Elementary

Iles - I’m Late!

Beautifully written for the piano, and full of contrasts in touch and texture, this humorous jazz piece describes the moment in Alice in Wonderland where the White Rabbit goes for his job interview with the Duchess, and Alice follows. Resources & links Click here to purchase sheet music form the Trinity College online store (external link). Click here to view... Read >>

Daquin - Suite de la réjouissance (Gavotte en rondeau from Premier livre de pièces de clavecin)

ABRSM Grade 2 – A3

Resources & links This piece is available for individual purchase as a digital download here or in print as part of the Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 Grade 2 publication here. Open domain editions are also available here. You can listen to a recording of this piece and others from this grade on Spotify using ... Read >>

Shruthi Rajasekar - Virginia Hall

ABRSM Grade 1 – C1

Dedicated to Virginia Hall, a famous secret agent, this piece uses a repeated ostinato motif to create suspense and a sense of busyness from beginning to end. What is going on in the storyline when the sinister left hand theme comes in? And what do the ff chords at the central climax tell us? Perhaps the detective stumbles across an important new clue in her investigation. The player has plenty of scope to come up with a narrative for this piece, allowing the imagination to aid the fingers in communicating its message. Loading... Read >>

Handel - Sonatina in G, HWV 582

ABRSM Grade 3 – A1

Handel's Sonatina in G is part of a new series on the ABRSM syllabus designed for youngsters, or elementary players. This series of articles provides a step-by-step (or phrase-by-phrase) approach to learning the piece thoroughly and securely, building a solid foundation for performance in an exam, or if you are... Read >>

Couperin - Les coucous bénévoles

The right hand features the call of the cuckoo in this delightful, descriptive piece; the left hand will need to be very secure rhythmically to support what is happening above. A successful performance needs precision in articulation, and careful organisation of the tricky ornament. Resources & links Click here to purchase sheet music form the Trinity College online store (external link). Click here to view open domain editions for these works (external link). Click here to... Read >>

Trad. (arr. Önaç) - What shall we do with the drunken sailor?

ABRSM Initial Grade – A2

The melody of this traditional sea shanty in the dorian mode is clearly presented with some accompanimental material in the left hand. David A. T. Önaç’s clever arrangement presents some useful technical challenges, such as passing a line smoothly from one hand to the other, and changes in touch from staccato to legato. Preview (please log-in or subscribe to see full video) Resources & links This piece is available for digital download individually from the ABRSM shop here or in print as part of the... Read >>

Burgmüller - 3. La Pastorale (Pastoral) in G major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

This study features a simple melody in the RH against a chordal accompaniment in the LH. For the required legato cantabile touch, the fingers need to be in close contact with the keyboard, playing from the key surfaces. The wrist is free, loose and mobile. Play the grace notes very lightly but do not hurry them as they are gently expressive, and not percussive. The best way to control the LH repeated chords is to keep the fingers inside the keys rather than letting the keys all the way up to the top. Aim to achieve a chord legato from... Read >>

H. Wohlfahrt (arr. Jones) - Patterns (No. 10 from Kinder-Klavierschule)

ABRSM Initial Grade – A3

Heinrich Wohlfahrt’s Patterns (No. 10 from Kinder-Klavierschule) is a beginner’s piece in a five-finger position throughout, making it easy from the perspective of reading and position shifts and yet challenging - as part of a foundation for skilful piano playing we must not fall into the trap of fixing the hand and playing from the fingers. More advanced players can use this piece for a variety of other purposes as demonstrated in this video! Resources & links ... Read >>

Kukuck - The Rowboat

The Rowboat is a miniature tone picture relying on imagination and a sense of storyline to convey the musical message. Sensitivity to phrasing, developing a cantabile touch and the technique of chord legato are explored in this video. Preview (please log-in or subscribe to see full video) Resources & links Click here to purchase sheet music from the Trinity College online store (external link). Click here to view the index for our Guide to the Trinity College Piano Syllabus. ... Read >>