Unbeaten Tracks

Anthony Williams trawlsthe best exam repertoire

Enchanting new books just for kids!

Jazz chords explained:John Kember’s JazzPiano Player

Sight-reading themusical way withChristine Brown

Me And My Piano New EditionA new look for the classic piano tutor

A FABER MUSIC MAGAZINE FOR PIANO TEACHERS SUMMER 2008

PLUS FREE MUSIC SAMPLES • LATEST NEWS • NEW PUBLICATIONS

PianoForte24pp 10/7/08 14:50 Page 1

Pianofforte gives you the chance to find outmore about our composers, hear viewpoints on piano teaching issues and keep up-to-datewith our latest news and publications. Many of our best-loved educational writers contribute,including the teaching legend Fanny Waterman,the ever-prolific Pam Wedgwood and concertpianist Joanna MacGregor.

Features in this issue include Christine Brownon the musical way to approach sight-readingand John Kember providing easy ways into jazz.We unveil a new edition of one of the world’sfavourite piano tutors, Dame Fanny Waterman’sMe And My Piano, talk to Pam Wedgwoodabout arranging pop and jazz music foreducation, and find out why arrangements ofclassics are included in the new ABRSM pianosyllabus for the first time. Paul Harris offers top

tips for teaching beginners, Anthony Williamstrawls the exam syllabuses for the best qualityrepertoire past and present, plus we have somegreat new ideas for motivating beginners,particularly boys, with our new Just for Kidsseries. Whatever your level and style of teaching,we’re sure you’ll find something of interest.

Our first issue of Pianofforte was welcomed by teachers and we received some fantasticfeedback. “I am so enjoying Pianofforte! Thank you so much. It is full of excellent newideas and interesting articles”, said one teacher.We hope Pianofforte will offer you some newavenues to explore. If you have any news you’dlike to share with us, or feedback or contributionsfor the next issue, please let us know!

The Faber Music Team

Editor’s letterWelcome to the second issue of Pianofforte, the magazine for piano teachers from Faber Music.

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Every effort is made to ensure that information contained in this magazine is correct at the time of going to press. Prices, availability and album contents are subject to change without notice.

Head OfficeFaber Music Limited, 3 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AUTel: +44 (0)20 7833 7900 Fax: +44 (0)20 7833 [email protected]

Distribution CentreFaber Music Limited, Burnt Mill, Elizabeth Way, Harlow, Essex CM20 2HXTel: +44 (0)1279 828909/29 Fax: +44(0)1279 [email protected] www.fabermusic.com

Editors: Leigh Rumsey & Janella SillitoDesigner: Dave Warden

07/08

ContentsNews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Dame Fanny Waterman’s Me & My Piano – a new edition . .4-5

Joanna MacGregor treads Unbeaten Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Christine Brown on Play At Sight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Forgotton favourites: Anthony Williams trawls the

best exam repertoire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9

Something a bit different: Chill Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Something a bit different: Just For Kids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Free Music Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-14

Teaching beginners: Paul Harris is here to help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Discovering the classics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-17

Pam Wedgwood: It’s all in the arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Pam Wedgwood: New publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Jazz chords explained by John Kember . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-21

New and recent publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Faber Music: Find out more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23


Faber Music scooped theprestigious MIA Music Award for‘Printed Music Publisher of theYear’ for the fourth consecutiveyear at the MIA awardsceremony back in October 2007.

The MIA (Music IndustriesAssociation) Awards recognise

best-selling products, cuttingedge innovations, top individualsand leading organisations. The awards are recognisedthroughout the music industryas badges of excellence. Thisparticular accolade carries agreat deal of weight, as it isvoted for by retailers, and was

again awarded to the publisherjudged to have demonstratedoutstanding service in respect of the quality and price of thecompany’s publications, theefficiency of customer relationsand the quality of its marketingmaterials and productinformation.

Faber Music also picked up the‘Best Educational Publication’award for The Language ofSong, a highly successful seriesof graded songbooks with CD,which help students to sing inforeign languages.

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Dame Fanny Waterman to appear at EPTA ConferenceDame Fanny Waterman has achieved legendarystatus not only as a piano teacher and co-authorof the Waterman/Harewood Piano Series,but also as founder and organiser of the prestigious Leeds InternationalPianoforte Competition of which she is Chairman and ArtisticDirector. She will be speaking on ‘My Life Of Teaching’ at this year’s EPTA (EuropeanPiano Teachers Association)conference, which will takeplace in Liverpool, theEuropean Capital ofCulture 2008, on Monday28th July – Thursday31st July at LiverpoolHope University.(Further information:[email protected])

Faber Music breaks industry award records

New composer websitesWe are pleased to announce that you can now keep up to datewith Faber Music composers Pam Wedgwood and Paul Harristhrough their new websites www.pamwedgwood.com andwww.paulharrismusic.com. Find out about the latest publications,news and events, discover teacher training opportunities, ask Paulor Pam a question and more.

Reader offerPianist magazinePianist is a magazine forpeople who love to play thepiano – whether you’re anamateur, an advancedplayer, or someone who is returning after years of neglect. You’ll find 40 pages of music scoresinside every issue, graded by ability, coveringeverything from classical pieces through to jazzand pop standards. Plus, you’ll find tips ontechnique, a free tutorial CD with each issue and features on some of the world’s greatestperformers, as well as lots of other news andviews from the piano industry. Faber Music haveteamed up with Pianist magazine with a specialoffer for Pianofforte readers to receive a free copyof Pianist! To claim your copy write to Pianoffortereader offer, Pianist Magazine, Warners GroupPublications, Fifth Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds,LS1 5JD or email: [email protected]: Pianofforte reader offer.

Photo: Phillip Littlemore, Sales & Marketing Director, accepting 'Printed Music Publisher of the Year' award).


Dame Fanny Waterman’s reputation as apiano teacher needs no introduction; shehas become one of the most outstandingand sought-after piano teachers of our time.Her extraordinary success stems from herconcentration on security of technique

placed at the disposal of imagination andmusicianship. One of her secrets has beento convey to her pupils a sense ofexcitement by working through theirimaginative abilities from the start.

Fanny Waterman has had a long associationwith Faber Music and has now written over30 piano teaching books, enabling teachersand pupils to benefit from her uniqueapproach. This association resulted from afortuitous meeting with composer BenjaminBritten in 1965, who suggested she write atutor for his new publisher! This tutorbecame the hugely successful PianoLessons series. Following this she decidedto set about creating a starter series foryoung children – Me and My Piano; booksthat would embody the inspiration and senseof adventure that characterises her ownteaching approach.

Me and my Piano has gone on to be one ofthe most widely-used piano methods in theworld, selling over half a million copiesworldwide. It has become a favourite withgenerations of teachers and their pupils.Teachers welcome the way it has been sointuitively designed for the needs of theyounger beginner, with a thorough approachand carefully planned pace of progression.Fanny Waterman knows exactly how tointroduce new concepts at exactly the righttime and uses tunes that are already familiarto children, so they can use what theyalready know and enjoy as a reference tolearn even more. Children instantly respondto the imaginative approach and sense offun and adventure, all brought to life throughbrilliant colour illustrations and characters,enjoyable music, songs, rhymes andstimulating activities and exercises.

Fanny Waterman has had a long anddistinguished career as a teacher and all herteaching materials have been used by herpupils. Talking about her books she said “Ideveloped this series at the beginning of myteaching career, when I was privileged toteach five brilliant prodigies all aged underfourteen. These young pianists performedwith Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir JohnBarbarolli, Sir Charles Groves, Sir JohnPritchard, Norman Del Mar and Giulini at TheRoyal Festival Hall, The Royal Albert Hall andinternational festivals including Edinburgh,Aldeburgh and Harrogate. All of these pupils

used my teaching materials; all my tutor and repertoire books were, and still are, the bedrock of my teaching”.

