Travel Tunes: Piano Book

Roubos writes with a genuine understanding of what captivates young pianists. These pieces balance technical challenge with narrative imagination, so students stay engaged because the music actually tells a story, not just because the composer writes clean notes.

Traveling through these pieces feels like stepping into a musical postcard. One moment you're swaying in a waltz, the next you're grooving with a boogie, and suddenly you're navigating the quick fingerwork of a toccata. The legato and staccato contrasts create a tactile, almost conversational quality that keeps the playing fresh.

Late elementary pianists ready to move beyond five-finger patterns and explore more sophisticated hand coordination. This book works for students who enjoy storytelling through music and aren't intimidated by melodies that travel between both hands.

• Experiment with pedal on the legato sections to create warmth, then lift it entirely for staccato passages to keep them crisp and bouncy.
• Mark the hand crossings clearly in pencil before the first full run-through. Students often rush these moments; slow practice here pays off.
• Shape the melodic line across both hands as if it were a single singing voice. The melody doesn't belong to the right hand alone.
• Use the contrasting articulation as a structural tool. When legato gives way to staccato, let that shift signal a new section to your listener.

These pieces work beautifully as recital soloists or as a pedagogical showcase of different compositional textures. The variety within the book makes it easy to pull individual pieces for studio recitals throughout the year, or program them consecutively to demonstrate range.

• Combining legato and staccato articulation within a single piece
• Reading melodies that cross between both hands
• Basic hand independence and coordination
• Understanding stylistic differences (waltz, boogie, toccata)
• Pedal control and when to use it
• Rhythmic accuracy in syncopated and jazz-inflected passages