In this traditional arrangement, the heavenly hosts can be heard in joyous salute heralding the first Christmas. Perfect for a first-year student as a solo recital piece or simply to celebrate the season.
One of the most well-known Christmas carols in the modern world, Jingle Bells is played at almost every Christmas piano recital anywhere. With the verse in Middle C Position and the chorus in C Major Position, this classic take on Jingle Bells is ideal for beginners learning to navigate their way around the keys.
Very few people haven’t heard this classical Beethoven theme (incredibly, composed after he had lost his hearing). This arrangement combines the marvelously simple stepwise melody with dynamics, a black key crossover, and triumphant harmonic thirds to allow beginner pianists to experience the grandeur of this masterful composer’s music.
As the monsters, bats, ghouls, and more come out to roam, this composition will get you right in the October spirit. Skips, thirds, and Left Hand/Right Hand unison teach valuable fingering techniques in a fun-spirited way through this song filled with Halloween rhymes for Halloween-times.
Chromatic passages in the right hand feel like a spider spinning its web while supported by ominous three-note chords in the left hand. (Just keep an eye out for those tricky passages that look chromatic but aren’t!)
This Halloween rag by Hans Engelmann is tons of fun! This arrangement is an adaptation of the main minor key theme across different octave ranges for a fully minor Halloween experience. It has also been simplified for intermediate level players (shorter LH jumps, smaller chords, etc.). It’s a delightfully fun ragtime piece and a great choice for a Halloween performance or party.
Accessible for smaller hands: Includes stepping open octaves in LH, but all jumps and chords have been adapted/condensed for reachability (all chord harmonies are 6ths or smaller).
Tarantula Tango is a dramatic tango intermediate piano solo in E minor. Classic tango LH rhythms and moving RH passages, harmonies, and chords combine to create a fun and memorable piece. Intermediate pianists will love the triplets and chromatic passages. Great for a Halloween performance or recital piece.
“Come, listen closely to the secret I will tell about a sorceress who’s casting magic spells…”
Enjoy this spellbinding witchy tale for beginner piano! Beginners will love the lyrics and learn to extend beyond 5-finger position with this bewitching melody that will make any listener fall under the sorceress’s spell.
The monster under the bed takes on a whole new concept with Mister Pumpkinhead, whose attempts to scare the little ones are met with offerings of friendship and candy. Beginner pianists will love hearing his story and playing his bouncy original song filled with repeating patterns and spooky-sounding minor thirds and seconds. This is a fantastic choice for a beginner performance piece at an autumn or Halloween piano recital.
Kids look forward to going trick-or-treating every year. The costumes, candy, and spooky atmosphere are always a hit! Beginner pianists who are just getting used to on-staff reading will do well with this Halloweeny 5-finger stepwise melody. Each hand gets the chance to play individual melody lines. Finger numbers are included at the beginning of each line only to help students learn to recognize steps and when notes go up, down, or repeat on the staff.
What goes on in the pumpkin patch on Halloween night? All the pumpkins with their fierce jack-o-lantern faces come to life, grinning and cackling gleefully as they dance the Pumpkin Polka! This catchy, bouncy tune features a staccato melody with classic polka accompaniment in energetic cut time. It’s a great, jaunty choice for an early intermediate student at a Halloween music recital.
Even a new beginner pianist can appreciate the beautiful complexity of Rachmaninoff’s music. This duet is a medley of two of Rachmaninoff’s most popular Preludes (C# minor and G minor) and is written for an early beginner (Primo) and teacher or intermediate level pianist (Secondo). Strategically transposed to A minor for ease in learning, the Secondo pianist plays the deep accompaniment tones while the Primo pianist plays the main melody for a balanced taste of the original full, resonant pieces. Perfect for a new pianist’s recital performance.
This product comes with a Studio License that allows you as a Teacher to share this copy with any number of your own students. (May not be shared with other teachers or non-students.)