This summer Me and My Piano will bepublished in a new edition. This new editionretains all the quality teaching material andengaging colour illustrations of the original,with a fresh new look, improved presentationand complete new music setting. The new edition of Me and My Piano Part 1is published in June, with the remainingbooks publishing in September.

“When I devised this series, I intendedto create a method that would havelong-lasting success. I am delightedthat it is now more widely used andrelevant for today’s piano teachersand young pupils than ever before.”

(Dame Fanny Waterman)

“Me and My Piano is perhaps the mostimaginative introductionto piano playing that I have seen. Not only is it colourful and delightfulto look at but it treats the difficulties as exciting adventures.”

(Murray Perahia)

“This new edition has a clarity andprecision of appearance which isappealing and inviting to the youngpianist. They will be inspired to keepturning the pages. The typography iseasy on the eye and the wording isconcise and to the point”

“I would recommend this tutor to allteachers because it embodies thefundamental essentials of learning to playthe piano well and with musicianship”

(Elizabeth Wood, Piano Teacher,Berwickshire)

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Me And My PianoA new look for the classic piano tutor

Dame Fanny Waterman is a living legend in the world of music, a teacher of international renown, an internationally respected clinician and adjudicator and co-founder, with Marion Harewood, of the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition. She is also the author of over 30 pianoteaching books, including the world-famous Me and My Piano series which this summer is published in a New Edition.


Me And My Piano New Edition� New larger size

� Improved layout makes pages easy-to-read

� A clean and clear look, with complete new music-setting and typefaces

� Beautifully illustrated on every page; the much-loved original colour illustrations have been enhanced andreproduced in even higher quality

� Part 1 and Part 2 now published in full colour throughout for the first time

� The instantly recognisable cover designs have been updated for extra vibrancy

� New edition of Animal Magic now included within the series, providing appealing support material

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• Play with clean hands and short fingernails.

• Check that the chair or piano stool is in the middle of

the keyboard and at the right height.

• Make sure you are sitting correctly, with a straight back.

• Play with curved fingers, like this:

• Use the same fingering every time you play a piece.

This will help you to play from memory.

• Every note you play on the piano should be beautiful.

Listen carefully.

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The musical rainbowThe musical alphabet has seven letters,just as the rainbow has seven colours. These seven letters are repeated all theway up the piano keyboard.

5The musical rainbow

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C

Middle C

BAG CAB BEE BED FACE

Find Middle CFrom Middle C, climb up the musical rainbow,naming each note aloud as you go. At the top,play another C, then climb back down, namingeach note. Now you have played an octave. Use any finger you like.

Frog hopsPlay every D from the bottom to the top. Then every E, then F, G, A and B. Now you are back to C!

Three blind miceHere are the first notes of Three blind mice:E D C, E D C, G F E, G F E.Play them on the piano.

Word gameCan you play these words?

We

1

are

go

ing

- to

the

zoo.

We

will

see

a

kan

ga

- roo.

-

Cro

1

co

- dile,

-

How

you

smile,

If

you

move

I’ll

run

a

mile.

Kangaroo

Crocodile

Bears,

1

bears

in

their

ca

ges.

- Black

bear,

how

he

ra

ges,

-

Hear

him

growl,

see

him

scowl,

he

wants

his

tea,

like

you

and

me.

Bears

9New note C

Going to the zoo

Say the words, clap the rhythm, then play.

New note

C

ne

w note

C

C

1

&MP_Pt1_05 15/5/08 1

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Happy birthday duet Fill in your name in bar 6.

Happy birthday

27

Primo

Secondo

Moderato

Hapf

1

py- birth

day

- to

4

you,

Hap

1

py- birth

day

- to

4you,

Hap py

-

1

2

2

3

1

birth

5day

3- dear

1 2

Hap

4

py- birth

3 day

1- to

you.

1

3

1

3

2

Moderato

f

3

5

2

2

1

15

3

5

2

3

1

31

5

21

21

2

Me and My Piano Part 10-571-53200-4 £5.95Me and My Piano Part 20-571-53201-2 £5.95Me and My Piano Repertoire0-571-53202-0 £5.95Me and My Piano Duets Book 10-571-53203-9 £5.95Me and My Piano Duets Book 20-571-53204-7 £5.95Me and My Piano Superscales0-571-53205-5 £5.50Me and My Piano Animal Magic0-571-53206-3 £5.95

On Piano Teaching & Performing (New Edition)A fascinating insight into Dame Fanny Waterman’s teaching approach and the fundamentals of playingtechnique and musicianship. This book distills the knowledge and experience of a legendary teaching careerthat spans over 65 years. Originally published in 1983, this new edition has been updated to reflect DameFanny’s more recent experiences with extra material including a chapter on international competitions.Inspiring thoughts and advice not just for pianists but for all musicians.

“As a sure guide to every aspect of teaching and performing, this book is a gem” Dame Janet Baker CH DBE

“Compulsory reading for every practising musician and teacher”Link Magazine On Piano Teaching & Performing

0-571-52519-9 £6.95


And what an eclectic journey it is! In thisbook there are sad pieces, funny pieces and pieces that are jazzy, heroic and poetic.Each piece is illuminated by the ‘composerbiopics’ at the beginning of the book tofurther inspire the pupil and provide somecontext for the piece, such as where thecomposer lives, their inspiring pieces andindividuals, favourite film and book as well as the story/feeling behind their composition.

The theme of travel is continued through the nationalities and influences of the 12 composers brought together in thiscollection. Joanna MacGregor’s own pieceLowside Blues explores the full range of thepiano and was inspired by a summer driveup Highway 61 through Louisiana andMississipi. Another American contribution is the highly syncopated Frumba by NewOrleans pianist Tom McDermott. AndAustralian composer Padma Newsome’s The Tides of Washington Bridge depicts thelate-night sounds of the George WashingtonBridge over the Hudson river, as heard froma New York apartment in late summer.

Moving continents, the music of Australiancomposer Peter Sculthorpe is influenced bythe Australian indigenous chant, Gregorianchant, Indonesian music and birdsong. His Little Passacaglia is a tender, melodicpiece. In contrast, fellow Australian MatthewHindson’s jaunty Silent Movie transports usback to the era of the silver screen, but witha contemporary twist.

Closer to home, Steve Lodder is a pianist,keyboard player, composer, and producerbased in London. His piece ‘… in whichCarlos avoids getting upset’ has a rhythmic,jazzy feel with a touch of Latin. Jazzsaxophonist Andy Sheppard’s lilting On the edge of a perfect moment requires theplayer to ‘give meaning to the inside of eachnote – play it with feeling and communicatethis to the listener’. And British guitarist andcomposer John Parricelli’s One for Toninhofeatures a driving left-hand groove inspiredby the Brazilian guitar player of the title.

Many of the pieces in the collection arecharacterised by the descriptive nature oftheir titles. In Kathy Hinde’s Meteor Showerplayers are encouraged to ‘imagine ashower of meteors entering the earth’satmosphere and leaving beautiful streaks oflight behind them, before disappearing alltogether’. Matthew Bourne’s Indians has animprovisatory feel, while female pianist andcomposer Tomoko Mukaiyama’s Cat andmouse explores the relationship betweenthese two creatures, though you never knowwho is chasing who!

Undoubtedly the most avant-garde piece inthe collection is Peter McGarr’s Eleven nightswith Glenn Gould which requires the player to whisper ‘in the style of Inuit throat-singing’,imitate a drum kit and buzz like a vacuumcleaner as well as miming and playing themouth organ! Clearly there is much in thisdiverse collection to appeal to intermediatepianists, and get their imaginations (as wellas their fingers) working...

