Binding: Spiral Bound

Paper: Heavier stock for easy turning

Released: ©2024

Physical Songbook Includes:

•All 12 songs from the matching album

•Table of contents

•Information page

Difficulty Level: Songs are ranked on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being the easiest of Michele's songs to play, and 5 being the most difficult of Michele's songs to play.   This songbook ranges from Level 2 to Level 5 in difficulty.

•2 Level 2 Songs
•7 Level 3 Songs
•2 Level 4 Songs
•1 Level 5 Song

SONGBOOK REVIEW

Iceland songbook
Michele McLaughlin
2024 / Michele McLaughlin
12 pieces/ 72 pages

Iceland is the companion sheet music book for Michele McLaughlin's 2024 solo piano album by the same name. It contains all twelve original pieces from the album and was transcribed by John Zechiel and proof-read by me. These pieces are note-for-note accurate to the original recording and are at an intermediate to early-advanced playing level. The music was inspired by two trips Michele and her sister took to Iceland in 2016 and 2021, and there is a really nice variety in the music that reflects the changing landscape, weather, and unique animals of that part of the world as well as Michele's reactions to them. Michele has always been a vivid storyteller with her music, and this collection is no exception. From "Blue Ice" to "Eruption" to "Aurora" and "Gale Force," the music is expressive and a lot of fun to play.

In addition to the sheet music, the Iceland songbook contains a couple of stunning photos on the front and back covers as well as Michele's biography. The layout of the music is very clear, well-spaced and easy to read. Dynamics, metronome settings and pedaling are all clearly marked. There are no reaches of more than an octave, and not that many chords - both hands are mostly single notes and intervals of two notes at a time. The difficulty levels that are listed with each piece below are from 1-5, with 1 being Michele's easiest pieces and 5 being her most difficult. Most of the pieces in this collection are mid-range. Fans of Michele's sheet music will thoroughly enjoy this songbook, too!

The Iceland sheet music and songbook will be available on the release date of the album itself, which is December 6, 2024. More links will be added as they become available.

The titles, the playing levels, they key(s) they are in and the number of pages are:

Aurora (5) - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 6 pages

Gale Force (3) - Key of D minor (1 flat) - 6 pages

Roaming Free (3) - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 6 pages

Icelandic Rain (4) - Key of D minor (1 flat) - 7 pages

Foss (4) - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 9 pages

Middle of Nowhere (Modrudalur) (3) - Key of A minor (0 sharps or flats) - 6 pages

Eruption (3) - Key of Bb minor (5 flats) - 5 pages

Hestur (3) - Key of A minor (0 sharps or flats) - 4 pages

The Ring Road (2) - D minor (1 flat) - 6 pages

Westman Island (3) - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 4 pages

Blue Ice (3) - Key of A minor (0 sharps or flats) - 6 pages

Just Above the Horizon (2) - Key of F (1 flat) - 5 pages

This songbook is very enjoyable to play and I highly recommend it!

Kathy Parsons
MainlyPiano.com

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