Choose Your Level
Your NEW JUNE Music consists of three pieces I have written myself, all with an animal theme
FIRST is “The Stallion Gallops Free” in Primer Level
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Here’s an exciting recital piece for Primer Level pianists. You can think of it like “There’s a Rabbit in the Garden,” longer than most Primer pieces and with plenty of opportunity to show off. In this case the tempo marking, “Like the Wind,” and the easy fingering encourage your student to put on a dazzling display! |
SECOND is “A Whale’s Tale” in Level 2
| Just as a whale lives under the sea, the melody in this new piece lives completely in the lower notes of the left hand. “A Whale’s Tale” is a great piece to introduce balance to the student—the important skill of playing the melody louder than the accompaniment. The performance should flow swiftly and smoothly as if swimming through a large body of water. |
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And YOUR THIRD June piece is “A Burro’s Burden” Primer Level
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Determined to carry a heavy load, this burro (Spanish for donkey) is serious about the job ahead (read: minor key). And “if it’s more than I bargained for” your donkey won’t hesitate to let out its well known cry. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
Your NEW Music in May is the Cuban classic, “Guantanamera” in Level 4
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With words by the Cuban national hero José Martí, “Guantanamera” is a nostalgic reflection of Cuba’s easternmost province. A rough translation would be, “Woman from Guantánamo, I am just an honest man from where the palm tree grows…With the poor of the earth I cast my lot.” As this piece starts with such a clear and repeated C chord, one might forget to look at the key signature and assume there are no sharps or flats. But no! Beware! We are actually in G with an F-sharp in the key signature. It needs to be observed soon after starting—in the second measure there’s an F-sharp in the left hand. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
Happy Spring! APRIL’S first new tune is “The Banana Boat Song” or “Day-O” in Level 2
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Harry Belafonte popularized this Jamaican tune with his stunning performances of what came to be known as “Day-O.” Far from a get-up-and-greet-the-day song, it is a work song, sung by laborers toiling through the night picking bananas. They did not work during the day because the daylight sun was too hot. In essence they sang, “The sun is up. Come here, boss, and count the bananas I loaded onto the boat (‘tally me banana’) so that I can go home and sleep.” The right hand in this arrangement shifts back and forth between spanning a sixth, E up to C, and the familiar C position. The left hand meanwhile stays solidly in C. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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Second in APRIL is “Hey Jama,” a variation on “Frère Jacques” also in Level 2
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Of the hundreds of variations around the world of “Frère Jacques,” you are now getting one from Somalia. Here, instead of Jacques being awakened to ring the matins bells, Jama is awakened to go to school. Thank you, Mama Lisa, for this version. When you go to Level 2 you will see that you can choose between an adult printout and a child one. They differ only in the accompanying picture. In this arrangement the harmonies are a bit unusual though pleasant to the ear. Do not forget the flat in the key signature which affects a B in the very first measure as well as many subsequent measures. Otherwise you get harmonies which are way too unusual for most people’s tastes! Write your comments at the facebook group. |
There is much music in MARCH for you! First, “From Caterpillar to Butterfly” appears in Level 1
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You will find this piece early in Level 1 as the note reading is easy for this level. In addition, “From Caterpillar to Butterfly” contains a wide variety of instructions which make for both teachable moments and interesting sounds. These include pedaling, dynamics, a ritard-fermata-A-Tempo passage, a shift to an octave higher notated with 8va, and left hand crossing over right on the very last note. I hope you enjoy teaching and playing it as much as I enjoyed composing it. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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Second, in MARCH on your Level 2 page is, “Sonatina Piccola”
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I have now written for you three short Sonatinas for Levels 1, 2 and 3 called respectively, “Sonatina Piccolina,” “Sonatina Piccola” and “Sonatina in G.” I am sure that your new Level 2 “Sonatina Piccola” will match and even surpass the popularity of its smaller “Piccolina” cousin. I have always enjoyed the challenge of writing classical forms at the easiest possible levels: in addition to these three sonatinas see my
Gavotte in Keyboard Classics,
my Musette in Level 3,
and my Sonata Form Fun
