- Level: Early Elementary, Black Key
- Pages: 5 pages, 2 pages of student music, 1 page of teacher duet, cover included!
- Style: Peppy but mysterious
- Bonus: mp3 performance recording included
- Format: PDF instant download
Sometimes you just know, even before you test it on a student (which we did later), that a piece is a winner. This is one of those pieces.
Ghastly Beast features so many fun things that kids love from knocking on the piano to a surprise ending. Ghastly Beast is for students who are on the black keys (or who have just recently moved to white keys). The piece contains a catchy hook that teaches students to easily move their hands from the black keys to the adjacent white keys, back and forth in a memorable way. Kids love surprising adults and Ghastly Beast gives them the opportunity to do this at the end.
Your students will love this piece. It’s truly Music Kids Love®.
What Level is Ghastly Beast?
Ghastly Beast is early elementary level. The smallest note value is the quarter note. Most of the piece is a simple steady quarter note rhythm, with the catchy part containing a few rests. The piece alternates the right hand between the black and the white keys, giving students a fun way to become comfortable changing “position.”
Does Ghastly Beast Have a Duet?
Yes! We have included a teacher duet on a separate score so that it does not crowd the student piece or make the student piece longer. On the teacher duet score, you’ll see exactly what the student is playing with the lyrics so you do not have to dart your eyes back and forth between the scores.
Bonus Mp3
We include a bonus mp3 of this performance (without voiceovers) with your purchase. You may send this mp3 to your student to help them learn the piece and remember how it sounds.
What is a Studio License?
Ghastly Beast comes as a studio license which licenses you to make as many prints for your students for as many years as you teach. It’s like getting an unlimited supple of this piece of Music Kids Love®!
Markita –
My little ones love this song! I copied the title page, cut out the drawing, taped it to the left side of the first page with fingers extending over the page. Taped the second page to the first and folded under the fingers. I made enough for my little ones but everyone who came in wanted one because of the drawing! The smile with the surprise ending is priceless!
Peter Meerwärts –
A good portion of the kids in our large studio DO NOT care for books that look to “childish.” But your GHASTLY BEASTS is an example that EVERY kid is drawn to.
jqcalvo –
Yes, all my young beginner students from kinder to 2nd grade have loved this song. Most of the students have keyboards so they love to change the sound and play it over and over! They can’t get over the picture of the beast! He’s so mezmorizing! Thank you for giving the students something quick and fun to learn, especially with the hurdle of virtual lessons. Bravo Composecreate!
Heidi Ball –
I started a newbie student on the Ghastly Beast this week and he was thrilled! His mom was SO happy too.
Heidi Ball –
I started a newbie student on the Ghastly Beast this week and he was thrilled! His mom was SO happy too. So I’m using these new pieces for him and others.
Kathleen Jasinskas –
Thank you for Ghastly Beast. I taught our first Zoom group class with it today and the kids loved it!
Christin C. –
I’ve been using Ghastly Beast with a few of my beginning piano students this year and they LOVE it! It is such a hit! I even had a student who has not yet established good practice habits come into his lesson yesterday saying he practiced Ghastly Beasts at home. Then his mom told me the whole family got into it by creating a spooky scene in the house and playing the piece with the lights off (his older siblings also play). Thank you for sharing this piece that has motivated my students during this very difficult year!
Brigid Cleary –
What a fabulous piece!
My students big and small loved it as did I.
Marilyn Wilson –
This has been a big hit with my students. The ending, the piano percussion, singing the words & being able to play it as a duet make this piece so much fun. Great way of teaching black & then white sets of keys.
Joanne –
This is a student favorite!!!
Lohnay Bishoff –
My students I tried this on really enjoyed it. One of the students said it was her favorite song. Thank you—so fun and can be played all year long.
Nina DeKock –
I gave this piece to a couple of my beginner students and they have absolutely loved it! It is a hit! I certainly bring this out again for fHalloween in the future!
Betsy Breaker –
My beginner students adored this piece and were so proud of their accomplishment at completing it! It was fun to play, fun to hear and fun for them to share and show off!
Dixie –
One of my 7-yr-old boys really enjoyed playing & singing this for our virtual Fall Recital. He even drew a picture of his own conception of the Ghastly Beast, which looked surprisingly similar to the one on the cover, although I didn’t show it to him until after he did his own. Thanks for sharing your creativity with us, Wendy!
