Musical Fantasies: Piano Book

Montgomery builds expressive musicianship directly into the music itself. By tying each piece to vivid storytelling and concrete imagery, she gives late elementary and early intermediate pianists a purpose beyond correct notes: they're painting a picture and telling a story. Students engage far more deeply when they're imagining a fire-breathing dragon's heavy footsteps than when they're merely reading rhythms.

These pieces transport you into the world of fairy tales and enchantment. Dragons lumber across the keyboard with unmistakable weight while princesses dance in light, shimmering passages. The music gives students permission to play with imagination, turning the practice room into a stage for the stories they love.

Late elementary and early intermediate piano students who benefit from concrete imagery and narrative motivation. Teachers looking for repertoire that develops expressive playing without requiring advanced technique will find the collection especially valuable.

• Ask students to describe the scene or character before they play. What does the dragon look like? How does the princess feel? This mental image becomes the bridge between the written notes and expressive playing.
• Encourage weight and deliberation in the bass line or left hand when depicting heavy or powerful characters. A lighter, quicker touch handles more delicate or magical moments.
• Have students listen to themselves as an audience would. Can someone who knows nothing about the story understand what's happening just from the music?

Program individual pieces from this collection in student recitals where storytelling adds depth to a performance. The narrative element makes these pieces ideal for spring recitals where you want to showcase growth in expressive playing, or pair them with other repertoire that builds a thematic concert.

• Playing with dynamic contrast to depict character and mood
• Translating imagery and narrative into musical expression
• Controlling weight and touch quality across different hand positions
• Reading and executing expressive markings with intent
• Sustaining musical phrasing across phrase boundaries