in Intermediate Level 1. Enjoy playing these accessible pieces found only on this site. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
Your FEBRUARY music includes three versions of “Jumping Jacks,” taken from
Purcell’s “Rigadoon” in Primer Level, Level 1 and Level 2
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A rigadoon is “a lively jumping quickstep” according to The American Heritage Dictionary. This description inspired me to call the piece “Jumping Jacks” and to add staccato dots to encourage students to have their fingers “jump” from key to key. In Primer Level, phrase markers emphasize the difference between staccato and legato touches. Level 1 is unusual in that the melody at first appears in the left hand. There is also an easy shift from Middle C position to “Regular” C position (hands an octave apart). The Level 2 version has slightly more complicated shifts of hand position typical of this level. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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February’s second offering is “Star Light, Star Bright” in First Pieces and Level 1
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Half of the First Pieces version of “Star Light, Star Bright” is played by just two pointer fingers. Easy peasy! The notation, however is traditional, complete with rests and grand staffs. The Level 1 version is a great introduction to G position. There are no stretches down to F-sharp, no 3-note chords, and the melody appears in both hands. I would suggest that students play the melody while singing letter names—with no peeking at the keyboard! This would be a good strategy for practicing their music reading skills. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
In JANUARY of 2026 you get two dances! First, my own composition, “Artie’s Jig”
in Intermediate Level 1
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You are getting two versions of “Artie’s Jig,” both in Intermediate 1. One version is written in traditional notation while the second is written as a lead sheet. I am hoping that non-pianists will use the lead sheet to play informally in folk, bluegrass or country bands. I therefore took out piano fingerings from the lead sheet as they might confuse fiddlers or other instrumentalists. Artie, by the way, is a close relative’s dog. He is much loved and he loves back dearly. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
 Artie on his morning walk |
…and second is Minuet No.1 from Bach’s G minor Suite BWV 822 in Intermediate Level 2
as promised last month
 
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There is only one other piece on this site in the key of G minor preceding this minuet—the minuet from the notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach in Intermediate Level 1. So these two minuets bring up the question, “How do you introduce a new key to the student?” First, I recommend that exercises progressing through all keys be practiced throughout a student’s learning. My “5-Finger Patterns and Chords” on this site’s Exercises page is a good, systematic way to do this. Its introduction reads in part: “In these pages you find the right notes without the benefit of reading music. Instead you use:
Thus, you will transpose exercises written in C to other keys…” Secondly I recommend that the scale of the new key be practiced along with the piece. Scales can also be found on the Exercises page.Write your comments at the facebook group. |
Happy New Year 2026! May we always make music!
Here’s a Christmas carol for you in DECEMBER: “Here We Come A-wassailing” is now in Level 2C
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“Wassailing.” What a strange word! Merriam Webster says it means either to sing carols from house to house at Christmas (we’re familiar with that), or to indulge in riotous drinking, to carouse (which sounds a lot more unruly than those nice singers pictured to the right). In any case this Level 2 version arrives just in time for this year’s Christmas festivities. Here are some technical details to watch out for: Finger 5 of the right hand stretches to C in measure 9 and then finger 3 goes back and forth between A and G. Also, the dotted-quarter-note beat in 6/8 should be exactly the same speed as the half-note beat in cut time later on. This will keep the transition in meters nice and smooth. Merry Christmas! Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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Your second December piece is J.S. Bach’s third minuet from his G minor Suite BWV 822
in Intermediate Level 2
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Of the three minuets in this suite, two are appropriate for intermediate level pianists: number 3 in G major which you are getting this month, and number 1 in G minor which you will be getting in January. The key of G minor is underrepresented on these pages and minuet number 1 will help us fill that gap. In the meantime, keep playing, keep teaching and have a joyous New Year! Write your comments at the facebook group. |
In NOVEMBER: THREE versions of the Scottish, “Skye Boat Song” (also the theme of “Outlander”)