Jeanne Kent –
Another excellent beginning piece by Wendy Stevens! Beginners will love playing (and singing) this song. Who doesn’t love songs that allow you to knock and play smoosh chords with your arm? Your students will have a blast and feel so accomplished!
Rachel Yanke –
This past Halloween all of my beginner students adored this piece! Unique, creative, hilarious lyrics, and that surprise ending brought grins ear to ear on every piano bench. It was perfect for a fall of online teaching. I will be keeping this in my music library for years to come! Thank you Wendy.
Linda Gaines –
My young beginner students absolutely loved this piece. Every one of them learned it very quickly, which I think is an important “win” for them, and they all asked to play it every week at their lessons and they happily sang as they played. I will use this for a long time. Thanks, Wendy for this great piece.
Christie Davis –
What fun this piece has been!! A huge hit with my kids up through 2nd grade, and they can’t wait to play it each time. One surprised me by having her mom help her learn it before I even presented it to her! Love the use of black and white keys, as well! Thank you for writing this!
Sharon –
Ghastly Beast was a big hit for my second grade student who had only had 5 lessons before I gave this piece to her. She loved it and it rapidly became her favorite piece. We even recorded it to our private Facebook group. She just loved the ending!
Carol –
This was an instant hit with all my early elementary students! It was so easy for them to learn quickly and they had so much fun playing it! This piece worked magic in boosting enthusiasm and practicing!!
Debbie Bannon –
I gave this to a young boy who had only had a few lessons. He loved it, especially the ending!
Clara Law –
My student loved playing and singing this piece with me! She used her Harry Potter wand to tap the digital piano. Spooky fun duet!
Rachel –
My 5 year old daughter loved this piece! Very easy to learn by rote – she learned it and was able to play the duet with me in just a few days.
Karen –
My beginning students LOVED this song! And I love the concepts they learn through playing it.
kathleen –
This was an instant hit! I taught this to my grandson who is rather difficult to get to focus. He loved it and learned it in less than 10 minutes and it was a real piano lessons saver! Thank you, Wendy for your clever, playable, and appealing pieces for non-readers!
Audrey –
The Halloween pieces that I purchased were a big hit with my students! In fact, they are still wanting to play them even as we are soon approaching the holiday season. I strongly recommend them. A sure 5 star rating!
Deanna –
I have several new students this year who started in September. They needed something fun for the Halloween Recital and this piece was definitely a win! They had so much fun learning the piece and although they each had a few other pieces for the recital, this was the one they wanted most to play!
Lisa –
This was the biggest hit, and very accessible to one of my newest students – we had a blast! Thank you! This is truly a place to come for Music Kids Love (and teachers and parents too!)
Heidi Mayer –
This Halloween piece was a huge hit with my students. The words and the special musical effects were fascinating to them. Not only that, it was fun to listen to!
Amy Morgan –
Today I showed a few students “Ghastly Beast.” I had one of my students say that it was their new favorite piece! The other one said, “I can’t wait to play it!” It makes me happy to give them music that makes them smile and want to practice.
Kaho S. –
One of my students told me Ghastly Beast is her favorite piece of all the pieces she has played in the past!
marian –
The artwork is totally the hook but my students love this piece. We have a keyboard so the kiddos can further use their imaginations by changing the beastly sound. Brilliant!
Kelly Parker –
This piece made two of my beginners smile! They created their own covers for the piece, drawing their own ghastly beasts. This piece sounds very different from the beginning black key group/reading pieces they are playing. The half step shifts sound creepy and sophisticated. Very motivational!
Carol –
Well, Wendy, 7 out of ten of my students are playing your Halloween music from my studio so you can bet they’re a hit! They love playing your hits this year that they heard (and remembered!) students play last year. Your biggest hits in my studio this year are Pretty Creepy, Ghastly Beast, Lochness Quest, Booming Beast, Beautifully Spooked, and Dragon Dreams.
So your music is moving through the ages every year, all through the year, I might add.
Kathleen –
My early beginners are loving Ghastly Beast, Candy Corn, and Pumpkin. So thank you for these…very motivating!
Sarah –
Can’t wait to teach this to my 6-year-old granddaughter this Fall! I know she’ll love playing and singing it!
Kerri –
My beginners LOVE this!! And they can master it, even as a beginner!