I have been composing since age 13. With this experience I started writing my own teaching pieces after years of using various tutors.
A young student recently won her festival class playing a piece which I wrote especially to show off her fascination with the sustain pedal.
Enjoy and download
A selection of my scores for different styles and playing abilities is available below to play and download as PDFs. Filter as required by playing level.
On a Mid-May Morning
Classical IntermediateI’ve always loved the music of the English Pastoral School. One cold, February evening in my rented room in Walthamstow, East London back in 1992, I sat down at my piano. I don’t where it came from, but out came the opening phrase. It seemed as though the piece had already been written, and I just needed to find the notes.
My Favourite Armchair
Classical BeginnerA short piece about Grade 1 standard.
Overdrive
Jazzy BeginnerA short easy piece for piano in rock style. Works really well with a rock-style drum backing at 120 bpm. But start slower at first. 80 or 90 bpm will be fine to start with.
First Dance
Jazzy Intermediate/AdvancedFrom ‘A Wedding Album’, a commissioned set of pieces for piano.
Blues for Roger
Jazzy Beginner/IntermediateA piece in Blues style, approx. ABRSM Grade 3 standard. The left hand part utilises both walking and barrelhouse bass lines.
Here I can indulge with humour, show parents what I do away from the lessons and serve as a resource for other teachers.
The Coolest Cat
Jazzy IntermediateBased on 2 chords, (Cm7 and F7), a pianist lays down the groove quietly while a horn (maybe a trumpet) improvises one and 2-bar phrases. The two instruments play as one, occasionally (bars 21-22 and 37 to the end), but otherwise their sound is different. The contrast between ‘f’ and ‘p’ is therefore important.
Three Little Dogs
Jazzy Beginner/IntermediateHerbie Hancock uses the same bass-line in his song ‘Chameleon’. I would recommend learning to play the song with the simpler of the 2 left hand parts first. Find a Reggae drum backing at 70 or 80 bpm on YouTube to play along with. Once you’ve nailed that, try the alternative left hand part. It’s quite a bit harder but a lot of fun!
Waltz in D minor
Classical IntermediateBack in 2013 I was talking with a student about the importance of the awareness of dissonance in music, and how treating it with care can make our playing more musical and expressive. Later, I wondered if I could write a piece that included either a suspension or an accented dissonance in every bar. This was the result…
An Evening at the Restaurant
Classical BeginnerA short suite of easy pieces for beginners. Thinking about the different aspects of going out for a meal was a lot of fun. I remembered many entertaining trips to different restaurants with various friends throughout my life and attempted to translate them into music.
