Piano teaching to - Hal Leonard Australia

5 MINUTES WITH 

Australian Piano Teachers 

AMEB ONLINE 

Revolutionising theory 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

Are you connected? 

AUSTRALIAN 

COMPOSERS 

In Print 

Piano teaching to 

INSPIRE 

If Bach were alive today 

his name would be 

Lady Gaga 

Christopher Norton 

Piano Festivals 

are YOUR students involved? 

Why play 

duets? 

you & your students 

Price 

valueVs 

of books 

Where to begin 

with Adult Beginners 

ISSUE ONE • 2012

outlined 

outlined 

outlined 

outlined 

outlined 

outlined 

outlined 

outlined 

outlined 

The Australian Music Examinations Board’s publication catalogue contains 

well over 250 titles. The titles cover most AMEB syllabus areas: 

• MUSIC CRAFT, THEORY OF MUSIC, MUSICIANSHIP 

• AURAL TESTS AND SIGHT READING 

• PIANO 

• FOR LEISURE – PIANO, SINGING AND SAXOPHONE 

• STRINGS 

• WOODWIND 

• GUITAR 

• SINGING 

• BRASS 

• CONTEMPORARY POPULAR MUSIC (CPM) 

SERIES 2 

Piano 


• WOODWIND 

• GUITAR 

Preliminary 

• SINGING 




• PIANO 


• STRINGS 

• BRASS 


SERIES 

15 Piano 

FOURTH GRADE 

AMEB’s catalogue of books and recordings covers the full range of repertoire from Classical to 

contemporary, Baroque to bossa nova. Teachers and candidates can rely on the high quality of all AMEB 

publications. 

AMEB publications are a valuable resource for all teachers and candidates: 

• Grade books are an attractive and economic way to provide candidates with a range of repertoire 

relevant for each grade level for presentation at examination. 

• Technical Work books provide the full requirements for syllabus technical work. 

• Sight Reading and Aural Tests publications provide essential examples for practice prior to examination. 

• Recordings provide inspirational examples of syllabus works performed by leading Australian musicians. 

• Handbooks provide all the information necessary to answer the questions in Section III (General 

Knowledge) of practical exams, as well as building a wider picture of all works in grade books. 

• AMEB seeks to foster Australian composers by endeavouring to feature at least one work by an Australian 

composer in every grade book. 

The entire catalogue is being updated constantly and is printed annually on the back cover of the AMEB 

Manual of syllabuses. 



publications. 













Issued under the authority of the Australian Music Examinations Board 

www.ameb.edu.au 

ISMN 979-0-720110-50-9 



ISMN 979-0-720110-43-1 

Item No. 1201 0600 39 

Item No. 1201 0642 39 



• Music crAfT, ThEory of Music, MusiciAnship 

• AurAl TEsTs And sighT rEAding 

• piAno 

• for lEisurE – piAno, singing And sAxophonE 

• sTrings 

• WoodWind 

• guiTAr 

• singing 

• BrAss 

• conTEMporAry populAr Music (cpM) 



publications. 













SERIES 1 






• PIANO 


• STRINGS 

• WOODWIND 

• GUITAR 

• SINGING 

• BRASS 


Preliminary Grade 

AMEB’s catalogue of books and recordings covers the full range of repertoire from Classical to contemporary, 

Baroque to bossa nova. Teachers and candidates can rely on the high quality of all AMEB publications. 







• Handbooks provide all the information necessary to answer the questions in Section III (General Knowledge) 

of practical exams, as well as building a wider picture of all works in grade books. 



The entire catalogue is being updated constantly and is printed annually on the back cover of the 

AMEB Manual of syllabuses. 

technical work book piano 

technical work book 




ISMN 979-0-720110-81-3 

Issued under the authority of the 

Australian Music Examinations Board 


ISMN 979-0-720110-57-8 

Item No. 1201 0559 39 

Item No. 1201 0881 39 



• Music crAfT, ThEory of Music, MusiciAnship 

• AurAl TEsTs And sighT rEAding 

• piAno 

• for lEisurE – piAno, singing And sAxophonE 

• sTrings 

• WoodWind 

• guiTAr 

• singing 

• BrAss 

• conTEMporAry populAr Music (cpM) 

SERIES 3 


Preliminary 



publications. 















ISMN 979-0-720110-00-4 

Item No. 1201 0933 39 

P PLATE PIANO 

Books 1-3 

PIANO Series 16 

(Preliminary to Grade 8) 

Including gradebooks and handbooks 

PIANO Series 15 


Including gradebooks and handbooks 

Piano Sight Reading (2004) 

Piano Technical Work (2008) 

Australian Piano Anthology 

(Preliminary to Fourth Grade) 

(Fifth to Eighth Grade) 

Piano Studies and Baroque works 

(First grade to Fourth Grade) 

Piano for Leisure series 3 


Including grade books and handbooks 



Including grade books and handbooks 



Including grade books and CDs and notes 





• PIANO 


• STRINGS 

• WOODWIND 

• GUITAR 

• SINGING 

• BRASS 




publications. 















ISMN 979-0-720110-41-7 

Item No. 1201 0636 39 

Suitable 

for use 


with the 

AMEB Piano 

and Piano 

for Leisure 

syllabuses

ALL MUSIC 

PUBLISHING & DISTRIBUTION PTY LTD 

Item No 20128002 

PIANO 

CLUB 

Join our Piano Club and receive one 

very special offer every month! 

PIANO 

ISSUE ONE • 2012 

TEACHER 

Magazine 

Nominate your favourite local store(s) to shop at, 

where you are likely to redeem your offer. 

Join in 4 simple steps: 

Enjoy fabulous new publications at 

great discounts all year long! 

Enjoy a free welcome gift. 

1. Email Gina at australianpiano@halleonard.com.au 

2. Type Join Piano Club Offers in the Subject Box 

3. Let us know which store(s) you would choose to 

regularly redeem your offers 

4. Don’t forget to include your postal address so we 

know where to send your free welcome gift! 

Piano Teacher Magazine - Piano Club 

Att: Gina Wake 

PO Box 5130, Cheltenham VIC 3192 

OUT NOW! 

ADELE KELLY CLARKSON DEMI LOVATO DAVID GUETTA FEAT. SIA JESSIE J CHRISTINA PERRI 

Piano Divas 

cHartinG HitS 

Piano · Vocal · Guitar 

and now Piano Divas Encore 

adele · Set Fire to the rain 

Kelly clarkson · What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) 

Demi lovato · Skyscraper 

David Guetta feat. Sia · titanium 

Jessie J · Domino 

christina Perri · a thousand Years 

editor’s letter 

Welcome to our very first edition of the 

Piano Teacher Magazine. 

We have really enjoyed putting this magazine together 

and have loved getting to know so many of you, the 

piano teachers of Australia, at workshops, conferences, 

ISSUE ONE • 2012 

PIANOTEACH 

via email and on Facebook. 

We hope you enjoy reading this magazine and finding 

out about the many great new publications that 

Ma 

we hope 

will enhance and enrich your teaching. If you would like 

additional copies of this magazine for your studio or 

teaching staff, please let us know. 

Join today 

and receive 

a free book! 

ADELE KELLY CLARKSON DEMI LOVATO DAVID GUETTA FEAT. SIA JESSIE J CHRISTINA PERRI 

cHartinG HitS 

Piano · Vocal · Guitar 

adele · Set Fire to the rain 

Kelly clarkson · What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) 

Demi lovato · Skyscraper 

David Guetta feat. Sia · titanium 

Jessie J · Domino 

christina Perri · a thousand Years 

A special thank you to the many piano teachers and others 

who have contributed to this edition of the magazine. 

Special thanks also to Yamaha Australia for the gorgeous 

image of the piano on our front cover (I bet we all wish 

we had one of those in our homes/studios!). 

We would love to hear your response to the magazine 

and also find out what you would like to see in the next 

issue. Please feel free to email your feedback through to 

australianpiano@halleonard.com.au 

GINA WAKE 

6 more gorgeous pianistic arrangements 

from the best female artists of today. 

Adele, Sia, Jessie J, Demi Lovato, 

Kelly Clarkson and Christina Perri. 

contents 

10 Things You Should Do Before 

Your Child Begins Piano Lessons........................................................ 4 

P Plate Piano........................................................................................ 8 

5 Minutes with... Australian Piano Teachers.................................... 12 

Australian Composers in Print.......................................................... 14 

Composer Profile- Christopher Norton............................................ 20 

Adult Beginners.................................................................................. 22 

Social Media...................................................................................... 23 

Hal Leonard Student Piano Library................................................... 26 

Piano Duets........................................................................................ 28 

Helen Marlais’ Succeeding at the Piano......................................... 30 

AMEB Online...................................................................................... 32 

Christopher Norton Piano Festivals.................................................. 33 

Urtext- What’s it all about?................................................................ 34

What does a frog 

have to do with 

my piano students? 

My children love stories. 

We read anything they get their hands on. Although we are 

lucky enough to have a huge collection of books at home, 

we visit the library at least once each week, mainly so I do 

not get too bored as I am forced to read each story over and 

over again! 

But there are 5 stories I never tire of reading to them. 

Since we discovered the Freddie the Frog books, my 

daughters (aged 4 and 2) have become familiar with the 

technical language of music. 

The CDs that are packaged with the books are played in 

the car on long journeys and it warms my heart to hear the 

girls clapping rhythms, singing along with Freddie and Eli 

and using musical terms (“so Mummy, largo must mean slowly” 

– Elvie aged 4). 

I can’t wait to see how quickly the girls progress when the 

time comes for them to begin formal music training! 

Gina Wake – Editor 

(Piano Teacher Magazine) 

10 

things you should do 

by Elissa Milne 

For Parents 

This is a quick checklist of things to do, buy, learn and decide before 

your child has their very first piano lesson. Working your way 

through this checklist will speed up your child’s learning curve, possibly 

by months (maybe more!), and once you’ve covered every item 

below you will be a superbly equipped parent entering into the role 

of nurturing the growth of a new little (or not so little) pianist. 

1Buy a piano. This may or may not seem like a no-brainer to you. In 

case it’s not, let me explain. Your child will not make progress without 

a piano at home on which they can practice between lessons. So 

until you have a piano don’t bother organising to take piano lessons... 

unless your goal is to pay for really expensive babysitting. 

2Put the piano in a part of the house that isn’t a. lonely and/or 

b. where the only TV is. Two of the biggest reasons children don’t 

end up practising is because they’re either lonely in the glummest/ 

most distant room of the house or because everyone else wants to 

watch the television and the piano is in the same room. Having the piano 

hidden away communicates that the piano is not something normal or useful; 

having the piano and tv competing for acoustic space is just asking for 

conflict in your family. 

3If you have an acoustic piano, keep it tuned! This is more of an 

administrative burden than it is a major expense (you need to find a 

piano tuner, book them up, and then be at the house while they tune 

the piano), but if your piano is out of tune your child(ren) will find 

playing the piano far less pleasant, and you won’t enjoy hearing the piano 

played all that much either. 

4Have the piano in your house for months – even years – before 

your child begins lessons. This is about developing a sense of the 

everyday about the instrument (the piano is a part of normal life) as 

well as allowing the child to explore the instrument quite thoroughly 

prior to lessons beginning. To which end…. 

Freddie creator and author Sharon Burch 

Freddie the Frog books are available from your favourite music retailer

PIANOTEACHER PAGE 5 

ISSUE ONE • SPRING 2011 

Magazine 

I’m sure readers of this article will be able to 

contribute more great ideas for things parents can do 

before their child begins piano lessons, but these are my 

top 10. If every new student had these items covered… 

Well, I can dream, can’t I?! 

before your child begins piano lessons 

5Encourage your child to play around with the piano prior to 

beginning lessons. You can’t break a piano by playing it, and your 

child will develop a sense of familiarity with the layout of the keys 

(black notes in groups of 2 and 3 placed between white notes) and 

the way the keys make sounds (high sounds towards the right, low sounds 

towards the left) as well as different effects the piano can make (softer 

sounds when you press more gently, sustained sounds when you depress 

the pedal, etc.). This saves time in the first weeks of lessons and, more importantly, 

means that your child will have a confidence when being asked to 

try ‘new’ things on the piano in these first few weeks and months. 

6Purchase a chair/piano stool/piano bench that is height adjustable. 

Sitting at the right height is a huge part of what makes 

playing the piano comfortable and effortless, and sitting at the 

wrong height can prevent the pianist from creating beautiful sounds. 

Don’t make do with cushions – organise a permanently available means for 

your child to sit with maximum ease at the piano. 

7Notice what your child discovers at the piano, and (when the 

time is right) talk about their discoveries with them. Does your 

child play the same thing (or variations of the same thing) every time 

they get near the piano? Or do they experiment with one kind of 

sound for a few days and then move on? Do they try to pick out tunes, or 

are they more interested in piano role-playing? Do they play across the full 

length of the keyboard, or restrict themselves to one area? 

Noticing the way your child experiments is an essential foundation to being 

able to talk about what they are doing. And talking about what your child 

does is an essential part of validating and consolidating the discoveries they 

are making. 

8Make sure your child knows the 

difference between their right and left sides. This is a bigger issue 

than simply knowing the right hand from the left; having your 

child be aware that they can create an action on one side of their 

body and then mirror that action on the other develops physical-spatial 

awareness that will be immensely beneficial when learning new skills at the 

keyboard. Which is to say: having a child practice jumping to the left or 

jumping to the right will help them be better pianists. Anything that asks 

a child to do things with their body in terms of left and right will lay the 

foundation for physical fluency at the keyboard. 

