Soul Mates - Piano Solo: Piano Solo

Alexander writes pieces that sound genuinely musical rather than like exercises, which keeps students motivated through the Romantic period transition. The restriction to intervals no larger than a sixth solves a real reach problem for this age without compromising harmonic richness, and the stylistic variety across 16 pages means you get multiple performance options from one book.

Lyrical and expressive without being overwrought. These pieces capture the Romantic ear for beautiful melody and harmonic color while keeping the technical demands grounded in what young hands can manage.

Late elementary students whose hands are still small but whose musical minds are ready for genuine Romantic style. Teachers preparing students for festival play who need accessible repertoire that doesn't sound watered down.

• Listen to recordings of Romantic-era pianists before your students tackle these pieces; hearing the style's characteristic rubato and vocal quality will inform their touch choices.
• Encourage students to identify the harmonic progressions that appear across different pieces in the collection; recognizing common patterns accelerates their understanding of Romantic idiom.
• Work on sustain pedal control with each piece, as Alexander's textures will reveal muddy playing immediately while rewarding careful pedal changes.

Program individual pieces on recitals to show stylistic range within a single collection, or use the full set as a unit when teaching Romantic repertoire in sequence. The Federation Festivals selection status makes it ideal for students working toward competition performance.

• Reading and performing Romantic harmonic progressions (ii-V-I, iv-V-I cadences)
• Managing sustain pedal in pieces with varied textures and harmonic densities
• Interpreting rubato and phrasing appropriate to 19th-century song-like melodies
• Technical facility across the keyboard while respecting hand span limitations
• Understanding the stylistic difference between Baroque, Classical, and Romantic approaches to melody and accompaniment