Snapchats Duets & Trios is published by 80 Days Publishing, a relatively new publishing house owned and founded by composer Christopher Norton and Andrew Jones.
The latest addition to the Snapchats family is the new beginners book: Snapchats Duets and Trios for Beginners (see image above). This volume contains 25 duets and trios: 20 duets and 5 trios. They have been written in such a way that make this book perfect for those still learning to read notation and grasp various rhythmic patterns. Also very useful for sight-reading, many pieces are for one hand only, which gives students of any level the chance to enjoy playing with others even if their reading skills are still at a basic level. These little pieces are excellent for first recitals, school concerts, festivals or piano courses.
Snapchats Duets & Trios Book 1 was originally a small collection of short piano duets which was published a few years ago. The volume was republished and updated in 2019, with the inclusion of extra duets and piano trios. This new version has proved popular with both children and adult students and I enjoy using them in my own sight-reading classes.
Snapchats Book 1 is intended for students from late beginner standard to approximately Grade 3 level similar to that found in the various British exam board syllabuses. There are 19 duets (four hands at one keyboard) and 4 trios (six hands at one keyboard) in this volume, and they are short, succinct pieces for those who want to explore the art of ensemble playing or simply improve reading skills.
Broadly minimalist in style, these pieces are between 8 and 16 bars in length, are mainly lyrical and offer a wide selection of moods from expressive atmospheric works such as ‘Sutra’, ‘Andante’, ‘Shanti Shanti’ and ‘Joyful’, to up-beat numbers like ‘Quick Chat’, ‘Hopscotch’, ‘Samsara’ and ‘Take Three’.
Students and teachers routinely comment on how much they enjoy the brevity and relative simplicity found in these pieces.
Both duets and trios become progressively more complex throughout the book. ‘Celebration’ (one of the simpler duets) is featured in the Debut grade of the RSL Classical Piano syllabus.
Click the link below to hear a performance of ‘Joyful’, a piano trio from Book 1, played by 54 piano teachers on 18 pianos, which was recorded at Cristofori in Singapore during my trip in 2023:
Snapchats Book 2 contains 10 duets and 2 trios. These pieces, which begin from 12-bars in length, are late elementary to intermediate level, or around Grade 2 – 4 standard. The pieces are varied in style including slower numbers like ‘Out There’, ‘The Grand Archway’ and ‘Á La Satie’ to more up-tempo works, ‘Follow My Leader’ and ‘Carnival’, as well as the jazz-inspired ‘Boogie For Two’ and ‘Sticky Toffee Blues’.
Snapchats Book 3 contains 6 duets and 2 trios. Intended for intermediate to early advanced level players, or between Grade 4 – 6 standard, they are substantially more lengthy than those found in Book 1 and 2, yet stylistically still offer plenty of choice, with upbeat and slower numbers, as well as ‘Boomerang Blues’, for those who need their jazz kick!
Hear a selection of duets from Book 2 and 3, played by myself and my student, Becky Flisher, by clicking on the playlist link below:
You might like to play Snapchats for fun with friends, use them as sight-reading material in a piano class or on a piano course, or perform them in a more formal setting at a music festival or recital. My hope is that they offer a special and enjoyable experience wherever and with whoever you choose to play them.
Hear renowned composer Christopher Norton play all the works in all three volumes, here.
You can purchase all the books in this series from any good online music stores and websites including musicroom.com and prestomusic.com. Alternatively, purchase them directly from publisher 80 Days Publishing by clicking on the link below:
