These books are an organized collection of the patterns of which music is made. By playing with these patterns, by actually creating at every step of the way, you first learn to create your own melodies (improvise)and later learn to compose original music in classical, jazz, and popular styles. In the process, you absorb all the music theory and creative philosophy needed for a lifetime of musical adventure.

The Pattern Play books are designed to complement traditional piano study, providing a creative dimension. If you can read simple piano music, you can discover the personal music waiting inside you, right now.

How do I get started?

With Melody, Volume One: Duet and Solo, you can learn to spontaneously create your own melodies (improvise) with the most popular scales and make variations on accompaniment patterns in over thirty different piano styles. You can have musical conversations by playing these pieces with your teacher or a friend, or you can choose to play solo.

With Melody, Volume 1-A, you can explore the material from Melody, Volume One: Duet and Solo in a more in-depth way. This book, first published in 2004, is written for adults, teenagers, and music teachers. Sample pages from the book and MP3 audio files are available on this site.

In the companion volume to this book, Melody, Volume Two: All Keys, you can learn to create melodies in all the Major and Minor Keys, and also begin to create your own accompaniment patterns out of intervals, the most basic elements of harmony. The 105 distinct pieces in this book are a smorgasbord of musical styles.

Harmony, Volume One explores how to create music with the most popular and versatile chords. You learn by doing: improvising melodies above chords, composing accompaniments for the melodies you create, and also making your own arrangements (versions) of popular songs.

Later Volumes explore ways to improvise, arrange, and compose music with various modes (scales) and complex harmonies. At every step, you learn to create by actually creating. As the composer Delius once said, "The only joy is to create!"