by Omar Roy

Preparation and Presentation

Context: pieces that are helpful to have experienced or played before approaching this one

• Vladimir Rebikov: Rocking, Op. 31 No. 7
• Edward MacDowell: To a Wild Rose, Op. 51 No. 1
• Franz Schubert: Valse Noble in A minor, D. 969/Op. 77 no .9

Get Ready: creative activities to explore before the first encounter with the score, to prepare a student for deeper engagement and more immediate success

• Introduce the student to Linus and the cast of Peanuts characters – highlight Schroeder’s connection to the piano.
• Familiarize the student with American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) and some of her other compositions to introduce her harmonic language.
• This is, originally, a concertante type work, written for piano and orchestra – listen to an orchestral recording to hear the layers of the musical texture. If the student finds the music compelling, take time to listen to other pieces from Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Peanuts Gallery.

Initial Focus: features to pay attention to first; priority steps in reading and absorbing the music

• Identify recurring motives or themes: The LH two-note slur pattern of ascending thirds (m. 1), the theme introduced in m. 4, and the large descending scale beginning in m. 20.
• Use these motives and themes to decipher the form of the piece. There are a number of ways in which to think about the piece structurally: Students may perceive it as being through-composed, being a loose ternary form, or even a binary form with elements of rounding that resemble a “closing.”
• Identify the climax of the piece, occurring in mm. 29-34, and the rising action leading to it. Because the form of the piece isn’t as clearly defined as something from the Baroque or Classical eras, students can use the climax as a structural reference point.

Coordination Essentials: physical skills and drills for common technical challenges in the piece

• Shaping the two-note slur figure in the LH across the bar-line, and maintaining its consistency throughout the piece.
• Holding a central note while simultaneously playing arpeggiations or other melodic figures around it – emphasizing relaxation and freedom of movement (mm. 16-17, 43).
• Practice the broken chord figures in mm. 25, 37, 39, and 43 legato to encourage the student to think about how to shape these figures before reverting back to staccato.

Expressivity: ideas to connect with the expressive and musical nature of the piece

• Try to mimic certain sounds in the orchestral recording – especially the descending glissandi in the low strings from mm. 21-24.
• Emphasize dynamic pacing leading to the climax, and the gradual decay through the end of the piece.
• Try Teacher-Student Duets, where the student is only responsible for a single hand. This allows the student to focus on shaping a single line, rather than two contradicting gestures, while still hearing the full tonal picture.

Look Forward: approaches to set up for success with refinements that will need attention a few weeks down the road

• Shape the RH melodic lines independently of the LH two-note slurs.
• Determine proper use (including coloristic use) of pedal to aid legato and vary sound.
• Pay close attention to Zwilich’s deliberately long pedal markings!

DOWNLOAD FILE

Process and Practice 

Fully present: tips for maintaining focus and engagement over time

• Fine-tune the shaping of smaller figures such as the alternating eighth-notes in mm. 27 and 33-34. Does the student feel them as a longer line or as a series of two-note slurs?
• When starting the piece, think ahead: How can the first introduction of melody in m. 4 relate to its return in m. 46?

Break it up: useful practice segments; how to connect them and plug them back into the whole

• Mm. 19-24: Practice melodic line with rolled chords, while omitting the descending 5ths in the bass clef to internalize how the rolled chords fit the melody. Then, reincorporate the lower registers while maintaining the same sensation of separate parts of the texture.
• Use the “jump and stop” technique to drill large jumps in the LH and RH (mm. 22-23, 27-28, 29-31).

Layers and outlines: tips for focusing on how the parts makeup the whole

• Refer, again, to the orchestral recording: what parts in this piano arrangement were originally played by other instruments, and how did they fit into the overall balance of the musical texture?
• Play through sections multiple times while listening to different layers each time. Listen for continuity of line, tone color, and articulation.

Achieving flow: ideas for finding and maintaining tempo, managing modifications artistically

• Start a section at the desired tempo and jump around to different sections of the piece to see how that tempo feels in each section. This will help the student map out their pulse through sections of the piece.
• Play through the entire piece with a metronome and make note of places where judicious use of rubato would benefit both expressivity and technical fluency.
• Try playing through the entire piece several times, each time with a different tempo. Make note about what you like about each tempo and find strategies to incorporate those same expressive qualities into your “ideal” tempo.