See First Pieces B, Level 2C and Level 3B
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Scots have held the tune to “The Skye Boat Song” dear to their hearts at least since 1782 when William Ross wrote Scottish Gaelic lyrics entitled “Cuachag nan Craobh” (“Cuckoo of the Tree”). The music predates this setting, however, by who knows how many years as a rowing song. But its real popularity did not come until the late 1800’s when Sir Harold Boulton wrote moving words recounting Bonnie Prince Charles’ ill fated attempt to return the English crown to his father, Jacob II, back in 1745. By Sir Harold’s time the Bonnie Prince had become a tragic folk hero (even in England!) whose losses on the battlefield had forced him to hide among local Scots and to flee from the Isle of Skye in a small boat, thus the name, “The Skye Boat Song.” In modern times the tune has regained popularity as the theme of the hit television drama, “Outlander.” I have included these lyrics as well as the “Skye Boat” lyrics in your new music. |
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The First Pieces version is in a not-quite thumbs share C position. The left hand is shifted down one step to accommodate large hands. Level 2 is in lead sheet notation. Suggestions for 2-note left hand chords appear at the top of the page and the music is in the key of G to facilitate guitar accompaniment. Level 3 is written out in full with a not so subtle imitation of bagpipes in the left hand. This lengthy blurb (sorry!) was inspired by my recent trip to Scotland and our wonderful guide, Mark Mackenzie. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
In OCTOBER your new music includes a Palestinian Arabic piece called “The Chickens” /
Ha Seessan. Look for it in Level 2A. And you will also find a Jewish Yiddish piece called
“By the Fireside” / Oyfn Pripetchik in Level 4B
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This month you have the opportunity to learn songs, as you had in April of last year, from both sides of the conflict in Gaza. They are here as a small attempt to promote understanding between cultures, especially those in conflict. Children all over the world enjoy songs about animals, and as they get older they enjoy being by a cozy fire learning from their elders. This attempt is a small one, but it is what I have to offer. We are not so different from each other. And no reasonable person likes wars. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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This SEPTEMBER you get an intermediate arrangement of Tinikling in Intermediate Level 3
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Last month you got a Primer Level arrangement of this piece—see below. Now here’s an arrangement for more advanced pianists. You can use this sheet music as a stand alone piece or maybe even to accompany dancers when they put on a show! If it’s for a show there may be time constraints, so you may have to be flexible about playing the repeats. Many recordings even end with the B section (in E minor) instead of observing the Da Capo. Imagine how special a show would be with a live pianist instead of a canned recording! Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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…and here’s a SECOND September piece: the second movement of
Beethoven’s Sonata Pathétique; arranged by Şükrü Dellal for Level 3
 Ludwig van Beethoven |
Şükrü has created a short version of this middle movement consisting of the theme played twice. It is a quiet, contemplative piece—as middle movements usually are in sonatas—so don’t rush it. There is also a practical/technical reason for playing the first measures slowly: if you rush the half-notes you will have a hard time keeping the beat steady when the theme reappears with a quarter-note accompaniment. Thank you Şükrü for this wonderful arrangement! Write your comments at the facebook group. |
YOURS to download in AUGUST: Two arrangements of “Flop Eared Mule,” one in Primer Level C
and one in Level 2C
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Bluegrass musicians love to play “Flop Eared Mule” as part of their old time fiddling heritage. As an old American tune it was sometimes called “Detroit Schottische” or “Lop Eared Mule.” Your Primer Level arrangement moves from “regular C” position, with hands playing an octave apart, to “middle C position,” with thumbs sharing C. Beginning pianists will find this hand movement in the middle of a piece surprising and often slow. However the transition is made smoother by a ritard and rest in the left hand. The Level 2 arrangement sounds happy and bouncy in the first half—lots of fun to play! Make sure the staccato notes are nice and short. The second section can be considered in a “thumbs share D” position and students with large hands might need to be reassured that the right thumb is never used. So you can just keep it out of the way! Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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…ALSO in AUGUST, for free from The Philippines you get “Tinikling!” in Primer Level A
