Welcome to the MaxMusic Piano eSheet Club! It’s a monthly surprise package designed specifically to bring more joy to you and your students!
“Thank you so much for sharing your creative experience, I admire it.” ~ Jelena, Italy
2023 eSheets by Level
Click on the titles below to access teaching resources:
- The listing by Level makes it easy to choose the best pieces for your students.
- Quick Links to the eSheet Downloads.
- Watch YouTube videos for examples of the music.
- Get helpful teaching hints.
Early Elementary Primer
Elementary Prep A
Étoile dansante / Dancing Star
Late Elementary Level 1
Late Elementary Level 2
The Babe in the Cradle goes Rock, Rock, Rock
Early Intermediate Level 3
Intermediate Level 4
Early Advanced Level 7
December 2023 – Étoile dansante / Dancing Star
Levels: US, Elementary. AMEB, Junior/Preparatory. ABRSM —. RCM, Prep A.
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Teaching Hints
- Dancing Star is composed in a style inspired by Tchaikovsky’s rich ballet literature, whose music was written for ballet dancers who were trained in French ballet. You’ll find a melody that suggests strength, conviction (knowing what you want), bittersweet love, delicacy, and a little longing. In short, you’ll find a story to be told through music.
- A wonderful way to first experience the piece is to learn the melodious phrases first (omitting the quarter note waltz pattern). Each phrase has its own voice and technical challenge in shaping it. In the story, which character is played by the right hand? How do they feel? Ask this question with each phrase.
- The first three phrases, played forte, suggest the full orchestra with strings and brass calling out, like the dancers pouring out their hearts. Keep fingers touching the piano keys then play into the bottoms of the keys for a warm forte, keeping the sound from becoming too brash.
- This piece gives the Elementary piano student (RCM Prep A) practice with shaping the phrases. There are several different phrase presentations in this little piece: RH-only (measures 1-4), a cross-hand phrase (measures 5-8), and two LH-only phrases (measures 9-12 and 13-15).
- In these simple phrases, students can practice the concept of the “magnet note” — that is, the note that pulls the phrase forward, the note that may be given a slight emphasis as the phrase is shaped. Even in advanced music (for example, in Chopin), quite often the magnet note is found approximately 3/4 of the way through the phrase.
- This piece can help you awaken your students’ imaginations to know the purpose of the magnet note and help their ears to listen for the shaping. You’ll be amazed with the musical playing you’ll hear.
- The right hand shapes the first phrase on its own, perhaps leaning towards measure 3 beat 1 (E) as the magnet note. In the same way the next two phrases feel the “draw” or “pull” of the first note of of their third measures: that’s LH middle C in measure 7 and LH E in measure 11. In the shorter final phrase, perhaps LH E in measure 14 is the magnet note. To shape each phrase to and from its magnet note, imagine it as your destination even when you begin the phrase. There are no hairpin crescendo or diminuendo marks to and from magnet notes, but perhaps you could draw them in if your student could use the extra help with remembering to shape the sound.
- The second challenge is to play the staccato quarter intervals on beats two and three with a light dancing feel. Practice these separately as well, playing from the surface of the keys feeling an “up” wrist.
- Eventually, while playing the richer legato melody with one hand, your students will want to feel and listen for the lighter staccato accompaniment with the opposite hand. The piece is carefully constructed to allow the Elementary student to develop both touches side-by-side by cleverly avoiding simultaneous staccato and legato (the staccato always occurs with a sustained dotted-half note).
- There are two hand moves near the middle of the piece. Both hands shift down one piano key, first the RH in measure 8 and then the LH in measure 9. Students will want to prepare these moves with a little shadow destination practice game, to get a feel for the distance of the moves. There are reminders in the score.
