review by Meg Gray Wellness for musicians is a topic that came to the forefront in the 1980s and 90s, as musicians and pedagogues teamed up with medical professionals and other wellness experts to explore how musicians can play and sing in the healthiest way possible.Since that time, many articles, studies, and conference presentations have ed...

(S6) THE ETUDES PROJECT, VOLUME ONE: ICEBERG curated by Jenny LinPianist Jenny Lin partnered with ten New York City-based composers to assemble this imaginative and engaging selection of new piano etudes. From the introduction to the score, "The Etudes Project is an ongoing exploration of the tradition and transformati...

GRADE LEVELS Level 1: Beginning, five-finger patterns & simple rhythmsLevel 2: Easy, scales & simple syncopationLevel 3: Intermediate, beginning counterpoint & complex rhythms, Bach Notebooks, Bartók Mikrokosmos I–IILevel 4: Late Intermediate, technical & rhythmic sophistication, Bach Inventions, Bartók Romanian Folk Dance...

(S3) SAPLINGS: 21 INTERMEDIATE PIANO SOLOS published by Red Leaf Pianoworks  While presenting at and attending the Canadian Music Teachers Conference last summer in Winnipeg, I was introduced to a new collection hot off the press called Saplings. This collection is written with the intermediate pianist in mind and features eleven Canadian...

Emilie Lin has arranged five traditional melodies in her publication Hearts of Asia: Chinese Folk Songs, published by FJH. The first four pieces have lovely, cantabile melodies which are divided between the hands. They also have simple, beautifully written duet parts which could be played by a teacher, parent, or student at the early-intermediate l...

Dennis Alexander's Concertino for the Young is an attractive and engaging solo with piano accompaniment that closely mimics classical concerto style. This work, accessible for a later-elementary piano student, is written in typical concerto form with fast first and third movements and a slow second movement. Traditional concerto elements also inclu...

First steps into Ragtime If you're looking for a lively early-intermediate piece in ragtime style, you can find it in the music of Florence B. Price, one of America's preeminent African American composers. Ticklin' Toes checks all of the ragtime boxes, yet in a way that is accessible for students who are not advanced enough to tackle the music...

(S4-5) PIANO PIECES by Otilie Suková Very little is known about the composer Otilie Suková (1878–1905), yet a great deal is known about her famous father, Antonín Dvorák. Nonetheless, Bärenreiter Urtext has presented pianists with a gem: a collection of four short piano pieces by this relatively unknown composer. The p...

(S2) Bastien New Traditions All In One Piano Course, 2B, 3A, 3B, by Lisa, Lori, and Jane Bastien. In a grand family tradition, these materials continue the recently published Bastien New Traditions All In One Piano Course by Lisa, Lori, and Jane Bastien. As with the first five levels in the new series (Primer A through 2A), Lessons, Theory, Techniq...

 (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 titles like "Android Attack," "Pengui...