Betty Roe's songs fall into three general categories:
- Art Songs, generally for voice and piano but also for a wide range of instrumentation and multiple voices
- Cabaret songs
- Children's Songs
Associations with musicians such as John Mills (guitar) and Lowri Blake (cello) led to Betty Roe writing songs comcombining voices with non-keyboard instruments.
Roe's compositions for Soprano and Double Bass originated with a request from David Heyes, for the publisher Yorke Edition, a specialist publisher of music for Double Bass.
The first was the two Jazz Songs, described by Making Music as "Real fun for both the soprano and the double bass... a splendid light hearted item for a school concert"
The publisher rates the Double Bass parts of Jazz Songs and Cat and Mouse as Grade 1-3. However, both sets require an accomplished singer with some strong low notes and the ability to bring out the humour in the songs.
In Betty Roe's archive there is also an unpublished manuscript of an arrangement of The Adventures of Isabel annotated by David Heyes.
Betty Roe has composed six operas, five of which are for chamber forces. However, the spectacular Swindon: The Opera is scored for soloists, (Greek) chorus of Cynics, full orchestra, cynic's band, Chorus and children's choir.
The chamber operas included a Victorian thriller, two aspects of pilgrimages, a meeting of two Queens and a college reunion. All the operas are tuneful and a delight for both performers and audiences.
Betty Roe has written 18 musicals and two Pantomimes, mostly to texts by Marian Lines and mostly for children to perform.
Choral works form a significant part of Betty Roe's catalogue. Her work as a church organist and choral conductor has led to a wide range of texts and forces.