While pursuing my master's degree at Southwest Texas State University, I began teaching some private piano lessons to six people from the local community. The idea for these duets originally came to me during this time. My first student, Michael Lewis, was about eight years old when I started working with him. He had a short attention span as I did at that age. Thus, I really needed something to keep his interest. I decided to write a song just for him entitled Michael's Song.
This unique piece served as a great incentive for Michael. The plan worked so well that I decided to go a step further and make it a duet for the two of us. Over time, I found it to be very effective to play with my students as well as for them. Due to my jazz and classical background and the fact that I am a working professional musician, my students found it encouraging and enjoyable to hear me play during our lessons.
Since I attained such great results from the first duet, I decided to write three more, dedicating them to my other five students. Even though they have never had the opportunity to play them, I wrote the compositions based on their individual style and personality.
I wrote the pieces for beginner to intermediate students--not just for children. In fact, two of my original students were adults. The accompaniment part can either be played by the teacher or even a more advanced student. Although as the student progresses, he may "graduate" to the accompaniment part.
AT PLAY is meant to be enjoyable and fun while learning. The main goal is to still build good foundational techniques for any piano student. Keep in mind that even though these pieces are duets, each part can be played as a piano solo. I hope you have as much fun learning these pieces as I had writing and playing them! If you need something exciting to keep you motivated, this book is for you!