9Make sure your child knows their alphabet. From A to G. And 

maybe back again. This won’t be covered in the first lesson (normally), 

but if your child understands that the musical alphabet goes 

A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B, etc., they’ll save at least half a 

lesson. And if your child can think through those letters backwards you’ve 

probably saved two more whole lessons over the course of the first year. 

your child a treble and bass clef. And explain that 

the treble is for high notes, the bass for low notes. If you 

have no idea what a treble clef is then Google it. This is just 

10Show 

a symbol, but the more familiar your child is with what these 

symbols look like the easier it will be for a teacher to introduce new ideas 

quickly during the first year or so of lessons. The treble clef in particular is 

an oft-used symbol to represent music – your child may well have seen this 

symbol already and just never understood what it meant (it means the notes 

on it are in the top half of the piano). Being confident distinguishing these 

two symbols could save half a lesson or so at least three times in the course 

of the first 12-18 months. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re not sure of the exact musical term, talk about 

the kinds of feelings the sounds reflect, what the sounds remind you of, 

and ask your child to talk about their intentions, ideas and reflections. Some 

pianist gestures are gentle, others are cheeky, while yet others can be very 

sad indeed. Starting your child’s pianistic journey by talking about emotion, 

attitude and texture (smooth/spiky, for instance) puts your child at an enormous 

advantage in communicating with others about their playing. 

NEW!

CLASSIC 

COLLECTIONS 

Schirmer Performance Editions 

are designed for piano students and their 

teachers as well as professional pianists. 

Pedagogical in nature, these editions 

offer insightful interpretive suggestions, 

pertinent fingering, and historical and 

stylistic commentary. 

Prepared by renowned artists/teachers, 

these publications provide an accurate, 

well-informed score resource for pianists. 

Doctor Gradus 

ad Parnassum 

(performance excerpt) 

Golliwogg’s 

cake walk 

(performance excerpt) 

You can see and hear examples at: 

www.halleonard.com 

What is Vellum paper? 

Vellum is a type of paper-like writing 

surface that has been used for centuries 

in various forms. Ancient vellum was 

made from the skin of mammals such 

as calves or goats. 

Modern vellum is made from wood pulp 

cotton fibres that have been treated. 

Vellum generally is more durable than 

paper and is most often used for special 

documents or other manuscripts that 

are meant to be preserved. 

The creamy colour of vellum paper 

makes reading these editions easy 

on the eye.



Magazine 

Can I use these 

editions for my exams? 

Of course you can! 

The Debussy Children’s Corner album featured 

here includes Jimbo’s Lullaby (Grade 6 AMEB), 

The Little Shepherd (Grade 6 AMEB Piano for 

Leisure), Golliwog’s Cakewalk (Grade 7 AMEB 

both syllabuses) and more besides! 

For more information on each book you can 

go to www.halleonard.com, enter Schirmer 

Performance Editions in the quick search box and 

hit enter. You can see excerpts, download 

the contents list for each book and 

hear a performance excerpt.

P Plate Piano 

piano teaching to 

inspire today’s 

young musicians 

by Joan Skilbeck 

diploma students. Mark has also been an AMEB 

examiner for the past four years and is one of the 

first examiners to assess candidates completing the 

P Plate Piano program. 

Mark Griffiths says that the introduction 

of the AMEB’s P Plate Piano 

into his teaching program has helped 

inspire his students to want to learn. 

“The pieces sound so good that the children really 

want to play them. They are motivated to practise 

and are inspired to keep studying the piano,” 

Mark says. “I put this down to the P Plate Piano 

program being developed for today’s students. So 

many of the children I teach are looking for more 

instant gratification and like to take some control 

in their learning. With P Plate Piano, because they 

recognise and relate to the sounds and rhythms of 

the repertoire, they are determined to perform the 

pieces. They are also encouraged to make creative 

decisions about how they will play the pieces and 

this allows them to take ownership of the music.” 

P 

Plate Piano is a series of three books that 

take a beginner pianist from their first tutor 

to AMEB preliminary piano level. The 

music has been selected by respected music educator 

Elissa Milne, with an emphasis on encouraging 

performance and creativity. Learning is supported 

through a dedicated P Plate Piano website with a 

range of teaching resources and stimulating activities 

for students. A Hall of Fame showcasing 

student performances via YouTube and an online 

student diary are other features of the website. 

Mark Griffiths has been teaching piano professionally 

for more than 15 years. He has his own studio 

and directs the Young Beginner Keyboard/Piano 

programs and teaches Piano and Early Childhood 

Music at Queensland’s Griffith University Young 

Conservatorium. His students range from the very 

young, through to students with special needs and 

Mark uses the P Plate Piano program in 

conjunction with the more traditional 

tutors and a variety of other music so 

that his young students are provided with a range 

of musical experience and inspiration. He always 

involves them in the selection of repertoire so 

that the chosen program has a pedagogical basis 

as well as appeal for the child. 

“It’s so important to motivate students to keep 

going and I have learned over the years that offering 

them music that they want to play is crucial to 

this,” Mark notes. “The range of styles and techniques 

covered in the P Plate Piano pieces has 

made it easy for me to guide the children’s selection 

so that we can focus on particular technical 

aspects that need to be developed through learning 

pieces they want to perform. The program 

makes a huge contribution to the repertoire available 

for students who are no longer beginners but 

are not yet ready to prepare for Preliminary level 

exams,” Mark said. 

“The pictures, stories and activities 

that come with each piece are great”, 

Mark adds. “They really engage the student’s 

imagination and there is so much to build my 

teaching on. I particularly like the pictures of 

the keyboard and fingers for each hand that are 

also good support for parents who are supervising 

practice at home,” he said. “The books are



Magazine 

uncluttered, inspirational and even little children, 

who can’t necessarily read yet, can see the pictures 

and keyboard geography.” 

Mark uses the P Plate Piano repertoire as part of 

his teaching program with six-year-old Scarlett 

and her eight-year-old brother Harry (pictured). 

“Scarlett is working on The Sad Farmer in Book 

1 at the moment,” Mark says. “In this piece she’s 

experimenting with using flats and sharps and exploring 

the major and minor tonal qualities that can 

Plate Piano assessment experience,” Mark says. 

“Reports and marks are really only important 

to the teachers and parents. In the P Plate Piano 

setting, I focus on making each student’s exam a 

positive experience. The reports I write are for 

teachers to encourage their students in future lessons, 

reinforcing what has hopefully been a great 

experience for the children.” 

“I’ve noticed that the children coming into their 

second P Plate Piano exam greet me like an old 

“I’ve come to realise that enjoyment is the 

most important part of performance...” 

be created by interchanging them. It’s a great way 

to bring this theory to life and at the same time 

Scarlett is able to make her own decisions about 

how she wants the piece to sound in performance.” 

“Harry is preparing Tittle Tattle from Book 2 for 

the end-of-term concert,” Mark adds. “This has 

been an important piece for helping him develop 

dynamic control in each hand. The title of the 

piece already describes chattering voices so it’s 

easy to talk about which voice is leading the conversation 

and needs to brought out in this context, 

rather than just telling him to make the left 

hand softer at bar six. Scarlett and Harry are very 

much looking forward to learning a duet from the 

P Plate Piano repertoire and performing it in a 

concert later in the year.” 

The P Plate Piano program is also proving 

to be a great hit with the parents and 

Mark emphasises how important parent 

involvement is to student learning. “As a teacher, 

I spend a great deal of time building the parentstudent-teacher 

triangle. This is essential to motivating 

the children and developing their self 

discipline to practise. I believe that when parents 

enjoy listening to the music and are enthusiastic 

about their child’s playing, the child is more likely 

to enjoy making music and continue with their 

study. I’ve found that with P Plate Piano, the parents 

love the pieces and there is a lot of scope for 

them to be involved in the music making. Their 

enthusiasm rubs off on the children.” 

Mark notes that the dedicated P Plate Piano 

website is a terrific support to the students, 

parents and teachers and an important part of 

using today’s technologies to enhance teaching 

and learning. “When I told Scarlett that she could 

keep an online diary as part of the program, she 

was as excited about this as she was about performing 

her pieces and couldn’t wait to go onto 

the website and enter her ‘secret password’,” he 

says. “Recording my students’ performances has 

also become an important part of my teaching 

and the idea of watching other students performing 

the same pieces in the P Plate Piano Hall 

of Fame is a great way to challenge and motivate 

the children.” 

The option of a non-graded assessment is available 

on completion of each P Plate Piano book to 

introduce the exam experience to students. Each 

student receives a written report from the examiner 

and a certificate at the end of the assessment. 

A P Plate Piano licence is awarded on completion 

of the assessment for Book 3. 

Through being a P Plate Piano examiner, Mark is 

amazed at how much the children enjoy the assessment 

experience. Children’s comments such 

as ‘That was so cool and I even got a certificate at 

the end,’ have challenged his own thinking about 

students and exams. 

I’ve come to realise that enjoyment is the most 

important part of performance and that’s 

what the students seem to gain from their P 

Scarlett and Harry enjoy playing the pieces 

from the AMEB’s P Plate Piano program, 

complete with costumes and props to make their 

performances come to life 

friend,” Mark says. “They are much more relaxed 

and confident than they were for their first exam.” 

Mark would like to see teachers become more relaxed 

about the P Plate Piano exams too. “The 

idea is for the students to have fun performing. 

It’s not about being 100% perfect and it’s certainly 

not a reflection on the quality of the teaching if 

total perfection isn’t achieved,” Mark emphasises. 

Knowing Elissa Milne is behind the P Plate 

Piano program is a great selling point for 

Mark. “Elissa’s enthusiasm is infectious. 

Her workshops and the online tutorials on the P 

Plate Piano website where she demonstrates the 

pieces and offers suggestions and tips for teaching 

them add a great deal of value to the program 

– for both teachers and parents,” he says. “Elissa 

also emphasises the importance of not pushing 

our students too quickly but rather enjoying them 

and their learning – that’s a great philosophy.” 

Mark believes that the P Plate Piano program 

demonstrates the AMEB’s recognition of today’s 

teaching and learning environment, particularly 

for young students. “The program relates to the 

children of today, allows them to be actively involved 

in their learning and offers a great range 

of flexible repertoire for them to enjoy performing 

from a young age. P Plate Piano contributes 

a broad early learning experience in a very appropriate 

framework that is sure to help encourage 

students to continue their study and enjoyment 

of music through their life. For me, that’s what 

teaching is all about.”

If Bach were alive today, 

his name would be... 

Lady Gaga 

...or Bruno Mars, Madonna, P!nk or Eminem. 

Well, perhaps not but indeed J.S. Bach taught his sons using the music of his time – popular dances, preludes 

and exercises by living composers. It would never have occurred to him to seek out pieces in the styles and 

rhythms one hundred years old. He expected his boys to thrive in the musical world of their time. 

A brilliant new series has been developed working on those same principles. The American Popular Piano 

(APP)Series will have students: 

· Developing traditional pianistic and musical skills through music in contemporary popular styles; 

· Being motivated to practice by working on music that is familiar, fun, and that they can’t wait to play; 

1 

american popularpiano 

· Nurturing their creativity and spontaneity through a user friendly modular approach to improvisation; 

· Enjoying regular ensemble playing 

O 

Christopher Norton & Scott McBride Smith 

...and finding pleasure in a lifelong relationship with music! 

Sampler 

Try this at home with one of your students... 

Notes: 

PIANO SOLO 

____ on G? 

____ on A? 

____ on F? 

The Girl On The Beach 

Languidly q = 132 

 

 

 

 

 

mp 

 

 

 

 

 

5 

 

9 

 

 

 

 

cresc. 

 

13 

 

dim. 

p 

 

 

Detection Question: Label the intervals used in the left hand in mm. 1-7. 

© Novus Via Music Group Inc. 2006. All rights reserved. 

23 


The Why 

Ensemble 

“Why can’t I play more 

music like this?” asked 

a fourteen-year-old 

piano student. “My 

friends like to hear me 

play cool music.” 

22 

RHYTHM SECTION 

3 

The Girl On The Beach 

2 



REPERTOIRE 

When played on one piano, 

Piano Solo plays only lh one octave higher 

Languidly q = 132 

 

popular 

styles! 

1 

 

 

 

mp 

 

 

american REPERTOIRE 

popularpiano 

 

popular 

styles! 


 

ETUDES 

5 

 

 

popular 

traditional 

styles! 

skills! 

 

 

9 

 

 

 

 

by christopher norton 

traditional 

skills! 

editor scott mcbride smith 

traditional 

skills! 

cresc. 

 

by christopher 

 

norton 

 

editor scott mcbride 

 

smith 

 

 

 

8 


7 

REPERTOIRE 


popular 

styles! 

6 

REPERTOIRE 

popular 

styles! 


5 

REPERTOIRE 


popular 

traditional 

styles! 

skills! 

REPERTOIRE 

4 

popular 

traditional 

styles! 

skills! 

REPERTOIRE 

by christopher norton editor scott mcbride smith 


popular 

styles! 


traditional 

skills! 


traditional 

skills! 

Why not, indeed. J.S. 



