Jon George's Festival of Favorites: Piano Book

George's ear for variety within a single collection means you won't reach for supplementary books to cover different styles and moods. The inclusion of both solos and duets gives you flexible teaching options, and the melodic quality of even the simplest pieces makes students want to play them again.

This collection spans genuine musical variety while honoring the elementary player's capabilities. You'll move from lyrical pieces to rhythmic studies, from folk-influenced melodies to contemporary pedagogical writing, all sounding like music rather than exercises.

Elementary piano students benefit most from this collection, whether you teach in a studio, classroom, or group setting. Teachers who value substantial musical content even at beginner levels will appreciate having 20 solos plus duets that maintain artistic integrity.

• Pay attention to George's phrasing markings; his musical lines are specifically shaped to guide interpretation and avoid mechanical playing at this level.
• Use the duets as ensemble experiences that build listening skills and rhythmic independence without requiring advanced sight-reading.
• Select pieces across the stylistic range to help students hear how the same technical level can express entirely different musical characters.

Build a studio recital around a theme by mixing George's pieces with works by other composers at similar levels; the stylistic diversity within the book itself suggests programming possibilities. The duets work particularly well as encore pieces or as part of a student performance showcase.

• reading both treble and bass clef at elementary positions
• shaping musical phrases using dynamic and articulation markings
• ensemble listening and rhythmic coordination in duet contexts
• recognizing stylistic variety within a single collection
• interpreting composer intent through musical notation