News & Views Saturday, May 25, 2013

Young Wolfgang A. Mozart was already composing keyboard music by the age of seven.  The Sonatas Vol. 1 (Wunderkind) were published by the end of February 1764 in Salzburg, when Wolfgang was eight years old.  Four sonatas were included: KV 6 and 7,  (called Opus 1 by the publisher) and KV 8 and 9, (called Opus 2 by the publisher).  The Sonatas Vol. 2 contains “The London Sonatas”, KV. 10-15, published as “Opus 3″  in March of 1765.  Sonatas Vol. 3 contains KV 26-31, written while the family was in The Hague, published in April of 1766 as “Opus 4″.  Note: “Wunderkind” means “wonder child”,  apt for a child prodigy!   These collections are on an early intermediate to intermediate level. The early sonatas are delightful to play.  It is interesting to note the progress of young Mozart’s maturity from Sonatas Vol. 1 to Sonatas Vol. 3.  Any one of these collections is a worthy addition to a pianist’s library.  If you would like to know more about these collections or other piano solo music, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website, www.stantons.com. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

What is the Nashville Number System?   It is probably the easiest, fastest method to transpose keys for people who play chords.  For session players and jammers, it is the way to change keys instantly.  Duck’s Deluxe explains and illustrates the Nashville Number System with a dial that shows the guitar chords and basic progressions.  If you don’t play guitar, it doesn’t matter.  All you have to do is use the chords for your own instrument and follow the chord progressions.  This dial is indispensable for learning the Nashville number system.  It’s a great time saver for those who work with vocalists, and need to change keys on the spot! For more information about this or other helpful guides for playing guitar, call us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, write us at keyboard@stantons.com, or check out our website at www.stantons.com.  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs.

Canadian composer Mychael Danna  won Best Original Score for Life of Pi, the movie.  The story of a 16 year old boy lost at sea with a Bengal tiger for 227 days was  written by Yann Martel, and adapted for a  movie directed by Ang Lee.  The piece “Pondicherry” is about the town that Pi came from.  By the sound of it, it seems that Pi was happy there.  “First Night, First Day” has plenty of tension in it, pretty, but surreal, with the occasional clash of seconds and sevenths.  If you’ve seen the movie, you know where that tension comes from!  A total of fifteen pieces are in this collection of sheet music.  The final question for this story seems to be, “Which Story Do You Prefer?”, which is the next to last piece in this collection. So, which story do you prefer?  For more information about this collection of movie music or others, call  us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website, www.stantons.com  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

The word “classic” tends to mean an art form that is so good  that it will be enjoyed for generations.  The “British Piano Sampler“  includes 12 “classic” works by 8 composers, all from the “Modern” era.  (20th and 21st  century time period.)  Alec Rowley is represented by his collection, “Old English Worthies”, a set of ten easy pieces by other English composers.  Arthur Benjamin‘s  ”Jamaican Rhumba” simply has to be included.  Karl Jenkins‘  ”Madog”  from 2009 is in this collection. For those who love  modern piano compositions, or for those who wish to sample the modern repertoire, this is a great collection.  For more information, call us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or look at our website, www.stantons.com.  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music  needs!

James Reese Europe was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1880.  Although he only lived to age 39, he became an accomplished orchestra conductor, band leader, and a successful composer of popular songs, marches, and dance music.  He was a key figure in the evolution of orchestral ragtime into jazz.  Some of Europe’s works are still performed today by ragtime pianists and military bands.  Following a concert at Carnegie Hall on March 11, 1914,  the New York “Evening Post” described Europe as “one of the most remarkable of men, not only of his race, but in the music world of this country.”

James Reese Europe was an effective champion of African-American musicians and performers in all idioms, and helped to gain acceptance for them in the USA and abroad.  This collection of sheet music, “The Music of James Reese Europe“, is important because the works within it show Europe’s skill, imagination and versatility in his composing.  It is a valuable resource for early pop, ragtime and dance music. For more information about this or other collections of music, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website at www.stantons.com. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Downton Abbey aired in September of 2010 in the United Kingdom. It  aired in the United States only a few months later  in January of 2011.  By the third season, it hasbecome one of the most widely watched television series in the world.  The music played in the series finally made it  “across the pond”  in March of 2013.

Published by Hal Leonard in two levels  of piano sheet music, the original music by John Lunn is available in both intermediate/advanced level and easy level.  If you love hearing the music, you’ll love playing it.  For more information about this or other piano music from TV or films, please call us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com or visit our website at www.stantons.com.  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs.

Does your youngster get excited about hearing music, or “reading” along with you?  Here are four picture books,  each including a CD that goes along with the book.  The books have heavy card stock pages with colorful illustrations.  Each page has a corresponding song on its CD.  The players in the  jazz band recording are some of New York City’s hottest young jazz players.