13 

Bach taught his sons 

traditional 

skills! 

using the music of his 

 

 

 

 

 

 

dim. 

p 

 


 

time – popular dances, 

© Novus Via Music Group Inc. 2006. All rights reserved. 

preludes and exercises 


Notes: 

by living composers. It 

would never have occurred to him to seek out pieces in styles and rhythms one hundred 

years old. He expected his boys to thrive in the musical world of their time.

KINGS 

isation Etudes 

com 

Compositions 


Orchestrations & Midi 

Frank Mizen 

Additional Compositions 

and Arrangements 

Mixing Dr. & Post Scott Production McBride Smith 

Richard Kimmings 

INSTRUMENTAL BACKINGS 

for Ensemble Repertoire and Improvisation Etudes 

www.nvmusicgroup.com 

© NovusVia Music Group Inc., 2009. All rights reserved. 

Compositions 



Frank Mizen 










Frank Mizen 

Mixing & Post Production 


Compositions 




Dr. Scott McBride Smith 

Compositions 





Compositions 











rights reserved. 














Compositions 



Frank Mizen 











Frank Mizen 




Frank Mizen 




Frank Mizen 



Compositions 






Orchestrations & Midi for Ensemble Repertoire and Improvisation Etudes 




Frank Mizen 





Compositions 

Compositions 

Compositions 

Compositions 

Richard Christopher Kimmings Norton 








Frank Mizen 

Frank Mizen 

Frank Mizen 

Frank Mizen 































pular styles. Each of the eleven 

The 

levels 

integrated, 

– from 

comprehensive course of study provided by American Popular 

study, through the progressive levels 


1-10 

ensures 

– 

the development of well-rounded piano fundamentals using a 

supporting Etudes Album, a Skills 

combination 

Book, and an 

of classical and popular styles. Each of the eleven levels – from 

Preparatory for the first year of study, through the progressive levels 1-10 – 

includes a Repertoire Album, a supporting Etudes Album, a Skills Book, and an 

Instrumental Backings CD. 

Christopher Norton & Scott McBride Smith 

ach Repertoire Album contains aRepertoire wide selection Albums of 

ieces in three distinct categories: 

4 

• Lyrical: develops beautiful tone; reinforces 

careful listening; nurtures musical expression; 

improves finger control; 

popular 

• Rhythmic: instills a steady beat; styles! improves 

counting; refines articulation; ensures secure 

syncopations; internalizes the pulse; 

• Ensemble: hones listening skills; encourages 

regular ensemble playing; offers rich musical 

textures even in early studies; reinforces 

musical continuity. 


REPERTOIRE 


traditional 

skills! 


Repertoire Albums 

Each Repertoire Album contains a wide selection of 

pieces in three distinct categories: 

• Lyrical: develops beautiful tone; reinforces 

careful listening; nurtures musical expression; 

improves expression; finger improves control; finger control; 

• Rhythmic: instills a steady beat; improves 

counting; refines articulation; ensures secure 

syncopations; syncopations; internalizes internalises the pulse; the pulse; 

• Ensemble: hones listening skills; encourages 

regular ensemble playing; offers rich musical 

textures even in early studies; reinforces 

musical continuity. 

Each Repertoire Album contains a wide selection of pieces in three distinct categories: 

Lyrical: develops beautiful tone; reinforcescareful listening; nurtures musical 

Rhythmic: instils a steady beat; improves counting; refines articulation; ensures secure 

Ensemble: hones listening skills; encourages regular ensemble playing; offers rich 

musical textures even in early studies; reinforces musical continuity. 



Magazine 

ts the corresponding 

al technical etudes in both 

through a revolutionary, 

rovisation. 

solid fundamentals by 

nical and musical elements; 

oach to improving facility; 

elivers a practical framework 

n; integrates effortlessly into 

module structure provides 

elopment from the very first 

ity and spontaneity; trains 

ills. 

3 

Etudes Albums 


Each Etudes Album complements the corresponding 

Repertoire popular Album with traditional technical etudes in both 

styles! 

classical and popular styles and through a revolutionary, 

module-based approach to improvisation. 

• Technical Etudes: builds solid fundamentals by 

focusing on specific 

traditional 

technical and musical elements; 

skills! 

offers an enjoyable approach to improving facility; 

• Improvisation Etudes: delivers a practical framework 

for learning improvisation; integrates effortlessly into 


traditional piano lessons; module structure provides 

intuitive, progressive development from the very first 

level; encourages creativity and spontaneity; trains 

critical active listening skills. 


Compositions 

A ditional Compositions 

and A rangements 


© NovusVia Music Group Inc.,2006.All 



4 




Compositions 





Dr. Sco t McBride Smith 


Frank Mizen 




5 




Compositions 


Frank Mizen 










Compositions 









6 

P 


Frank Mizen 






Frank Mizen 







Compositions 



7 




Frank Mizen 






Compositions 


8 



created by 

scott mcbride smith 

series composer 

christopher norton 


popular 

styles! 

Skills Books 

Each Skills Book rounds out the comprehensive course 

of study. Paced to enhance progress in the 

corresponding Repertoire and Etudes Albums, the 

module structure ensures a smooth integration of 

Ear-Training, Sight-Reading, and Technic. 

• Ear-training: reinforces the aural development 

already achieved through the repertoire and 

improvisation etudes; 

• Sight-reading: time-effective module structure 

leads to regular practice – the single most 

important contributing factor to success; 

• Technic: provides a structured and measured 

approach; prepares for the challenges ahead. 

Technic Books 

Each Technic Book sets out progressive exercises in three 

broad categories to build the physical skills necessary for 

successful piano study. 

• Scales: presented in a variety of rhythms and 

articulations, develops fine motor skills, finger 

strength, and ease with keys appropriate to the level; 

• Chords: practiced over the entire keyboard, refines 

large muscle motion, reinforces clean attack, and 

prepares harmonic understanding; 

• Drills: providing structured focus on specific elements, 

improves tonal evenness, dexterity, and articulation. 

Instrumental Backings CDs 

At each Level certain elements are enriched by accompanying 

instrumental backings – the Ensemble pieces in the Repertoire 

Album and the Improvisation modules in the Etudes Album. 

• provides convenient practice and performance tempos 

for realistic support of the learning process; 

• stimulates daily ensemble playing; 

• creates a full band improvisation experience; 





Compositions 







Compositions 



3 





Frank Mizen 



ETUDES 

Skills Books 

2 

ach Skills Book rounds out the comprehensive course 

f study. Paced to enhance progress in the SKILLS 

orresponding Repertoire and Etudes Albums, popular the 

styles! 

odule structure ensures a smooth integration of 

ar-Training, Sight-Reading, and Technic. 




improvisation etudes; 



created by 

important contributing factor toscott success; 

mcbride smith 



Technic Books 

gressive exercises in three 

ysical skills necessary for 

riety of rhythms and 

ne motor skills, finger 

keys appropriate to the level; 

e entire keyboard, refines 

forces clean attack, and 

rstanding; 

ed focus on specific elements, 

, dexterity, and articulation. 

created by 


P 



Compositions 





2 

Improvisation modules in the Etudes american Album. 

popularpiano 

7 

8 

rpiano american popularpiano american popularpiano 


2 





Frank Mizen 




1 




Frank Mizen 



traditional 

skills! 



4 


5 

6 

7 

8 

american popularpiano american popularpiano american popularpiano american popularpiano 

Each Etudes Album complements 3 the corresponding Repertoire Album with 

traditional technical etudes american in both popularpiano classical and popular styles and through a 

revolutionary, module-based approach to improvisation. 

ETUDES 

popular 

Technical Etudes: builds solid fundamentals by focusing on specific technical and 

styles! 

musical elements; offers an enjoyable approach to improving facility; 

Improvisation Etudes: delivers a practical framework for learning improvisation; 

integrates effortlessly into traditional piano traditional lessons; module structure provides 

skills! 

intuitive, progressive development from the very first level; encourages creativity and 

spontaneity; trains critical active listening skills. 

traditional 

skills! 

2 

SKILLS 

created by 





popular 

styles! 


TECHNIC 

traditional 

skills! 

1 

1 


Each Skills Book rounds out the comprehensive course 

of study. Paced to enhance progress in the 

corresponding Repertoire and Etudes Albums, the 

module structure ensures a smooth integration of 

Ear-Training, Sight-Reading, and Technic. 



improvisation 

repertoire 

etudes; 

and improvisation etudes; 



important contributing factor to success; 



Each Technic1Book sets out progressive exercises in three 

broad american categories popularpiano to build the physical skills necessary for 

successful piano study. 

• 

TECHNIC 

Scales: presented in a variety of rhythms and 

popular 

styles! 

articulations, develops fine motor skills, finger 

strength, and ease with keys appropriate to the level; 

• Chords: practiced over the entire keyboard, refines 

large muscle motion, reinforces clean attack, and 

traditional 

prepares harmonic skills! understanding; 

• Drills: providing structured focus on specific elements, 

improves tonal evenness, dexterity, and articulation. 



Etudes Albums 

Skills Book 


TECHNIC 


Backings CDs 

1 At each Level certain elements are enriched by accompanying 


instrumental backings – the Ensemble pieces in the Repertoire 

rtain elements are enriched by accompanying 

Album and the Improvisation modules in the Etudes Album. 

ckings – the Ensemble pieces in the Repertoire 

• provides convenient practice and performance tempos 

for realistic support of the learning process; 

convenient practice and performance tempos 

Etudes Album. 

tic support of the learning process; 

• stimulates daily ensemble playing; 

3 


s daily ensemble playing; 

• creates a full band improvisation experience; 

full band improvisation experience; 

• makes reaching alearning polishedprocess; 

performance just plain fun! 

aching a polished performance just plain fun! 

Each Skills Book rounds out the comprehensive course of study. Paced to enhance 

progress in the corresponding Repertoire and Etudes Albums, the module structure 

ensures a smooth integration of Ear-Training, Sight-Reading, and Technic. 

Ear-training: reinforces the aural development already achieved through the 

Sight-reading: time-effective module structure leads to regular practice – the single 

most important contributing factor to success; 

Technic: provides a structured and measured approach; prepares for the 

challenges ahead. 

Technic Books 

popular 

Each Technic Book sets out progressive exercises in three broad categories to build 

styles! 

the physical skills necessary for successful piano study. 

Scales: presented in a variety of rhythms and articulations, develops fine motor skills, 

finger strength, and ease with keys appropriate traditional to the level; 

skills! 

Chords: practiced over the entire keyboard, refines large muscle motion, reinforces 

clean attack, and prepares harmonic understanding; 

created by 




Drills: providing structured focus on specific elements, improves tonal evenness, 

dexterity, and articulation. 


At each Level certain elements are enriched by accompanying instrumental backings 

– the Ensemble pieces in the Repertoire Album and the Improvisation modules in the 

Provides: convenient practice and performance tempos for realistic support of the 

Stimulates: daily ensemble playing; 

Creates: a full band improvisation experience; 

Makes: reaching a polished performance just plain fun! 

• makes reaching a polished performance just plain fun! 





Frank Mizen 





american popular piano

5 

minutes 

with... 

Australian Piano Teachers 

Christina Bond - QLD 

I love to play.... music from the Romantic period and Jazz. I also love Hungarian and Spanish music (so 

much passion) 

My ideal number of students.... enough that allows me to earn an income, but not so many that I can’t 

give them individual attention and cater to their specific needs. Around 40 students. 

I’d love to learn more about.... history of music and piano. My students are always asking those curly 

“why” questions and I like to explain things from an evolutionary standpoint. 

To unwind from a long day of piano teaching I.... surf the internet, looking for new teaching ideas. 

Angela Turner - QLD 

I’ve always wanted to teach.... actors in movies and TV shows who pretend to play the piano… many of 

them look far too awkward! 

My favourite time of the teaching year.... After mid-year break. Discovering how much the students 

have worked and learned themselves, or what new pieces they have started. Or hearing about their holidays! 

Earliest/latest lesson you’ve ever given? The latest piano lesson finished at 1am! My student was 

recording a CD in a recording studio at the time. In a normal teaching week, there are two long days where 

I routinely finish at 10pm. 

Best concert I’ve been to recently.... Yvgeny Kissin’s recital at the Brisbane Festival. One of the most 

memorable concert experiences of my life. 

Tim Topham - VIC 

I find inspiration for my teaching.... from my teacher, Caroline Almonte! Every time I go for a lesson 

I feel inspired - by watching her play and how she teaches – and it all rubs off on my students. I’m also 

a voracious reader of biographies (eg. Chopin, Liszt, Barenboim), blogs from other teachers and books 

about teaching and talent development (Talent is Overrated, The Talent Code, etc.). 

Best concert I’ve been to recently.... I love dance music so I’ve been to quite a few dance parties but as 

far as recitals go, Jovanni-Rey De Pedro’s performances in Wagga in July were absolute stand-outs. James 

Rhodes at the recital centre recently was also great fun – I don’t think I’m too likely to hear the f-bomb 

dropped so casually by a concert pianist on stage ever again!! 

Kathryn Knoll - WA 

I find inspiration for my teaching.... from other teachers. I have learnt so much from meeting and 

talking with other teachers, and am grateful that we have a great network of them in my area. One of the 

best things for my teaching has been to start playing and having lessons again. It helps me remember what 

it’s like as a music student, and puts me more in touch with my own students. 