“The works provide avery wide range of mood,character, sounds andatmospheres while notbeing too technicallydemanding … Joanna is thereby encouragingteachers and students to enter the 21st centurywith ease and, mostimportantly, with fun”

”A must have .. The pieces present a very accessible face of contemporaryrepertoire. An excellentcollection instigated by an indefatigablecontemporary pianoadvocate”.(Piano Professional (EPTA), April 2006)

Unbeaten Tracks A Voyage Of Discovery

‘Playing the piano is like getting on a train and going on a journey – discovering new soundworlds,taking risks and being introduced to new ideas’…. so says internationally-renowned pianist JoannaMacGregor in the preface to her collection of contemporary piano pieces Unbeaten Tracks.

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Unbeaten Tracks0-571-52409-5 £8.95

Photo: Peter Williams


Why do the very words ‘sight reading’ strikefear in many pupils? One reason is thatreading at sight a page of music, even at anelementary level, is a very complex process– much more complex than reading a pageof words – and it has to be done in stricttime! However those who can read withease are able to learn a wider repertoire and explore music on their own. They arealso able to take part in ensembles, whichprovides motivation for further musicalprogress, and they can continue to learnnew pieces when their lessons cease. Play At Sight provides a systematic andprogressive course designed to help pupils to acquire these skills.

Reading at sight demands a physicalresponse to a visual symbol, so that the signs on the copy are translated intosounds. Some pupils are much quicker at making this response than others, but all can improve if the necessary skills are developed. Knowledge of notation istherefore our starting point. In Part 1 of the book the range of pitch is intentionallysmall and different note values areintroduced gradually. It is often helpful to isolate pitch and rhythm so the pupil is advised to clap the rhythm and then tosing or say the names of the notes beforeplaying the pieces on the piano. The rangeof pitch is gradually widened in Part 2, butthe pieces revert to a five finger position in Part 3 when the pupil is first required toplay with both hands together.

The second essential skill is knowledge of the keyboard, because if the pupil looksdown at his hands he will lose his place on the copy and continuity will be lost whenhe plays. All the pieces in Part 1 are in a fivefinger position to enable the pupil to followthe Golden Rule ‘Eyes on the Music’ andmuch advice is given when extensions areintroduced. The third skill for successfulreading is technique adequate to the task.Pieces selected for sight reading must bewell within the pupil’s technical powers sothat he or she can keep going in strict timeand derive some pleasure from the activity. The choice of material is therefore crucial to the enterprise and Play At Sight providescarefully graded pieces to build confidence.

The ability to grasp time patterns within asteady pulse is the fourth skill required for

good sight reading. Work is required to helpthe pupil to see time patterns as units not as individual notes, just as in learning to readhe comes to see words as a whole and notas individual letters. This skill is developedthroughout Play at Sight in the clappingduets and exercises as each new timepattern is introduced. The final essential skillis the ability to memorise, because the goodreader is always memorising a bar or twoahead. Pupils are encouraged to developthis short-term memory by memorising a baror two showing in the ‘window’ of anenvelope and then play it when the book is closed.

Unfortunately, there are no short cuts formaking a pupil into a good reader – theability requires regular work on systematicallygraded material. But Play At Sight provides a week’s work on each page so pupilsestablish the excellent habit of readingsomething new every day, and they will soonbegin to find pleasure in their increasingprogress at reading music at sight.

“An excellent book forany beginner pianistwanting to improve theirsight-reading skills andfor any teachers whowould like to understandwhat is involved in good sight-reading.Christine Brown inspiresconfidence with hercontention that ‘all canimprove if the necessaryskills are developed’ and goes on to prove it with her 4-part book”. Music Teacher, February 2008

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Play At Sight0-571-52506-7 £7.95

Play At SightChristine Brown unravels thecomplexities of sight-reading

Christine Brown has a distinguished career as a teacher, pedagogue,performer, composer and adjudicator. She is well-known through herteaching publications and has lectured widely to piano teachers inthe UK, Korea, Cyprus, Singapore, Hungary and the USA. She hasalways been a great advocate of helping pupils enjoy their practicethrough being efficient and proficient sight-readers and her newbook Play At Sight provides a progressive course to help pupilsacquire these vital skills.


But what happens to this vibrant andexciting repertoire when it is set for anexam? For some strange reason itundergoes a metamorphosis and is reducedto a letter and a number. How often, whenan examiner asks what piece a student isabout to play, is the answer ‘A1’, ‘B2’ oreven ‘C6’!? The idea of a wonderful piece of music being reduced to an item on a listdoes produce an unexpectedly large impacton students, parents and teachers. Pianostudents talk about certain repertoire as‘exam pieces’, parents complain that theirstudents have only learnt ‘exam pieces’ and teachers often ignore recently set examrepertoire as if it were second rate. Yet this is often some of the very best and mostengaging teaching repertoire, unfortunatelynow devalued and perhaps ignored except(apparently) to torture those aspiring to thenext grade.

How far from the truth this is however;repertoire chosen for exams is rarely, if ever composed for this purpose. In fact, as a selector of repertoire for the ABRSMsyllabus and for these volumes, I know thatthe choices represent weeks of dedicatedand enthusiastic trawling through volumes ofpieces at all levels, considering which pieceswould attract what type of pupil and trying to find the most imaginative, attractive andplayable repertoire at a particular level. Far more time is devoted by the selectors(themselves teachers) to choosing suitablerepertoire than most busy teachers are likelyto have spare and, on top of it all, is theresponsibility of knowing that if they get the choices wrong, their own pupils will be the first to complain!

My mission then, in putting together theexciting and vibrant Best of Grade books,was to demonstrate that amidst the hugerepertoire lists of previous exam years aresome of the best, most attractive, exciting,vibrant, beautiful and fun pieces composedfor young pianists from across the centuries.From a Bach Minuet to The Swinging Siouxit is music to inspire and motivate young and old(er) pianists alike. There are some‘memory lane’ pieces for teachers toreminisce over (I remember playing Soldiersin the Distance for my Grade 4, I loved it!),some ‘Top of the Pops’ from more recentyears and not an A1 or B3 in sight.

“These are the piecesthat everyone would havechosen .... very goodvalue for money”

(Music Teacher Magazine, March 2008)

Forgotten favouritesAnthony Williams trawls thesyllabuses of the major examinationboards for quality repertoire, past and present

What a wonderful feast of repertoire there is for the piano and for young pianists. There is so much excellent music written by composer/teachers from Bach to Barrett, encompassing anenormous range of styles and character, offering huge musicalrewards and, most importantly, nearly always with apt, imaginativeand descriptive titles.

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“My pupils became quiteexcited at testing thebooks to see if theirparticular past examfavourites matched upwith those of AnthonyWilliams … and eachtime they did!”

(Music Teacher Magazine, March 2008)


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The Best Of Grade 1 PianoSonatina in F (Attwood); Menuet in G (attribBach); Quasi Adagio (Bartók); Air from LittleRussia (Beethoven): Air (Blow); Flying AboveThe Clouds (Bullard); The Swinging Sioux(Gillock); Creepy Crawly (Gritton); GermanDance (Haydn); The Quiet Wood (Head); PianoPiece For The Young (Henkel); Eeyore’s March(Jackson); Allegro in F (Mozart); Menuett in F(Mozart); Allegretto (Neefe); Air (Purcell);Melody (Schumann); Soldier’s March (Schumann);Gavotte (Telemann); Allegretto in F (Witthauer).