Make it mine: tips for developing and refining a personal, internal sense of the piece

• While the quarter note beats need to remain consistent, there is room for flexibility and experimentation with the timing of eighth notes in melodic figures.
• Refine the sense of tone color for each section of the piece: Where are the best places for the tone production to be more “hazy” or “dreamy”, and where are the best places for the tone color to be very “bright” and “clear”?

Deep knowing: tips for securing memory

• Continue to practice the piece hands separately, and in sections. It’s especially helpful to “work backwards” by starting with the last section, and building towards the beginning of the piece.
• Try starting a section, stopping the physical act of playing but continuing to play mentally, and bringing the hands back in near the end of the phrase. Often, memory slips happen in the middle or near the end of a phrase – not the beginning!

Final stages: tips for ensuring performance readiness, maintaining freshness and spontaneity, and reinforcing an expressive personal connection

• Record yourself or your student frequently as “practice” performances to simulate the pressure of real performance and expose any areas that do not feel totally secure.
• Maintain freshness by trying musical ideas that are contrary to the dynamics and articulations in the score, even if they sound weird. Experimentation can lead to interesting interpretations.

by Chris Madden

Video 1: Preparation and Presentation

Preparation and Presentation

Context: pieces that are helpful to have experienced or played before approaching this one

• “Charlie Chipmunk” from Piano Safari
• Amazing Grace
• Any tune that employs the pentatonic scale

Get Ready: creative activities to explore before the first encounter with the score to prepare a student for deeper engagement and more immediate success

• Improvise on black-key pentatonic patterns: the teacher plays an accompaniment and allows the student to experience the pentatonic scale via all five black keys. One or both hands may be used.
• Sing pentatonic melodies and note the “resting tone.” After singing, encourage students to play the melody on black keys.
• Once students can sing and play pentatonic melodies on black keys, encourage them to transpose them to white keys. F will be the easiest starting tone.

Initial Focus: features to pay attention to first; priority steps in reading and absorbing the music

• Simplify the visually complex key signatures. While students might be intimidated by two contrasting key signatures between the hands, they can easily understand that the piece will be played using only black keys.
• Identify the mixed meter: have students circle the changing time signatures in mm. 18-19 and clap these measures to ensure rhythmic and metric understanding.

Coordination Essentials: physical skills and drills for common technical challenges in the piece

• One challenge is achieving wrist flexibility in order to play the interval of a fourth with fingers 3-5. Depending on a student’s hand size, this could be a large interval to play using these fingers.
• Two exercises can help:
  • Play an ascending series of 4ths on white keys, focusing on a relaxed “drop and roll” motion that outlines a wrist “smile” on each new interval.
  • Practice Hanon’s Exercise No. 1, which emphasizes allowing the elbow to lead and letting a relaxed wrist follow.

Expressivity: ideas to connect with the expressive and musical nature of the piece

• “Mandarin Orange” requires students to create seamless legato between the fingers. To connect with the title of the piece, a teacher might ask a student to place their hand on top of an orange or other ball and roll it around to feel the concept of weight transfer that is required for finger legato.

Look Forward: approaches to set up for success with refinements that will need attention a few weeks down the road

• There are several places in the piece where a repeated note needs careful shaping so as not to become too heavy or vertical (e.g. the A sharp in mm. 1-3). Ask the student to play four A sharps in a row with various crescendo/decrescendo shapes to turn their attention to this nuance.
• Timing the climax of the piece at mm. 34-35 might be difficult, especially when considering the composer’s notated breath mark to indicate a lift and expressive timing. Ask the student to sing this phrase with a neutral syllable like “ta,” then subdivide and slow down leading up to the climax to help make the arrival more convincing.

Video 2: Process and Practice 

Process and Practice 

Fully present: tips for maintaining focus and engagement over time

• To maintain both mental and musical focus, have students draw a star over the high point of each phrase. This will give them short, intermediary targets to aim for throughout their performance.

Break it up: useful practice segments; how to connect them and plug them back into the whole

• Ask students to play just the climax in mm. 35-36. Then, encourage them to practice an even crescendo leading to this point as well as an even diminuendo following it by adding one measure on either side of the climax. Continue extending until they play the complete phrase before and after the climax.
  • This provides repetition practice at the most important part of the piece while also building in musicality.

Layers and outlines: tips for focusing on how the parts makeup the whole

• In order to understand the form of this piece, students should be encouraged to look for repeated melodic ideas. Notice that the opening returns at m. 19. Once they see and hear repeated melodic ideas, they can compare/contrast ways the composer treats them differently. This will add nuance to their playing.

