Doug Hammer’s Travels songbook contains all 39 piano solos from Doug’s 2011 award-winning double-album by the same name. If nothing else, this collection demonstrates what an incredibly diverse pianist/composer Doug is, with pieces that range from fairly simple and uncomplicated to fast and funky blues and ragtime - and just about everything in between! (Difficulty ratings are available for each piece on Doug’s website). Doug transcribed all of the pieces himself, and then I proof-read them, so the sheet music is as close to the recorded versions as is possible. The pieces are expressive and fun to play as well as to listen to, and many of them would be excellent teaching and recital pieces. It is interesting to note that the first nineteen pieces in the book (the Travels CD) are handcrafted, composed piano solos and the last twenty pieces (Travels: Detour) were improvised for the recording.

The layout of the songbook is roomy, clear and very easy to read. Metronome settings and pedaling are included and most of the music terms are in English. Doug has large hands and can easily reach a tenth, so some of the chords are out of reach for those of us with smaller hands. There are often work-arounds such as putting an out-of-reach note on the other hand, rolling the chords (not always suitable to the style of music), playing an octave chord instead of a tenth, or simply taking a note off the bottom or top of the chord, etc. See what works best for your hands and don’t be afraid to adjust the music to suit your reach. This truly is an exceptional songbook from an outstanding composer/pianist!

The Travels songbook is available to download in its entirety or as individual pieces from Doug’s website. Very highly recommended!

The titles of the pieces, the key(s) they are in and the number of pages are:

Travels - Key of A major/F# minor (3 sharps)/ A minor (0 sharps or flats) - 6 1/2 pages
The Turn of Time - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 3 pages
Country Road - Key of Ab (4 flats) - 4 pages
Maine Morning - Key of A (3 sharps) - 10 pages
Days of Summer - Key of Ab (4 flats) - 6 pages
Pendulum - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 6 1/2 pages
Reflections of a Distant Past - Key of D (2 sharps) - 7 pages
Can’t Go Back - Key of D major/G minor (2 sharps) - 4 pages
Moving - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 4 pages
City of Dreams - Key of G (1 sharp) - 2 pages
Outbound Train - Key of F# minor (3 sharps) - 5 pages
The Castle - Key of C minor (3 flats) - 6 pages
Lost City - Key of C minor (3 flats) - 2 pages
Here With You - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 3 1/2 pages
After the Storm - Key of G (1 sharp) - 2 pages
Whirling Dervish - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 7 1/2 pages
Jonathan’s Song - Key of G (1 sharp) - 5 pages
The Brightness of Days - Key of Bb (2 flats) - 6 pages
Travels (Epilogue) - Key of F# minor (3 sharps) - 2 pages
Moving On - Key of Eb (3 flats) - 3 pages
Back In Your Arms - Key of C minor (3 flats) - 3 pages
The Place We Once Knew - Key of F minor/Ab major (4 flats) - 3 pages
Glory Days - Key of B (5 sharps) - 2 pages
Have Faith - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 2 1/2 pages
Old Piano - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 1 page
Ragtime Blues - Key of G (1 sharp) - 4 pages
Jekyll and Hyde - Key of Bb minor (5 flats) - 4 pages
Frozen Night - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 4 pages
Here At Last - Key of Ab (4 flats) - 2 1/2 pages
My Heart Belongs To You - Key of Gb (6 flats) - 2 pages
My Precious One - Key of G (1 sharp) - 3 1/2 pages
Thinking of You - Key of C# minor (4 sharps) - 3 pages
Going Home - Key of D (2 sharps) - 2 pages
It’ll Be Alright - Key of D (2 sharps) - 3 1/2 pages
Stillness - Key of F (1 flat) - 2 pages
I Am With You - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 1 1/2 pages
Remembrance - Key of D (2 sharps) - 2 pages
Marching On - Key of Bb (2 flats) - 3 1/2 pages
In Memory - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 2 pages