The Best Of Grade 2 PianoMusette (Anon); Menuet in D minor (attrib. Bach);Tramp’s Song (Bartok); Romanze Sonatina in G (attrib.Beethoven); Arabesque Level 1 (Burgmuller); Study in F (Duvernoy); Sad at Heart (Fuchs); In Forest atNight (Goedicke); Timewarp (Gritton); Child’s Song(Guilmant); Night Fourney (Gurlitt); Ecossaise in G(Hassler); Allegro (Haydn); Herbie Kunky (Huet); Sticky Toffee (Jacques); Break In (Madden); The Moth(Maikaper); Allegro in B flat (Mozart); Singing Sun(Sculthorpe); Strawberry Flip (Wedgwood).

The Best Of Grade 3 PianoAnglaise in D minor (Anon); Marche (C.P.E. Bach):Little Prelude in C (Attrib. JS Bach); Dance (Bartók);Sonatina in F (Beethoven); Blues in Two (Cornick);Passepied (Dieupart); Gavotte in G (Handel); Sonata in G (Haydn); Willow (Iles); Clowns (Kabalevsky); A Passing Thought (Maikapar); Study in A Minor(Mayer); Cha-Cha (Merath); Allegro in F (Mozart);Menuet in A Minor (Rameau); The Wild Horseman(Schumann); Tango III (Argentine) (Seiber); Old FrenchSong (Tchaikovsky).

The Best Of Grade 4 PianoGavot (Alcock); Minuet in B minor (JS Bach); Soldiersin the Distance (A Benjamin); Ballade (Burgmuller);Lazy Days (Brian Chapple); Sonatina in G (Clementi)The Evening Bell (Granados); Allegro (Haydn); You andMe (Alan Haughton); Waltz Op.97 No.1 (Heller); MarchNo. 1 from Wir bauen eine Stadt (Hindemith); No.1from Wir bauen eine Stadt; Gigue (Hummel); Toccatinafrom 30 Pieces for Children (Kabalevsky); No.12 from30 Pieces for Children; Rondo in F (Mozart); DanseOrientale (Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov); Minuet(Scarlatti); Knight Rupert from Album for the Young(Schumann); In the Bay (Swinstead).

The Best Of Grade 5 PianoGavotte (JS Bach); An Evening In The Village (Bartok);Sonatina In F (Benda); Waltz In D minor (Brahms); La Tarentelle (Burgmuller); Bossa Nova (Cornick);Rondo (Diabelli): New Orleans Nightfall (Gillock);Gigue (Handel); Study In A (Heller); Tomorrow(Jarrett); Novelette (Kabalevsky); Allegro Molto(Kuhlau); Prelude In D Minor (Lyadov); Pajaro Triste(Mompou); Allegro Moderato (Mozart).

The Best Of Grade 1 Piano0-571-52771-X £5.95

The Best Of Grade 2 Piano0-571-52772-8 £5.95




Looking forsomething a bit different? Great new ideas for all piano lovers

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The choice of repertoire for teenagers andadults at a more advanced stage can bedaunting. Plus the hustle and bustle of lifeleaves little room for relaxation, let alonepractice! The Chill series therefore aims tooffer a momentary escape, whilst introducingthe works of the great composers at thesame time. There are four books in theseries – Chill With Chopin, Chill WithDebussy, Chill With Mozart and AdagioChillout – each beautifully presented andcontaining well-known piano solos. They arealso packaged in a rather unique style. Eachvolume comes with a free Naxos CD oftranquil piano and orchestral music, to getyou in the mood for practice, to providecontext for the piano pieces in the book, orsimply to unwind after a busy day! Ideal forteachers and pupils alike …

Talking about the Chill series, Classic FM and ITV news presenter Katie Derham said“Listening to beautiful music is one of life’sgreat pleasures, and there’s certainly no betterway to relax than to the sound of dreamyworks by composers like Chopin, Debussy or Mozart. But after you’ve listened, whatbetter than to actually get to grips with themusic yourself? I know that the piano music in this book – music that reflects the chill out mood of the CD – is exactly the kind I’ve enjoyed playing all my life. Gorgeouspieces you can really lose yourself in; somequite challenging but none too fiendishlydifficult to master.”

“A wonderful way to chill-out – and extend your repertoire whilstyou’re at it”.

Katie Derham, Classic FMpresenter and ITV newspresenter

Adagio Chillout (book/CD)0-571-52435-4 £7.95Chill With Chopin (book/CD)0-571-52438-9 £7.95Chill With Debussy (book/CD)0-571-52437-0 £7.95Chill With Mozart (book/CD)0-571-52436-2 £7.95


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“My pupils were very excited to tryarrangements of thethemes from Batman and the James Bond andSuperman films and thisdelight has pushed theirtechnique on. This bookwill do much to encourageboys to play the piano andkeep their interest at thisvital pre-Grade 1 level”.

The Superhero Piano Book(Music Teacher, February 2008)

Just For Kids: The Princess Piano BookA Princess Met a Pirate; Beauty and the Beast;Bibbidi- Bobbidi-Boo!; Cradle Song for a Princess;Enchanted Mirror; Getting Ready for a Ball; Kiss theFrog!; La Princesse Marie; Maleficent’s March; Mulan; Some Day My Prince Will Come; Snow White’s SwingSong; The Stroke of Midnight; There Was a PrincessLong Ago; Waltz from Cinderella’s Mice; SleepingBeauty Waltz.

The Princess Piano Book0-571-52857-0 £6.95

Just For Kids: The Superhero Piano BookBatman Theme; Captain Xenon’s Ingerlactic MysteryTour; James Bond Theme; Fanfare for Hercules; Go the Distance (Hercules); Heart of a Hero; I JustCan’t Wait to be King (The Lion King); March of theToreadors; Ready for Action; See the Conquering Hero;Star Wars Theme; Superman Theme; To the Rescue!;Turpin Hero, Zorro’s Escape.

The Superhero Piano Book0-571-52858-9 £6.95

Just For Kids: The Magic Piano BookA Whole New World (Aladdin); Clair de Lune; EerieAdventure; Goblin’s Campfire; Hedwig’s Theme (HarryPotter); Magic Crystal; Merlin’s Incantation; Queen ofthe Night (The Magic Flute); Scooby Doo Theme;The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Such a Lazy Wizard;Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious (Mary Poppins);We’re Off to See the Wizard (The Wizard of Oz).

The Magic Piano Book0-571-52860-0 £6.95

Just For Kids: The Christmas Piano BookAway in a Manger; Frosty the Snowman; Good KingWenceslas; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; The Hollyand the Ivy; Jingle Bells; Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!; Little Donkey; The Little Drummer Boy; Mary’sBoy Child; Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer; SantaClaus is Coming to Town; Walking in the Air; We ThreeKings; We Wish You a Merry Christmas; When SantaGot Stuck Up the Chimney; While Shepherd’s Watched.

The Christmas Piano Book0-571-52859-7 £6.95

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As every teacher knows, the choice ofappropriate repertoire at pre-grade 1level is an important one. What will helpmaintain children’s interest and pushtheir technique on at the same time?

Sarah Walker – broadcaster, pianist andteacher – provides one solution with hernew series of piano pieces Just For Kids!Carefully selected, edited, graded andfingered for pre-grade 1 pianists, the fourbooks in this series are based on themesthat will capture the imaginations of littlegirls and boys, whether they are intoPrincesses, Superheros or Magic (andthere’s also a Christmas book for thewinter months!). Featuring well-knownDisney and classical tunes as well as newpieces written especially by Sarah Walker,there are also teacher accompaniments tospice up some of the pieces. And the musicis complemented with cartoon illustrationsto colour in, puzzles and games to helpmake playing the piano great fun.

Looking for something a bit different? Great new ideas for beginners


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The Princess Piano Book

© 2007 by Faber Music Ltd

This piece is from Just For Kids: The Princess Piano Book (0-571-52857-0), see page 10 for further information


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The Magic Piano Book Puzzle

© 2007 by Faber Music LtdThis puzzle is from Just For Kids: The Magic Piano Book (0-571-52860-0),

see page 10 for further information

Twinkle Test

This test is from The Jazz Piano Master, see pages 20-21

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Simply Classics

© 2007 by Faber Music Ltd • This music is copyright. Photocopying is ILLEGAL and is THEFT.