Achieving flow: ideas for finding and maintaining tempo, managing modifications artistically

• The composer specifically indicates a tempo of “no faster than 96.” In order to find a convincing tempo that is less than 96, students might play passages with long tied notes (e.g., mm. 16-18 or mm. 43-45) and listen closely that the note is still sounding by the end of the tie. If not, it might be helpful to take a slightly faster tempo.

Make it mine: tips for developing and refining a personal, internal sense of the piece

• Short two- or three- note slurs in this piece might be a visual barrier to students who need to see and hear long phrases. Using a colored pencil, students can explore drawing longer phrase markings that end in various places to see how their choices affect shaping.

Deep knowing: tips for securing memory

• Identify subtle differences that occur within repeated ideas.
  • Example 1: mm. 1-3 ascends to C-sharp while the repeated idea in mm. 4-6 ascends to D-sharp.
  • Example 2: mm. 9-11 is repeated in mm. 11-13, but the melody is altered slightly.

Final stages: tips for ensuring performance readiness, maintaining freshness and spontaneity, and reinforcing an expressive personal connection

• As the composer suggests, encourage students to learn the piece starting both on F-sharp and F. Then, ask them to describe how it sounds different, and let them choose which key they will perform it in!
• For more advanced students, you might allow them to perform the piece beginning on any note in order to give them more ownership over the sound.

by Molly Thomas

Preparation and Presentation

Context: pieces that are helpful to have experienced or played before approaching this one

• “The Little Triton” by Andrea Granitzio from Mosaic, Vol. 1–this piece is like “Little Sister,” because it is also in a dance-like triple meter but does not exceed a five-finger pattern.
• “Sailing Under a Moonlit Sky” by Alison Mathews–this is in triple meter and requires a considerable amount of legato, which will prepare a smooth and connected melody for “Little Sister.”

Get Ready: creative activities to explore before the first encounter with the score to prepare a student for deeper engagement and more immediate success

• Improvisation with stepwise motion in G major with a teacher accompaniment
• Movement activity: Have the student feel a strong pulse on the downbeat in triple meter (teacher can play accompaniment for aural support).

Initial Focus: features to pay attention to first; priority steps in reading and absorbing the music 

• Ensure the student does not try to play the left hand in the bass clef.
• If something sounds dissonant, assure the student that it is still correct; because this piece is from the twentieth century, the student may encounter strange harmonies. Ask them to play through things carefully, especially when initially learning the notes.
• Remind students that they should not start the piece too softly. Seeing the piano dynamic at the beginning may lead them to play too quietly. which will make shaping difficult.

Coordination Essentials: physical skills and drills for common technical challenges in the piece

• When ties are written over the bar line, have the student hold the first note of each two-note group, then play the following note, enforcing the tie. Do this out of rhythm first.
• Finger crossing and finger substitution exercises: The fingering of this piece is deceptively difficult. Students should practice separate measures using the listed fingering before trying it in context.

Expressivity: ideas to connect with the expressive and musical nature of the piece

• Play the melodic line alone to imitate a beautiful singing voice.
• Take each two-measure phrase out of context. Play them apart from each other and begin combining them into groups. Different combinations will help students create multiple options for phrasing and dynamic contrast.

Look Forward: approaches to set up for success with refinements that will need attention a few weeks down the road

• Students can play each of the voices separately and begin shaping the accompaniment parts as well.
• Balance for the G major chord at the end of the piece may be difficult. By pausing at the fermata and listening for balance and voicing, the student can ensure they are playing the top note the loudest.

Process and Practice

Fully present: tips for maintaining focus and engagement over time

• Ask the student to play at different volumes in order to find an ideal dynamic level.
• Ask the student to keep the same phrasing and dynamic contrast while increasing or decreasing the tempo.

Break it up: useful practice segments; how to connect them and plug them back into the whole

• Practicing phrasing out of context will allow students to explore a 2+2+4 phrase.
• Add the challenge of asking the student to conduct the 3/8 phrases in one pulse per bar; if conducting is difficult for the student, have them tap the rhythms that occur in each hand.

Layers and outlines: tips for focusing on how the parts makeup the whole

• Ask the student to imitate an orchestra. Each part can represent a different family of the orchestra, such as string, woodwind, and brass instruments.
• Have the student play the left hand while singing the melody line. This activity will make sure that they listen to the left-hand harmonies while also being familiar with the right-hand melody.

Achieving flow: ideas for finding and maintaining tempo, managing modifications artistically

• Have the student put emphasis on the downbeat of each measure to create a stronger triple-meter feel.
• Add a metronome that puts the pulse on each eighth note at a slow tempo, then gradually increase the tempo and make the metronome pulse once per measure.

