Easy Cool Cats

What could be nicer than a cat nap on a lazy afternoon? This laid-back jazz piece by Chrissy Ricker is sure to be a hit with early intermediates of all ages!

Top Cat Boogie, composed by Chrissy Ricker, is a fast 1950s rock-style solo for late beginners. This piece is part of the Easy Cool Cats songbook.

Black Cat Boogie, composed by Rick Robertson, is an early-intermediate jazzy showcase solo in a Boogie-Woogie style. It is very effective in performance, and should be a hit on any recital program. It is purposefully written in G-flat major, and uses black-key pentatonic melodies.

Dog Days songbook is a set of intermediate showcase solos by Jennifer Eklund that chronicles a day in the life of her rescue dogs.

Chasing the Paints is an early intermediate showcase solo composed by Jane Tate. This fun and silly song is a showdown between horse and owner trying to catch her in the field.

March of the Red Ants, composed by Kevin Costley, is an showcase solo for late beginners. This piece serves as a great opportunity for students to work on playing a steady bass line, triplets, and shifting between major and minor modes.

Backyard Bash, Volume 2, is a collection of solos written for late beginning pianists who enjoy playing music with lyrics. It is the sequel to Backyard Bash and offers just enough additional difficulty to challenge and delight students. These pieces were written about actual creatures which inhabit our Southwest Virginia backyard, and the lyrics are intended to facilitate study of the music while also amusing the performer. I have found that my students love playing these songs because they sound more difficult than they are, and they are fun to sing along with! I hope you enjoy these musical nature studies and learn to play them all!

Cool Cats is a collection of eleven jazz-style showcase solos, composed by Chrissy Ricker, dedicated to fur babies of the feline persuasion. This songbook is ideally suited for early intermediates and also includes a suggested listening guide covering the genres presented within the book.

Spotlight Solos PLUS features 10 showcase solos in varying styles and tonal centers. These solos are ideal for late beginners through early intermediates of all ages. This book contains selections for the NFMC Festivals Bulletin, 2020-2024.

Chain Reaction is an easy pattern-based 12-bar blues solo in F minor for early intermediates. Music composed by Jennifer Eklund and part of the Spotlight Solos Plus songbook.

Simply Purr-Fect, composed by Chrissy Ricker, is a joyful jazzy solo for late beginners that serves as a great introduction to swing rhythms. This piece is part of the Easy Cool Cats songbook.

Jazzy showcase solo version of When the Saints Go Marching In arranged for late beginners by Jennifer Eklund. This upbeat jazz solo includes MIDI and Mp3 backing tracks for full-time fun for all ages!

Backyard Bash is a collection of solos written for beginning pianists who enjoy playing music with lyrics. With the exception of three pieces, Crazy Cat, Old Dog, and Tree Swallow, these songs describe actual events that have happened in my suburban backyard in Southwest Virginia. Crazy Cat combines the personalities of two of our family cats, Calhoun and Casper, into one. Old Dog is about our Golden Retriever, Clyde, who lived with us when we started our family and was the kindest and most gentle dog I’ve ever known. Tree Swallow is about a male tree swallow who behaved exactly as described in the lyrics, but in my father’s backyard rather than in mine. I have found that my students love playing these songs because they sound more difficult than they are, and they are fun to sing along with! I hope you enjoy these musical nature studies and learn to play them all! - Sarah O’Brien

Got tech-obsessed students in your studio? Smart Tones is a tantalizing set of ten showcase solos composed by Sarah Reaser O’Brien. These tech-themed pieces are ideal for late beginners and up!

Oh Snap! is an easy jazz style solo that incorporates finger snapping throughout. Ideal for late beginners of all ages. Music by Jennifer Eklund and part of the Spotlight Solos Volume 1 songbook.

Spotlight Solos Volume 2 features 12 recital-ready fun solos by Jennifer Eklund for students at the late beginning through early-intermediate levels.

Songs I Love to Play Volume 1 features fun and motivating solos for late beginners of all ages. Recital-ready arrangements of popular themes and original compositions by Piano Pronto author Jennifer Eklund.

To feed students’ cravings for playing in minor keys, Minor Marvels features twelve showcase-style piano solos, four solos with optional teacher duet parts, and two duets. These selections are ideal for late beginners through early intermediates and will gloomily gleam at a Halloween recital or whenever a minor mood strikes!