- Composer’s note: I usually try to release longer pieces, influenced by other producers of studio-licensed music. But this piece is influenced by RCM’s exam repertoire in the Prep A book. Even though it may seem insignificant compared to other pieces in the club, this piece took just as much time to compose. First, I wanted beautiful music that students would want to play, and that sounds mature for their level. I wanted a main theme that falls beautifully under both the right and left hands. Compare the theme in measures 1-4 and 9-12 and you’ll notice that both hands work well with it. I wanted the music to be interesting. Notice that the first time we hear the theme, it’s accompanied by the LH in A Minor, yet when roles are reversed, it sounds fresh because the RH accompanies it with D Minor. I love that the simple elements in the music can create complex sounds, especially the dissonance in measure 12. Though it seems simple, it took a lot of craftsmanship to create a piece that accomplishes so much with so few notes in only sixteen measures. The piece went through many drafts and rewrites. I hope you enjoy it!
November 2023 – There’s a Name on a Stone
Levels: US, Intermediate. AMEB, Level 3. ABRSM, 3. RCM, Level 4.
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Teaching Hints
- Have you ever stood before a stone, read the name cut into it and remembered the person? Or, wondered who the person was? People have been cutting names into stones for millennia. There’s only one reason: the people doing the inscribing want the named person to be remembered. It’s a sign of honouring them.
- Whether we are pondering a name on a stone of an ancient ruin written in a language we no longer know, or reading the name of a loved one we personally knew, there’s a universal pause in which we reflect on a life. This music was written to capture that moment of reflection in the style of folk music I’ve known and loved in Nova Scotia for a lifetime.
- Nova Scotia, the Canadian Province in which I’ve lived my whole life, has a very rich tradition of folk music. I frequently turn to composing in the folk style of my heritage, as I have for this piece.
- There’s a Name on a Stone is composed in the strophic form. This is a very common structure for folk music, in which the complete tune is sung through with each verse. Because there is no variance from the tune, it must be a tune worthy of being repeated. I’ve added an intro, an instrumental break before the second stanza and an outro. In this way, the structure imitates what the music would be like if there were words sung to an accompaniment.
- Normally I’d refer to a piano composition as a “piece” of music, but I am going to refer to this one as a “song.” That’s because I imagine it to carry the emotional weight of a real folk song. I composed this melody to be played on the piano in the spirit of a song, similar to Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words.
- Play each long phrase like a vocal line, with a slight crescendo and diminuendo to shape it.
- Notice the sparsity of the left hand harmony. I wanted a stark and barren accompaniment, not only to reflect a folk sound but to capture the raw emotion of remembering one who is no longer with us. I wanted the music to sound simple, sincere, profound, a bit reverent and universal.
- The pedal should change with each measure or half measure, keeping the harmonies of the left hand clean. I’ve written out the pedal of the first several lines to give an example, with “simile” indicating that you should continue with the pedal for the rest of the piece in a similar fashion.
- For more mature pianists, you may want to play with a slight rubato with each phrase, allowing the music to ebb, flow, breathe, never feeling tied to a strict beat but instead letting the tune guide the timing. If it sounds like a question, let it linger a little. If it sounds like a profound moment, let it breathe.
October 2023 – Forbidden Forest
Levels: US, Late Elementary. AMEB, Grade 1. ABRSM, Grade 1. RCM, Level 1.
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Teaching Hints
- In the autumn our minds turn to changing colours and walks in nature. This piece stirs up the image of a forest that is shrouded in mystery. This will appeal to all ages playing Late Elementary music, including adults!
- The mysterious Phrygian mode (starting on E with only white keys) creates a murky atmosphere reminiscent of bygone days. The music transforms through moments of sounding creepy, sad and noble. We can imagine we’re hearing echoes from the mist-shrouded, distant past.
- The damper pedal changes on beat one of most measures, there being two exceptions when the pedal is held through two measures. Holding the pedal down through the moving chords will blur the sound and create accents through dissonance. In these two-measure phrases, also shape the sound with hairpin dynamics.
- While the piece seems simple, the LH moves to the lower register are the main challenge. Students may have varying levels of confidence with reading ledger notes below the grand staff. One way to help them predict these lower notes is to point out that each one matches the root of the chord just played. (The one exception is in measures 11-12 where the chord’s fifth is played below.) I’m a big believer in pushing kids into reading ranges where they might normally hesitate, and helping them develop strategies that boost their confidence. It’s just so fun to play the whole range of the piano, and the playing experience shouldn’t be limited by note reading. Teach these notes party by rote if necessary.