Make it mine: tips for developing and refining a personal, internal sense of the piece

• If the student has a sibling, cousin, or younger friend, have them imagine that this person is listening to them play. The song could mimic a lullaby or other pleasant song.
• Have the student imagine a music box with a small ballerina on top (or similar imagery), and try to mimic this sound quality.

Deep knowing: tips for securing memory

• Find areas where the student is playing a repetition in phrases (such as the beginning and ending). Compare the two sections to see what the student must change when playing from memory.
• Have the student analyze the piece, specifically examining areas that have multiple voices, such as measures 5-12.

Final stages: tips for ensuring performance readiness, maintaining freshness and spontaneity, and reinforcing an expressive personal connection

• Ask the student to play the piece transposed down an octave to explore a “Big Sister” character.
• Check the pulse. Have the student count out loud while playing. A way to make this more difficult is by having the student start by counting in their head, then stop them and ask what count they were on.

by Helena Hyesoo Kim

Preparation and Presentation

Context: pieces that are helpful to have experienced or played before approaching this one

• Rock Climbing by Sarah Konecsni
• Arctic Voices by Susan Griesdale
• Dragonfly Scherzo by Anne Crosby Gaudet

Get Ready: creative activities to explore before the first encounter with the score to prepare a student for deeper engagement and more immediate success

• Mastering the recurring rhythmic pattern, which is featured in the video, before looking at the other elements of the score
• Isolate and prepare tone clusters
• Listen to the effect of pedaling by playing chords first and adding the pedal after.

Initial Focus: features to pay attention to first; priority steps in reading and absorbing the music 

• Count the compound rhythms of the music incorporating the rhythms they learned through exercises
• Add pedal to isolated tone clusters
• Practice pedaling while tapping rhythm of tone clusters

Coordination Essentials: physical skills and drills for common technical challenges in the piece

• Two-note slur exercises (drop and roll exercises using wrists)
• Tapping exercises for the tone cluster section can help coordinate both hands for this piece’s complicated rhythmic patterns
• Tap the rhythm with the pedal markings so students can coordinate both hands and the right foot together

Expressivity: ideas to connect with the expressive and musical nature of the piece

• For students who may not be acquainted with the accordion, offer the option of enriching their knowledge through video content. They can choose to explore a captivating performance video showcasing the mastery of this unique instrument or opt for an instructional video that provides valuable insights into the art of accordion playing. Additionally, to infuse an element of playfulness into our activities, encourage students to engage in thoughtful conversations about their preferred musical instruments during their formative years, thus fostering an atmosphere of shared experiences and joyful reminiscence.

Look Forward: approaches to set up for success with refinements that will need attention a few weeks down the road

• It is important that students approach this piece step by step. It is not an easy piece to read for intermediate students, but if they understand how the patterns work, it can be a fun piece to play!
• Spend as much time as needed on the rhythmic elements of the piece first
• Applying the right pedal amount to create a swelling effect can take a few weeks of practice–be patient!

Process and Practice

Fully present: tips for maintaining focus and engagement over time

• Be clear on weekly practice objectives
• Take all the steps necessary to digest each concept–no need to learn everything at once!

Break it up: useful practice segments; how to connect them and plug them back into the whole

• Focus on counting first, especially with changing time signatures
• Isolate the moments in the piece with fluctuating time signatures

Layers and outlines: tips for focusing on how the parts makeup the whole

• Isolate the basic rhythmic motive 
• Discuss the similarities and differences between the basic rhythmic motive and each tone cluster section

Achieving flow: ideas for finding and maintaining tempo, managing modifications artistically

• Consider the pedaling when selecting the tempo–never play faster than you can listen for clear pedal changes
• Be sure to listen for the “swelling” effect of the sustain pedal

Make it mine: tips for developing and refining a personal, internal sense of the piece

• Have the student imagine a story or select a memory from their own childhood to build a more personal connection with the music
• Internalize all rhythmic patterns within the piece (consider creative ways to do this!)

Deep knowing: tips for securing memory

• Approach this process slowly, noting all the details and patterns
• Visualize the cluster chords and patterns away from the keyboard

Final stages: tips for ensuring performance readiness, maintaining freshness and spontaneity, and reinforcing an expressive personal connection

• Have student practice performing in front of parents and peers, rating their comfort level with memory and performance 
• Practice performing different sections of the music (starting in different places) to solidify the rhythmic differences in each section

by Leonard Hayes

History: Background information about the composer’s life, accomplishments, and any significant historical background about the piece. 