This piece is from Simply Classics Grades 2–3 (0-571-52552-0), see pages 16 & 17 for further information


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Teaching beginners is a huge responsibilityand challenge, but also reaps enormousrewards. Today there are a host of colourfultutors to choose from – but none tellteachers how to teach beginners …..

A new book from esteemed musiceducationalist Paul Harris now helpsteachers approach this area of their workwith thought, inspiration and success!

Energising and inspirational, TeachingBeginners is a “must have” handbook for all instrumental and singing teachers.Distilled from years of personal experienceand research, it looks at all the issuesconcerning the teaching of beginners,outlining a series of principles, ideas andstrategies upon which the best foundationscan be laid.

Topics covered include how to approach the first lesson, practice ideas for beginners,introducing the tutor book and notation,taking stock and moving forward, inheritingpupils, improvisation and composition for beginners.

Teaching Beginners is the ideal companionto Paul’s best-selling Improve Your Teaching!book. Inspirational and motivating, thesebooks are guaranteed to challenge, affirmand energise every teacher’s work!

“Paul Harris’ inspirationalself-motivation is aboutasking those questionswhich revise and refinethe notion of what beinga good teacher really is”(Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood,Vice-Principal & Principal-Elect, Royal Academy of Music)

“Paul Harris is one of the great reflectivepractitioners of our time.His fascination with theteaching process istruly inspirational. Thisbook will surelyrevolutionise theteaching of music at all levels”(Colin Lawson MA (Oxon), MA, PhD, DMus, FRCM,FLCM, Director, RoyalCollege of Music)

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Teaching beginners? Paul Harris is here to help!

Paul Harris is one of the UK’s most respected music educationalists.He has over 450 publications to his name including the highly-acclaimed Improve Your Sight-reading!, Improve Your Scales!and Improve Your Practice! series. Paul writes frequently on musiceducation for many national and international publications and is ingreat demand as a workshop and seminar leader in the UK, USAand the Far East. Paul now turns his expertise to teaching beginners.

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Teaching Beginners0-571-53175-X £8.95

Improve your Teaching!0-571-52534-2 £8.95


“Ask one of your young piano pupils to singyou a well-known tune. Perhaps once theyhave got over the initial panic of having toopen their mouth at all, you might get asnippet of Madonna or the Arctic Monkeys,but I suspect your jaw would hit the floor ifthey burst into song with the theme from the Ride of the Valkyries or Dvor̆ák’s SeventhSymphony!.” But an unexpected phone callfrom the mother of a pupil at Radley gotAnthony Williams thinking... Her son was not a musician; in fact she had never heard himsing, so she was amazed one day to hear himjoin in with Gloria from the Nelson Mass onClassic FM, in full vocal technicolour! Amazedat what seemed like the discovery of a musicalgenius, she asked him about the piece, towhich he casually replied that he had “donethat one at School” and loved it! It transpiredthat Radley’s Head of Chapel Music hadarranged the piece for the whole school to sing.

“The experience of singing a work that thispupil may otherwise never have encountered,and his obvious enthusiasm for the Mass,raised in my mind some interesting questionsregarding young pianists and their possiblyequally narrow experience of music” explainsAnthony. “For those not playing an orchestralinstrument or singing in a choir, their exposureto classical music might be limited to thesmall amount of ‘easy’ piano literature – rarely great or life-changing works. Why is it that pianists are not encouraged to playarrangements of great classical works fororchestra, famous chamber music or evenfolk songs? Why shouldn’t they be introducedto Beethoven Symphonies, Haydn Quartetsor Mozart Operas by virtue of pianoarrangements?

I am privileged to be involved in the selectionprocedure for the ABRSM piano examsyllabus, and thought that this would be the perfect place to start the campaign forarrangements to be used in normal teachingpractice. So I was delighted when theAssociated Board enthusiastically grasped thenettle and encouraged quality arrangements tobe included in their piano syllabus from 2009”.

Some of these arrangements have beentaken from Faber Music’s new series SimplyClassics – three volumes of arrangements by Peter Gritton. Dvor̆ák’s Cavatina can be found in the new Grade 1 syllabus,Morley’s Maying is in the Grade 3 selectedexamination pieces volume, and the fourthmovement of Beethoven’s Symphony No.1is selected at Grade 4.

Peter Gritton takes up the story. “My aim was to provide musically fulfilling repertoirethat complements what already exists for the young pianist. It is certainly an antidote to the plethora of jazzy pieces available intoday’s marketplace, which of course havetheir place, but cannot provide all thenecessary supplementary vitamins!”.

From madrigal to symphony, the pieces have been drawn from a wide range ofgenres. Each volume displays a cross-sectionof music from different eras, from Baroquegiants to Classical and Romantic tunes mostof us know well enough to whistle, such as Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (firstmovement) and Delibes’s Lakmé (duet). There is a diverse representation of 20thcentury music from Elgar’s Enigma and Pomp and Circumstance to Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and arrangements of music written before the invention of thepiano (Monteverdi Vespers Fanfare). Eachvolume features substantial variation in terms of character, speeds, technical andmusical demands and each volume has been compiled according to an approximatestandard (Grades 0-1, 2-3 and 4-5).

The arrangements have been prepared to be accessible as piano pieces in their own right, rather than faithful academicadaptations (for example the part-writing inAllegri’s Miserere has been simplified to makeit more pianistic but without losing the coreeffect of the source material). “One of mymain intentions is to enable pupils to developand experiment with a range of expressivecolours, for as we all know, the power of the piano to emulate orchestral sounds isextraordinary. Through arrangements, thepiano has been – and will continue to be –the perfect medium to be (literally) hands-onwith great milestones in Western music”.

Anthony agrees. “Perhaps thesearrangements will encourage pupils to hear the original either (either in concert or recording) and these young pupils couldbecome the nucleus of audiences for thefuture. Do not be surprised therefore if, in a few years time, your piano pupils burst into full song to the opening theme fromTchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony or the AllegriMisereri; in fact be proud, and let’s hope that the arrangements will be the opening of another important door into inspiring alifelong love of great Classical repertoire”.

Discovering The ClassicsExpanding the repertoire

Anthony Williams (Head of Keyboard and Instrumental Studies at Radley College) andcomposer/arranger Peter Gritton explain the story behind the recent Simply Classics series

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“Let’s hope that thearrangements will be the opening of anotherimportant door intoinspiring a lifelong love of great Classicalrepertoire”.

Anthony Williams (Head ofKeyboard and InstrumentalStudies at Radley College)


Grades 0–1Passacaglia (JS Bach); Rule, Britannia! (Arne);Violin Concerto (Beethoven); Symphony No.1(Brahms); Promenade (Mussorgsky);Siegfried’s Horn Call (Wagner); Toreador Song(Bizet); Lullaby (Brahms); Polovtsian Dance(Borodin); The Trout (Schubert); Cavatina(Dvorák); New World Symphony (Dvor̆ák);Overture to Music for the Royal Fireworks(Handel); Music for the Royal Fireworks MinuetNo.2 (Handel); The Surprise Symphony(Haydn); Rosamunde (Schubert); Fanfare from L’Orfeo (Monteverdi); La Donna è Mobile (Verdi); Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart); Overture to William Tell (Rossini).