Worried that others wouldn’t take him seriously, Saint-Saëns requested this entire humorous suite be published only after his death. This arrangement of the suite’s finale gives early beginner pianists a taste of how dramatic, crazy, and fun classical music really can be.
A classic arrangement of a German Christmas carol, this rendition of a quiet Christmas night is ideal for sharing the Christmas spirit and story in Christmas recitals, performances, and church settings. This arrangement consists of gently rocking accompaniment, a softly singing melody, and delicate, harmonious chords. A key change warms up the sound for the last radiant verse, building to resplendent, full chords before peacefully echoing the final lines.
Like a spider busily spinning its web, the fingers of the right hand chromatically spin their way up and down the keys. The Left Hand accompaniment is simple so that the beginner pianist can focus on fingering and speed in this chromatic composition.
This flowing arrangement embraces the medieval sound of this Christmas carol while adding modern elements. The accompaniment feels like traveling on camelback across the desert sands, while the melody builds from a single note strain into grand, ascending chords that reflect the majesty of the three kings bearing gifts to the Christ child.
Rêverie is such a beautiful piece with a dreamlike quality that can feel strange, yet familiar to all of us. This arrangement for early intermediate level is kept in the original key but simplified in complexity, handspan, and length. For students who want to learn more Debussy than just Clair de Lune, Rêverie is artistic and expressive. This arrangement also makes an excellent performance piece.
This arrangement of the popular Nutcracker March is perfect for elementary pianists! Set in C Major to minimize the amount of sharps, this beginner-friendly arrangement celebrates the full opening fanfare and answering singsong rhythms. This is a great choice for a beginner Christmas or classical holiday recital piece.
This arrangement of Go Down Moses begins slowly and solemnly, then quickly ramps up into a fast boogie woogie swing that is an absolute blast to play. Experienced pianists will love the swinging rhythms, syncopation, exciting chord harmonies, and rapid blues scales in this performance showstopper.
Go out for a night-time strut, and feel like you own the world! This easy jazz piano piece was written for late beginner to early intermediate level. With syncopation, staccato, a walking bass line, and blues scales, it’s a lot of fun to play (especially during Halloween season) and makes a great choice for a jazz piano recital piece!
This ghostly waltz calls forth an otherworldly chill from your piano keys. Mysterious and slightly sad, this waltz in A minor makes a fine Halloween piece but can easily be enjoyed any time of year. LH melody with RH pulses on beats 2 and 3 of each measure create a beautiful contemporary 2-hand waltz in classical style, supported by expressive dynamics and strategic pedal. Perfect for late beginner to early intermediate level.
“Hooting Owl” is a quick and mysterious beginner piece with lyrics about a lone owl that continues to hoot, call, and screech at you all night. Due to its minor key and frequent use of D sharps (double harmonic minor), it has a Halloweeny vibe that kids will love!
“Hooting Owl” teaches lifts (slur-staccatos) and minimal LH movement across a short range of keys (RH remains in familiar 5-finger C position so that beginners need only concentrate on moving one hand). Some finger numbers are included to assist with LH movement. RH and LH take turns with the melody so that both develop a balanced sense of musicality. Contains no eighth notes.
One of the most quintessential Christmas carols of all, this arrangement of Silent Night is warm, expressive, and filled with complexity. Grand, flowing arpeggios accompany full chords and harmonies. Unique chord choices, surprising modulations, and two key changes make this a memorable arrangement and an unforgettable performance that everyone will love. This is an excellent choice for a holiday church service or Christmas performance.
Save $40 and get this and 11 other Christmas piano solos in “A Classic Piano Christmas, Vol. 1”.
Like the mysterious autumn wind, this music whirls and gusts with rubato, sending the colorful fall leaves blowing through the air. It changes directions constantly as it modulates between minor, dorian, lydian, major, and various other keys and modes. Autumn Wind is a uniquely beautiful and expressive fall piano solo for advanced level.