Grand One-Hand Solos for Piano, Book 3: Piano Book

Bober writes with genuine empathy for students navigating physical constraints, creating pieces that are neither remedial nor patronizing. Each hand gets its own technically engaging material across multiple styles and keys, so students experience real musical growth regardless of which hand is sidelined. This collection transforms a temporary setback into an opportunity to strengthen musicianship on both sides of the keyboard.

Diverse in character and mood, these eight pieces range from the gentle imagery of Falling Snow to the rhythmic energy of Left-Hand Boogie Stomp and the blues-inflected pulse of Blues Beat. Each piece stands alone as a complete musical thought, proving that one hand alone can sustain listener engagement through melody, rhythm, and interpretive choice.

Students recovering from hand or arm injury who need to maintain their piano study without pause. Teachers seeking quality material for students working to isolate technical or reading challenges in a single hand. Any pianist looking to build independence, voicing awareness, and artistic control in each hand separately.

• Work slowly through the initial readings, focusing on accurate note-learning in the isolated hand before adding tempo or expression.
• Experiment with different dynamic shapes and phrasing choices to discover how one hand can create convincing musical narratives without harmonic support.
• Record yourself playing each piece, then listen back to identify spots where tone or rhythm wavers; use playback to refine consistency.
• Return to earlier pieces once the injured hand heals, playing them as written duets or layered with the newly available hand to hear the full compositional intent.

Assign pieces progressively through the year as technical building blocks, mixing right-hand and left-hand selections to balance the student's development. A student recovering from injury might perform one of these solos on a studio recital or school concert, offering meaningful repertoire without waiting for two-handed capability to return. These pieces also serve as diagnostic tools when a student shows weakness in one hand's reading or technical facility.

• Single-hand independence and technical facility
• Reading fluency in varied keys and meters (right-hand pieces and left-hand pieces use different tonal centers)
• Melodic phrasing and voicing with limited harmonic information
• Rhythmic precision and stylistic interpretation across genres (classical, contemporary, jazz-influenced)
• Confidence and musicianship during physical recovery or remedial hand-work