• Born in Chicago, IL in 1932, Dolores White earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano from Oberlin College and her Master of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music in Piano and Composition. 
• Her husband, Donald White, was the first African American to hold the Principal Cellist position of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. 
• Ms. White has held teaching positions at Wooster College, Hartt School of Music, Cleveland Music School, and the Metropolitan Campus of Cuyahoga. 
• Since her retirement in 2000, Ms. White has continued to compose works for voice and multiple instruments. 

Features: Notes on the style and/or genre of the piece. 

• Composed in a Jazz style with touches of European harmonies. 
• Images’ tempo marking is called ‘sensitive’ around 104 bpm. This metronome and mood marking gives the student permission to remain flexible in the tempo style. 
• The major seventh harmonies are arpeggiated between both hands throughout the entire piece. 
• During the halfway mark of “Images”, White marks ‘A tempo’ to imply that the preceding measure should be played freely. 

Compare: Pieces that are comparable in level and style from the standard repertoire. 

• Prelude by Reinhold Gliere 
• Jazz by Bert Konowitz 

Skills: Technical and musical skills that will be developed through this piece. 

• Finger dexterity for chord spacings and surprising accidentals. 
• Hand coordination for arpeggios between the right and left hand. 
• Musical pedaling for harmonic changes and melodic direction. 
• Shaping short and long phrases in duple compound meter.

by Claudia Deltregia

History: Background information about the composer’s life, accomplishments, and any significant historical background about the piece. 

• Villani-Côrtes received a PhD in Music from São Paulo University. 
• He was named Best Composer of the year by São Paulo Art Critics Association in 1990, 1995 and 1998 for Cecília Meireles Cycle, Postais Paulistanos and Concert for Vibrafone and Orchestra, respectively. His catalog contains over 200 works. 
• He was elected to the Brazilian Music Academy in 2014. 
• He became a professor at State University of São Paulo.

Features: Notes on the style and/or genre of the piece. 

• The piece is part of a suíte with 4 movements: Preludio (Prelude), Dança (dance), Movimento em ¾ (movement in ¾) and Chôro em Forma de Rondó (choro in Rondo Form) 
• It has a free formal structure and it grows in terms of texture and intensity. The pieces of the suite are not linked and it is possible to play them separately. 
• Preludio has a melancholic feeling and contains a well defined melody above a 2 measure accompaniment pattern in the left hand. 
• There is an academic work (in English) that includes information about this piece: https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/23958 

Compare: Pieces that are comparable in level and style from the standard repertoire. 

• Similar in level to the most challenging pieces from Album für die Jugend, Op.68 by Robert Schumann 

Skills: Technical and musical skills that will be developed through this piece. 

• Requires work on creating a singing tone. The tempo is moderato and the music should be flexible. 
• Encourages careful listening 
• Develops Romantic technique, using the wrists and being able to play loud chords and big sounds. This is necessary to listen to the layers of the music.
• Be careful to make the left hand pattern regular. Listen to the layers that the pattern creates.

by Kristina Henckel

Video 1: Teaching Demonstration

Video 2: Performance

Preparation and Presentation

Context: pieces that are helpful to have experienced or played before approaching this one

• J.S. Bach: Short Prelude in C Major, BWV 939
• M. Clementi: Sonatina in C Major, Op. 36, No. 3
• C. Czerny: The School of Velocity, Op. 299, No. 3 and 4
• F. Schubert: Landler in A Minor, Op. Posth., D 366, No. 5
• F. Schubert: German Dance in A-flat Major, D. 783, No. 15

Get Ready: creative activities to explore before the first encounter with the score, to prepare a student for deeper engagement and more immediate success

• Introduce the composer’s biography
• Demonstrate the piece by playing
• Discuss the character of the piece
  • Minuet and Trio: dances
  • Compare with the stately baroque style of the minuet and light classical style of minuets and trios
  • Bring attention to the melodic contour and musical gestures in the score and compare with dance movements
• Consider the Pas de deux – dance duet
  • Have the student identify possibilities of the two dancing characters and their body movements according to the music

Initial Focus: features to pay attention to first; priority steps in reading and absorbing the music

• Note the repeated sections in the Minuet and Trio
• Identify common and repeated patterns in each subsection – a – b – c – d
  • Chords – broken or arpeggios
  • Scales – full or partial
• Establish harmonic premise of each dance

Coordination Essentials: physical skills and drills for common technical challenges in the piece

