"Storybook Love" from The Princess Bride is now available in the key of C, directly from Sheetmusicplus.com! Is it easier to play? TOTALLY!
Piano students dying for a really beautiful piece of music?
Give them one they already love, one they will recognize from one of the most popular movies ever! I'm talking about "Once Upon a Time... Storybook Love", from The Princess Bride.
Here's what it sounds like, in the key of C (just page 1 shown):
This piece makes a fabulous recital song for a student who isn't interested in performing a classical piece, but wants something lovely with a bit of a challenge.
"Once Upon a Time... Storybook Love" is evocative and mood-setting from the very first notes:
So why am I offering copyrighted music, Mark Knopfler's "Storybook Love," on my site?
Because this is my arrangement, in Bm, of The Princess Bride music, and I have permission from the copyright holders! Hooray - I'm so excited!
And now I have THE SAME ARRANGEMENT, but in an easier-to-play key (Am & C) over at Sheetmusicplus.com (clicking this link will take you to SheetMusicPlus.com).
Unfortunately, neither the key of D/Bm arrangement on this page, nor the key of C/Am music are free... however, your students will love it so much that their parents won't mind buying it.
In fact, your students' parents will adore this music as much as your piano students! This soundtrack is a blast from the past - who doesn't have a set of favorite Princess Bride quotes?
Here are Wesley and Buttercup, from the movie:
Here is a closeup look at the bottom of page 1:
Here is the heart of the piece... the main theme, starting in the middle of page 2:
Here is what PAGE 3 looks like, with apologies for the watermarks on the graphics (those watermarks do not appear on the PDF download, of course):
This music has made a lot of piano students happy! Mostly romantic young girls, but even the occasional boy... Once Upon a Time-Storybook Love also makes a fine wedding song, for before or after the ceremony.
You may ask, What special difficulties are in this piece? Mostly chord inversions - a lot of them in the first page, especially.
But the most daunting hurdle, which your students may need help with, is simply READING the chord-plus-simultaneous-melody which occurs in measure 3.
It's likely many of your students haven't seen that configuration of notes before. They may try to play the F#s one after the other, instead of simultaneously.
Also, page 1 is very tricky because there is NO PATTERN to follow - students must conquer reading those notes! Halfway down page 2, when the main theme begins, there is a predictable left hand broken chord pattern that repeats a lot.
This piece would've been easier in the key of C... but that would have meant an additional license, as I asked permission to publish it in the key of Bm, then found out that I'd need an additional license for each key! I'm not ready to go there yet. Licenses aren't free!
Update 2019: SheetMusicPlus.com made it possible to publish the version in C, as can be heard in the video at the top of the page.
So why should you buy Mark Knopfler's "The Princess Bride" Movie Soundtrack Music from me? A number of reasons, but foremost, because you won't find this sheet music any other place!
All the first-year material I give my beginner students.
Piano keyboard sheets, scales, chords, note-reading exercises, and over 256 pages of music!
This beautiful song book for piano & voice "Esther, For Such a Time as This", available as a digital download, tells the riveting story of the time when Jews in ancient Persia faced a foe named Haman, and how a brave young queen risked her life to save her people.
A good choice for a singing story-teller, an operatic group, a short theater production, or a class of children!
This book is also available from Amazon as a paperback.
This book is available as a digital download from this site. Visit this page to see some free examples from the book.
It is also available from Amazon as a paperback!
This is the perfect easy start for little pianists.
And when they start reading white-key notes on the staff, this is a fun easy resource to say each week, "Choose a new black-key song at home this week and figure it out to show me next lesson!" They will be spending more time at the piano.
A perfect read aloud storybook
for little boys or girls.
The Adventures of Tonsta highlight the travels of a very young boy with a good heart, who goes about helping folk in trouble.
With a red cap on his head and a sack of tools slung over his shoulder, Tonsta seems to meet people in distress wherever he goes.
Lots of trolls in this book - including one who gives him a Christmas gift!
Hi, I'm Dana! (Say that like "Anna".) I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.
Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.
You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.