Solitaire - Solo Piano by Neil Patton

This book contains note-for-note transcriptions of all 15 pieces from the critically acclaimed album, Solitaire.

These are accurate transcriptions of everything Neil played while recording this collection of solo piano pieces. The book also includes extensive reflections and performance notes for each piece, as well as difficulty rankings, all written by the composer.

Included Pieces:

• The Turning Page
• Redemption
• Walking on Air
• The Shepherd
• Lacrymosa
• The Muse
• Where I Can’t Follow
• The Calling
• Twilight
• Strength
• Solitaire
• Adrift
• Bound
• Back Porch
• Gethsemane

Review:

Neil Patton's Solitaire solo piano songbook is a collection of all fifteen of the pieces from his 2018 solo piano recording by the same name. One of the things that makes this book very special is Neil's "hands-on" approach. A longtime piano teacher, he included ten pages of playing hints and tips as well as insights to the music, making the pieces even more meaningful and a bit easier to master. Neil also rated each piece for its level of difficulty according to the Syllabus Repertoire lists used by the Oregon Music Teachers' Association. Those ratings go from 1-10 and all of the pieces in the book have been rated at levels 6 through 10. (Level 10 is by no means the most difficult music ever, so don't let that scare you! The higher rankings are obviously more difficult, but not impossible by any means!)

The sheet music was transcribed [by Neil] from the recording [and edited] by Rebecca Oswald (she's great!), and it is obvious that Neil went through the scores adding fingering, comments and more tips about the music. The books are spiral-bound and printed on a bright white paper stock that should stand up to many years of playing enjoyment. Metronome settings and pedaling tips are also given for each piece and phrasing is clearly marked. This is a great collection for advancing piano students as well as early-advanced/advanced pianists of all ages. Songbooks are available from Neil's website. Highly recommended!