Picture This!, Book 3: Intermediate Piano Book

Roubos refuses to separate technical challenge from musical interest. By asking hands to inhabit different clefs simultaneously and by moving melody between hands mid-piece, she builds independence organically through repertoire that students actually want to perform. The narrative titles and varied tempos within single pieces give students something to express rather than just execute.

Picture This!, Book 3 reads like a postcard collection from around the world. Each piece has distinct character and imagery, from the eerie atmosphere of "Ghost Ship" to the vivid colors of "Postcard from Mars." The music invites students to imagine the scenes rather than simply read notes.

Intermediate pianists ready to expand beyond single-line melody and simple accompaniment patterns will find genuine musical content here. Teachers seeking repertoire that builds cross-staff awareness and hand independence without resorting to dry technical studies will return to this book repeatedly.

• Start with the hand position swaps in pieces like "A Night in Madrid." Play hands separately first to establish comfort, then work toward seamless transitions without looking down at the keyboard.
• Listen for tempo shifts as structural markers, not interruptions. When a piece changes character, let the new tempo breathe for a bar or two before settling into it.
• Map out which hand carries the melody before practicing. Once you know whether it's in your right hand, left hand, or switching between them, the independence develops naturally.

These pieces work beautifully in a festival or recital format, where their programmatic titles create natural narrative flow. You might also use them strategically throughout a year of study, selecting individual pieces to target specific technical goals as they arise in your curriculum.

• Reading treble clef in the left hand and bass clef in the right hand simultaneously
• Developing hand and finger independence through melody exchange between hands
• Recognizing and executing tempo shifts within single pieces
• Expanding keyboard awareness across multiple octaves and staff positions
• Building musical interpretation through programmatic context and character