Grades 2–3In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg); Sheep MaySafely Graze (JS Bach); Wolfram’s Song (Wagner); The Elephant (Saint-Saëns); Now is the Month ofMaying (Morley); Come, Ye Sons of Art (Purcell);Overture to Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck); The CanCan (Offenbach); Enigma theme (Elgar); St AnthonyChorale (Brahms); Policeman’s Song (Sullivan); Spring(Vivaldi); The Wedding March (Mendelssohn); TheFlower Duet (Delibes); Spartacus (Khachaturian);Air from Water Music (Handel); The Creation (Haydn);The Birdcatcher (Mozart); Minuet (Beethoven);Symphony No.1 (Mahler); Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Tchaikovsky).

Grades 4–5Waltz (Brahms); Symphony No.6 ‘Pastoral’(Beethoven); Symphony No.1 (Beethoven); Morningmood (Grieg); Symphony No.1 ‘Spring’ (Schumann);A German Requiem (Brahms); Symphony No.39(Mozart); Symphony No.5 (Tchaikovsky); Jupiter(Holst); Badinerie (JS Bach); Miserere (Allegri); Pompand Circumstance (Elgar); Symphony No.101 ‘TheClock’ (Haydn); Porgy and Bess (Gershwin).

Simply Classics Grades 0–10-571-52551-2 £5.95

Simply Classics Grades 2–30-571-52552-0 £5.95

Simply Classics Grades 4–5 0-571-52553-9 £5.95

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Exploring new genresSimply classics and other arrangements

The new Associated Board Piano Syllabus for 2009–2010 ispublished in July 2008 and takes effect from 1 January 2009. The choice of set pieces has been refreshed to include music frommany different countries and genres, and the scale and sight-readingrequirements have been updated for all exams taken from 2009 onwards.

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One of the most significant changes to thesyllabus is the inclusion of arrangements inthe lower grades, so that movements fromClassical symphonies, suites and concertos,sit side by side with popular music.Thiswidens repertoire choices at the lowergrades, and more importantly introducesyoung pianists to the wider world of othernon-pianistic genres.

Reflecting this change, new to the syllabusfrom Faber Music is the Simply Classicsseries (with Dvor̆ák’s Cavatina No.1 from Miniatures selected on Grade 1 and the fourth movement from Beethoven’sSymphony No.1 in C, Op. 21 selected on Grade 4) as well as Morley’s Maying included in the Grade 3 SelectedExamination Pieces volume. Kabalevsky’sMy Stubborn Little Brother (from 35 Piecesfor Piano) and Beethoven’s Allemande No.2,both published in John Lenehan’s Keynotes(Grades 1–2 volume) are selected on Grades 1 and 2 respectively.

Continuing the expanded range of genrescovered by the syllabus, Pam Wedgwood’sarrangement of Autumn (from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons) in It's Never Too Late to Play Piano is published in the Grade 1Selected Piano Examination Pieces book,Elissa Milne’s Mozzie from Easy LittlePeppers at Grade 2 and JoannaMacGregor’s Lowside Blues from Unbeaten Tracks at Grade 7.

Faber Music Publications selected on theABRSM Piano Syllabus

Keynotes0-571-52320-X Grades 1–2 £5.95

Simply Classics0-571-52551-2 Grades 0–1 £5.950-571-52553-9 Grades 4–5 £5.95

Romantic Piano Repertoire Level 1 0-571-52905-4 Grade 7 £9.95

Meet George Gershwin At The Keyboard 0-571-52677-2 Grade 8 £8.95


LR: The new Up-Grade Jazz! books featurejazz classics by the great Americansongwriters Gershwin and Cole Porter, aswell as Disney hits in a jazzy style. Up-GradePop! is even more diverse, with RobbieWilliams’s Angels, Queen’s Another OneBites the Dust and James Blunt’s You’rebeautiful. How do you go about choosingwhich songs to arrange?

PW: First and foremost, they have to besongs that I like! I am much more familiarwith the jazz genre than modern pop songs,however I have enjoyed getting to know thisgenre too. I always listen to the song first on Itunes, and my sons, Olly and Sam (whoare both musicians) have given me usefulsuggestions. You have to be quite careful in the choice of song, as some pop songsdon’t really work when they are simplified, as they tend to rely more on the vocals toprovide interest rather than the harmony.With jazz there’s the opposite problem, thatoften the harmony is quite complex. And ofcourse there’s the copyright clearanceaspect to take into account too.

LR: Once you’ve chosen which songs to include, how easy is it to arrange

them for piano?

PW: The Grade 0-1 books wereparticularly tricky, as you can

imagine! The choice ofrepertoire is reallydetermined by the difficultylevel here. You only have a very small range of notesto play with, and single

notes in each hand (thoughthe odd two-note chord

does creep in!). With all myarrangements – in After HoursJazz and It’s Never Too Lateto Play Jazz too – it’s aboutcreating a balance betweenwhat the original composer

intended, and putting myown mark on the piece.

LR: You’re obviously most well-known bypiano teachers and pupils as a composer,and have also recently published anothervolume in the It’s Never Too Late series, It’sNever Too Late to Play Pam Wedgwood – abook of your original pieces. Do you enjoyarranging as much as composing? Had youdone much arranging in the past?

PW: As a French Horn player I had donesome arranging for wind ensembles, and theodd piece for a piano pupil, but otherwiseno! The arranging process is quitechallenging when you’re used to being lessconstrained musically. I do find I have to reinmyself in sometimes, if I stray too far fromthe original song! I have to be in the rightmindset for arranging – it’s more of atechnical challenge for me. The enjoymenttends to come at the end, when I try it outon a pupil and find that it really works. Atfirst I was worried that concentrating onarranging would limit my creative skills whenit came to composing, but it hasn’t proven a problem so far! I’m lucky that I canintersperse my composing and arrangingwork, for variety.

LR: How can arrangements be useful in theteaching process? How do you find pupilsrespond to playing pieces they know?

PW: Providing repertoire that pupils enjoy is the key to maintaining their enthusiasm,and therefore their improvement. Soarrangements of tunes that they know aregreat for this, as the stimulus comes fromthem. They can often overcome trickytechnical issues in this way too. I had a pupil who was desperate to play Reach by S Club 7 (from Up-Grade! Pop Grade 3-4),and even though it was beyond her usualcapability, she managed to learn it perfectly!

It’s All In the Arrangement!Pam Wedgwood is recognised as one of the most successful composers of popular repertoire forperformers young and old. In her 61st year, she is still as prolific as ever – producing several newvolumes of original repertoire, not to mention fitting in a cycling trip around India. And with Faber Music’sacquisition of International Music Publications in 2005, bringing access to Warner Chappell and EMI’svast catalogues of pop and jazz copyrights, Pam is turning her hand more and more to arranging. LeighRumsey caught up with her to ask about the arranging process…

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“Pam Wedgwood has a gift for arranging, sothat even the simplest of arrangements aresatisfying to play,motivating and above all .... sound great”

(P Larkins, Piano Teacher, London)


It’s now over 15 years since PamWedgwood hit the British music scene withwhat has become one of the most durableand successful series, Jazzin’ About andUp-Grade!. These graded pieces weredesigned to give pupils a break from theclassics, providing an introduction to a number of musical styles with coolsyncopation, funky riffs and smooth, stylishtunes whilst still supporting and maintaininggood keyboard technique.

Fun additions to the popular Up-Grade!series, Up-Grade! Jazz and Up-Grade Pop!are jam-packed with well-loved hits in cool new arrangements. Specially selectedand arranged for the pianist looking forsomething to bridge the gap betweengrades, the books also feature Pam’s own specially written pieces.

Pam’s recreational series of mood musicAfter Hours now takes in the smooth soundsof jazz, so you can relax with the lushharmonies and laid-back melodies of yourfavourite jazz standards. After Hours Jazzfeatures classics from Gershwin, Porter,Mancini and more, plus some great originalworks, all arranged for the intermediatepianist to enjoy.

