When I was asked to follow up the two Jazz Piano Player books with similar ones, following the same format, but using more up to date ‘pop’ material I must admit to one or two doubts. These were amplified when a kind person from the office sent me 2 compilation CDs containing songs they thought would be suitable. They had obviously guessed – and quite correctly too – that some of the songs on the list may not be too familiar! However, I began to warm to the idea.

As, over time, a list gradually developed I began to recognise rather more of the song titles than I had expected, and many that I was keen to include. Others too began to grow on me as I began to try to turn these popular songs into playable piano solos. Having been very much in my ‘comfort zone’ with the likes of Cole Porter, Harold Arlen and George Gershwin, much of this was new territory and it was quite a while before I began to see the merits and slowly to begin to respect the work and music of some of the more recent songwriter/singers.

I began with the ones I felt familiar with and remembered, and the first of these was Music by John Miles. It was not difficult to see the pianistic qualities in this song. Always on My Mind and Home were good for me too, being a fan of Michael Bublé. The Look of Love (Bacharach) and From Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell) were also from a familiar period and I knew them well. I was encouraged too by the enthusiasm shown by some of my teenage students who were the first to get their hands on the arrangements! I thought that they were a good testing ground for which songs they knew from an earlier generation. I was thrilled to be able to get my hands on Lionel Richie’s Easy and Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely, both of which I thought would be popular additions.

The discoveries which I found both challenging and enjoyable were while working on See the Day – a beautiful melody that lends itself so readily as a piano solo, and Jesus to a Child – the George Michael song. It took a while to get the feel of it, but it was this song in particular that stayed longest in my memory, and one that has given me considerable satisfaction. Nora Jones’s Come Away With Me also haunted me and captured my imagination and has become a firm favourite from the collections.

I had never imagined though that I would be working on songs by Amy Winehouse – or Dolly Parton for that matter! But again I had a pleasant surprise and grew very much to appreciate the unusual approach – if not unique style and structure of both Valerie and Love is a Losing Game. The most difficult to tackle? Probably Eva Cassidy’s Somewhere. I knew of her songs and tragic early death and that the song had been published posthumously, but I was not familiar with this song and found its harmonies and syncopations difficult to adapt.

Although some pieces I found more workable than others, and though perhaps the lyrics don’t quite compare to those I was more accustomed to from that earlier great period of song writing, I found the challenge a most satisfactory and worthwhile one and my respect for both the writers and singers has risen dramatically. The use of chords in these songs was quite different, refreshingly so, and the syncopations demanding to say the least, especially in James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful and George Michael’s Jesus to a Child. I can’t promise that these arrangements will be easy to play (it took me two days to record them, whereas the 32 pieces in the two jazz books were completed in a single day), but I can promise that efforts made with them will be fully rewarded and that the enjoyment and satisfaction gained will be worth every moment spent – just as writing and recording them was for me.

And the good news? Another Pop Piano Player book is in preparation (as is another Jazz Piano Player). As the new list is coming through I am really delighted that we will have such outstanding titles as Nobody Does It Better (Marvin Hamlisch), Hello (Lionel Richie), and You’ve Got a Friend (Carole King), and most recently You Are the Sunshine of My Life (Stevie Wonder). No doubt there will be a few surprising discoveries for me as well!

The Pop Piano Player Series is designed for pianists wanting to make the transition into playing pop piano, as well as for those keen to develop their own style, each song is presented in two different formats. The first version includes the melody, lyrics and basic chord structure of each song, ideal for practice, accompaniment and improvisation. The second version is a superb arrangement of the song for piano solo, suitable for intermediate-level pianists and perfect for performance. All the songs are in their standard keys so that pianists can play along with other musicians, and each book includes a free CD featuring full performances of all the arrangements played by John Kember himself.

The Pop Piano Player and Jazz Piano Player books are available on the Faber Music Store site: