My Kind of Music, Book 4: Intermediate Piano Book

This collection avoids the sameness that can plague intermediate repertoire. Olson moves from impressionistic morning light to Civil War reflection to blues idiom to classical forms, giving your students genuine variety in a single book. Each piece has its own personality and musical challenge, so you're not repeating the same pedagogical work across selections.

This book captures a spectrum of human experience. You move from the quiet awakening of dawn into majestic historical reflection, detour through the gritty warmth of blues, and travel through mythology and folklore before landing in nocturnal wonder. The writing balances poetic imagery with direct musicality, creating pieces that engage both the mind and the hands.

Intermediate pianists ready to move beyond basic technical studies into music with genuine artistic substance. This collection works equally well for students in private lessons and ensemble or classroom settings who want repertoire that sounds accomplished without requiring advanced technique.

• Pay particular attention to the character markings in First Light. These aren't decoration; they're the difference between playing correct notes and capturing the piece's intent.
• The blues selections benefit from listening to recordings of the idiom before rehearsal. Students who understand the genre's phrasing and swing naturally play with more authority.
• Toccata in Twilight demands rhythmic precision in passages that might initially feel uncomfortable. Practice hands separately until the coordination becomes automatic, then layer them gradually.
• Catching Fireflies rewards attention to dynamic nuance. The piece's magic lives in the soft moments and the contrast between them, not in its technical passages.

Build a student recital around contrasting selections from this collection. Pair First Light with Catching Fireflies as a frame (dawn and dusk), use Gettysburg as a centerpiece for a thematic concert, or program The Big Easy Blues alongside On the Wings of Pegasus to showcase your students' stylistic range in a single concert set.

• Sustaining lyrical lines while managing pedal changes
• Blues phrasing and swing rhythm
• Toccata-style finger work and hand independence
• Dynamic contrast and interpretive choices in character pieces
• Sight-reading across varied musical styles and harmonic approaches