About the Method

Designed as a rare, innovative mix-and-match complement to any standard piano method book. Through an array of stylistically varied pieces, all paired with harmonically rich duets, the beginning student will be musically engaged and challenged.

Explore an eclectic sonic world where students can play Happy Birthday or sample a folk song, boogie, rag, minuet, Christmas carol, or an arrangement of an ageless classic by a musical giant like Bach, Beethoven or Brahms. Ideal for recitals or festivals, these pieces are pedagogically sound yet captivating, representing the entire scope of the keyboard. With a sense of fun, the titles and lyrics lure the student into deeper musicianship and artistry, inspiring beginners to move forward and succeed on their musical journey.

Using a multi-key, five-finger approach, these albums contain pieces between Primer and Level 1. The sequence of pieces is incremental in difficulty, loosely corresponding in pedagogical approach to popular method books.

How to Use the Audio Tracks

Audio tracks are provided for all arrangements in the volumes. There are two tracks for each arrangement: a full demo performance track for listening and practice, plus a separate play-along track that lets the student be the soloist! Audio tracks are included in each volume as a CD, and can also be found as playlists on the SoundCloud website. Tracks may also be downloaded through our website. Go to www.ecspublishing.com, search for the product number of the edition, and find the link in the description.

Biographies

Dr. Stephen Chatman CM studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Michigan, completing his D.M.A. degree in 1977. The only North American to have won three consecutive BMI Awards, he is a multi-Juno award nominee whose many piano pieces are included in the syllabus of Canada’s Royal Conservatory of Music. In the 1980’s, Chatman began composing choral music influenced by various traditional musical styles—the first of many “accessible” or “popular” works. His more recent secular and sacred choral works, in addition to many educational piano pieces, embrace a predominantly pan-diatonic tonal language, lyricism, melody, folk song, and more traditional musical gestures, forms, and compositional techniques. Chatman was named to the Order of Canada in 2012. He has been Professor of Composition at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada since 1976. For more information, visit his composer page.

Tara Wohlberg is a music educator, poet, and lyricist who has been teaching piano for over twenty-five years. She holds a Bachelor of Music (Brandon University) and a Master’s degree in Arts Criticism (City University London, UK). She maintains a private piano studio in Vancouver, Canada where she actively teaches and adjudicates, while writing both critically and creatively. For more information, visit her composer page.

Reviews

"Stephen Chatman writes bright, expressive, eminently accessible fare that’s easy on the ear and good for the soul."
-American Record Guide

“One of the country’s most successful composers."
-John Terauds, Toronto Star

About his Amusements Book 1 and 2: "Elementary students will be fascinated with the sounds and colors of these pieces. The works are imaginative, playable, and a wonderful source of 20th-century music."
-Clavier, 1997