Alouette, the traditional French folk song arranged as a minor-key whimsically macabre solo by Stacy Fahrion. This piece is part of the Once Upon a Time songbook.
Sideways Blues is a strange blues by Stacy Fahrion based on an eight-note scale containing these notes: E-F-G-A#-B-C-C#-D-E. Since it’s based only on that scale, most of the chords are not typical blues chords, although it follows a typical 12-bar structure. Students have the option to repeat measures 13-24 and improvise with the right hand over the chords that are already there.
This piece starts out mostly normal, staying close to Stephen Foster’s piece, but then something goes awry and it ends up in the parallel minor. Music by Stacy Fahrion.
The Exquisite Melancholy of Everything Left Unuttered is a delicate waltz in E minor for two composed by Stacy Fahrion.
Boogie-Man Blues is a jazzy jaunt in A minor composed by Stacy Fahrion. This swinging showcase solo is ideal for intermediates.
Five Feisty Witches is a ferociously flashy piece in 5/8 composed by Stacy Fahrion. This showcase solo is ideal for intermediates.
Too Much Sugar Blues is a lethargic jazzy tune about eating too much candy composed by Stacy Fahrion. This blues showcase solo is ideal for intermediates.
Those Who See, But Are Not Seen is a melancholy solo for sad ghosts composed by Stacy Fahrion. This piece is ideal for intermediates of all ages.
Tritone Tarantella is a flashy and dissonant pattern-based tarantella composed by Stacy Fahrion. Ideal for intermediates during Halloween-season or whenever the mood strikes!
A flashy intermediate solo in 7/8 time based on This Old Man composed by Stacy Fahrion.
Itsy Bitsy Tarantula is a slightly more disturbing version of Itsy Bitsy Spider composed by Stacy Fahrion. This piece is ideal for intermediates.
Insomniac’s Lullaby is a disturbing lullaby appropriate for Halloween or giving your parents strange nightmares. This whimsically macabre solo, composed by Stacy Fahrion, is ideal for intermediates.
This ethereal piece by Stacy Fahrion quietly subverts the meaning of the famous poem by Lord Byron. Ideal for intermediates of all ages.
The Lovelorn Lobster is a song from 1897 with words by Joseph W. Herbert. Stacy Fahrion wrote her own original whimsically macabre music to the poignant lyrics about love between a lobster and a piscatorial maiden going terribly awry. A timeless, classic theme for Valentine’s Day, or any occasion!
Minor Blues for Two by Stacy Fahrion gives the first pianist an opportunity to improvise over a 12-bar blues progression. If played on a grand piano, the pianist can also mute strings inside the piano for an interesting change of tone color.
The Eternal Spectator by Stacy Fahrion is a haunting late-intermediate solo in D minor. Evoking the introspective elegance of Satie with subtle nods to J.S. Bach, this piece unfolds in 5/8 time signature. Its slowly flowing phrases and melancholic undertones invite deep emotional expression and reflection. The title is a phrase from a short story by the speculative fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin.
What defines a Halloween piece, other than a piece in a minor key with an eerie title? Inspired by the whimsically macabre words of Edward Gorey, this piece by Stacy Fahrion beckons you into a haunting waltz that defies convention with its 5/8 time signature. It offers rhythmic twists that promise to challenge and enchant late intermediate pianists, turning their practice into a ghostly dance of mystery at the keys. This piece is part of the “These Are Odd Times” songbook.
A Wise Old Owl is inspired by a nursery rhyme of the same title and set here as a whimsically macabre solo for intermediates by Stacy Fahrion. If you’re playing on a grand piano, before beginning the piece you can silently depress the low F octave and sustain it throughout with the sostenuto pedal for an added mysterious effect. This is an optional effect, and the piece still works well without it. The damper pedal is often left down for extended periods of time as well for a swirling effect.
This slightly sinister stride duet by Stacy Fahrion incorporates a few simplified snippets of Chopin’s Etude in A Minor, Op. 10, No. 2.
This wistfully whimsical piece by Stacy Fahrion expresses The Farmer in the Dell’s unrequited love for Adele. Ideal for intermediates of all ages.
Wayward Blackbird interweaves Chopin-esque basslines with familiar nursery rhymes This Old Man and Sing a Song of Sixpence in this whimsically macabre showcase solo by Stacy Fahrion.
Composer Stacy Fahrion transforms Three Blind Mice, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and a snippet of Rain, Rain, Go Away into a mystical minor showpiece.
Composer Stacy Fahrion interweaves Hickory Dickory Dock and snippets of For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow into this whimsically macabre solo that will delight late intermediates of all ages.
The Exquisite Melancholy of Everything Left Unuttered is a delicate waltz in E minor composed by Stacy Fahrion. There is an optional cut notated in the score to accommodate students at a lower intermediate level.
