Brazilian Carnival is a huge festival celebration filled with rhythm, dancing, costumes, and music. Mama Paquita is a well-loved Brazilian folk song that celebrates this song and dance. This arrangement is perfect for helping beginners feel rhythm and beat and learn how to navigate around the piano. Right Hand melody is supported by percussive Left Hand octave jumps that keep the fingers dancing! A great choice for a beginner piano recital piece.
“Yankee Doodle” dates back at least to the American Revolution, and the tune may be centuries older than that. The familiar tune lends itself well to teaching a new pianist dotted quarter note rhythms. This arrangement uses primary chords to support the catchy melody.
“Gwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races” is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster. This arrangement captures the excitement of old-time horse races and teaches dotted quarter note rhythms, arpeggio fingering (RH), and LH/RH coordination while playing different articulations and rhythms. (Lyrics have been adapted slightly.)
This traditional English nursery rhyme dates back at least to the 1600s. Each verse suggests a new way to “fix London Bridge”, although nothing seems to work! This arrangement teaches I/V7 chords and helps beginner students recognize parallel motion versus contrary motion.
A playful-sounding French Canadian children’s song arranged in swinging sing-song style for beginner piano. The melody in this arrangement occasionally hops back and forth from right hand to left hand, just like the subject of the song (the morning lark). For non-French speakers, the lyrics speak of revenging oneself against the lark, who interrupts sleep and represents gossip, mistrust, and bad news!
This arrangement comes in two different versions: one in C Major and one transposed to G Major. The Single-User License is available in either key. The Studio License comes with both versions.