Best concert I’ve been to recently... I received a phone call at 10am on a Sunday morning, asking me to 

play the Timpani for a 2pm concert of Handel’s ‘Messiah’. I hadn’t played that work before, but it was a 

real buzz! Playing Timpani for the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ was extremely exhilarating. 

Thembi Shears - QLD 

I love to play.... Chopin! And Tchaikovsky! I’m such a Romantic girl. 

Best thing about teaching the piano in the 21st century? The ability to say ‘Listen to as many different 

recordings as you can, search iTunes and YouTube’, and recording pieces / difficult rhythms for students 

on their iPhones! 

My favourite time of the teaching year.... I love the end of the year period when AMEB exams are 

over, and we wind down with duets and carols. Although I just had a ‘Halloween’ themed studio concert 

(complete with over-the-top decorations and costumes) which was so much fun. 

I’d love to learn more about.... One day I would LOVE to study jazz piano.



Magazine 

Andrea Harrison –-NSW 

My favourite time of the teaching year.... just before exams when everyone can play their pieces & 

actually perform AND my “Extravagandrea” – twice yearly student concert/parties! 

Earliest/latest lesson you’ve ever given? 7am is earliest…but many uni students lessons/discussions can 

go on towards midnight or later! 

I’d love to learn more about.... everything, especially the universe, thanks to Professor Brian Cox 

I find inspiration for my teaching.... in everything! Every experience affects how you teach. But seeing 

& hearing – or playing - music live probably has the biggest effect. Certainly going to teacher workshops 

makes a huge impression – sharing ideas & strategies, hearing new ways of doing things & new pieces of 

music. The Norton/Milne workshop in July 2011 was awesome! 

Kylie Hall - SA 

I love to play.... Wonderful ballads that can take you on a musical journey full of interpretation and style. 

Disney music and musicals are also a favourite – usually very melodic and some with a fun “novelty” style. 

Gershwin is also a favourite composer. 

My ideal number of students.... Teaching is not a chore for me, although my career is teaching 

and running a music school (with nearly 400 students). The number of students I currently teach is 

approximately 40. 

I find inspiration for my teaching.... Many of my teachers provide me with new, youthful and inspiring 

ideas, bringing their joy and love of music and teaching to students. 

Megan Sullivan - VIC 

I’ve always wanted to teach.... well into old age as my tutor did. 

Best thing about teaching the piano in the 21st century? I meet fabulous young people (and I won’t 

hear any criticism of the current generation), ipods, digital recording devices. 

To unwind from a long day of piano teaching I.... have a glass of red but only on 5 days - mandatory 2 

AFDs per week. 

I love to play.... accompaniments, and make music with other people. 

My favourite time of the teaching year.... Local eisteddfod time when I can sit for 3 days relaxing and 

enjoying the performances. 

I’d love to learn more about.... teaching tips from other teachers, how to organise technical work soirées, 

how to organise Practice-a-thons. 

Brenda Hunting - QLD 

I find inspiration for my teaching.... anywhere I can. I’ve found lots of great teaching tips on Facebook 

recently! I enjoy our MTAQ teacher network meetings, where teachers can get together and pool their ideas. 

Best thing about teaching the piano in the 21st century? Having access to the internet - looking up 

great performances on YouTube, finding recordings of unusual repertoire, uploading videos of my own 

students’ performances, accessing amazing student resources that I would never have enough time to 

prepare myself, having some Skype lessons with Edna Golandsky in New York (and musing about the 

possibilities of my teaching via Skype next year when one of my students will be moving too far away to 

travel) ... the list goes on. 

Josie Thomas - VIC 

Best thing about teaching the piano in the 21st century? 

1. The massive interaction possible with technology such as the exposure through You Tube, social 

media. Observing many musical interpretations, research, access to fun musical games linked to many 

of the orchestras. The Australian Piano Teachers Hub has many excellent links to relevant music 

education matters! 

2. Using music software to create! 

3. Perhaps best of all, the many excellent methods and information available, online and off line, enabling 

us to reach out to students. Learning music has become so varied and many fun ideas help to make 

it more relevant. This equals lifelong enjoyment and connection with people in a meaningful way. 

Whether or not students become professionals is irrelevant. 

Angela Fox - SA 

My favourite time of the teaching year.... Term 4 and Christmas time is great to re-enthuse students 

with Christmas carols etc. I love the look on beginning students’ faces when they play ‘Jingle Bells’ and can 

actually hear what they are playing and can sing along! By the 10 th student it’s time for another carol!!! It’s 

also fun for the students who have done their exams. Fresh, fun repertoire to look forward to. 

Best concert I’ve been to recently... Wicked! – for the second time. Once in Melbourne, once in 

Adelaide. Love the musicals! 

To unwind from a long day of piano teaching I.... read a good book, watch mindless TV and search 

the internet for more music!!

A u str a l i a nCo m p 

Ian Ladd 

“…don’t take these pieces too seriously.” 

Ian Ladd is a Geelong born composer and teacher who believes that 

students should be exposed to as wide a variety of musical styles as possible. 

These two volumes of Piano Grooves are written for the elementary to 

intermediate pianist and introduce students to a range of contemporary 

styles, including rock ‘n’ roll, blues and jazz. Ian had a lot of fun writing 

these pieces and he hopes that your students have just as much fun playing 

them. He issues a warning however… “Remember, don’t take these pieces 

too seriously”! 

in Print 

Larry Sitsky 

“…even the simplest settings have some kind of twist.” 

Larry Sitsky is regarded as one of the most important figures in Australian music, 

making his mark as a composer, pianist, teacher, author and scholar. His works have been 

commissioned by many leading Australian and international bodies including the Sydney 

International Piano competition, the ABC and Musica Viva. 

Fast fact: Larry Sitsky was the first Australian to be invited to the USSR on a cultural 

exchange visit, organised by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs in 1977. 

Century Piano Collection uses folk music from a range of cultures for which Sitsky feels a 

personal affinity. In essence it is a tribute to what Australia is now: a multicultural country. 

Margaret Sutherland 

Five Fast Facts: 

1. Margaret Sutherland was born in Adelaide in 1897 

2. She was a student of Sir Arnold Bax in London during the 1920s 

3. During World War II she arranged midday chamber music concerts for the Red Cross 

4. She was instrumental in promoting the plan for the present Victorian Arts Centre 

5. Her work spans more than fifty-five years and over ninety compositions 

It was Margaret Sutherland who pioneered new music in the first half of this century 

in Australia, at a time when Australian composers experienced public indifference and a 

profound sense of isolation. She also laboured under the extreme disadvantage of being a 

woman in Australia. But for her example, it is unlikely that Australia would have produced 

such a proliferation of women composers. 

Miriam Hyde 

As a composer, musician, teacher and pianist, Miriam Hyde has made an 

outstanding contribution to the musical culture of Australia, especially in the 

field of educational music. 

Hyde said of her music: “I feel my music can be a refuge for what beauty 

and peace can still be omnipresent...the triumph of good over evil. I make no 

apologies for writing from the heart.” 

Did you know? 

Miriam Hyde wrote her much-loved piano work Reverie when she was 13. 

The music in this volume has been 

recorded by David Lockett in the 

ABC classics release - 

Margaret Sutherland: The Piano Music 

(ABC Classics 441 934 2) 

Comprehensive 

notes from the 

composer give a 

rare insight into 

each work.

CD INCLUDED 

HAL LEONARD 

STUDENT PIANO LIBRARY 

Works by 

Allerme 

Bastien 

Davidsson 

Gillock 

Gretchaninoff 

Handel 

Klose 

Mancini 

Milne 

Morricone 

Norton 

Rodgers 

Saint-Saens 

Schaum 

Sebba 

Strauss 

Wedgwood 

PREPARATION FOR PIANO EXAMS 

o s e r s 

Sonny Chua 

Most of Sonny Chua’s published music was primarily written as 

educational works for his students. These works were composed 

with attention to developing performance techniques and 

awareness of intelligent design. Chua’s music is currently listed 

on all Australian examination syllabi. Sonny Chua’s music reveals 

an accumulation and assimilation of seemingly incongruous 

ideas, displaying the use of a broad palette, with myriad 

influences from classical, pop, jazz, rock, folk to “techno” music. 



Magazine 

Christina De Beus 

Queensland based composer Christina De Beus is heavily 

represented on the ANZCA syllabus. Her playful tunes include 

Dancing Caterpillars, Cane Toad Tango, Mexican Jumping Beans, 

Fandango Flavours and Tiddley What? 

The titles of Christine’s books are just as fun: Cockroach Pie, 

Spider Milkshake, Pudgy Budgie Boogie, Slicky the Snail, Guinea 

Pig Jig, Slug ‘n Bug Soup, and Termite Munchies. 

Elissa Milne 

Elissa’s hit series Getting to… has revolutionised piano teaching. 

Encouraging students to learn at least 40 pieces each year, Elissa 

has pioneered a new breed of literary piano students. 

Elissa’s own compositions are represented on all major 

examination syllabi across the world. 

Elissa’s first foray into publishing was with her first compositions 

Little Peppers and Pepperbox Jazz. 

Elissa’s blog - Ideas about music and about playing, learning and teaching 

the piano, with unexpected extras is read by thousands of piano 

teachers across the globe. You can read it too: 

elissamilne.wordpress.com 

GETTING TO PRELIMINARY - THE NEW MIX - BK/CD 

EDITED BY ELISSA MILNE 

Daniel McFarlane 

Melbourne born composer Daniel McFarlane lives in 

Brisbane with his wife, Melanie (a former-piano teacher), dog 

Bella and soon-to-be baby number one! 

Daniel started composing in 2005 because his students needed 

more repertoire that sounded “cool”. His first piece “Synko” was 

so well received by his students that he just kept on composing! 

Synko is featured in his book: Supersonics Book Two. 

When he is not teaching piano, composing or examining, Daniel 

likes to keep fit. In fact, Daniel won a gold medal representing 

Australia at the 1998 World Junior Athletics Championships! 

Check out Daniel’s music at www.danielmcfarlane.com 

More Australian Composers will feature in 

the next edition of Piano Teacher Magazine. 

Tell us which Australian composer your students love to play at australianpiano@halleonard.com.au 

and we will send you a copy of one of the books featured here.

EASY PIANO 

WHAT’S NEW Brand New Piano Titles 

Instrumental Hits 

for Easy Piano 

Cherry Lane 

26 melodies from stage, screen and radio arranged 

for easy piano, including: Baby Elephant 

Walk · Bonanza · Chariots of Fire · Theme 

from E.T. · The Godfather (Love Theme) · 

Love Story · The March of the Siamese Children 

· Peter Gunn · The Pink Panther · Tequila 

· Tubular Bells · and more. 

2501683 

PIANO DUET 

Thirty Pieces 

for Children Op 27 

Dmitri Kabalevsky 

Kabalevsky’s pedagogical works develop 

real musical culture in children. These 

unique and inventive works of piano literature 

for the early intermediate student have 

earned their place as perennial favourites 

among teachers. BK/CD. 

296753 

Nineteen Little PreludeS 

J.S. Bach 

Bach’s intermediate level little preludes are 

gems to be played for pure enjoyment, for 

any recital, or as steps toward the more challenging 

Well-Tempered Clavier. Contains extensive 

discussion and examples on Baroque 

ornamentation. BK/CD. 

296786 

Czerny Practical 

Method for Beg Op 599 

Czerny / Edwards 

Czerny’s popular piano exercises are now 

available in an easy-to-read edition with performance 

and historical notes. Includes two CDs 

of performances demonstrating how the pieces 

may be thought of as real literature rather than 

mechanical etudes. BK/CD. 

296844 

Lady Gaga Fugue 

Gaga / Dettori 

Pop and contrapuntal styles have never had 

so much fun together! Based on the hit song 

“Bad Romance” made popular by the pop artist 

Lady Gaga, this irresistible duet arrangement is 

crafted in the style of a three-voice fugue. The 

voices are carefully divided between the primo 

and secondo parts, making it easily accessible 

for intermediate-level students. 

296880 

REFERENCE 

Boosey and Hawkes 

Piano Anthology 

Boosey & Hawkes 

New collection featuring works by the most 

prominent Boosey & Hawkes composers including 

Bernstein, Britten, Carter, Copland, 

Ginastera, Kats-Chernin, Lees, Stravinsky, 

Thomson, and others. With previously unpublished 

works by Argento and Górecki. 

Ideal for advanced high school and tertiary 

players. 

M051246601 

Journey Through 

the Classics 

Jennifer Linn 

This four-volume piano repertoire series is 

designed to lead students seamlessly from 

the earliest classics to the intermediate masterworks. 

The graded pieces are presented in 

a progressive order and feature a variety of 

classical favourites essential to any piano student’s 

educational foundation. 25 pieces by 

Gurlitt, Hook, Türk, Diabelli, Kohler, Pachelbel, 

Reinagle and more. 

Book 1 296870 Book 2 296871 

Book 3 296872 Book 4 296873 

BigTime Kids Songs 

Faber Piano Adventures 

Intermediate pianists will enjoy this fun-filled 

collection of favourite kids’ songs, arranged to 

show off their pianistic skills. A wide variety of 

styles and sounds allow students to entertain 

family and friends with expressive performances. 

Songs include: (Meet) The Flintstones · 

Cruella de Vil · Flight of the Bumble Bee · I’m a 

Believer · Linus and Lucy · and more. 