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Tinikling, a traditional Filipino dance, challenges dancers to insert their feet between two bamboo poles in precise patterns so as not to get “caught” when the poles come together. Your new arrangement of the music is among your easiest pieces, though there may be some notation which needs to be explained, specifically: flat and natural signs, ties, pick-ups and incomplete last measures. In addition a line, from one note in one staff to another note in the other staff, joins a set of four eighth notes. I put a lot of thought into how to notate these eighth notes most clearly! Write your comments at the facebook group. |
JULY’s new music is UP! In Keyboard Classics you will find Şükrü Dellal’s arrangement
of a Sonatina by Albert Biehl
Şükrü arranged this piece for you by bringing both hands down an octave and notating the left hand in bass clef, as is usual in beginner piano music nowadays. He also shortened it considerably by omitting the development and recapitulation sections completely. So, despite a few octave leaps in the left hand, your resulting Sonatina is an easy 18 measure piece which is true to Biehl’s original. We hope you enjoy it! Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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…and there’s MORE in July: Learn “On Bassano’s Bridge” complete with English
and Italian lyrics in Level 3A
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The city of Bassano, in Italy, has a covered bridge where a young couple walked hand in hand and shared a kiss, or so the story goes. Little did they know that the young man would be called off to war and would have to abandon his sweetheart—a sad but common tale. In this Level 3 setting of the popular folk song, the right hand moves freely within a small range (just an octave) while the left hand remains almost completely in C position—a perfect piece for late Level 2 or early Level 3 students. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
Your two NEW tunes in JUNE! The first is “Soldier’s Joy” arranged as a duet in Level 1
“Soldier’s Joy” is one of the oldest and best known fiddle tunes we have. It almost certainly came to the United States in colonial times from somewhere in the British Isles. Your new arrangement is a duet suitable for two Level 1 pianists. The Secondo, or lower part, is best played by someone with a nice steady beat. It consists of easy C and G7 chords played between the hands in an “um chuck” pattern. The Primo part has the melody. It begins with a broken C chord in the left hand and finger 3 on C(!) in the right hand—a bit unusual at this level. Pianists generally have little experience coordinating their rhythm and tempo with others, and this piece provides a great opportunity to practice this important skill. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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Also this June: The American Revolution’s “Liberty Song” with American lyrics set to
the British Navy’s march, “Heart of Oak” in Intermediate Level 1
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Over the last few centuries, the United States has developed a happy reputation for standing up against tyranny in its many forms. Back in the country’s inception John Dickenson wrote the words to “The Liberty Song” which spoke to the determination of colonists to overthrow an imperial government. The British monarchy at the time was rich and powerful, but it was also sadly out of touch with the needs of everyday people in a far off land. We still remain true to our founding father’s ideals. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
In May we welcome our NEW ARRANGER, Şükrü Dellal! He has versions of Karayev’s “Vals”
in Level 4 and in Intermediate 2. My easier version is in Level 3
| Your new music this month is a Waltz (in Slavic languages a “Vals”) from Kara Karayev’s (or Gara Garayev’s) ballet, Seven Beauties. You get very few 20th century pieces on this site because of copyright issues, but this piece, written in 1949, has a 20th century sound and, fortunately for us, I feel comfortable posting a piece which was written over 75 years ago. | |
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It is not easy to arrange a full orchestral piece for beginning or intermediate pianists, and the excellent arrangement in Intermediate 2 was the one Şükrü first sent me. I used this as the basis of my simpler offering in Level 3, as did Şükrü for the one in Level 4. We both hope you enjoy playing our arrangements of this quick and exuberant waltz. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
April’s music now available! Play the Welsh song, “All Through the Night/Ar Hyd y Nos”
in Level 3
Here is a reassuring and heart-warming arrangement of this traditional Welsh melody. Sir Harold Boulton’s English words speak of peace and guardian angels watching over a sleeping child. Even the predictability of the AABA form reinforce a sense of familiarity and comfort. The melody is as beautiful as it is old, having first been written down in 1784 and no doubt having been sung long before that. It is hardly surprising that this tune has survived all these years. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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And you get even more in April: You get two minuets written by the child prodigy
