Stinky Skunk

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.

The Gentle Giant, composed by Lisa Donovan Lukas, is an easy and elegant lyrical solo for late beginners. This piece is part of the Fantasies & Fairy Tales Volume Two songbook.

Groundhog Day is a showcase solo for late beginners that includes lyrics. This piece composed by Sarah Reaser O’Brien is part of the Backyard Bash Volume 2 songbook.

Flying Dragons, composed by Lisa Donovan Lukas, is a fast & flashy showcase solo for late beginners and early intermediates. This piece is part of the Fantasies & Fairy Tales songbook.

Carousel, composed by Rick Robertson, is a showcase solo for late beginners. Its rhythm suggests the up and down motion of a horse on a carousel, with a tune that is suggestive of a calliope.

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.

Soaring on the Wings of Stallions, composed by Lisa Donovan Lukas, is a mesmerizing showcase solo ideal for late beginners. This piece is part of the Fantasies & Fairy Tales Volume 2 songbook.

Morning Sounds is an easy lyrical solo for beginners composed by Sarah Reaser O’Brien that includes lyrics. This piece serves as a great introduction to playing in waltz-time, crossovers, and easy open-fifth position shifts with the left hand.

Spiders In My Bed is a showcase piano solo by Canadian composer Lisa Frederick that is ideal for late beginners and early intermediates. It’s a light-hearted homage to our arachnid friends with a dash of Johannes Brahms!

Night Sounds is an easy lyrical solo for beginners composed by Sarah Reaser O’Brien that includes lyrics. This piece serves as a great introduction to ties and easy position shifts.

Black Cat Capers, composed by Lisa Donovan Lukas, is a fast & flashy showcase solo for late beginners that serves as a great introduction to triplets. This piece is part of the Colorful Capers songbook.

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.

Blue Jay Blues is an easy bluesy solo for beginners composed by Sarah Reaser O’Brien that includes lyrics. This piece serves as a great introduction to 12-bar blues, easy position shifts, and swing-style eighth notes.

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!

My Way Blues, composed by Chrissy Ricker, is a bluesy showcase solo in 6/8 time that your late beginners will love to play! This piece is part of the Easy Cool Cats songbook.

Easy Cool Cats, is a collection of twelve easy showcase solos composed by Chrissy Ricker. These jazzy solos represent a variety of genres and will appeal to late beginners and early intermediates of 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

The Frog Prince, composed by Lisa Donovan Lukas, is a jovial showcase solo for late beginners and up. This piece is part of the Fantasies & Fairy Tales Volume Two songbook.