FF3005 

Piano Teachers Guide 

to Creative Composition 

Carol Klose 

Designed to assist teachers who wish to introduce 

their students to creative composition but have 

limited lesson time available and feel the need 

for some direction in starting and continuing the 

creative process. Suggestions in the concise Lesson 

Plans help bring about gradual changes and 

improvements that are enough to keep the piece 

developing, and, more importantly, to keep the student 

immersed and motivated in the process. 

296828 

Ragtime Piano 

Simply Authentic 

23 ragtime favourites! Players will enjoy the 

characteristic syncopation and accented 

stride piano style that makes these ragtime 

tunes simply authentic. Includes: Bees-Wax 

Rag • The Chrysanthemum • Cotton Time • 

Crab Apples • Dill Pickles • The Entertainer • 

Tiger Rag • Too Much Mustard • Wild Cherries 

Rag • and more. 

312323 

Jazz Etude Inspirations 

Intermediate Piano Solos 

Jeremy Siskind 

A collection of eight original piano etudes 

inspired by some of the most important jazz 

pianists in history. Etudes in the style of legendary 

greats will help students master some 

technical challenges posed by each artist’s 

individual style. Tunes include: Count on Me 

• Hand Battle • Jelly Roll Me Home • Minor 

Tyner • Oscar’s Bounce • Pineapple Woman • 

Repeat After Me • Tears Falling on Still Water. 

296860 

Classic Jazz 

Piano Solos 

Cherry Lane Music 

Lush piano solo arrangements with chord 

names for 23 spectacular jazz gems: Bag’s 

New Groove · Bouncing with Bud · Dolphin 

Dance · Filthy McNasty · Lady Day 

· Minor Swing · Rifftide · Un Poco Loco · 

Up Jumped Spring · Valse Hot · Watermelon 

Man · and many more! 

1529

available from your favourite music store! 

PIANO 



Magazine 

Piano Aerobics 

Wayne Hawkins 

A multi-style, 40-week workout program for building real-world 

technique. Often when students decide to play in contemporary 

styles, they lack the chops for the job. The exercises in 

Piano Aerobics will introduce students to styles such as jazz, 

salsa, swing, rock, blues, new age, gospel, stride and bossa 

nova, and help them play with more musical flair. BK/CD. 

311863 

Adult Popular Favorites 2 

All I Have to Do Is Dream • Georgia on My Mind • I Just Called 

to Say I Love You • I’m a Believer • Memory • Never on a Sunday 

• On My Own • One Fine Day • Satin Doll • That’ll Be the 

Day • We Are the World • Your Song. The accompanying CD 

includes orchestrated accompaniments at practice and performance 

tempos. BK/CD. 

296842 

Blues Licks for Piano 

Blake Neeley 

Cherry Lane Music 

Playing the blues builds your finger dexterity, improves your 

improvisational skills, and gives you a better understanding of 

harmonic structure. Even if you already know something about 

the blues - its rhythm, scales, and special effects - you’ll still 

benefit from the many great blues licks and helpful hints that 

are packed inside. 

2500036 

FunTime Kids 


This new collection of kids’ songs will entertain and encourage 

the early intermediate pianist. Carefully graded 

for Level 3A-3B students to enjoy, this collection includes: 

You’ve Got a Friend in Me · Consider Yourself · Be Our 

Guest · Yellow Submarine · Walking on Sunshine · The 

Addam’s Family Theme · and more. 

FF3004 

Piano Adventures 

Technique & Artistry Bk 4 


The new Level 4 Technique & Artistry Book combines 

two elements of pianism: technical skill and artistic performance. 

This smooth, integrated approach builds basic 

elements of piano technique, always directed toward an 

artistic goal. Four powerful exercises called Technique Secrets 

help intermediate students build a strong technical 

foundation. Artistry Magic pieces at the end of each unit 

explore expressive playing. 

FF3012 

Sightreading Book 


Level 1 students can have lots of fun while developing 

strong sightreading skills. This inventive course uses sets 

of exercises based on melodic and rhythmic patterns from 

the Level 1 Lesson Book. Students play one exercise a day, 

while enjoying the entertaining musical art that guides their 

sightreading progress. 

FF3013 

JAZZ 

Jazz Hanon 

Peter Deneff 

Musicians Institute Press 

Now available with a play-along CD! This 

one-on-one lesson with Musicians Institute 

instructor Peter Deneff features 50 exercises 

for the beginning to professional jazz pianist, 

covering: angular lines, large intervals, pentatonic 

patterns, blues scales, irregular chromatic 

melodies, double-note patterns, suggested 

fingerings, suggestions for practice, 

and more.BK/CD. 

696478 

Jazz Piano Comping 

Suzanne Davis 

Berklee Press 

Comping is the practice of using chords to 

accompany a melody. The book begins with 

triads and voice leading, and progresses 

through altered seventh-chord spread voicings 

for two hands, covering many different 

techniques for using harmony and rhythm. 

The accompanying CD lets you practice 

with a small jazz combo. Suitable for all 

major jazz styles. BK/CD. 

50449614 

Keyboard Style 

Intro to Jazz Piano 

Mark Harrison 

From comping to soloing, you’ll learn the 

theory, the tools, and the techniques used 

by jazz pros. The accompanying CD demonstrates 

many of the music examples in 

the book. Covers: jazz chords and progressions; 

jazz swing and bossa nova comping; 

voicings and patterns; melodic treatment; 

soloing techniques; how to play from a fake 

book; and more. BK/CD. 

312088

Piano Adventures Professional Development 

ALL NEW! 

This brilliant new Teacher Guide offers lesson 

plans, pedagogy pointers and a fantastic “see it 

in action” section where you can watch each 

piece being taught! 

This really is the ultimate teacher 

guide, complete with DVD footage 

of every piece 

To look inside the teachers’ guide go to the 

fabulous Piano Adventures website: 

www.pianoadventures.com 

Faber Piano Adventures – Primer Level 

Student-Centered Curriculum 

Teacher Guide 

Sightreading 

LeSSon 

Book 

New! 

Flashcards 

Technique 

& Artistry 

Theory 

I Can Read Music 

Book 1 

Performance 

PreTime ® 


Primer Supplementary Series 

Gold Star 

Performance 

Popular 

Repertoire 

Christmas 

Popular 

Classics Favorites Rock ’n Roll 

PRIMER LEVEL 

TEACHER GUIDE 

Achievement 

Solo & Duet Sheets DuetTime ® 

Jazz & Blues Hymns kids’ Songs 

Christmas 

Christmas 

Pre-Reading Christmas

12 1 

10 2 

9 3 

8 

4 

7 6 5 

12 1 

10 2 

9 3 

8 

4 

7 6 5 



Magazine 

Dear Colleagues, 

We are delighted to announce the 2nd edition of Piano Adventures ® Primer and Level 1. While we have made small improvements to 

Piano Adventures ® over the years, this is our first major revision. 

More and more students now move into Level 1 after completing the My First Piano Adventure ® series. While smoothing that transition, 

we also took the opportunity to refresh the Primer Level. 

So what has changed? 

Six New Musical and Pedagogical Features: 

New Progress Chart 

The Lesson books now open with a progress chart 

for quick reference and easy lesson planning. Includes 

detailed correlations for the core books: Lesson, 

Theory, Technique & Artistry, and Performance. 

New Pieces/New Musical Twists 

We’ve added additional pages to provide new repertoire 

– pieces which are destined to become student 

favourites! Continuing the path of My First Piano 

Adventure®, the student encounters musical themes by 

Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky, plus folk 

melodies from around the world. We’ve also “spiced” 

up many original pieces for lively musical discovery and 

pianistic applications of the “Technique Secrets.” 

Improvisation Activities 

We’re delighted to offer improvisation activities in 

the Theory Books that are closely linked to musical 

adventures from the Lesson Books. Creativity is tapped 

by venturing deep into the cave on black keys, enjoying 

a Ferris wheel ride with the C 5-finger scale, and 

creating a Dinosaur Dance using the G 5-finger scale. 

Enhanced Reading Strategies 

The Primer adds an additional reading strategy with 

new pieces for learning Bass C-D-E-F-G notes. 

Level 1 opens with “E-G-B Mouse” 

(from My First Piano Adventure ® ) for very effective 

review and a head start orientation to new notes. 

Integration Between Lesson 

and Theory Books 

The Theory Book now tightly parallels the artwork, 

subject, and pedagogy of the lesson Book to offer 

more cohesive teaching and learning. For example, 

Copy Cat Meows for learning steps and skips in the 

Primer Theory Book. 

Challenge Section 

The Level 1 Lesson Book includes an optional 

Challenge Section at the end of the book. These 

delightful pages preview more 5-finger scales, 

introduced here as off-the-staff keyboard patterns. 

This offers teacher flexibility for transposition of Level 

1 pieces and for other creative activities that highlight 

auditory and tactile learning. 

Our publications have always grown from he needs of the students in your studio. So we’re confident that you’ll see more achievement... 

and more student smiles! 

Warmest wishes, 

Nancy Faber 

randall Faber 

Table of Contents 

? 

? 

 

 

1 

UNIT 

Introduction to Playing 

Lesson 

Theor y 

Technique 

Performance 

Sightreading 

3 

UNIT 

C D E F G A B Key Names - ABCDEFG 

Lesson 

Theor y 

Technique 

Performance 

Sightreading 

Sitting at the Piano 4 3, 4 

Making a Round Hand Shape 5 3, 4 

Finger Numbers 6 2 3, 4 

Finger Flashcards 7 

The Pecking Rooster (for Left Hand) 8 5 

The Pecking Hen (for Right Hand) 9 5 

Two Black Ants 10 5 

Two Blackbirds 11 3 5 

Into the Cave 12 4-5 5 2 

Three Little Kittens 13 6-7 5 

The Music Alphabet 24 

Learning C-D-E; Balloons 25 

About Steps; Merrily We Roll Along 26 10-11 6-7 

Learning F-G-A-B; The Escalator 27 14-15 

C 5-Finger Scale; C-D-E-F-G March 28 16 

Men from Mars 29 17 12, 13 8 

Ode to Joy 30 14 9 

Sea Story 31 15 10 

Dotted Half; Hey, Mr. Half Note Dot! 32 18 

Alouette 33 19 16 11 

2 

2 

UNIT 

œ œ œ 

Basic Rhythms 

The Quarter Note 14 8 

The Old Clock 15 

The Walking Song 16 

4 

UNIT 

Tightrope Walker 17 9 

Learning Treble G; A Ten-Second Song 37 21 

The Half Note 18 10 

Driving in the G Clef 38 22 17 12-15 

You can visit our website The I Like Song for a closer 19 6, 7 look 3 at Best www.PianoAdventures.com/SecondEdition 

Friends 39 23 12 

I Hear the Echo 20 11 4 

Learning Bass F; Gorilla in the Tree 40 17 16-21 

The Whole Note 21 

Or email australianpiano@halleonard.com.au 

My Invention 

for a copy 

41 

of 

24-25 

the 

13 22-25 

second edition brochure 

Old MacDonald Had a Song 22 12-13 8-9 5 

e 

e 

i 

i 

e 

e 

i 

e 

e 

e 

i 

e 

e 

i 

i o 

i o 

i o 

e 

i o 

i o 

œ 

œ 

œ 

Orientation to the Staff 

The Staff and The Grand Staff 34 20 

Bass Clef and Treble Clef 35 

Learning Middle C; Middle C March 36 6-11 

FF1075

Brand New! 

Microjazz Christmas 

20 jazz interpretations of 

traditional Christmas carols. 

Available: 

Intermediate (Grade 5) 

Advanced (Grade 8) 

Microjazz Collections 

now come with CD! 


COMPOSER ProFILE 

New Zealand 

Christopher Norton was born in New Zealand in 1953. 

He began composing at the age of 14, and, by the age of 

16, had an orchestral work performed and broadcast. 

Having completed an honours degree in music from 

Otago University, Dunedin, in 1974, Christopher met with 

some success as a pianist in New Zealand, playing with 

the New Zealand Symphony orchestra and broadcasting 

on the Concert Programme. At the same time, he 

was teaching music in local high schools, beginning 

to freelance as a composer and arranger, and had also 

started to play keyboards in a rock band, having becoming 

interested in jazz and pop. 

Preludes Collections: 

Late intermediate pieces, longer, 

more complex musically and much 

more demanding technically. 

Grade 5-8 level. 

Rock Preludes 

Latin Preludes 

Country Preludes 

Jazz Preludes 

Concert Collections are BK/CD 

collections of improvisations on 

well-known tunes. Collection 1: 

Christmas, Nursery Rhymes and 

American folk songs 

Collection 2: English folksongs, 

spirituals and classical pieces. 


Microstyles – 

Huge bumper collection Books 

1-4 complete with CD. Pieces 

from this collection are included 

on exam syllabi 

Grade 1-5 level 

Stylistic collections for the 

intermediate player – 

no harder than Grade Five level 

Microlatin 

Microswing 

Microrock 

Microballads 


Guide to Microjazz – a unique 

insight into Christopher Norton’s 

music and how best to teach it. 

England 

Coming to the UK in 1977 on a University Scholarship, 

Christopher studied composition at York University with 

Wilfred Mellers and David Blake, writing a variety of 

pieces, including choral works, orchestral pieces, piano 

music and musicals. 

