Encore is the official collection of best-loved ABRSM piano exam pieces from Grades 1 to 8.
Book 1 features popular pieces previously set on ABRSM Grades 1 and 2. Have fun exploring timeless classics and modern favourites, like Hook’s Gavotte or the jazzy Vampire Blues. Plus, we’ve included background information and new ideas for exploring the music. Encore is perfect for:
- Developing skills and technique between grades
- Sourcing music for a concert or recital
- Learning or playing for fun, away from the exam format
- Adults returning to piano playing, looking for approachable repertoire they’ll recognise
For teachers, we’ve made sure that the content is perfectly balanced at every level. For quick reference, each piece has a note highlighting skills to focus on. Encore is packed full of music that will:
- Motivate students – all the pieces have been chosen for their ongoing popular appeal
- Form a bank of rich content, so you can pick and choose pieces to help each student improve
- Introduce new skills and techniques, to prepare exam candidates for the next level
Whether you’re working through our exams, playing informally, or planning a performance, Encore is full of music you’ll want to play again and again!
Songlist:
- Vampire Blues (from Spooky Piano Time) [Kevin Wooding]
- Giga: third movement from Lesson in C, Op. 12 No. 2. Encore, Book 1 [Samuel Arnold]
- A Song of Erin: No. 8 from First Year Pieces [Thomas Dunhill]
- The Old Cuckoo-Clock [Nina Batschinskaja]
- Cradle Song, No. 17 from The First Lessons, Op. 117 [Cornelius Gurlitt]
- Gavotta in C, Op. 81, Lesson 3 from 24 Progressive Lessons, Op. 81 [James Hook]
- Theme and First Variation, from 5 Happy Variations on a Russian Folksong, Op. 51 No. 1 [Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky]
- Das Echo, No. 14 from Maiblümchen, Op. 61 [Theodor Oesten]
- African Dance, from Bigger Picture Piano, Grade 2–3 [John Rowcroft]
- Das Ballet: No. 19 from Handstücke für angehende Klavierspieler (Pieces for aspiring players) [Daniel Gottlob Türk]
- Chattanooga Choo Choo [Harry Warren]
- Musette in D, BWV Anh. II 126, from The Anna Magdalena Bach Book of 1725 [Anon.]
- The Prince of Denmark’s March. No. 9 from Old English Trumpet Tunes, Book 1 [Jeremiah Clarke]
- Ecossaise in Eb, WoO 86 [Ludwig van Beethoven]
- Balletto [Georg Lohlein]
- Mozzie, from Easy Little Peppers [Elissa Milne]
- Cloudy Day, No. 6 from Microjazz I [Christopher Norton]
- The Bee, from Fantasy Studies for the Second Year, Op. 13 [Alec Rowley]
- Lullaby: No. 5 from ‘Six Sketches’ [Charles Villiers Stanford]
- Strange Things Happen [Sarah Watts]
- Garage Sale, from Really Easy Jazzin’ About [Pam Wedgwood]