- Physically prepare the left hand moves by practicing the LH separately. Treat it like a fun target practice: play the chord then feel the distance DOWN to the low note, several times in a row in slow motion. Then begin with the low note and play UP to the next chord several times in a row. Play each move until it is comfortable and your body learns to feel and measure the distance. A little bit of “target” practice each day will help secure these moves.
- Meanwhile, learn the RH part on its own. Only once the LH knows its part, play hands together. The LH moves are made possible because the RH stays in one place and holds to allow extra focus on the LH low notes.
- To help create the shrouded sound of the mp-p-pp dynamics, try using the Una corda pedal. This helps control the delicate sound. This pedal is different from the damper because you hold it down throughout the entire soft section as desired and only lift when you want a warmer or slightly louder sound.
September 2023 – Bones, Bones… Old Bones!
Levels: US, Elementary. AMEB, Junior/Preparatory. ABRSM —. RCM, Prep A.
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Teaching Hints
- Every kid loves the idea of being a hero, the idea of discovering things and of solving mysteries! This piece wraps up all of these wishes into one piece, Bones, Bones…Old Bones!
- It’s inspired by the archeological shows that my husband and I watch. Time Team from the UK is our favourite, and it’s available on YouTube. In some of my favourite episodes, the team enlists the help of village children to help with their digs. It’s wonderful to watch how engaged the children get while digging to learn about their local historical artifacts.
- You’ve also likely heard the traditional tune Them Bones, Them Bones, Them…Dry Bones. It’s a kids’ favourite. I wanted to emanate its rhythmic and almost playful sound with my own new piece about bones.
- Even though it’s not technically a Halloween piece, Bones, Bones…Old Bones! covers the topic of a thrilling discovery, old bones, and solving a mystery. These bones don’t end up being spooky because they’re dinosaur bones. The kid who discovers them gets to be a local hero!
- While the music centres in the middle of the keyboard and staff, it gives the Elementary piano student a chance to play the LH away from the middle C position. Even if your student hasn’t learned lower than Bass clef F (line 2 or 4, depending on which way you count the lines), encourage them to learn this piece. The walking bass line leads them to the note they don’t know, and perhaps they’ll be able to predict that it’s simply the next lower note. In other words, this note alone shouldn’t be reason to discount this piece for kids who are reading only in the middle of the staff. I’ve designed this on purpose to help you show your students that it’s okay not to officially know something. It’s okay to know most of it and to be brave and discover something new by pattern. The E note is almost like the bone that they can dig to discover! With this in mind, I’d encourage you to lead the child to discovering it, themselves, rather than telling them what it is. It is this kind of teaching that leads children to understand how to become independent, literate musicians.
- When I taught this piece to students, the first thing we learned was the “Bones, Bones…Old Bones!” refrain. Step one was to tap on our laps, “Left, right, left, right, RIGHT,” and when that rhythm was secure, to tap through the complete phrase with, “Left, right, left, right, RIGHT, left, left!” We then discovered how many times it appears in the piece and played them all.
- Dynamics enhance the storytelling, as do details like staccato and legato. With imaginative playing, the music will come to life!
- At the end, the RH travels up the keyboard with keys in octaves that are easy to learn by rote. Again, teach this piece to kids who are reading in the middle of the staff and teach them the octave moves and ending by rote. These notes are written loco and not with 8va signs because I feel it’s important to give kids reminder notes that reflect how the music actually sounds, moving up the grand staff. Kids who are exposed in this way won’t fear new notes if they realize they’re part of a predictable pattern. The idea is to make kids comfortable with curiosity and bravery, and engrain the willingness to try new things.
- Two versions are provided: with and without lyrics. You’ll know which students will appreciate which version. 😉
August 2023 – When You Take the Time
Levels: US, Early Elementary, Primer. AMEB, — . ABRSM —. RCM —.
