Eye For Ideas is the brainchild of Richard Smith who has wide experience in many areas of music.

He cut his musical teeth as a Staff Producer in Europe with EMI Records, Polygram and others working as a session musician, songwriter, arranger and conductor on pop recordings. For more background information, please press here. For television (Channel 4 and HTV) and BBC Radio, as well as professional theatre he has written, arranged, performed and directed music. Over forty of his songs have been published commercially and recorded, many are still on catalogue some forty years or so after they were written!

In recent years he was a mentor for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) for whom he worked as a trainer in their Professional Development division. This involved delivering seminars and a residential programme for Music Teachers on playing by ear. He also  worked on their ground-breaking Certificate in Teaching programme.

He has contributed to several ABRSM publications including Practical Musicianship in the areas playing by ear and transposition.

Eye for Ideas is a music publisher catering for those areas of the musical spectrum which can play a significant part in students’ development but for which the market may not be sufficiently rewarding to traditional providers.

Hence the first book ‘Crazy Crotchets & Quirky Quavers!‘ is a series of wacky action piano duets to inject fun into piano lessons in general, school concerts and recitals in particular.

Players swap places, stand up, stamp their feet, clap hands, play with a rag and more, yet the music never stops! Grades 1 – 3.

For Young Composers (& their teachers) gives guidance to young composers on musical composition and provides supporting material for their teachers to help them.

Don’t LOOK at the Keys! is the first book in a series of three to show how to play the piano by touch, a massive boost to sight reading, encouraging pianists to read the music, feel for the notes and listen to the performance!

My Piano, My Body and Me is a two book guide to the basics for serious piano students in the early stages.  Book 1  sets posture and first keyboard skills in the context of how the piano works, how it developed and what makes it special.  Book 2 places the piano’s development beside the evolution of playing technique, accordingly how to interpret Baroque, Classical, Romantic and modern music.

‘Don’t LOOK at the Keys!’ teaches how to play the piano by touch . It is a progressive series of three books.

In response to public demand, a fourth book (Don’t LOOK at the Keys! Book 1 – More Pieces) is now available, containing additional material at Book 1 level.