It's a great time to be a piano teacher! So many resources on the internet... and so much new music being written by contemporary composers for developing students. Join me each Monday when I'll share with you a piece or two from the contemporary repertoire. From beginner level to advanced, from old favorites to new discoveries, you and your students are certain to be inspired by the music featured on the Piano Pedagogy Playlist.
This week, I’m taking a little three-act adventure at the piano with music from Jason Sifford’s Beware the Jabberwock, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s poem “Jabberwocky” from Through the Looking-Glass.
I begin in the serene landscape of “In the Wabe,” venture into the woods for “Whiffling Through the Tulgey Wood,” and return home for the joyful celebration of “O Frabjous Day!” Along the way, I play each piece, explore its connection to the poem, and discuss some of the musical details that make this collection rewarding to teach and play- from Alberti bass to alternating arpeggios to chromatic patterns that become easier once students spot how they work.
There’s a little storytelling, a little music theory, and just enough Carroll-inspired nonsense to keep things suitably frabjous.
All three pieces are current National Federation of Music Clubs Festival Selections and are available individually as digital downloads.
In the Wabe (from Beware the Jabberwock) Jason Sifford [Intermediate] - https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/se/ID_No/410394/Product.aspx
Whiffling Through the Tulgey Wood (from Beware the Jabberwock) Jason Sifford [Intermediate] - https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/se/ID_No/410392/Product.aspx
O Frabjous Day! (from Beware the Jabberwock) Jason Sifford [Intermediate] - https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/se/ID_No/410387/Product.aspx
5 Oct 2026
Ep. 52- Modulations of Seasons & Time
This week, I continue our journey through Chris Caine’s A Year in Twelve Keys with October- Modulations of Seasons and Time, a calm, expansive piece whose shifting pulse rewards careful counting with a wonderfully natural flow.
Then, Wendy Stevens’s Autumn’s Awakening offers an autumn-inspired companion at the early intermediate level. Cascading hand-crossing arpeggios give way to a yearning melody and lush harmonies, creating an expressive sound that feels bigger than its difficulty might suggest.
Alongside performances of both pieces, I discuss their teaching possibilities and reflect on how contemporary repertoire gives students room to find their own interpretations, make musical discoveries, and become explorers at the piano.
Two pieces at very different levels, each finding something beautiful in the changing seasons.
October (from A Year in Twelve Keys) Chris Caine [Advanced] - https://store.trinitycollege.com/discount/AWM824NEUNKM5?redirect=/collections/a-year-in-twelve-keys-diatonic-studies-for-piano/products/a-year-in-twelve-keys-diatonic-studies-for-piano&aff=182
Autumn's Awakening Wendy Stevens [Early Intermediate] - https://composecreate.com/product/autumns-awakening/
28 Sept 2026
Ep . 51- Spooky Enough, (not just) for October
This week’s episode is a Halloween episode. Sort of. The three pieces I play don’t involve costumes or trick-or-treating, but they each feel right at home in October- and they’ll still be worth playing in November.
Jennifer Eklund’s Dark Waters is a haunting waltz with some satisfying challenges for intermediate students. Ben Crosland’s Mary Had a Scary Lamb takes some familiar childhood sounds to a wonderfully creepy place. And Angeline Bell’s The Spider offers a more graceful look at a creature I usually prefer to admire from a distance.
Dark Waters Jennifer Eklund [Intermediate] - https://pianopronto.com/sheet-music/piano-solos/dark-waters/
Mary Had a Scary Lamb (from Easy Beans) Ben Crosland [Late Elementary] - https://www.musica-ferrum.com/books/easy-beans-single-license/
The Spider (from My Quirky Notebook) Angeline Bell [Late Intermediate] - https://www.musica-ferrum.com/books/my-quirky-notebook/
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