• Developing a singing tone quality in a moving melodic line
  • Establish connection of the finger with the bottom of the key
  • Silent practice for slow key descent
  • Finger pedaling
  • Proper hand form for 2 and 3-note slurs
• Embellishments – inverted turns
  • Starting on the lower note indicated – starting on the upper note optional
  • With arm/finger release of the preceding long note
  • With elbow swing in a direction of the ornament
  • Practicing various groupings of the turn with consistent fingering
• Staccato
  • Finger sweeps
  • 4-3-2-1
• Octave leaps

Expressivity: ideas to connect and reconnect with the expressive and musical nature of the piece

• Discuss the musical gestures according to the “story”
• The Minuet opening passage could be an entrance of a ballerina on stage
  • Shape crescendos and diminuendos to follow the rise and fall of the phrase
• The Minuet B section could be the entrance of the second dancer
  • Similar contour as the opening, but shorter and more direct
• Adjust dynamics to highlight the dialogue between the dancers
  • The LH is prominent in the first two measures, then the RH takes over
• Trio – Dancers join side by side (parallel motion) to rush (rapid staccato) and lift (octave leaps) repeatedly

Look Forward: approaches to set up for success with refinements that will need attention a few weeks down the road

• Timing and connecting individual sections
  • Clear and convincing timing of the anacrusis – especially tricky in the B section of the Trio
  • Smooth transitions between sections in each the Minuet and the Trio
  • Proper timing in the transition between the Minuet and Trio and the da capo Minuet (a repeat of the Minuet)
• Establishing clear articulation
  • Tricky measures – Minuet A section – m. 8
  • Trio – staccato not too light – marked marcato
  • All quarter notes in the LH of the Trio not too short

Process and Practice 

Fully present: Tips for maintaining focus and engagement over time

• Practice the Minuet and Trio as two individual pieces
• Select a specific musical aspect to experiment with
• Exaggerate and/or reverse
  • Dynamics
    • When playing hands in unison, swap emphasis between hands
    • Emphasize the LH accompaniment – you may find hidden notes/sound which will add sound color to your performance
  • Articulation
    • Swap legato for staccato and vice versa
    • Can you play a different sounding staccato?
  • Embellishments – start on the upper note or the lower note
  • Tempo – Character
    • Can you make the dances sound like a lullaby?

Break it up: Useful practice segments; how to connect them and plug them back into the whole

• Identify star spots and practice according to the level of difficulty:
  • 3* – most difficult – most time required to master
  • 2* – medium difficulty
  • 1* – quick fix
• Use a drill to fix the star spots:
  • Rhythmic variations for even eight notes
  • Variable note groupings for embellishments or phrases
  • Prep/play – to secure clean shifts and transitions between passages and chords
  • For unison passages, play one hand and ghost (pretend play)
  • Voicing exercises for harmonic intervals and chords
• Remember
  • The smaller the star spot, the better the chance of a quick and permanent fix
  • Many times, only one or two notes or fingers are misbehaving
  • Once the star spot is fixed, add sections together

Layers and outlines: Tips for focusing on how the parts makeup the whole

• Bring back the dancing characters
• Review repeated material within each subsection and practice the differences
• What are similarities and differences between the Minuet and the Trio?

Achieving flow: Ideas for finding and maintaining tempo, managing modifications artistically

• Use metronome for consistent tempo before you internalize it
  • Treat each section as a new beginning and use the same metronome routine
  • Use the metronome at the beginning of each section to match tempos
• Remember:
  • The stylistic phrasing of this piece requires slight rubatos (time stretch) at the phrase endings
  • Do not forget about the ritardando in section d of the Trio

Make it mine: Tips for developing and refining a personal, internal sense of the piece

• Create your story of the piece
• Record yourself and listen while following the score
• Can you find your story in your recorded performance?

Deep knowing: Tips for securing memory

• Practice memorization by section
  • Identify difficult spots and practice them backwards
  • Perfect the phrase endings before the return of the main (repeated) material
• Solidify fingering
  • Silent practice
  • Ghosting one hand while the other plays
  • Bring back the initial harmonic premise
  • Reduce the score – label the scales and patterns
• Clean up the articulation
• Exaggerate your expression – dynamics, tempo – be dramatic!
• Practice each section in at least 3 different tempi

Final stages: Tips for ensuring performance readiness, maintaining freshness and spontaneity, and reinforcing an expressive personal connection

