Have you ever seen a bobcat sitting on a roof?

Look, LOOK! There is a bobcat sitting on the roof! 

Have you ever seen a bobcat sitting on a roof?

I hadn’t - until one autumn night when my young son came rushing into the house, eyes wide with excitement, proclaiming, "Mom, MOM! There's a bobcat sitting on the neighbor's roof! Hurry, HURRY! Come look, COME LOOK!"

Of course, I was curious, so we grabbed our flashlights and quickly headed out the front door to investigate. There it was - sitting perfectly still, tall, and proud. It was perched near the chimney across the street atop the neighbor's two story house. It surely was the silhouette of a bobcat, with every feature outlined by the dim evening light. I could hardly believe my own eyes. I stood there stunned in disbelief - a bobcat, right here in the city!

My son and I shined our flashlights on the figure and something unexpected happened. The furrowed brows and wide opened, moon-shaped glowing eyes of a great horned owl glared back at us. Yes, it was a great horned owl! It was not at all what we expected. The owl, clearly unimpressed with our intrusion, turned its head away with that owl swiveling motion, as if to say, "Hoo, hoo, who are you, and why are you disturbing my peace?"

We were elated and we couldn’t resist the chance to admire such a beautiful creature. We crept slowly closer to get a better look. With every moment we kept the light on him, it felt like he was sizing us up, daring us to continue. For a few moments, we locked eyes with this majestic bird, who seemed to be issuing a silent challenge. "Hoo, hoo, who are you, and why are you disturbing my peace?" Once again, the owl swiveled its head and looked away. Then the owl turned back to glare in our direction once again. It was so thrilling and our hearts were pounding with the excitement of the situation! "Hoo, hoo, WHO ARE YOU, and why are you disturbing my peace?" Dare we get closer? Then suddenly, without warning, the owl spread his wings—enormous, silent, and powerful—and swooped down barely clearing our heads, and flew right past us with breathtaking and terrifying grace and disappeared into the dark night. The silence of his flight was mesmerizing. We just gasped with exhilarating excitement: “Whoa! Did you see that?!”

We talked about the bobcat turned owl experience for months and we even still discuss the excitement of that evening to this day.

Moments like these stay with you. They spark your imagination and make you feel a connection to the wild right in your own backyard. For me, this unexpected encounter became the inspiration for an Elementary Piano Solo called Autumn Owls. Music shouldn't be just notes and rhythms. In Autumn Owls, students feel the echo of something as magnificent as an owl’s silent flight, captured in melody and rhythm. This Elementary Piano Solo has a mysterious sound that students and teachers alike will love to play.

One very exciting part of learning to play the piano is discovering the wide range of tonalities that make music so expressive. Exploring the mysterious sounds of minor and diminished harmonies that are especially popular during the fall season adds a special twist to piano practice. However, since not every student observes Halloween, I created a collection of fun, Elementary Level Piano Solos that embrace these intriguing tonalities without spooky themes. The collection is called Studio Savers - Songs for Autumn and Halloween. Instead of witches, goblins, skeletons and such, my Elementary Piano Music for the fall season is about characters like wolves, owls, bats, alley cats, and more additional mysterious personalities to align with the beliefs of students who want the mystery minus the spooky. This way all students can have the opportunity to participate in fall festivals, and harvest seasons and play the music that is often heard during this season even if they do not embrace Halloween.

Studio Savers - Songs for Autumn and Halloween pieces include catchy lyrics and optional teacher duets to make learning fun! These easy-to-learn pieces are full of patterns, emotion, and they are pedagogically sound. Students will enjoy performing them for recitals, festivals, or just playing the music for fun. The Songs for the Fall Season pieces give students the chance to experience the beauty of minor harmonies in a way that suits their beliefs. I hope you have a chance to take a look at Songs for Autumn and Halloween. Enjoy the music. This book will be available on my website soon. Look for Autumn Owls in this collection. And now, you know the inspiration - it was not a bobcat after all - but it sure did look like one!

Autumn Owls is an Elementary Piano Solo that captures the mystery of the fall sounds.