Compositions for piano

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 Intermediate

I’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.

On a Mid-May Morning
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My Favourite Armchair

Classical Beginner

A short piece about Grade 1 standard.

My Favourite Armchair
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Overdrive

Jazzy Beginner

A 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.

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First Dance

Jazzy Intermediate/Advanced

From ‘A Wedding Album’, a commissioned set of pieces for piano.

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Blues for Roger

Jazzy Beginner/Intermediate

A piece in Blues style, approx. ABRSM Grade 3 standard. The left hand part utilises both walking and barrelhouse bass lines.

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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 Intermediate

Based 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.

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Three Little Dogs

Jazzy Beginner/Intermediate

Herbie 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!

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Waltz in D minor

Classical Intermediate

Back 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…

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An Evening at the Restaurant

Classical Beginner

A 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.

An Evening at the Restaurant
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