While playing in various bands, he started to experiment 

with combinations of styles that crossed the divide 

between his classical background, and more contemporary 

popular styles. His earliest publications were with 

Universal Edition in London, and included Carol Jazz— 

improvisations on Christmas tunes—and Sing’n’Swing, for 

choir, piano and percussion. 

Microjazz 

In 1983, Christopher was signed by Boosey & Hawkes, 

and the first of the Microjazz series series appeared — 

music which appealed greatly to children and teenagers 

but was sufficiently rooted in the classical tradition to be 

useful as teaching material. 

The series has expanded over 20 years to include music 

for all of the major instruments with piano, ensemble 

books and midi file backings. It is now the biggest selling 

music series for Boosey & Hawkes, with over a million 

sales to date. 

Boosey & Hawkes 

The success of Microjazz was followed by many other 

award-winning publications for Boosey & Hawkes. 

Christopher’s bestselling titles include the Essential 

Guides to Pop, Latin and Jazz Styles; the Rock, Country, 

Latin and Jazz Piano Preludes; the Big Beats playalong 

series (called “Microjazz for the next generation” by 

Piano Magazine); and the Christopher Norton Concert 

Collections of original repertoire for solo piano. 

Today 

Christopher Norton is now well established as a 

composer, producer, arranger and educationalist and has 

written stage musicals, ballet scores, piano music, popular 

songs and orchestral music as well as jingles and signature 

tunes for TV and radio. 

Christopher lectures all over the world on aspects of his 

work and likes to integrate traditional teaching methods 

with aspects of modern technology. He has also found 

time to produce huge numbers of albums for the gospel 

market, with releases worldwide selling in excess of 

1,000,000 units.



Magazine 

Price 

Vs 

I frequently hear piano teachers say that they simply cannot ask parents 

to buy books of music as the cost will be beyond the reach of the family 

budget. Meantime, I’ve never once heard a parent complain that they 

wanted their child to learn to play the piano without using (or having to 

buy) music. 

It’s an interesting sociological divide: the parent who is keen to provide 

educational opportunities for their child, and the teacher who is fixated on 

providing a budget experience. 

There are two implications, educationally speaking, when a teacher limits a 

student’s exposure to musical scores: 

1. The student has limited reading opportunities (with the 

predictable result that the student does not develop 

excellent reading skills). 

2. The student has limited musical performance experiences 

(with the predictable result that the student struggles to 

bring context and nuance to their performances as they 

reach Grade 4/5/6 standard). 

I’ve never met a parent who wishes their child to experience these 

educational limitations. 

What parents do want for their children? 

1. An enjoyment of playing the piano 

2. An ability to play all kinds of music 

3. Piano playing skills they can use for the rest of their lives, in both 

social and individual settings. 

And parents just expect that once a child has been taking piano lessons for 

long enough that they will know how to read music. 

So while teachers are busy saving parents money by using the absolute 

minimum of books, those same parents are off scouring print music shops 

looking for new material they’d love to hear their child play. Why? Because 

parents think that fresh and fabulous music will contribute to their child’s 

enjoyment, help develop their ability and facilitate their child using their 

pianistic skills in social settings. 

And you know what? Parents are right! AND playing more music develops 

reading skills in a way no sight reading tutor can rival. 

There are amazing print music (and other!) resources we can use with our 

students these days – it’s time for piano teachers to start acting as advocates 

for educational opportunity and to leave worrying about the bills to 

the parents. 

“Cynics are people who know 

the price of everything and 

the value of nothing.” 

- Oscar Wilde 

Value of 

Books 

by Elissa Milne 

What’s Wrong With Just 

Using Photocopies? 

• It limits students’ musical experiences 

to assigned repertoire. 

• It reduces opportunities for students 

to explore and read new music. 

• It’s stealing from composers who struggle 

to make a living the same way you (and the 

parents of your students) do. 

• It’s unethical to use something 

without permission or payment. 

Two Top Tips 

for Teachers 

• Tell parents at the start of the year how 

much they should budget for music purchases 

throughout the year. $150 per annum is a 

good minimum figure, and better students 

might need to spend $200-250 per year. 

• Never apologise for assigning a new book! 

That would be like apologising for giving lessons! 

Students want to learn new pieces (and 

parents are grateful to listen to new music 

during practice sessions!). 

You can read more from this article by Elissa Milne on her blog at 

http://elissamilne.wordpress.com/

Elissa Milne is a Sydney-based 

composer, teacher, writer and presenter. 

her educational piano music (the Little 

Peppers and Pepperbox Jazz series) is 

used by students, teachers and 

examination boards around the world. 

Now Elissa has collected and edited the 

very best in piano pedagogical 

composition to create Fundamental 

Repertoire. 

Step-by-step, graded presentation of 

cherished piano classics and innovative, engaging new music make 

this Fundamental Repertoire a must-have for every student. 

Getting to Preliminary is a total preparation for beginners approaching 

their first examination. Essential reading, performance, stylistic and 

technical skills are developed through the repertoire and additional 

material has been included to give students extra help with scales and 

listening tests. 

Getting to Grade One 

296447 Book 

298072 BK/Cd 

Getting to Grade Two 

296448 Book 

298073 BK/Cd 

Getting to Grade Three 

298076 Book 

298075 BK/Cd 

Getting to Grade Four 

298077 Book 

298078 BK/Cd 

Getting to Grade Five 

AP1018 Book 

AP1019 BK/Cd 

Getting to Preliminary 

ThE NEW MIX 

AP1001 Book 

AP1002 BK/Cd 


ThE NEW MIX 

AP1003 Book 

AP1004 BK/Cd 

ALSO AVAILABLE 

GETTING TO PRELIMINARY - THE NEW MIX 

HAL LEONARD 




hAL LEONARd 

STUdENT PIANO LIBRARY 

PREPARATION FOR AMEB ANd OThER PIANO EXAMS 

FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED 



Her educational piano music (the Little 











Getting to Grade One is a total preparation for students approaching 

their first grade examination. Essential reading, performance, stylistic 

and technical skills are developed through the repertoire and additional 


broken chords, arpeggios and musical knowledge/perception tests. 

A$19.95 

296447 


296446 Book 

298071 BK/CD 

PREPARATION FOR AMEB AND OTHER PIANO EXAMS 

HAL LEONARD 


SECOND EDITION 



296448 Book 

298073 BK/CD 


298076 Book 

298075 BK/CD 


298077 Book 

298078 BK/CD 


AP1018 Book 

AP1019 BK/CD 

HAL LEONARD 



THE NEW MIX 

AP1001 Book 

AP1002 BK/CD 


THE NEW MIX 

AP1003 Book 

AP1004 BK/CD 

GETTING TO GRADE TWO - SECOND EDITION 

GETTING TO PRELIMINARY - THE NEW MIX 



Over 50,000 piano students across Australia are 

currently enjoying the Getting to...series; are yours? 

Here is an easy AMEB 

reference Getting to... 

guide for you. Remember to 

always check your current 

syllabus to ascertain the 

exact requirements, before 

presenting for examination. 

Works by 

Allerme 

Bastien 

Davidsson 

Gillock 

Gretchaninoff 

Handel 

Klose 

Mancini 

Milne 

Morricone 


Rodgers 

Saint-Saens 

Schaum 

Sebba 

Strauss 

Wedgwood 

GETTING TO PRELIMINARY 

Works by 

Agay 

diabelli 

Gillock 

Gnyesina 

Gurlitt 

haydn 

hook 

Kabalevsky 

Kadosa 

Lovelock 

Milne 

Mozart 

Rauchverger 

Reinagle 

Telemann 

EdITEd BY ELISSA MILNE 


ALSO AVAILABLE 

Works by 

Bailey 

Bartok 

Beethoven 

Chapple 

Clementi 

Czerny 

Gillock 

Greaves 

Gurlitt 

Handel 

Hässler 

Kabalevsky 

Lohlein 

Milne 

Pachelbel 

Peeters 

Petzold 

Purcell 

Sarauer 

Seiber 

Vanhal 

Wilson 

Works by 

Allerme 

Bastien 

Davidsson 

Gillock 

Gretchaninoff 

Handel 

Klose 

Mancini 

Milne 

Morricone 


Rodgers 

Saint-Saens 

Schaum 

Sebba 

Strauss 

Wedgwood 

GETTING TO GRADE ONE - SECOND EDITION 

HAL LEONARD 


Works by 

Arnold 

Bach 


Beethoven 

Bennett 

Burgmüller 

Chapple 

Clementi 

Duncombe 

Goedicke 

Graupner 

Haydn 

Houlihan 

Le Couppey 

Milne 

Pleyel 

Reinagle 

Schmitz 

Schwertberger 

Sebba 




Steibelt 


Diabelli Bagatelle (Op.125 No.7) – List B Preliminary 

Haydn Quadrille – List B Preliminary 

Hook Gavotta – List B Preliminary 

Kabalevsky The Little Hedgehog – List A Preliminary 

Kodosa Allegretto Leggiero – List C Preliminary 

Milne Salt and Pepper – List C Preliminary 

Mozart Minuet in F Major (PFL Prelim) 

Reinagle Promenade - List A Grade One 

Schostakovich March (PFL Prelim) 

Shostakovich March, Opus 69 No.1 - List C Grade One 

Telemann Gavotte in C Major - List A Grade One 

Getting to Preliminary – New Mix 

Heumann Malaguenea (PFL Prelim) 

Morricone Good Bad Ugly (PFL Prelim) 

Norton Struttin’ – List C Preliminary 

Rodgers Do Re Mi (PFL Prelim) 

Saint-Saëns Royal March of the Lion (PFL Prelim) 

Schaum Big Beat (PFL Prelim) 

Wedgewood Brave Knight (PFL Prelim) 

Wedgewood In the Eyes of the Tiger (PFL Prelim) 


Bach Air (PLF Grade One) 

Bach Air (BWV Anh 131), from the Anna Magdalena Notebook - List A Grade One 

Bartok A Toyshop Tune - List C Grade One 

Bartok The Lost Cat - List C Grade One 

Burgmuller Arabesque, Opus 100, No.2 - List A Grade One 

Clementi Sonatina in C, Op.36 No.1 1st movement – List B Grade Three 

Clementi Sonatina in C, Op.36 No1, 1st movement - List B Grade One 

Crews Canon from Kanon Kapers 

Duncombe Sonatina in C - List B Grade One 

Goedicke Dance - List B Grade One 

Graupner Bourree List A Grade One 

Haydn Minuet - List B Grade One 

Houlihan Albatross - List C Grade One 

Milne Chase – List C Preliminary 

Mozart Menuett – List B Preliminary 

Mozart Minuet in F - List B Grade One 

Reinagle Minuet List A Grade One 

Steibelt Adagio - List B Grade One 

Getting to Grade One – New Mix 

Bastien Hoe Down (PFL Grade One) 

Chapple Tango (PFL Grade One) 

Diamond I’m a Believer (PFL Grade One) 

Mizzy Addams Family Theme (PFL Grade One) 

Norton Stairway (PFL Grade One) 

Palmer Calypso Rhumba (PFL Grade One) 

Tchaikovsky Russian Dance (PFL Grade One) 

Verdi Marcia Triophale (PFL Grade One) 

Webber Phantom of the Opera (PFL Grade One) 


Bach Musette - List A Grade One 

Bach/Petzold Menuet in G - List A Grade Two 

Bailey Two-Part Intention - List C Grade Two 

Bartok Rhythmic Dance - List C Grade Two 

Beethoven Sonatina in G, 1st movement - List B Grade Two 

Beethoven Sonatina in G, 2nd movement - List B Grade Two 

Chapple Lazy Days - List C Grade Two 

Clementi Sonatina in C, Op.36 No.1 2nd movements - List B Grade Three 

Clementi Sonatina in C, Op.36 No.1 3rd movements - List B Grade Three 

Clementi Sonatina in C, Op.36, No.1, 3rd movement - List B Grade Three 

Handel Impertinence - List A Grade Two 

Hassler Ecossaise Op.38 No.23 - List B Grade Two 

Milne Gold Rush - List A Grade Two 

Pachelbel Fugue in C Major - List A Grade Two 

Peeters Chagrin d’enfant - List C Grade Two 

Petzold Minuet in G (PFL Grade Two) 

Purcell Air in D minor - List A Grade Two 

Purcell Hornpipe - List A Grade Two 

Vanhal Allegretto - List A Grade Two 

Getting to Grade Two – New Mix 

Joplin Entertainer (PFL Grade Two) 

Norton In the Bag (PFL Grade Two) 

Norton In the Bag - List C Grade Two 

Schmitz Jazz Invention - List C Grade Two

HAL LEONARD 



Elissa Milne is a Sydney-based composer, 

teacher, writer, and presenter. Her 

educational piano music (the Little Peppers 

and Pepperbox Jazz series) is used by 

students, teachers and examination boards 

around the world. 

THE NEW MIX 

Piano students still love the classic piano 

pieces from the past, but they are also 

discovering their own new classics in the 

music written for film, television, musical 

theatre, radio and MTV. 

The New Mix is a collection of compositions and arrangements that 

explore some of the genres and styles that emerged in the 20th Century, 

and also includes arrangements of classic pieces from the past 300 years 

that have become part of popular culture. 

These pieces are presented in a learning sequence, and students can 

confidently move through this book developing a new skill with each 

new piece. 

Examination boards these days provide assessments for students who 

wish to play this repertoire, and teachers should note that the standard 

for a Grade Two examination using these popular styles is usually about 

half a grade harder than the traditional Grade Two assessments. 