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Teaching Hints
- When You Take the Time is a tender love song from the point of view of a child. It can be played and sung to a parent, grandparent, sibling, family member or loved one. Life gets so busy. This song is a reminder of how those little moments spent together help a young person feel special.
- You may be familiar with the Chapman’s five “Love Languages” — of which Quality Time is one. This theory has been important in helping many families make efforts to help each other feel appreciated and loved, and it is hoped that this song can help young piano students get in touch with their own emotions, feelings and hopes.
- I wrote the lyrics the week Nova Scotia was recovering from flooding in which two small children, a teen and a man were lost. It was a highly emotional week and I felt for their families and our close-knit community. I poured my energy into this love song to help remind us all to pause and take the time to be kind and tender to the little ones in our lives. What those families wouldn’t give to have another moment.
- Most of the notation is between the space Cs, and yet it is not locked into positions. I’ve allowed for choice in fingering. Notice in the alternative version how the fingerings favour fingers 2 and 3 and avoid playing between 4 and 5. These fingering choices are influenced by the Russian school of music and go back to Chopin’s theory of the hand. Traditional American 5-finger options are also given, just in case your student prefers this alignment.
- Because it is a song, the teacher duet should be played very dreamily in the background. Play almost prayerfully to allow the student’s part to sing. The dissonances should not clash or be played heavily. Rather, they should add a spark and maturity to the sound.
July 2023 – Étoile de mer / Starfish
Levels: US, Late Elementary. AEMB, Preliminary. ABRSM — . RCM, Level 1.
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Teaching Hints
- Étoile de mer / Starfish captures the excitement of exploring at the beach in the summer.
- When our children were younger, we spent holidays in Baddeck, Cape Breton. We’d take the small ferry across the harbour to Kidston Island, where we’d splash in the shallow waters and explore the waves for marine life. The most amazing thing we discovered was an invertebrate — the tiniest purple starfish. Here are some photos:
- Written in the Lydian mode, Étoile de mer / Starfish is infused with anticipation. The character of this tonality is charged with expectation, excitement, exploration and color. Imagine children playing with children they don’t even know, brought together by the pure adventure of searching shallow waters for little sea creatures, then sharing their finds with one another.
- Starfish are very slow creatures. The music isn’t composed to illustrate the creature itself, but rather the feeling of discovering them. Allow the tempo to dance!
- The 5/8 time signature is inspired by the five points of the starfish. The measure is subdivided into two-plus-three eighths, meaning the lowest and highest notes of the pattern are slightly (not heavily) emphasized. The result is a highly rhythmic and exciting beat.
- This piece features a five-note motif which is explored in many ways: original, inverted, shared between the hands, then in parallel and contrary motion. Keep it sparkly like sunshine on the waves. When passed hand to hand it becomes a four-measure question phrase. When first learned slowly, the student will have the chance to refine and develop tension-free playing through all of the fingers of both hands, especially helping the awkward 4-5 finger pairs.
- Because 5-4-5 appears in both hands, either in the motif or its inversion, ease and diminish the tension and awkwardness by using a very slight arm and wrist rotation (exaggerated at first, to use the larger muscle groups to do the work, not the fingers). The repetition within this piece will help students learn how to get around this “Achilles heel” of the hand.
- Why the French name? Every once in a while I feel a tug from my own French heritage, my paternal grandmother, Emma Labrie (Price), having been Québécois. She studied piano at the university level and graduated in about 1916. At times I like to send her a nod, though when I was very small I regarded her as a mystery woman.
- I hope you and your students will give this piece a try, either in the summer, or later in the year when summer is but a memory and a dream.
June 2023 – Spinning a Web
Levels: US, Early Elementary, Primer. AMEB, — . ABRSM, — . RCM, –.
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Teaching hints
- This delicate rote pattern piece allows the beginner to play a beautiful ‘impressionist’ concert piece in the first months of piano lessons.
