Circles + Lines

Circles + Lines: 17 Intermediate to Early Advanced Pieces with Contemporary Techniques and Notation
Edited by Annie Jeng
Featuring Works by: Indiria Everett, Chelsea Loew, Nina Shekhar, Annika Socolofsky, Jungyoon Wie, and Ming-Hsiu Yen

Music should be fun, creative, and relevant!

With each innovation of the piano since the 18th century, composers have pushed the boundaries of what the instrument is capable of, resulting in a vast repertoire often utilizing unconventional techniques and notation systems. Much of this recent repertoire, however, is typically geared towards advanced pianists. Young pianists are therefore not often exposed to these types of techniques, sounds, and concepts during the foundational years of their musical development. As time passes and advanced repertoire continues to develop, a large gap is created and predetermined notions about contemporary music sounding only dissonant or foreign becomes a likely occurrence.

Circles and Lines attempts to address this schism in the early formative years of a student’s development. It is a progressive book, with new and engaging repertoire for both upright and grand pianos, written by inspirational women composers of our time. Each piece was specifically commissioned to include non-traditional contemporary skills, allowing the associated sounds and concepts to be fully integrated into students’ musical lives from the earliest ages.

The book is titled Circles and Lines because I have always been fascinated by how music scores are essentially a combination of various circles and lines, yet they produce such a wide range of music, sound, color, and artistic expression that performers must read and interpret.

I encourage all of the teachers and students learning these pieces to approach them with an open mind and to remind ourselves that we PLAY the piano. Learning an instrument should involve play, joy, and discovery.
— Dr. Annie Jeng