Trip A Little Light Fantastic (from Mary Poppins Returns): E-Z Play Today

This E-Z Play arrangement opens Mary Poppins Returns to pianists who might otherwise skip contemporary film music. The seven-page layout makes the full song manageable without sacrificing Miranda's harmonic sophistication, giving students genuine contemporary repertoire rather than simplified versions of older standards.

Whimsical and propulsive at once. The melody dances with genuine lightness while the underlying harmonies ground it in warmth and humor. Playing it feels like being let in on a musical secret rather than following instructions.

Student pianists ready to move beyond traditional pedagogy books but still needing accessible arrangements. Teachers looking to bridge the gap between classical technique and film music literacy will find this particularly useful for engagement and motivation.

• Balance the melody line with enough weight to sing through the harmony; these chords have color, not just function.
• Notice where Miranda repeats phrases with slight variation. The repetition isn't lazy composition; it's how he builds momentum without constant key changes.
• Reference the film recording to lock in the tempo and phrasing before relying solely on notation. The groove here matters as much as the notes.

Pair this with other contemporary film scores to show students how scoring has evolved, or use it in a unit on musical theater composers and their film work. It's equally effective as a solo recital piece or as accompaniment for a vocalist.

• Reading contemporary harmonic language in a tonal context
• Balancing melody and accompaniment with unequal textural weight
• Recognizing and executing phrase-building through repetition and variation
• Coordinating rhythmic precision with expressive legato phrasing