Student Favorites, Book 2: Early Intermediate/Intermediate Piano Book

This collection refuses to be a grab bag of unrelated studies. Instead, each piece has a distinct character and musical voice, so students experience genuine variety rather than formula. The range from Spanish-inflected rhythms to impressionistic calm gives you natural programming flexibility and keeps practice sessions from feeling repetitive.

Opening these pages, you encounter six different worlds. Spanish guitars seem to echo through Danza's rhythmic energy, while Daydreaming settles into the kind of peaceful introspection that only piano can create. Butterfly Dance darts and floats; At River Bend contemplates a landscape; Motion Machine propels forward with kinetic vitality.

Students in the early-intermediate to intermediate stage who are ready for more sophisticated material but still need clear compositional structure and moderate technical demands. This collection works equally well for students working through a method book and those exploring repertoire alongside their lessons.

• In Danza, anchor the rhythm section before the melodic line gets ornate; students often rush when they're concentrating on getting the decorative notes right.
• Let Daydreaming breathe. The soothing quality depends on restraint, not rushing toward resolution.
• Butterfly Dance rewards attention to hand independence; practice the accompaniment pattern thoroughly before layering in the upper voice.
• Pay close attention to dynamic contrast in At River Bend. The shifts between sections define the piece's emotional arc.

These pieces work beautifully in a spring or end-of-year recital when you want to showcase student growth across multiple styles in a single appearance. You might also pull individual selections to pair with repertoire from other sources, or assign them sequentially through a semester to build confidence and introduce diverse musical language.

• Reading and maintaining rhythmic patterns in different time signatures and styles
• Voice independence between hands, particularly in accompaniment-plus-melody textures
• Dynamic contrast and shaping phrases without metric instruction
• Rhythmic flexibility in pieces with rubato or expressive notation
• Sustain pedal control in pieces that require clarity of texture