These pieces for piano were intended to allow a beginning student to become familiar with the keyboard by playing music that keeps the hands in the five finger position. There are fingerings indicated, but not for every note as that might encourage the student to match numbers to piano keys rather than notes. The hand position does change at times to extend the range of musical possibility while generally maintaining the five finger position. Musical instructions, including dynamics, expressions, tempo indications, and phrasing, are included. The titles are descriptive of the tunes: Little Waltz is written in three; Riding to the Hounds is based on the call of the hunting horn; The Empress is composed in the traditional Chinese pentatonic scale; Honking Horns uses accents and the dissonance of the second to imitate the noisy beeping of car horns; A Sunny Day conjures a pleasant country scene; and Swinging has the musical motion of swinging. The pictures were drawn by Jessica Raum, the daughter of the composer.