Getting to Grade Two – The New Mix also contains additional material 

including scales, triads, arpeggio exercises, listening tests, reading tests 

and general knowledge advice to ensure complete preparation for 

examinations. 

A$26.95 

AP1005 

Other titles available: 


296446 Book only 

298071 Bk/CD 



298072 Bk/CD 



298073 Bk/CD 



298075 Bk/CD 



298078 Bk/CD 


AP1018 Book only 

AP1019 Bk/CD 


THE NEW MIX 


AP1002 Bk/CD 


THE NEW MIX 


AP1004 Bk/CD 

TEACHERS GUIDE: 


296516 Bk/CD 



296517 Bk/CD 



296518 Bk/CD 

FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED 



Her educational piano music (the Little 











Getting to Grade Three is a total preparation for students approaching 

their third grade examination. Essential reading, performance, stylistic 

and technical skills are developed through the repertoire and additional 


broken chords, arpeggios and musical knowledge/perception tests. 

A$24.95 

298076 


Other titles available: 



298071 Bk/CD 



298072 Bk/CD 



298073 Bk/CD 



298078 Bk/CD 



AP1019 Bk/CD 


THE NEW MIX 


AP1002 Bk/CD 


THE NEW MIX 


AP1004 Bk/CD 


THE NEW MIX 


AP1006 Bk/CD 



296516 Bk/CD 



296517 Bk/CD 



296518 Bk/CD 

HAL LEONARD 





Magazine 

The Getting to... series is a homegrown 

Australian music publishing 

initiative that has developed into a 

phenomenon. Originally intended to be no more than a 

three book series, Getting to Preliminary, Getting to Grade 

One and Getting to Grade Two were launched in October 2003. 

Eight years and ten new books later, the Getting to... series has 

transformed teaching (and learning) the piano for many across Australia 

and New Zealand. 

“I love these collections, 

but can I use them 

in my exams? 

Each book contains roughly 30 pieces of the best educational piano repertoire from 

the Baroque through to the present day, organised in a logical teaching sequence which 

develops pianistic and performance skills as well as providing students with an extraordinary 

breadth of musical experience from their earliest years. 

Not just a collection of old favourites, not just a collection of new masterpieces, the Getting to... 

series is an essential component of your piano teaching in 2012 and for years to come. 

Yes! 

GETTING TO GRADE TWO - SECOND EDITION 

Works by 

Bailey 


Beethoven 

Chapple 

Clementi 

Czerny 

Gillock 

Greaves 

Gurlitt 

Handel 

Hässler 

Kabalevsky 

Lohlein 

Milne 

Pachelbel 

Peeters 

Petzold 

Purcell 

Sarauer 

Seiber 

Vanhal 

Wilson 



• GETTING TO GRADE TWO - THE NEW MIX 

HAL LEONARD 


Works by 

Allerme 

Davidsson 

Emonts 

Garland 

Gillock 

Hold 

Huet 

Joplin 

Kember 

Matthews 

Menken 

Milne 


Rodgers 

Rowland 

Rybicki 

Saint-Saëns 

Schmitz 

Tansman 

Tchaikovsky 



• GETTING TO GRADE THREE - SECOND EDITION 

Works by 

Alwyn 

Bach 

Bartók 

Beethoven 

Bennett 

Burgmüller 

Coburn 

Cornick 

Edwards 

Gillock 

Heller 

Hengeveld 

Kabalevsky 

Kadosa 

Khatchaturian 

Kuhlau 

Maykapar 

Mendelssohn 

Milne 

Purcell 

Rameau 

Schumann 

Seiber 

Ticciati 

Wiener 

Zipoli 




Bach Polonaise - List A Grade Three 

Bach Prelude in C, BWV 939 - List A Grade Three 

Bartok Teasing Song (Neck-lied) - List C Grade Three 

Beethoven Sonatina in F, 1st movement - List B Grade Three 

Burgmuller Harmony of the Angels, Opus 100, No.21 - List A Grade Four 

Coburn Frolicky Rollicky Wind - List A Grade Three 

Cornick Blues in Two - List B Grade Two 

Gillock Castanets - List C Grade Three 

Heller Study in A minor, Opus 47, No.3 - List A Grade Three 

Kabalevsky Toccatina - List C Grade Three 

Khatchaturian Melody (‘Ivan Sings’) - List C Grade Three 

Kuhlau Sonatina in C, Opus 20, No.1, 2nd movements - List B Grade Five 

Maykapar Fleeting Visio - List C Grade Three 

Mendelssohn Romanze - List B Grade Three 

Purcell Festival Rondo - List A Grade Four 

Purcell Hornpipe in E minor - List A Grade Three 

Schumann Wild Rider, Opus 68, No.8 - List B Grade Three 

Getting to Grade Three – New Mix 

Chua Midnight Snack - List C Grade Three 

Gershwin Fascinating Rhythm (PFL Grade Three) 

Mozart Theme from Symphony Number 40 (PFL Grade Three) 

Saint-Saëns Finale from Carnival of the Animals (PFL Grade Three) 

Sculthorpe Sea Chant - List C Grade Three 

Tansman Petite Reverie - List C Grade Two 


Adams Witches in the Wind - List C Grade Four 

Beethoven Sonatina in F, 2nd movement - List B Grade Three 

Chopin Prelude, Opus 28, No.6 - List B Grade Four 

Clementi Sonatina in C, Opus 36 No.3,1st & 2nd movements - List B Grade Four 

Dello Joio Prayer of the Matador - List C Grade Four 

Fischer Chaconne - List A Grade Four 

Grieg Elfin Dance, Opus 12, No.4 - List B Grade Four 

Handel Courante from Suite in F major (HWV 427) - List A Grade Four 

Heller Study, Opus 47, No.23 - List A Grade Four 

Kabalevsky Dance, Opus 27, No.27 (or 21) - List A Grade Four 

Kabalevsky Etude in A minor, Opus 27, No.3 - List A Grade Four 

Schumann Sicilianisch, Opus 68, No.11 - List B Grade Four 

Shostakovich Clockwork Doll - List C Grade Four 


Bach Two Part Invention in F - List A Grade Five 

Bailey Left Hand Drive - List D Grade Five 

Debussy Le petit negre (The Little Nigar) - List D Grade Five 

Granados Vals Poetico, No.6 from 7 Valses poeticos - List C Grade Five 

Grieg Arietta, Opus 12, No.1 - List C Grade Five 

Khatchaturian Etude - List A Grade Five 

Kuhlau Sonatina in C, Opus 20, No.1, 1st movements - List B Grade Five 

Schumann Knight Rupert, Opus 68, No.12 - List C Grade Five 

Did you know that you can also use pieces from the Getting to 

books for your ANZCA, NZMEB, St Cecilia, Trinity Guild Hall 

and ABRSM exams? 

*Correct at time of printing. Always check your syllabus before presenting for examination

Where to begin with 

Adult Beginners 

Is it ever too late to learn the piano? 

Probably not, although by 3am the neighbours 

do tend to complain. 

But seriously now, it genuinely is never too late 

and we have all noticed a surge in the number 

of adults signing up for lessons. 

Here are some resources that will help you 

teach your 21 st century adult beginners. 

Hal Leonard Student Piano Library Adult 

Piano Method by: Barbara Kreader, Fred 

Kern, Mona Rejino, Phillip Keveren 

This method begins with improvisation 

and features lots of visual tips and 

aural exercises using the accompanying 

(brilliant!) CDs. Creativity is encouraged 

throughout the method and Lessons, Solos, 

Technique and Theory are integrated. 

*If your student likes this method there are 

additional correlated books they will love! 

Popular Favorites, Christmas Favorites, 

Traditional Hymns and the brand NEW 

Popular Hits. 

Pianoworks by Janet and Allan Bullard 

Adult Piano Adventures by Nancy and 

Randall Faber 

The Adult Piano Adventures All-In-One 

Lesson book (Solos, Technique, Theory) 

will take your student from learning 

the names of the piano keys to playing 

beautiful music. With its succinct way of 

explaining lessons, your student will be 

sure to make a lot of progress even if they 

are partially self-studying (perhaps they 

can only make it to lessons every other 

week). CDs are optional. 

And a few other books to consider... 

The first 14 pages of Pianoworks contain 

loads of information for those adult beginners 

who like to read and fully understand new 

concepts before putting them into practise. 

This book (with CD) is packed with more 

than forty pieces including a great mix of 

classical, traditional and new compositions 

– each carefully chosen to reinforce the 

technical points made. 

*Pianoworks Christmas and Pianoworks 

Collections provide students with additional 

repertoire to explore. Check them out at your 

favourite music store. Lovely arrangements of 

pieces your adults will really want to play!



Magazine 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

Once upon a time... the suburbs were born, and piano teachers found themselves increasingly 

isolated, working in home studios far away from shops, offices, factories and workshops 

where others spent their days. 

As schools emptied in the mid-afternoon so piano teachers would embark on the busiest 

period of their day, with lessons often wrapping up late into the evening (too late to 

contemplate social engagements). 

This isolation was more than social - having no colleagues with 

whom to compare notes, brainstorm ideas or make plans meant 

that piano teachers had a extremely lonely professional existence 

as well. 

Piano teachers’ associations worked to bridge this isolation, 

and monthly association meetings were often the only collegiate 

contact piano teachers had throughout the year, with the 

exception of annual or biannual conferences. 

“...I love the Australian Piano 

Teachers’ Music Hub on 

facebook, it gives interesting 

tips, hints and articles that 

allow me to continually 

question and improving my 

teaching. “ 

But somewhere between the birth of the internet and the arrival of – Christina QLD Piano 

Facebook this situation has changed; not only can teachers chat Teacher and HUB member 

about their teaching challenges in online forums and reflect on 

their teaching praxis via blogs (their own, or the blogs of other 

teachers), but their conversations now reach beyond their local 

area to teachers from around the world. 

Even more extraordinary, teachers can tweet questions in the middle of a piano lesson with 

every expectation of getting an answer or some advice within just a few minutes. 

How teachers connect with their community has also changed dramatically. Websites for 

piano teaching studios are now quite common, with teachers listing their teaching philosophy 

right alongside their fee schedule. The annual public recital is now augmented by students 

posting their performances on YouTube any time they feel their playing is up to it! 

Researching repertoire has a whole new dimension these days, with many publishers 

providing audio samples of works in their catalogue. And as for general knowledge, students 

can unearth many arcane details via wikipedia and watch short video clips with experts 

talking on topics such as the development of the fortepiano and the rise of the solo recital. 

So, how connected are you? How much are you participating in 

this new global professional conversation?! And how much are 

you taking advantage of the immediacy of knowledge in the 

21st century? 

Find us on Twitter 

@ PianoTeacherHub 

“…I have just discovered the 

Australian Piano Teachers’ 

Music Hub and am really 

enjoying reading your posts 

and have printed off a few 

articles for students to read 

on my pin-up board. 

Thank you for the inspiration 

and contact (I’m sure you 

understand how being a 

private music teacher is 

sometimes a little lonely.)” 

– Cathy WA Piano Teacher 

and HUB member 

Find us on 

facebook

And now the Hal Leonard 

Student Piano Library 

is even better! 

The All-In-One Piano Lessons Books A, B, C, and D combine 

selected pages from the original Piano Lessons, Technique, 

Solos, Theory Workbook, and Practice Games into one easyto-manage 

book. 

The book/CD offers students a variety of styles and moods, 

and includes the “best ever” teacher accompaniments. The 

audio CD is playable on any CD player. For Windows and Mac 

computer users, the CD is enhanced so you can also access 

MIDI files for each song. 

Great supplementary material

Hal Leonard Student Piano Library 

Simply the Best! 



Magazine 

The best pieces 

The best accompaniments 

The most creativity 

The coolest Notespeller

I want to tell 

you a story 

about my 

friend, 

Angelina. 

Angelina and I met almost 30 years ago, 

as primary school students who shared 

a piano teacher. In her wisdom, our 

teacher put us together as duet partners for a 

Christmas concert one year. 

Many of my very favourite childhood memories 

involve Angelina and I and playing piano duets. 

I remember travelling to a country competition, 

only to arrive to find ourselves the only 

ones entered in the duet section (we won!). I 

remember performing for a school concert and 

laughing so much at our own theatrics during 

the performance that we literally made the piano 

shake (we still managed to perform to the very end 

of the piece though, despite tears of laughter!). 

We played duets together for 10 years at 

school and have since remained friends. We 

have attended each other’s weddings, and 

now when we get together we dazzle (?) each 

other’s children with rousing renditions of our 

favourite duets the Norwegian Cradle Song and 

the Cat’s Meow. 

Through that early introduction to ensemble 

playing I discovered that the real joy of 

making music is not playing on your own 

but playing with others. So, here are a whole 

bunch of collections that you can use in your 

piano teaching that will make the world of 

difference to a young pianist. 

Sonny Chua’s Many Hands – One Piano includes treats 

such as Day in the Life of a T Rex, Three Blind Latino 

Mice Duet and We’ve got Rhythm Sextet and many more. 

Each piece is exhilarating to play and has little challenges 

– watch out for instructions to “knock players 2 and 3 off 

their chairs” so that player 1 can take over that section of 

the keyboard! 