Her ground-breaking tutor It’s Never Too Late To Play Piano gives adults theopportunity to learn the piano with a methoddevised especially for them. It has quicklybecome a best-seller, due to its easy-to-follow approach, irresistible music,fascinating information and interactive CD – all designed to make learning fun!The series now extends with a range ofrepertoire books including the new It’s NeverToo Late To Play Showtunes and It’s NeverToo Late To Play Pam Wedgwood. TheShowtunes book contains pieces that aresuitable for those who have been learning forabout a year, or have completed the tutor.Fun to play and gently progressive, thepieces will extend players’ techniquegradually through tunes they love to playincluding Grease, Chicago, Porgy and Bess,My Fair Lady and many more.

After Hours JazzAfter Hours Jazz 1 Piano0-571-52908-9 £7.50After Hours Jazz 2 Piano0-571-52909-7 £7.50

Up-Grade Jazz!Up-Grade Jazz! Piano Grades 0–10-571-52476-1 £6.95Up-Grade Jazz! Piano Grades 1–20-571-52477-X £6.95Up-Grade Jazz! Piano Grades 2–30-571-53122-9 £6.95Up-Grade Jazz! Piano Grades 3–40-571-53123-7 £6.95

Up-Grade Pop!Up-Grade Pop! Piano Grades 0–10-571-52474-5 £6.95Up-Grade Pop! Piano Grades 1–20-571-52475-3 £6.95Up-Grade Pop! Piano Grades 2–30-571-53124-5 £6.95Up-Grade Pop! Piano Grades 3–4 0-571-53125-3 £6.95

It’s Never Too Late...It’s Never Too Late To Play Piano book/CD0-571-52070-7 £9.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Jazz book/CD 0-571-52714-0 £9.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Classics 0-571-52651-9 £7.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Christmas 0-571-52652-7 £7.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Showtunes0-571-53120-2 £7.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Pam Wedgwood 0-571-52984-4 £7.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Blues book/CD0-571-53208-X £9.95

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New publications by Pam WedgwoodThe multi-talented composer, arranger, teacher and performer PamWedgwood has written and collaborated on more than 100 books. Her piano books, including the best-selling Jazzin’ About and Up-Grade!series are now a staple part of many young pianist’s repertoire and are frequently set on exam, festival and contest syllabuses. Pam has recently achieved a remarkable milestone by clocking up her half-millionth sale. Still as prolific as ever, we take a look at her latest publications.


I remember the first time I volunteered to play in a band. Considering myself acompetent pianist, I was totally lost as the music put in front of me showed norecognisable notation, just a few rhythmicsuggestions and the chords to play usingjust the symbols. Help! To aid aspiring jazzpianists, whether soloists, accompanists or in an ensemble, I therefore came up withthe idea for The Jazz Piano Player. Each ofthese initial two volumes, Stormy Weatherand Autumn Leaves include 16 classic jazz standards, presented in two differentformats. The first version of each songincludes the melody, lyrics and basic chordstructure, ideal for improvisation. The secondversion is a full arrangement for piano solo,suitable for intermediate level pianists. By learning these chords the sounds willbecome familiar, the chords more readilyunderstood and the shapes will begin to liemore comfortably under the hands. All thesongs are in their standard keys, enablingpianists to play with other jazz musicians.

Where to start? For a first approach most students – with a basic awareness of chords and arpeggios –will figure out the notes required for a simple 8-chord sequence in C major.

C - G - Am - Em - F - C - F - G (etc.)

And may well interpret as a series of triads in the right hand, with the bass note in the left– not altogether musical and probably breaking most rules of harmony! But given theadvice to move the chord on contrary motion to the movement of the bass line it maybecome more acceptable:

But what the student needs to ‘see’ is the hidden, smooth (stepwise) movement thesequence offers.

The sequence may well be recognised now and demonstrates the art and skill required tomake musical sense of the symbols. It involves learning to ‘voice’ the chords and to linkthem as the composer intended, but while offering the player freedom to interpret in theirown way – similar to how the figured bass gave independence to the continuo player.

The jazz pianist needs to be able to negotiate their way through a sequence of seeminglyunrelated chords as smoothly as possible and with minimum movements of upper partsand in doing so find the often chromatic line too.

First stepsAmong the first sequences to master is the sequence of 7ths. These can be found in songs such as:

Autumn Leaves

This sequence can also be found in the middle 8 of Try to remember (Harvey Schmidt);There’s a small hotel (Richard Rodgers) and All the things you are (Jerome Kern).

The diminished 7th is frequently used as part of an ascending or descending chromaticbass line, often between a root and 1st inversion chords.

The Jazz Piano PlayerJazz chords explained

John Kember is a composer, arranger, music teacher and former ABRSM examiner. His manypublications range through latin, jazz and pop music to classical and baroque, for a range of instrumentsand abilities from solo piano to string quartet. He is well known for his imaginative approach to teachingjazz technique, through publications such as The Jazz Piano Player and Jazz Piano Studies (formerlyProgressive Jazz Studies). Here he offers some advice for aspiring jazz pianists…

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Ascending:

Stormy Weather

The Major 7th. As the name implies the 7th would be played as the 7th in that major key.Therefore Amaj7 would imply a G# but A7 a Gd – best thought of as a dominant 7th in thekey of D. Similarly E7maj7 would imply a Dd and E77 a D7.A chord which occurs frequently can cause some confusion but is much easier tointerpret than it looks is the minor 7th chord with a flattened 5th. But Bm775 is simplyDm/B, Em775 = Gm/E and F#m775 = Am/F#

The 9th gives added richness and ‘crunch’ to a chord. G9 would generally imply both the7th and the 9th, and like the 7th can be major of minor – whole tone (or 2nd) above theroot, or minor 2nd (semitone) above the root. These can also be indicated as #9 or 79.The addition of the 9th alone makes a good finishing chord.

The 11th, used less often and then usually omitting the 3rd of the chord to avoidclashing, makes a useful variation to the final cadence.

The 13th is sometimes indicated – and more readily understood – as G76 – the 13thabove the root being the same as the 6th. It can also be interpreted as Fmaj7/G byomitting the 3rd and 5th and adding 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th. Which to use depends onchoice, phrase and preceding chords.

Are you ready to take the ‘Twinkle Test?’Turn to p12 and test your knowledge and understanding of chords to harmonise ‘Twinkle,Twinkle Little Star’ in C major using the chords provided. Enjoy!

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The Jazz Piano Player: Autumn Leaves 0-571-53157-1 £12.95My Funny Valentine (Richard Rodgers): Autumn Leaves (Prevert/Kosma): September Song (Kurt Weill); Try To Remember(Harvey Schmidt): Nice Work If You Can Get It (George Gershwin); I Could Write A Book (Richard Rodgers); I Didn’t Know WhatTime It Was (Richard Rodgers); Emily (Johnny Mandel): Embraceable You (George Gershwin); Summertime (George Gershwin);Every Time We Say Goodbye (Cole Porter); I Get A Kick Out Of You (Cole Porter); I’ve Got It Bad (Duke Ellington); Come Rain OrCome Shine (Harold Arlen);Ain’t Misbehavin (Fats Waller); Someone To Watch Over Me (George Gershwin)

The Jazz Piano Player: Stormy Weather 0-571-53156-3 £12.95Over The Rainbow (Harold Arlen); My Ship (Kurt Weill); A Foggy Day (George Gershwin); A Small Hotel (Richard Rogers); JustOne Of Those Things (Cole Porter); The Shadow Of Your Smile (Johnny Mandel); The Folks Who Live On The Hill (JeromeKern); Let’s Do It (Cole Porter); I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Cole Porter); Your Love Is Here To Stay (George Gershwin); TheVery Thought Of You (Ray Noble); All The Things You Are (Jerome Kern); I’ve Got The World On A String (Harold Arlen); TheyCan’t Take That Away From Me (George Gershwin); Laura (David Raksin); Stormy Weather (Harold Arlen)