“Duck Ellington Swings Through the Zoo” is about Duck going to the zoo to relieve the boredom of the zoo animals with his jazz piano.  Things certainly liven up!  “Charlie Bird Counts to the Beat” tells the story of Charlie Bird playing his sax and counting up to ten.  Three Happy Hippos playing harmonicas never sounded so good!  “Mingus Mouse Plays Christmastime Jazz” is about Mingus Mouse, who, upon arriving at home for Christmas, realizes he hasn’t brought a present for his mom.  After a little brainstorming, he solves the problem.  (Sorry. You have to read the book.)

In “Nursery Rhyme Jazz“, we meet the main jazz characters, which include Ella the Elephant and a few more we haven’t mentioned, yet.  You have never heard nursery rhymes quite like this!  Delight your little one(s) with one or more of these wonderful books.  For more information about these, or other children’s books or songbooks, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website, www.stantons.com.  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Many of us are familiar with the soprano ukulele.  Did you know that there are also concert, tenor, baritione and bass ukuleles?  Wow! A whole ukulele family!  A good book to learn to play the soprano and concert ukuleles is “Jumpin’ Jim’s Ukulele Tips ‘n’ Tunes” by Jim Beloff.  This book teaches how to tune the uke, how to play the chords, and has 29 songs. The tenor uke’s top string is tuned  to “G” an octave below the soprano uke’s “G”, otherwise, the strings are the same, so the same chords can be played on the tenor as on the soprano or concert ukes. The sound is different because of the lower string, but the chord fingerings stay the same.

“The Low G String Tuning Ukulele” by Ron Middlebrook includes a CD and is helpful for learning  the tenor uke.  The baritone ukulele is tuned like the 4 highest strings of the guitar: E, B, G, D.  Hal Leonard’s “Baritone Ukulele Book 1” includes a CD, and has a chord chart in the back of the book.  The baritone ukulele  was introduced about 1949-1950.  Now there is the bass ukulele, the U-Bass, from Kala, new in 2009.  Mel Bay has a book that includes a CD, “Ukulele Bass Manual” .  The UBass is tuned to standard bass tuning: E-A-D-G.  It is surprising how big a sound this  amplified 21″ instrument can produce!

For more information about ukulele books or others, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our sheet music website.

Dan Levenson is a Southern Appalachian native who has grown up with the music of that region.  He is a master teacher and performer on both fiddle and clawhammer banjo.  In “Fiddle from Scratch“, Dan begins at the very beginning: how to tune , how to hold the fiddle, how to use the bow.  Real fiddle tunes are used to teach, including “Spotted Pony”,  ”Arkansas Traveler”, “Soldier’s Joy”, and more.   Two CDs are included.  They include slow and normal speed recordings for all the exercises and fiddle tunes.  A lot of information and music is presented in a fun and understandable manner. There is a section on jam session etiquette that will be very helpful once you feel confident enough to play in a group.  If you want to learn fiddle or if you want to learn more about how to play, this is a great book.   For more information on this fiddle book or others, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website, www.stantons.com. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs.

The Bluegrass Songbook is full of 51 classic Bluegrass songs, from “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” (Beverly Hillbillies theme), to “The Wabash Cannonball“.  The words, piano part, and guitar chords are all there for each song in this book of sheet music. The lovely song, “The Long Black Veil”  is included, as is the encouraging song “Keep On the Sunny Side“.   This is  a great songbook for a singalong or jam session. For more information about this collection of Bluegrass songs or others, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website.  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

This group of books from Hal Leonard’s Essential Elements Guitar Ensembles is perfect for your guitar class, beginning at the mid-beginner level, and going up to the mid intermediate level. As long as all three parts are covered, any number of players can participate. These are great fun if you have 2 more guitar buddies who want to play ensembles, too.

Each book includes the score with all three parts, and has 14-15 songs per book.  Each book of sheet music costs $9.99, so each trio costs only sixty- six cents!  There is a melody part, a harmony part, and a bass line written for the regular six string guitar.  There are several styles of music to choose from:  pop, rock, jazz, and even Disney!

If you would like to know more about these or any other sheet music we have, feel free to contact us at 1-800.42-MUSIC or at keyboard@stantons.com.

With an initial print run of 200,000 copies, no one knew the success on the horizon for Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.  The initial title in the trilogy has sold over 1 million copies, been translated into 26 languages with publishing rights secured in 38 territories, and has resulted in a 2012 feature film co-written and co-directed by Collins herself.  The books and movies are popular across all age groups, and there are several arrangements perfect for spring concert programming featuring James Newton Howard’s haunting score and soundtrack hits by popular crossover artist Taylor Swift.

Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!
                                                                                                                                               

Film Score Arrangements

Music from The Hunger Games
James Newton Howard, arr. Michael Brown
Grade 2
The Hunger Games has been popular with teens, tweens, and adults, and themes from James Newton Howard’s hauntingly beautiful film score have been arranged for developing band. Legato phrasing, articulation, dynamics, expression, some 16th note patterns, and a memorable theme make this powerful work great for teaching while keeping ranges accessible. With many interesting sounds and textures, film scores are fun to play, and provide great entry points into symphonic music.

Soundtrack Highlights from The Hunger Games
James Newton Howard, arr. Jay Bocook
Grade 3
The film score of James Newton Howard effectively captures the mood and drama of the blockbuster movie The Hunger Games. In this masterful adaptation for band, Jay Bocook showcases the highlights from the score including a distinctive treatment of the haunting Mockingjay call.
                                                                                                                                               

Hit Songs from the Soundtrack

Eyes Open
arr. James Kazik
Grade 2
From singing superstar Taylor Swift comes this hit song from the blockbuster movie The Hunger Games. This version for young players stays true to the original light rock style and will go together quickly with limited rehearsal.

Safe & Sound
arr. James Kazik
Grade 2
Featured on the soundtrack to The Hunger Games, Safe & Sound is a mysterious, haunting hit song recorded by Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars.
                                                                                                                                               

“The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey“, which was released in December of 2012, is still playing in some theaters around town.  The music, composed by Howard Shore, is still playing on CD players in living rooms around town.  Some of us are still sort of humming parts of “Misty Mountains” or “Song of the Lonely Mountain“, the music for both written by a team; Finn, Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick.  This movie, the first of three parts, is based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s book, which he wrote in 1937.  Obviously, the tale of Bilbo Baggins and friends is an enduring one.  This new music, composed to help tell an old tale, will endure, as well.  “Misty Mountains”, a poem written by Tolkien for the book, is given melody for perhaps the first time.  “An Unexpected Party” is properly bright and merry.  “Dreaming of Bag End” sounds so longing, just like feeling homesick.  These and other pieces from the movie have been written on three levels; intermediate to advanced, easy, and big note (just one step easier than “easy”).  Now is the time to get these lovely melodies under your fingers!  For more information about these books of movie sheet music, or other movie selections, please call 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or check out our website at www.stantons.com

Stay tuned for “The Desolation of Smaug”. ( Due out in December of 2013.) We saw Smaug open one eye after the thrush “knocked three times.” What musical treats will there be for us in the next installment?  Smaug has to have his own theme!  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Sometimes there is just not enough time to do everything you want to do.  Taking music lessons can be one of those things.  “You Can Teach Yourself Classic Guitar” is a good book to use to help you learn a new style of guitar playing.   Fingerpicking in classical style is covered; rhythms, scales,  and arpeggios are also covered.  The songs and exercises is this book were written for the classical guitar by players and composers such as Fernando Sor, Carulli, and Carcassi.   A second book , “Fifty Easy Classical Guitar Pieces” , is a collection of beginning classical guitar pieces that were written by those same composers, plus a few more.  A CD is included with this book, which can be helpful in deciding the tempo to play a piece at, or checking  what some rhythms should sound like.  For more information about these or other classical guitar books, call 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website at www.stantons.com.

 ”Women Composers in History” is a collection of piano works by women who were, and sometimes still are, influential in the world of piano music.  There are more female composers of piano music than we may think.  This collection of piano pieces presents works by eight women composers, all born in the nineteenth century.  All of the women began piano lessons at around four years of age, and began composing at a young age, between four and nine years old. All these women continued to be active in music for a lifetime. Fanny Mendelssohn wrote her own wedding music the night she was engaged.  Amy Beach had to wait until she was a widow before she could pursue her music career on a public level. Clara Schumann held the position of principal piano teacher of the Frankfurt Hochschen Conservatory from 1878-1892. Teresa Carreno played for Abraham Lincoln at the White House when she was only ten years old.  She went on to become a piano teacher, and  Edward MacDowell was one of her students.  A one paragraph biography is given for each composer.  As you read these short biographies, it will amaze you how intertwined the lives of the pianists and composers were.

As musicians, we get started early.  So March first isn’t too early to get ready for Saint Patrick’s Day on the 17th.  One book we have to offer is for easy piano, “Ireland’s Best Loved Songs and Ballads“.  It has twenty Irish songs in it, including the perrenial favorite  ”Danny Boy”.  A book in piano/vocal/guitar format is  ”Irish Ballads“, fifty-five songs including “Danny Boy”, “Carrickfergus”,  and   “The Minstrel Boy” .  “The Irish Songbook“  is a collection of seventy-five songs, collected and made popular by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, a well-known Irish band.  It includes the lovely  song “Eileen Aroon”, the silly song “Mr. Moses Ri-Tooral-i-ay” , the sailor’s song  ”Paddy Doyle’s Boots” , the war  protest song “The Lowlands of Holland”, love songs, and many more.  For more information on these Irish song books or other songbooks you may be interested in, call 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website at www.stantons.com