Bernstein’s 10 Selections from Candide arranged by Charlie 

Harmon are ideal for Intermediate Pianists (about AMEB 

Grade 4-5) Includes: Overture • The Best of All Possible 

Worlds • I Am Easily Assimilated • Make Our Garden Grow 

• among others. 

If you are looking for something festive this year, perhaps 

DuetTime Piano Christmas would suit your needs. A 

lovely selection of carols your students will know, the tunes 

pass from one player to another and they mostly stay around 

the 5-finger position. Definitely one to check out for your littlies.



Magazine 

australianpiano@halleonard.com.au 

Share your duet memories with us at 

The best stories will receive a free 

copy of a new duet collection! 

A couple of brand new publications to 

look out for: 

Irving Berlin Piano Duos - arranged for 2 

Pianos, 4 Hands 

Beautiful duo arrangements of: Cheek to 

Cheek • They Say It’s Wonderful • (I Wonder 

Why?) You’re Just in Love. 

Tour for Two - 1 Piano, 4 Hands 

Take a tour around the world with these fun 

and stylistic piano duets written for students 

at the Grade 3-4 level. The sheer variety 

combined with the original compositional 

style of Eugénie Rocherolle make this a 

valuable collection suitable for competitions 

and recitals. Pieces include: Desert Caravan 

• Highland Fling • Latin Nights • Rickshaw 

Ride • Russian Dance • Swingtime. 

Compiled and edited by Helen Marlais, 

the In Recital duets are definitely worth 

checking out. There are six graded levels in 

the original series and her brand new title 

is In Recital for the Advancing Pianist. 

These artistic duets are beautiful and flashy, 

ideal for recitals and competitions and are 

in a great mix of styles including traditional, 

folk songs, ragtime and classical themes. 

Lady Gaga Fugue, anyone? 

With over 42 volumes, the Hal Leonard 

Duet Play Along series is definitely worth 

checking out. With everything from Glee 

to Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Sound of Music, 

Wicked, Lennon McCartney to Les Miserables, 

there is something for everyone.

Helen Marlais’ 

Succeeding at the Piano ® 

A Method for Everyone 


Succeeding 

Overview 

at the Piano ® 

Succeeding at the Piano ® is a comprehensive method that will establish a student’s musical foundation and love 

of piano playing. Note reading, intervallic reading, rhythm, technique, theory, and musicianship are consistently 

reinforced throughout. 

• Note reading is learned through a combination of Middle C, intervallic, and multi-key approaches. 

• Rhythm is internalised through clapping, tapping, counting aloud, and speaking the lyrics. 

• Technique is integrated right into the Lesson Book. 

• Motivational music by multiple composers. 

• “Before playing” and “After playing” points develop musicianship, practice habits, and 

listening skills. 

• The CD’s are innovative and educational–students even get the opportunity to play with a 

string quartet accompaniment. 

• Students are introduced to the elements of musicality as early as the Preparatory level. 

• Reading, rhythm, technique, theory, ear training, playing by ear, music history, 

composition and engaging music are integrated throughout the curriculum. 

• The CD has both practice and performance tracks with Helen offering reminders 

and reinforcement after each piece. 

• The beautiful and engaging illustrations all have a part to play in the 

learning process. 

• Students learn by ‘Discovery Learning’ which encourages active 

engagement and promotes motivation.

Australia/New Zealand Tour Review 

Early last year, Dr. Helen Marlais toured Australia and New Zealand giving workshops on her 

exceptional new piano method, Succeeding at the Piano®. Hundreds of teachers attended and 

all were captivated and inspired by Helen’s engaging presentation on how to teach the method, 

different practice strategies she uses in her own teaching, useful tips and tricks to motivate students 

and much more. For many teachers, this was their first exposure to Succeeding at the Piano®, 

and their tremendously positive response indicates that it won’t be long before Succeeding at the 

Piano® is a piano method of choice for Australian and New Zealand piano teachers. Look out for 

Helen’s next visit in late 2013/2014! 

Now Available! 


Succeeding at the Piano ® 

Grade 3 

Grade 3 expands on the concepts introduced in earlier levels and 

teaches new ones including: New time signatures of 3/8, 6/8 and 

cut time; Compound meter; Triads and inversions; IV chord and 

I-IV-I cadence; I-IV-I-V7-I in C, G, and F Major; Syncopation; Intervals 

of a 7th and an octave; Triplets; Swing rhythm; Chromaticism; and 

The three forms of the minor scale in the key A and D. 

Creative and diverse activities keep students motivated as new 

concepts are reinforced. Counting exercises guide students to 

internalise rhythms and understand them easily. Short games such 

as matching or fill in the blank reinforce terms and symbols. All of 

these activities promote a well-rounded musician. 



Magazine 

What is Helen up 

to at the moment? 

Since returning 

from her two-week 

tour of Australia 

and New Zealand, 

Helen has been 

busy working on 

the final levels 

of Succeeding 

at the Piano. 

She presented a showcase at 

the National Music Teacher’s Convention in 

March 2012, and presented at the Alabama, 

California, Mississippi, and Delaware 

state conventions. In July last year she 

presented at the National Convention of 

Keyboard Pedagogy, and then went on a 

5 week tour through 22 cities in the US 

and Canada. She also hosted a 20th/21st 

century piano festival at Grand Valley State 

University. During that event she and her 

husband played a recital on the legendary 

Vladimir Horowitz’ piano. In early 2012, she 

presented workshops and gave master classes 

and recitals in Ohio, Florida, and Texas. The 

response to Succeeding at the Piano at all of 

these events has been delightfully positive. 

Helen continues to teach her young private 

students, but has taken a sabbatical from her 

university position, which gives her more 

time to write. 

5 things you didn’t 

know about Helen 

• Helen was born in Gorizia, Italy, and 

loves making fantastic Italian meals! Every 

September she makes homemade Italian 

tomato sauce from organic tomatoes so that 

there is great sauce to eat throughout the 

winter! 

• Helen married her husband and soul mate, 

clarinettist Arthur Campbell in 1998. They 

do not have children and Helen feels this 

may fuel her commitment to young people’s 

education. 

• One of Helen’s hobbies is gardening and 

she employs the neighbourhood children to 

water her garden when she is on tour! 

• Once when Helen and her husband were 

on concert tour in Turkey, a man in the 

Grand Bazaar offered to trade a herd of 

his camels for Helen! Fortunately Arthur 

said No! 

• In her studio, she has monthly performance 

classes. In late October the students were 

playing piano in their Halloween costumes!

AMEB Online 

Revolutionising Theory 

What products are available and how are they different? 

AMEB Online Theory courses are found at amebtheory.edu.au and teach the 

subject matter contained in the Grade 1 and Grade 2 Theory of Music syllabuses. 

AMEB Online Exams are found at amebexams.edu.au. The online exams are exactly 

the same as traditional written AMEB exams but they are completed on a computer 

over the internet. 

Does the course include the exam? 

No. The courses teach the material found in the syllabus. At the end of the course 

the student will be prepared for the exam. If the student wants to do the exam they 

need to purchase the exam in addition to the course. 

“The main reason my 

students do online exams is 

convenience. 

I don’t have to wait for exam 

schedules. The kids really 

like doing exams this way 

and it saves me time as the 

practice exams are marked 

automatically. I can check 

up on what the kids are doing 

through my teacher login and 

students can do the exam 

whenever they want to. I 

even had a student do an 

exam when she was away on 

holiday at a friend’s house!” 

Jennifer Newcomb, piano 

teacher and examiner 

Do I have to get both? 

No. Students can do the courses and exams separately or do the course and follow 

it with an exam. 

Do I need to do the online course if I just want to do the exam? 

No. Students may learn theory at school or with a private teacher or be self taught. 

Students can prepare for an exam in whatever way suits them. Students can do an 

online exam without completing an online course 

Do students get certificates? 

Yes. Students who successfully complete online theory exams receive their 

certificates in the mail. Certificates for online exams are identical to those for written 

exams completed on paper. 

How do I get started? 

Go to amebtheory.edu.au or amebexams.edu.au and look at the tutorials and 

practice examples. 

Where do I go for help? 

If you want to know how to purchase an online courses and exams or need help 

with the sites please phone AMEB on 1300 725 709 or email office@ameb.edu.au. 

“I am really happy 

with online theory exams for my 

students. Students like to use 

technology and we don’t have 

to go into the city to do the 

exams. A student came and 

told me today that she had 

done three practice exams 

over the weekend – she would 

never talk about a written test 

like that.” 

Rowena James, Flute and theory 

teacher, Ormiston College 

Do your Theory of Music, 

Musicianship or Music 

Craft exam online. 

AMEB written exams 

are now online at 

www.amebexams.edu.au 

flexible | convenient | immediate results | online tutorials | practice exams



Magazine 

Christopher 


Piano Festivals 

Australia & New Zealand 

September/October 2012 

Who is Christopher Norton? 

London based composer, arranger, educationalist and producer Christopher Norton is universally regarded 

as the leader in his field. 

World-famous for the Microjazz series, Christopher’s other award-winning titles include the Concert 

Collections of original solo piano repertoire; the Essential Guides to pop styles; and the Piano Preludes. 

Christopher’s publications are represented on the AMEB, ANZCA, NZMEB and other examination syllabi 

widely used in Australia and New Zealand. 

What is a Christopher Norton piano Festival? 

Over a 2 day period, Christopher Norton works with groups of students (Improvisation Workshops) and 

individuals (Master-classes). 

At the end of the second day, there is a Gala Concert at which most of the students perform – either solo, 

duetting with the composer or in their improvisation groups. 

Quotes from recent organisers of Christopher Norton Piano Festivals: 

The Christopher Norton Event was tremendous! 

Christopher taught the students in a calm yet 

innovative way. The closing concert was sold out 

and was a wonderful opportunity for the many 

students who performed. I’ve rarely seen such 

happy and confident young performers! Taking 

into account the $250 donation that the FMTA 

had pledged to the event, the Norton weekend 

earned approx. $1070 for our general fund! 

Margaret MacDonald, 

Fredericton Music Teachers Association, Canada 

It turns out Christopher Norton is not just a 

talented and prolific composer, he is truly a 

master teacher! From our youngest five-year-old 

to our most advanced adult, Mr. Norton made 

everyone feel at ease while achieving incredible 

results in their playing. I watched in awe as our 

students responded to telling observations 

about technique and musicality. One mother 

said the difference in her child’s playing was 

like “removing a screen” after hearing years of 

“timid” playing from her daughter. The improv 

camp was wonderful and we hope Mr. Norton 

will come and visit again! 

Leslie Gereghty, 

Recreational Music Center, San Diego, USA 

How to Book a Festival? 

If you are interested in running a Christopher Norton Piano Festival in your city or town, or if you would like to 

know how your students could participate in one, please contact Gina at Hal Leonard Australia. 

Contact: Gina Wake 

Email: gwake@halleonard.com.au Ph: 0419 896 832

Urtext... 

what’s it all about? 

What does Urtext mean? 

An Urtext edition of a work of classical music is a printed version intended to 

reproduce the original intention of the composer as exactly as possible, without 

any added or changed material. 

Why choose Urtext? 

Pianists usually choose an urtext edition when they want to sight an authoritative 

version of the text. 

The History of Henle 

The diplomat, politician and industrial magnate Günter Henle (1899-1979) 

lit upon the right idea at the right time. On 20 October 1948 he founded his 

“publishing house for Urtext editions”. An accomplished pianist himself, he 

realised that there were scarcely any editions that accurately reproduced the 

composer’s musical text. Most editions were marred by unnecessary and often 

incorrect additions from later editors and arrangers. Soon after founding 

the publishing house, the great artists of the time began to shower him with 

enthusiastic praise and recognition. For together with a small team of specialists, 

Günter Henle devoted no less care to the outward appearance of his Urtext 

editions than to their musicological contents. 

Each Henle edition has to fulfil extremely high standards: 

• authoritative musical text 

• markings for practical use 

• superb engraving 

• preface in three languages (German, English, French); 

• critical commentary in at least two languages (German, English, generally 

also French); 

• durability (paper, binding). 

Also, look out for these great 

Peters Urtext editions in-store: 

INTRODUCING A BRAND NEW SERIES 

OF POPULAR PIANO BOOKS 

GRADED TO EXAMINATION STANDARDS! 

GRADE 2, GRADE 3 AND GRADE 4 

Each book comprises 10 pieces covering 5 styles: 

Well known pop songs • Classical favourites 

Film/TV • Jazz/Blues • Traditional 

Look out for Volume 1 in 

each grade out soon! 

Use them as extra list works or as fun pieces to play, confident 

that the educational value correlates to the standard of AMEB 

and other piano exams.A great way to motivate your students!



Magazine 

want more 

than notes 

on a page? 

musical gifts 

available from 

your favourite music retailer 

1401 Keyboard pencil | 5612 Latte Mug | 48600 Confetti Notes | SOAP 1605 | Bentcils 

5002 Umbrella | 14550 Hologram spiral notebooks | 4407 Writing tablets Chopin Liszt | 2329 Tote Bags

Contact your favourite music retailer for all titles listed and more! 

Hal Leonard Australia ABN:13 085 333 713 • 4 Lentara Court, Cheltenham VIC 3192 • P: +61 3 9585 3300 F: +61 3 9585 3399 • australianpiano@halleonard.com.au 

PRINTED IN AUSTRALIA. NOT FOR SALE. 

© 2012 Hal Leonard Australia

Piano teaching to - Hal Leonard Australia

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?