music for piano
To view the master list of piano music in the store, go here. Piano music ordered from this section can be provided in plastic comb binding or in 3-hole punched pages for use in a 3-ring binder. Also, .pdf’s for reading on an iPad can be provided on request for any score or part in addition to the hard copy at no additional cost. If you would like to hear a complete recording to help consider a piece, write to me at newertunes@hotmail.com.
Everything listed on this page is for piano alone. The piano is of course also included in many things in other categories, especially strings chamber music, vocal music, and flute music.
solo piano
Fiddlins’ (2015) - Sonata for Piano on Appalachian fiddle tunes
$20 for score and demo; order here. The collection and documentation of Appalachian tunes began in earnest in the early 20th century, in sync with the invention of sound recording and the flowering of ethnomusicology. These paraphrases strive to be worthy recital pieces that also capture the verve, virtuosity, and tenderness of the fiddle and banjo in their traditional renderings of these classic melodies. Details and excerpts here; complete program notes here.
jazzy solo piano
Jack & Jill Get Hip (1990)
An arrangement of the famous nursery rhyme set in jazz harmony and swing rhythms. Commercially available from Manduca Music here; excerpt here.
Three Scats (1988)
These are etude/character pieces in jazz styles. The titles are the syllables that I imagine a jazz vocalist might improvise for the opening motives; each piece goes on to obsess with that motive. Includes a latin, a ballad, and a swing. The set is commercially available from Manduca Music here; details and excerpts here.
Nursery Riffs (1984)
Jazz arrangements of traditional nursery rhymes; advanced intermediate. Originally published by Kjos, now out of print. I re-purchased the copyright, so you can buy it home-photocopied from me - $8. Excerpts here.
Santamajazz (1981)
My first publication. Several traditional Christmas tunes in various jazz styles; advanced intermediate, no improvisation required. Commercially available here, excerpts here.
Jon playing in And Still I Rise, January 2017
piano 4 hands, two pianos
Big Snit Boogie, for Piano 4 Hands (2012)
Advanced; $5 for score and demo. This is a comic theater piece that involves an on-stage rivalry between the two pianists; played in swing rhythm. Various pauses in the music invite stage antics. You can watch an amusing performance here. Details and excerpt here.
Jazz Suite for Two (1990), for Piano, 4 Hands
Five intermediate level pieces in jazz style for 4 hands at one piano; sort of a Jazzbag for 4 hands. Commercially available from Manduca Music here; excerpts here.
The Ant Hill, for Two Pianos (1983)
Advanced intermediate; commercially available from Manduca Music here. March-like rhythms suggest the disciplined organization and industry of the ants, albeit with occasional mishaps. Excerpt here.
Two by Four, for Two Pianos, (1983)
Professional level. My last serialized composition, with a complex matrix of interrelationships governing the pitch and rhythm; the details of that are here. The four movements are played without pause, totalling 12-13 minutes. Includes some inside-the-piano playing. $10 for two copies. Details & excerpts here.
teaching music for piano
I started teaching piano to beginners and intermediate level players right out of undergraduate school, and started writing for students at the same time. I wrote what I thought was needed, but difficult to come by at the time - jazz and modern styles within reach of less advanced players. In particular, I saw a need for easier jazz arrangements that do not require improvisation. The truth is that things in this “teaching music” category overlap somewhat with the jazzy things in the previous categories, but I am listing the easiest music here.
Mind Your Modes (2024)
Seven brief character pieces, designed for intermediate level pianists, each based exclusively on one of the seven diatonic modes. In the process of learning them – it is hoped – the player will learn a little of theory behind the mode and the ear will pick up a bit of its characteristic sound. Details and excerpts here.
Jazzmatazz (1988)
Originally published in 1990 by Belwin Mills, now out of print and only available home-photo-copied from me, $8. 8 pieces in various jazz styles, intermediate, with no improvisation required. Some require swing rhythms and there is an intro explaining how to approach swing playing. This collection is somewhat similar to Jazzbag. Excerpts here.
Cosmic Encounters (1984) - Twelve Interplanetary Etudes on the Intervals for Intermediate Terrestrial Piano
Beginning with “Countdown,” the launch of a manned spacecraft, each of the 12 pieces takes the player further along the journey from Earth to the Titan, the mysterious giant moon of Saturn. As each piece increases the distance from Earth, the interval emphasized in the music gets larger: “Countdown” is all about minor 2nds, “Weightless” obsesses with major 2nds, and so on, concluding with “Titan,” which uses all 12 intervals about equally with both hands playing in octaves. Each piece comes with a page of theory drills in which the student relates the interval in question to the piece. Of the several things I have done for piano students, this is the one of which I am most proud. And yes, I am a fan of space exploration. Commercially available from Manduca Music here. Details & Excerpts here.
Jazzbag (1980)
20 short pieces in a wide variety of jazz styles; intermediate, no improvisation required. Some pieces in swing rhythm; an introduction offers suggestions about how to play in swing. Pieces are sequenced more or less in order of increasing difficulty. Commercially available here, samples here.