Pianissimo-Publishing

Toy Box - Very First Pieces For Piano contains 26 simple yet impressive Piano songs composed by experienced teacher June Armstrong. This book is ideal for a beginner to put theory into practice with a wide variety of pieces in a number of styles.Each title in this songbook is evocative of the way the piece is meant to be played, with songs like Ballerina, Hula Hoop and Kaleidoscope suiting the instructions that Armstrong has provided like ?Daintily? and ?Steadily?. Unique touches like this make Toy Box perfect for a young child who is working their way towards grade one standard, as the composer has skilfully attempted to represent the nature of various toys through the medium of music. This will help a young musician to learn the basic concepts of musical theory in a fun and familiar context, with songs like Jumbo and Slinky sure to entertain all who are within earshot through humour and musicality. If you would like to listen to audio recordings of all the songs included in Toy Box, they are all available to download free of charge from the author's website.What sets this songbook apart from other beginner books is the personality and dedication that June Armstrong brings to her compositions, noting that her pieces are all inspired by her own Piano students and giving detailed and informative notes for each song at the beginning of the book. For the song Dinosaur, Armstrong writes that ?You will want to create a very scary atmosphere?The right hand note heads are strange bird calls in the forest. The left hand Ds, Es and Fs are the dinosaur??. The care that has been put into creating this sheet music shows that Armstrong is acutely aware of the best way for students to learn, and that she truly wants students to learn effectively, but in a fun and light-hearted way.Each song in Toy Box occupies a single page making it easy for a player to track their progress and learning, while there are additional helpful bits of information peppered throughout to clarify anything that may be unfamiliar to the student. Armstrong is keen on developing a student's ear for tone and atmosphere, so these extra notes not only reinforce how to play the piece physically, but also how to include emotion and feeling in music, for example how to conjure imagery like that of Blowing Bubbles. The songbook will be perfect for a child who already understands basic musical terms, will be able to play in a few keys other than C Major and is able to play in simple time signatures. As a first step into new compositions, Toy Box will introduce new concepts as well as reinforce what a student is already accustomed to, nevertheless, Armstrong's message is clear - ?Have fun!?. / Piano

The Nine Glens Of Antrim - Nine Easy Pieces For Piano is a songbook featuring nine distinctly Irish-themed original compositions by renowned composer and teacher June Armstrong for grades two to four standard, designed to teach and reinforce technique and stylistic interpretation.Composer June Armstrong has taken the glens of County Antrim in Ireland as the inspiration for nine new Piano pieces that attempt to capture the atmosphere of the varied landscape. From the astonishing monuments of caves and valleys to calmer, more tranquil waterfalls and rivers, Armstrong has successfully composed pieces to help a student imagine and evoke the natural beauty of a landscape through the musical medium. The concept that Armstrong has tried to incorporate is that the expressiveness of the Piano as an instrument is something that students should be familiar with, and so this book will teach you how to create atmosphere while using the musical theory you are familiar with.One of the most impressive things about The Nine Glens Of Antrim is the hard work that the composer has put into creating these pieces as well as incorporating Irish music and the Irish landscape. At the beginning of the songbook Armstrong goes into great detail about what each piece symbolises, as well as a small amount of Irish history and legend. She intertwines this with detailed playing instructions, making learning entertaining and informative as well as inspiring. In the notes for the piece titled ?Layd Church?, the student is told that?A small stream runs along the side of the church, the sound of which, together with birdsong, is the only music you will hear there now. If you wish to play this successfully, you will need to listen to birds singing!?It is this personality and friendly tone that makes learning from The Nine Glens Of Antrim a joy.The songs themselves are subtle, pretty and precisely composed, perfect for a student who already has a good grasp of playing in a variety of keys, at different tempos and in alternative time signatures. Armstrong also leaves certain expressive elements up to the performer, so the flexibility would suit a student who is keen to bring some character and feeling to the piece. Each song represents a different challenge, and attempts to introduce a novel style and technique, so the use of the natural beauty of a landscape provides an anchor for students to connect the theory with the practice. To hear a recording of each track free of charge, just head to the composer's own website, where you can also view photographs symbolising each song to inspire you to begin your learning of The Nine Glens of Antrim today. / Piano

