On Your Case

Cruisin’ is a laid back jazz-waltz solo by Canadian composer, Lisa Frederick. Ready for a lazy ride in a cool car? This is your ticket to ride!

Chaos by Lisa Frederick is the perfect showcase solo piece for your students who are begging for fast and flashy minor-key pieces. Ideal for late intermediates of all ages, this will be a hit at your next recital!

Fun Run by British composer Jenny Walker is a fairly fast advanced level showcase solo. The spirit of a fun run is captured here, with interesting harmonies as the runners twist and turn and an underlying pace for everyone to follow.

Little Tarantella, composed by Jenny Walker, mimics the Italian style of folk dance that has an upbeat, triple time tempo accompanied by tambourines. This lively solo is ideal for advancing intermediates of all ages.

Get your body moving with this upbeat boogie-style solo by Paul Sweet. It’s great for working on syncopations, building left-hand agility, teaching the blues scale, and having some major fun!

Inner Turmoil is a fury-filled, fast and flashy advanced showcase piano solo by Canadian composer, Lisa Frederick. Perfect for teens looking for an impressive spotlight solo for their next performance.

Waltz Divine, composed by Jenny Walker, is in the style of a grand waltz. Rubato is encouraged, especially when it comes to reaching the distance in the left hand. The opening section has a catchy and memorable theme. The quieter, second section, is brief and the first idea soon reappears to conclude the piece. This selection is ideal for late intermediates.

Fearless, composed by Christina Mathis, is an exciting advanced showcase solo full of energy that is sure to become a favorite in your studio.

Easy on the ears and downright fun to play, Toccata Breve by Paul Sweet packs catchy melodies, interesting harmonies, and showy passagework into a solo both teachers and students will love!

Something Wicked This Way Strides is an exuberant, late intermediate solo that evokes the Roaring Twenties. Pianists will not only train their left hand to play typical stride leaps, they’ll also learn a few tricky bits of Chopin’s <em>Etude in A Minor, Op. 10, No. 2</em>, while they’re at it!

Lullabies for Arachnophobes by Stacy Fahrion is a whimsically macabre collection written in homage of spindly spiders of all shapes and sizes. Rife with quirky rhythms, harmonies, and re-spindled versions of spidery classics, this collection will delight advanced players of all ages.

Disjointed Waltz, composed by Jenny Walker, is an evocative waltz with a few surprises. It contains some dynamic time and key changes. It has been written with the advanced player in mind, though rubato could be used to make things easier. The changeover to 6/8 works well and the syncopated rhythms are very effective.

Under the Big Top is a fast and flashy, circus-themed showcase duet for advanced level pianists by Canadian composer Lisa Frederick.

Portrait No. 6: Apeñas Amigos is an Intermediate to Late Intermediate work- paying tribute to Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti, and it combines elements of both Classical and Jazz idioms. A hauntingly lyrical melody plays throughout the beginning and end of the work, while students will also be exploring various angular sequences as well. Teachers will enjoy this work for its lush harmonic content, perpetual rhythmic drive, as well as teaching various articulations and how to handle various tempi.  Intertwined within this work is a brief section of frenetic chaos, as well as a jovial (and dissonant) left-hand melody, which is sure to give students a real workout!

Awkward Waltz is a tender, minor-key anthem for introverts composed by Stacy Fahrion. This contemplative gem will be a hit with teens and intermediates of all ages.

Struttin’ is a jazzy showcase solo for late beginners composed by Jennifer Eklund and part of the Fired Up! Level Two method book.

First Perfect Patterns, features thirteen easy showcase solos, in a variety of styles, for beginners, composed by Chrissy Ricker. Each piece is preceded by a preparatory exercise that encourages students to analyze and recognize the patterns in the music.

Powerful, is an advanced original composition by Christina Mathis, featuring plenty of full chords, octaves, and arpeggios. This exciting piece is sure to be a favorite of your teen students!