• Perform your piece in front of your parent or friends without any prior warm-up
• Play the hardest section of the piece without any warm-up just after you wake up
• Perform your piece on different pianos
• Take time to hear the beginning of your piece in your head
• Practice a “get in the zone” routine
• Practice with the same shoes you will be wearing during the official performance
• Practice the bowing and walking on the stage
• Record yourself
• Perform your story

by Chris Madden

Preparation and Presentation

Context: Pieces that are helpful to have experienced or played before approaching this one

• Nancy Faber – Classic Sonatina (1st movement)
• Cornelius Gurlitt – 24 Easy Melodious Studies, Op. 50, no. 1
• Any additional pieces in which standard scale fingerings appear

Get Ready: Creative activities to explore before the first encounter with the score, to prepare a student for deeper engagement and more immediate success

• Fun fact: The composer’s last name was actually “Gobbaerts,” which is “Streabbog” spelled backwards!
• What sounds “pleasant” in this piece? Does anything feel “pleasant” when playing?
• Which elements of the piece indicate that it’s morning? (the ascending scales could be compared to the sun rising or rising from bed).

Initial Focus: Features to pay attention to first; priority steps in reading and absorbing the music

• The form of this piece is A – B – A with a coda. Once you learn the A section in mm. 1-8, you’ve also learned mm. 17-24. This is over half of the piece!
• The B section alternates between G pattern fingering (mm. 9-10) and C pattern fingering (mm. 11-12).
• When transitioning back into the A section in mm. 15-16, always use C Major scale fingering to stay oriented during the twists and turns.

Coordination Essentials: Physical skills and drills for common technical challenges in the piece

• Warm-up with C Major scale in each hand, as it appears several times in the piece.
• Practice playing a repeated note with finger 5 followed by two-note slur to finger 4 (mm. 1-2)
• For example, use fingers 5 – 5 – 4 to play C – C – B, and continue this pattern
• down the piano on white keys (B – B – A, etc.).
• While playing, say “up – down – up,” which corresponds with wrist movement.
• Visually identify the difference between the LH chords in mm. 7-8 and mm. 9-10. Now practice finding these two chords quickly by starting with your hand in your lap.

Expressivity: Ideas to connect and re-connect with the expressive and musical nature of the piece

• Listen for the tension and release on all two-note slurs.
• Pace your dynamics by starting your long crescendos and decrescendos at least 2 beats after the symbol is written.
• In the B section, give more sound on measures where the dominant occurs (mm. 9, 11, 13) and less when the tonic occurs (mm. 10, 12, 14).

Look Forward: Approaches to set up for success with refinements that will need attention a few weeks down the road

• Lift the LH early in m. 6 so that you can arrive on time for the chord in m. 7. The shape of fingers 1-2 remains the same – just move up a fifth.
• On the downbeats of mm. 26-27 in the coda, your LH 5th finger should be hovering above the correct note – don’t move too far!

Process and Practice 

 Fully Present: Tips for maintaining focus and engagement over time

• Always listen for well-paced crescendos. Try saving the majority of the crescendo for the final three notes of the scalar passage, at which point you might say, “and-then-to-therrre” to reinforce the appropriate inflection.
• Be sure the “down-up” motion of your wrist matches the “more-less” sound you are trying to create on two-note slurs.

Break it Up: Useful practice segments; how to connect them and plug them back into the whole

• Practice mm. 1-2 followed by 3-4. Which set of measures should be louder? Suggested answer: mm. 3-4 because the notes go higher.
• Play only the RH notes that fall on beats 1 and 3 in mm. 7-8. Suggested fingering for these RH notes is 3 – 3 – 3 – 2. Next, add the LH chords that support these notes, still only playing what falls on beats 1 and 3. Finally, play all notes.

Layers and outlines: Tips for focusing on how the parts makeup the whole

• Notice the two-beat sequence in m. 7. Try using the same RH fingering for each chunk: 3 – 4 – 5 – 1.
• Play all three RH 2-note slurs in the A section. Then, decide which should be loudest, softest, and in the middle. This will create a clear dynamic shape for the whole section.

Achieving flow: Ideas for finding and maintaining tempo, managing modifications artistically

• To achieve a consistent opening tempo, sing the first two measures in your head before beginning. Instead of continuing to sing m. 3 in your head, begin the piece.
• A slight ritard in m. 16 might be appropriate. If you decide to include one, try subdividing sixteenth notes in your head around beat 3 or 4 in order to pace the ritard smoothly.