June Armstrong's songbook The Girona Suite - Eight Evocations For Piano features eight original and challenging compositions for grades five to seven standard, all inspired by the shipwreck of the Spanish galleas, the Girona.The pieces included in this songbook were all composed specifically for this collection by revered pianist and teacher June Armstrong. Her many years of experience in teaching have allowed her to craft compositions both subtle and powerful that stretch the ability of students while giving them an engaging story on which to base their expression and feeling when playing. Armstrong is an advocate of focusing learning on atmosphere and tonal awareness, which, when combined with the necessary techniques and theory, makes this songbook a learning tool that is theoretically sound and musically enticing.From the first page, the composer has shown her commitment to creating pieces specifically for students learning the Piano, as she writes of how many people, including former students, have inspired her. She then writes in detail about the historical context of the theme of the work, before giving more practical advice on the music itself and how to go about playing it. The friendly and warm approach that Armstrong brings to presenting her suite makes it more than a simple songbook, it becomes a personal journey, where the composer herself guides you through the characters and settings that the music has been composed to evoke. As well as presenting challenging and entertaining pieces, Armstrong's work serves as a fantastic introduction into how major and minor keys can be manipulated to different ends, and how motifs can be used together with a theme. Armstrong writes:?The final piece, Sarabande for the Lost Souls returns to the desolation of Eb minor, closing with a final statement of the No Tengo theme.?The songs in The Girona Suite are designed to cultivate a student's ability to play in keys containing more than three flats or sharps, as well as a number of different time signatures and with varying degrees of expression. This songbook would be ideal for a student of any age who is unafraid to experiment with evoking feeling and emotion in their playing, while also learning and practicing numerous techniques in an appealing and informative context. If you would like to listen to any of the songs that are listed below, these can be heard free of charge on the composer's website. / Piano

June Armstrong's Puffin Island contains eleven miniatures for solo Piano, inspired by the Irish island of Rathlin.'Rathlin is an island lying off the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, where puffins come to breed annually and can be seen from May to August. The island is remote and beautiful and is home to much wild life. Our day on 'Puffin Island' starts with a breezy trip from the mainland on the ferry, arriving in the early morning mist. We see gannets, hares, seals, puffins and curlews. There are sea anemones in the rock pools and waves breaking on the beach. After an evening of Irish traditional music, the sun sets peacefully in the west.' - June ArmstrongThe pieces in this collection are suitable for pianists at a grade 1-3 standard. / Piano

June Armstrong's Causeway Coast Fantasy contains five fantasies for solo Piano which explore the beauty and mystery of the coastal landscape.This collection features the pieces Red Sails At Sunset, Mussenden Temple At Sunrise, Rathlin Island, The Pipes Of Finn and Bendhu, all of which are suitable for players at an intermediate-advanced level. / Piano

June Armstrong’s songbook The Girona Suite Eight Evocations For Piano features eight original and challenging compositions for grades five to seven standard all inspired by the shipwreck of the Spanish galleas the Girona.The pieces included in this songbook were all composed specifically for this collection by revered pianist and teacher June Armstrong. Her many years of experience in teaching have allowed her to craft compositions both subtle and powerful that stretch the ability of students while giving them an engaging story on which to base their expression and feeling when playing. Armstrong is an advocate offocusing learning on atmosphere and tonal awareness which when combined with the necessary techniques and theory makes this songbook a learning tool that is theoretically sound and musically enticing.From the first page the composer has shown her commitment to creating pieces specifically for students learning the Piano as she writes of how many people including former students have inspired her. She then writes in detail about the historical context of the theme of the work before giving more practical advice on the music itself and how to go about playing it. The friendly and warm approach that Armstrong brings to presenting her suite makes it more than a simple songbook it becomes a personal journey where the composer herself guides you through the characters and settings that the music has been composed to evoke. As well as presenting challenging and entertaining pieces Armstrong’s work serves as a fantastic introduction into how major and minor keys can be manipulated to different ends and how motifs can be used together with a theme. Armstrong writes: ”The final piece Sarabande for the Lost Souls returns to the desolation of Eb minor closing with a final statement of the No Tengo theme.”The songs in The Girona Suite are designed to