I wrote ‘Six Piano Pieces for Hayden’ as a collection of short pieces for young/less experienced pianists, and it is named for one of my piano students. They have been carefully written to accommodate players who are growing in confidence, and each sets a distinct musical challenge. The movements are:

1. Morning Song, a simple melodic piece with harmonies which grow and develop up to a surprising ending.

2. Breeze in the Trees, which is based around short semiquaver scales suggesting the rustling of the leaves, ending with a mysterious, impressionistic coda using the sustaining pedal.

3. Clouds, a calm, relaxed piece in which the left hand plays the melody and crosses over the right in a relaxed delicate pattern, before the right hand takes over and the music fades away into the sky.

4. Moody Swing, which has a heavy swung rhythm in the melody, over a moody ‘pizzicato’ bass.

5. Lazy Afternoon, which suggests the title with its laid back melodic style and gently falling harmonies

6. ‘Race to the Finish’, which suggests both a race and the finale to the whole group of pieces. Although the finger patterns avoid difficulties such as awkward stretches or changes of position, the rhythm is more challenging, and includes some exciting changes of metre which young players will enjoy exploring!