Make it mine: Tips for developing and refining a personal, internal sense of the piece

• Explore starting crescendos and decrescendos in slightly different places to create varied effects.
• Experiment with a slight ritard in m. 16 to make the A section’s return more effective.
• Explore varying dynamic plans for the coda (mm. 25-29). Should it drive all the way to the end, or does the sound relax on the repeated chords?

Deep knowing: Tips for securing memory

• When memorizing, practice measures with similar patterns together. For example, mm. 1-4, mm. 9-10, and mm. 11-12.
• Remember that all scale passages follow the “standard” scale fingering. This will keep you oriented as you play.

Final stages: Tips for ensuring performance readiness, maintaining freshness and spontaneity, and reinforcing an expressive personal connection

• Practice starting from the beginning of each section (A, B, A, and coda).
• Record your performance and listen back to be sure your intentions come through clearly.

by Jason Sifford

Preparation and Presentation

Context: Pieces that are helpful to have experienced or played before approaching this one

• Menuet en Rondeau, Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Polonaise in G minor, BWV Anh. 119, composer unknown, from J.S. Bach’s notebook for
  Anna Magdalena
• Minuet, #16 from First Term at the Piano, Béla Bartók
• Bourrée in A minor, Johann Ludwig Krebs
• Ballade in C minor, Op. 100 #15, Friedrich Burgmüller

Get Ready: Creative activities to explore before the first encounter with the score, to prepare a student for deeper engagement and more immediate success

• Discuss the dance, specifically the idea that it is danced on the toes with a lift on the
  downbeats.
• Explore how this translates to piano technique in the idea of an “up-touch”
• Review intervals – 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, and 6ths.

Initial Focus: Features to pay attention to first; priority steps in reading and absorbing the music

• Look at the structure of the piece – use the notes on the first beats of each measure to
  explore the underlying counterpoint.

Coordination Essentials: Physical skills and drills for common technical challenges in the piece

• Examine the changes of position and how best to manage them through leaps, finger
  crossings, and extensions.
• Review arm/hand alignment, particularly in the rolling of large chords.
• Explore the idea of an “up-touch” by building exercises out of intervals and triads.

Expressivity: Ideas to connect and re-connect with the expressive and musical nature of the piece

• Let the melodic contour guide expressive choices.
• Analyze the form of the piece, considering the contrasting characters of each section.

Look Forward: Approaches to set up for success with refinements that will need attention a few weeks down the road

• Be mindful of the tempo, keeping in mind the nature of the dance
• Be mindful of the shape of the melody, as it dictates the dramatic arc of the piece
• Be mindful of extremes – don’t let the piece become a caricature of itself

Process and Practice 

Fully Present: Tips for maintaining focus and engagement over time

• Revisit how the dance-like nature of the piece affects the musical and technical choices.
• Experiment with different articulations, dynamics, and tempi – how does the spirit of
  the piece change as you try different things?

Break it Up: Useful practice segments; how to connect them and plug them back into the whole

• Practice the technical aspect of the chords with a relaxed but firm hand.
• Analyze the form and practice by section. Challenge the student to play the sections out
  of order.

Layers and outlines: Tips for focusing on how the parts make up the whole

• Analyze the underlying counterpoint by focusing on the 1st beats of each measure.
  What patterns can you find?
• Assign a film/TV character (or a meme!) to each section of the form. How would the
  piece sound differently if inspired by different characters?

Achieving flow: Ideas for finding and maintaining tempo, managing modifications artistically

• Practice with a pause after the 1st beat, then playing from beat 2 to beat 1 of the
  following measure to promote flow across the barlines.
• Employ “antiphonal” practice – practice in call-and-response style with student and
  teacher alternating 1-, 2-, or 4-bar sections.

Make it mine: Tips for developing and refining a personal, internal sense of the piece

• As the student settles on details, write them in the score. (And make sure you find an
  urtext score or erase editorial markings.)
• Have the student create a story, artwork, or choreography to accompany the piece.

Deep knowing: Tips for securing memory

• Compare the form of this minuet with others. How is it similar? Different?
• Have the student go through the piece, playing a measure, then listening (in their mind)
  to the next measure, then continue alternating. Try this is in 2- and 4-bar sections as
  well.

Final stages: Tips for ensuring performance readiness, maintaining freshness and spontaneity, and reinforcing an expressive personal connection

• Reconnect with the idea of the dance, visualizing the upward motion of the arms as they
  dance across the keys.
• Stay connected to the contour of the melody and the use of the half steps within the
  minor scale for expressive purposes.
• Develop a single thought that you use to begin each performance, setting the student
  up for success.