Me And My Piano (New Edition) (see pages 4 & 5)

Fanny Waterman & Marion Harewood

September 2008Me and My Piano. Part 1 (new edition)0-571-53200-4 £5.95Me and My Piano Part 20-571-53201-2 £5.95Me and My Piano Repertoire0-571-53202-0 £5.95Me and My Piano Duets Book 10-571-53203-9 £5.95Me and My Piano Duets Book 20-571-53204-7 £5.95Me and My Piano Superscales0-571-53205-5 £5.50Me and My Piano Animal Magic 0-571-53206-3 £5.95

Unbeaten Tracks (see page 6)

Ed. Joanna MacGregor

Unbeaten Tracks. Grades 4-60-571-52409-5 £8.95

Exercises & Sight Reading (see page 7)

Ed. Christine Brown

Carl Czerny 101 Exercises0-571-52769-8 £6.95Christine Brown Play at Sight0-571-52506-7 £7.95

Best of... (see pages 8 & 9)

Ed. Anthony Williams

The Best Of Grade 10-571-52771-X £5.95The Best Of Grade 20-571-52772-8 £5.95

The Best Of Grade 30-571-52773-6 £5.95The Best Of Grade 40-571-52774-4 £6.95The Best Of Grade 50-571-52775-2 £6.95

Just for Kids (see page 10)

Arr. Sarah Walker

Just for Kids: Christmas Book0-571-52859-7 £6.95Just for Kids: Princess Book0-571-52857-0 £6.95Just for Kids: Superhero Book0-571-52858-9 £6.95Just for Kids: The Magic Piano Book0-571-52860-0 £6.95

Chill With... (see page 9)

Adagio Chillout (book/CD)0-571-52435-4 £7.95Chill With Chopin (book/CD)0-571-52438-9 £7.95Chill With Debussy (book/CD)0-571-52437-0 £7.95Chill With Mozart (book/CD)0-571-52436-2 £7.95

Improve your teaching!(see page 15)

Paul Harris

Improve Your Practice! Piano Beginners0-571-52844-9 £4.50Teaching Beginners0-571-53175-X £8.95

Simply Classics (see pages 16 & 17)

Ed. Peter Gritton

Simply Classics. Grades 0-10-571-52551-2 £5.95Simply Classics. Grades 2-30-571-52552-0 £5.95Simply Classics. Grades 4-50-571-52553-9 £5.95

After Hours Jazz (see pages 18 & 19)

Pam Wedgwood

After Hours Jazz 10-571-52908-9 £7.50After Hours Jazz 20-571-52909-7 £7.50

It’s Never Too Late (see pages 18 & 19)

Pam Wedgwood

It’s Never Too Late To Play Piano (book/CD)0-571-52070-7 £9.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Jazz (book/CD)0-571-52714-0 £9.95

It’s Never Too Late To Play Christmas0-571-52652-7 £7.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Classics0-571-52651-9 £7.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Pam Wedgwood0-571-52984-4 £7.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Showtunes0-571-53120-2 £7.95It’s Never Too Late To Play Blues (book/CD)0-571-53208-X £9.95

Up-Grade (see pages 18 & 19)

Pam Wedgwood

Up-Grade Christmas! Grades 0–10-571-52953-4 £6.95Up-Grade Christmas! Grades 1–20-571-52954-2 £6.95Up-Grade Jazz! Grades 0–10-571-52476-1 £6.95Up-Grade Jazz! Grades 1–20-571-52477-X £6.95Up-Grade Jazz! Grades 2–30-571-53122-9 £6.95Up-Grade Jazz! Grades 3–40-571-53123-7 £6.95Up-Grade Pop! Grades 0–10-571-52474-5 £6.95Up-Grade Pop! Grades 1–20-571-52475-3 £6.95Up-Grade Pop! Grades 2–30-571-53124-5 £6.95Up-Grade Pop! Grades 3–40-571-53125-3 £6.95More Up-Grade! Grades 1–20-571-52420-6 £6.95More Up-Grade! Grades 2–30-571-52421-4 £6.95

Jazzin’ About (see pages 18 & 19)

Pam Wedgwood

Really Easy Jazzin’ About Studies0-571-52422-2 £7.50

The Jazz Piano Player (see pages 20 & 21)

Arr. John Kember

The Jazz Piano Player: Autumn Leaves0-571-53157-1 £12.95The Jazz Piano Player: Stormy Weather0-571-53156-3 £12.95

Real Repertoire StudiesEd. Christine Brown

Real Repertoire Studies. Grades 1-30-571-53139-3 £7.95Real Repertoire Studies. Grades 4-60-571-52604-7 £7.95Real Repertoire Studies. Grades 6-80-571-52605-5 £7.95

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New and recent publications


The articles and publications listed in this magazine reflect only a small selection of our piano catalogue. For a complete listing please see our website: www.fabermusic.com

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Essential CollectionsArr. Richard Harris

The Essential Pop Collection0-571-52505-9 £9.95The Essential Jazz Collection0-571-52780-9 £9.95The Essential Film Collection0-571-52781-7 £9.95The Essential Showtunes Collection0-571-52782-5 £9.95The Essential Christmas Collection0-571-53207-1 £9.95

Pepperbox JazzElissa Milne

Pepperbox Jazz Book 10-571-52371-4 £6.95Pepperbox Jazz Book 20-571-52372-2 £6.95

Romantic Piano RepertoireEd. Stephen Coombs

Romantic Piano Repertoire Level 10-571-52905-4 £9.95 Romantic Piano Repertoire Level 20-571-52906-2 £9.95

PlayJohn Kember / Richard Harris

Play Broadway (piano/CD)0-571-52748-5 £9.95Play Christmas (piano/CD)0-571-53155-5 £9.95Play Hollywood (piano/CD)0-571-52826-0 £9.95Play Soul (piano/CD)0-571-52495-8 £9.95

Take the Lead

Bumper Take The Lead (book/CD)0-571-52478-8 £12.95

George Gershwin

Meet George Gershwin At The Keyboard0-571-52677-2 £8.95George Gershwin At The Piano0-571-52575-X £4.95The Best Of Gershwin0-571-53038-9 £8.95

Easy Classics

100 Easy Classics For Piano0-571-52584-9 £12.95


Faber Music LimitedBurnt Mill • Elizabeth Way • Harlow • Essex CM20 2HXTel: + 44 (0) 1279 828909/29 • Fax: + 44 (0) 1279 [email protected] • www.fabermusic.com

07/08

Me and My Piano & Piano LessonsThe world’s favourite tutor and repertoirecourse from teaching legend, Dame Fanny Waterman

Jazzin’ About, Up-Grade! & Step It Up!Cool syncopation, funky riffs and smoothstylish tunes. Take a break from the classicswith Pam Wedgwood’s graded pieces incontemporary styles

PianoWorldThe magical story-based tutor for kids by the innovative Joanna MacGregor

Keynotes, Faber Piano Collections& Real Repertoire seriesEssential repertoire collections. From well-loved standards to undiscovered gems, there’ssomething for everyone!

Jazz Sessions, Jazz Piano Plus Oneand The Jazz Piano PlayerEasy ways into jazz styles and improvisation

Little PeppersExpertly crafted jazz miniatures that are ‘tiny moments of cool’ for beginner tointermediate players

Improve your Practice, Scales & Sight-reading!Practice makes perfect! Top tips no teachershould be without – from the leadingeducationalist Paul Harris

Everything you need for successful piano teaching and performing

Faber Music publications are available from all good music shops


Documents

A FABER MUSIC MAGAZINE FOR PIANO TEACHERS SUMMER 2008