Songs and Dances of Atlantis for Piano Duet (Book 1)
Twenty elementary to intermediate piano duets - four hands on one piano.

The legend of Atlantis is one of the oldest and most enduring mysteries which remain in popular culture to this day. It has captivated the imaginations of people for centuries. Songs and Dances of Atlantis (Book 1) is a collection of ten easy to moderate piano duets which celebrate this famous legend.
These duets would be ideal for any piano recital event especially in schools or colleges. They could be useful in the piano lesson for both sight-reading exercises and ensemble practice. Of course, ensemble playing is an essential element of musical development, though most piano students rarely get the opportunity to make music with others. Ensemble playing encourages the performers to listen to each other as well as themselves and it encourages them to ?keep together? rhythmically. Perhaps most importantly, it enables students to share musical decisions and work towards a common musical goal. Apart from that, playing duets can be great fun and can add an extra dimension to the piano lessons.
Most of the pieces contain short passages that offer opportunities for improvisation in the Primo part though rhythmic and harmonic guidelines are provided for those who require them. The Primo and Secondo parts are traditionally printed on separate sheets and the melodic material is shared between both parts. Book 2 contains a few easy pieces but pushes the boundaries a bit further and requires rather more advanced technical skills.
Book 1 contains the following pieces: (1) Song from the Northern Forest, (2) Ancient Song from Crane River, (3) Hymn to the Golden Sky, (4) Lullaby of the Sea Gypsies, (5) Song from Dragon Island, (6) Dance to the Temple Spirits, (7) Evening Song from the Cloud Lakes, (8) Round Dance from Ikrania (9) Slow Dance from the Eastern Hills and (10) Children?s Dance to the Sun. The audio demo features numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10.

The 11 songs in this collection of mixed-level piano duets (for 1 piano, 4 hands) are arranged for a beginning student to play the PRIMO while the teacher, parent, or an intermediate student plays the SECONDO. All notes in the PRIMO are played singly with the hands in one position centered around middle C and then played one octave higher.

Each song is presented in two formats: on a grand staff (a combined score with both piano parts on each page) plus the alternate format with the PRIMO and SECONDO on separate pages.

Most of the songs are written in the key of C major and do not require using flats or sharps. However, there are a few songs in the key of G major (1 sharp) or F major (1 flat). These songs provide practice playing notes on the black keys (either an F-sharp for the key of G major or a B-flat for the key of F major).

These fun-to-learn arrangements are a welcome addition to the piano repertoire for beginning students and suitable for recitals or just some family fun around the piano during the holiday season. Selections include classics associated with the winter holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year?s. Each song is also available separately with accompanying preview pages and audio samples.

Song titles included in this collection:
Auld Lang Syne
Good King Wenceslas
Hallelujah Chorus
Jingle Bells
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
O Christmas Tree
Over the River and Through the Woods
Patapan
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Up On the Housetop
We Wish You a Merry Christmas