In December I went to a truly spectacular production of Little Women at a girls' high school in the LA County. It was thrilling to watch my friend's daughter play Jo with so much conviction and flair. And I loved the songs included in the production, especially the song Hard Times Come Again No More. A month later, many of the girls at the school lost their homes in the LA County fires. Hard Times indeed.
I had never heard this song, and when I researched it, I found out that Stephen Foster of Oh Susannah and Beautiful Dreamer fame, wrote it, and many contemporary musicians have recorded it. Some of my favorite performances are by James Taylor with Yo-Yo Ma et al, Mavis Staples, The Chieftains, and Bruce Springsteen.
I loved this song the minute I heard it, and now it has become sort of a mantra for me as I feel the pain of so many friends and acquaintances who have lost their homes, jobs or businesses in the fires. Our air quality is still very bad in spite of some rain, as the fires continue to smolder and toxic emissions continue to loom.
This month I have arranged Hard Times Come Again No More for intermediate pianists as well as an easier version. The intermediate arrangement will only be available for 1 year, after which you must purchase it at Sheet Music Plus, so print today!
Here is an easier arrangement:
Friends, it has come to my attention that many of you who have subscribed have not been receiving my blog posts regularly. You should be getting at least one post at the beginning of each month, and often a 2nd post later in the month. I think the technical problem has now been fixed, but if you don't get your free sheet music for a particular month in the future, please leave a comment on any post and let me know. Meanwhile, if you didn't get my free sheet music for December and/or January, take a look at my older posts below this one. So sorry!
Did you know? I have written a series of piano instruction books called Upper Hands Piano: A Method for Adults 50+ to Spark the Mind, Heart and Soul (4 books), as well as a series for teens and younger adults called Piano Powered: An Innovative New Piano Method to Power the Brain and Feed the Soul (4 books).
Both series apply the latest scientific research on how the brain thinks and learns, to get students playing the piano as quickly and easily as possible. Our books -- I wrote them in collaboration with a neurologist/neuroscientist (Brendan Cohn-Sheehy) and a wonderful scholarly music editor (Melinda Bateman) -- teach all of the basic triads, and 6th and 7th chords in all twelve keys, enabling the student to play both beautiful classical and fun popular music (including "fake book" lead sheets). We use larger notes and fonts, brain games, a gentle pace with lots of review and lots of encouragement. Upper Hands Piano BOOK 1 includes page by page instructional videos! I recorded the videos on a platform called Sixty and Me. Check out the free video lessons here.
I also wrote a series of songbooks for the intermediate to advanced piano player called The Music Remedy. The Music Remedy is a collection of beautiful, melodic songs and pieces for intermediate to advanced Piano (also Guitar and Vocals) that use the healing power of music to help restore emotional balance. If you're looking for a Valentine's Day gift for the pianist in your life, check out The Music Remedy No. 1: 12 Passionate Pieces to Move You from Loss to Love. Some of the songs and pieces include: You Made Me Love You, I'll See You In My Dreams, Mozart's gorgeous Piano Concerto No. 21, Somewhere Out There, It Had to Be You, The Man I Love, At Last and La Vie En Rose.
Finally, I wrote a songbook series for the late beginner/early intermediate pianist called Songs of the Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. I think you'll love playing these fun songs and pieces relevant to the current season!
I hope you will consider supporting my free sheet music giveaways by purchasing 1 or 2 of my books. They make great gifts, and perhaps it's time for you to start playing your piano again?! Let these books motivate you to get back to the bench. Don't wait for retirement, even 10 minutes a day of playing can keep your piano skills moving forward, now.
If you need to kickstart your piano playing with a week of 2 lessons per day, check out my new Piano Retreat!!
It is priced low for the next few months - so you might want to try it soon!
I hope you enjoy playing Hard Times Come Again No More. Thanks for reading my long-ish blog post today! With love, music and deep appreciation, Gaili