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, both in Intermediate Level 1
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Mozart wrote the Minuet in F (K. 2) when he was only five or six years old. Far from being a little kid’s composition, it shows a sophistication—from the modulation to ii in line three to the half diminished 7th chord in measure 13—which has made it popular over these many centuries. Though easier to play, the Minuet in C (K. 6) similarly shows a mature awareness of form where in the last line young Wolfgang repeats line 2 transposed down a fifth. The “K” designations show that these are among the earliest of Mozart’s compositions. Taken from Ludwig Ritter von Köchel’s last name, the K’s refer to the minuets’ places in a chronological catalogue of Mozart’s works. For comparison Mozart’s last piece, his famous Requiem, is K. 626. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
Here’s your March Music: The hymn, “In Christ there is no East or West” late in Level 2C
The right hand does quite a bit of jumping around in this piece. From beginning in the familiar C position it moves to “positions” which really don’t—and shouldn’t—have names at all. Instead, reading music by the end of Level 2 should become more a matter of recognizing letter names than relying on hand positions. Letter name drills and flashcards are especially helpful at this point. The message of this hymn’s lyrics is simple: be kind to everyone, no matter where they’re from. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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and here’s MORE in March: An original piece called “Lament” in Intermediate Level 3
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Half of this piece languished half forgotten in a notebook for many years. Finally last month I finished it and placed it in the underpopulated Intermediate 3. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
YOURS! in February: Five (5!) versions of “That’s Where My Money Goes”
two in First Pieces, and one each in Primer, Level 1, and Level 2
| Why are there sometimes several versions of the same tune on this site? After all, piano methods never repeat pieces at different levels, I guess to avoid complaints like, “But I already did Banks of the Ohio!” The reason for multiple versions here is that you use this site differently than you use method books. Here there are many more pieces to choose from. So, as often happens, when a student has previously skipped over a tune, they will now see a more advanced version as fresh and new. | |
 Words refer to a puppy rather than the traditional baby to make the piece more appropriate for children. |
Both of the versions in First Pieces have no staff lines. One is played on black keys and the other on white keys. In both cases the tune has been shortened from four phrases to two. The Primer Level version includes the full tune played in an “almost-thumbs-share-C position” with finger 2 of the left hand on A instead of B. In Level 1 the second and third fingers of the right hand stretch over a white key. An explanatory picture of the keyboard shows this unusual fingering. Level 2 is written in eighth- and quarter-notes instead of quarter and halves as in earlier levels. This “rhythmic diminution” implies a beat which is more true to how the music really sounds. There is the same stretch between right hand fingers 2 and 3 as there is in Level 1. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
Happy New Year! Here’s to a musical and joyous 2025!
Your NEW January music! “The Can-can” in Primer Level
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Play this with gusto! The can-can is an energetic dance which includes high kicks, cartwheels and splits, so play it loudly and fast. There are in fact musical instructions in your sheet music about this: the fancy “f” at the beginning and between the staffs means play loudly, and the Italian word “Allegro” above the top staff means play quickly. Come to think of it, this would be a good piece to play to celebrate the New Year! Write your comments at the facebook group. |
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and still MORE music: the Italian partisan song, “Fischia il vento/The Wind Blows”
in Intermediate Level 1
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“The wind blows, the bugle blares, Our shoes are broken yet we must go on.” These lyrics speak to me more as a determination to overcome exhaustion than a rousing call to arms. So I set this music mostly quietly as the resistance fighters take a brief rest. Soft half-steps in the introduction, accompaniment and coda represent the wind whistling in the trees. Unlike last month’s “Bella Ciao” this song was actually sung by the partisans of World War II when they were fighting the Nazis and Mussolini’s sympathizers. Write your comments at the facebook group. |
See earlier postings of sheet music in the archives for
2010,
2011,
2012,
2013,
2014,
2015–2019,
2020–2021,
2022 and
2023–2024.