- This piece features a delicate weaving of sounds, which paint a sound picture of a transparent spider’s web glistening in the light.
- The four-note pattern is played on pairs of white keys (between sets of black keys), copying the teacher’s example and doesn’t require reading. This can be played by pre-readers, pre-schoolers, beginners of average age who want to play across the piano, beginners who like making beautiful sounds in a range they’re not ready to read yet, and beginners who require simple patterns with which to polish good technique.
- The student’s part consists of twelve measures which are played three times, one octave higher on the piano with each repetition. The four repeated B keys join the sections together, with the RH ready to play the first two B’s and the LH playing the second two, which prepares the next playing position.
- Beginners sometimes find the 3/4 time signature to be a challenge. But in this piece it is introduced in an intuitive way, using language and rote learning to instil a feel for the ‘spinning’ feel of triple metre. You are encouraged to sing the words, “Spinning a web,” as these words help the music to flow to three beats.
- The piece is designed to allow the student to play non legato. This is the best start to playing the piano, encouraging each finger to feel connected to the hand, wrist and arm, which in turn, encourages tension-free playing. The dotted-half notes offer a chance to develop a floating wrist.
- The changing harmonies in the teacher part offer a rich soundscape and encourage sensitive, expressive playing, imaginative playing and playing from the heart.
- Levels: US, Early Elementary. AMEB, —. ABRSM —. RCM, —.
May 2023 – Chasing Butterfiles
Levels: US, Early Intermediate. AMEB, Level 2. ABRSM, 2. RCM, Level 3.
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Teaching hints
- Chasing Butterflies is an imaginative pattern piece for Late Elementary piano. It features hand-over-hand movement across the keyboard, pedal work and dreamy, jazzy harmonies. The patterns that ‘chase’ are in octaves, and in the B section the LH chases (imitates) the RH.
- Chasing Butterflies presents a dreamy chase across the piano.
- In this piece I wanted to capture the beauty of fluttering butterfly wings. In PEI there is a butterfly house in the Garden of Hope and on our family vacations there we’ve enjoyed spending time with butterflies from Costa Rica. The deeper meaning I wanted to write into the piece is chasing the thrilling feeling of doing something exciting. Sometimes in life we can get caught up in chasing the feeling of butterflies.
- The tempo is moderate yet the opening eighth notes wing up the piano. At first you’ll want to learn this at a slower tempo so that you give yourself time to learn the distances of the hand moves as they play up the piano.
- If you watch butterflies carefully, you’ll see that they don’t ascend in a straight upwards path but rise a little, fall a little, rise and fall. The opening phrases paint this in the the music with patterns between the hands that seem to flutter on delicate wings.
- Think of the four-measure phrase as one long flight path, rather than beginning anew with each octave move. This will help you to play the hand-over-hand passages in long phrases without accents.
- To have even more fun with the title, in the middle section the LH chases the right and creates moments of contrary motion and parallel imitation.
- Aim to keep the dynamics in the softer range throughout, swelling to the mf and f dynamics with a ‘warming’ effect of the sound, rather than forcing it. Think of the sun gradually emerging from behind a cloud.
- Pedal indications allow for lots of blurring of the sounds. The main goal of the pedal is to help the low and mid tones of each pattern to continue ringing. The resulting sound gives the piece a light jazzy feel.
April 2023 – Zigzag Rag
Levels: US, Late Elementary. AMEB, 1. ABRSM, 1. RCM, Level 1/2.
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Teaching hints
- Zigzag Rag is an introductory ragtime piece for Elementary piano.
- Like more advanced ragtime pieces, it features syncopations and a steady open chord bass (broken fifths). But why should more advanced players have all the fun? Zigzag Rag is specially designed to make ragtime accessible to the Elementary piano student!
- The title comes from the zigzag playing pattern between the RH and LH that challenges right-left coordination. When you get it, it’s such a reward!
- I was inspired by two composers: Florence Price (Criss Cross) And Dennis Alexander (Prickly Pear Rag). Each of those pieces is Prep A, but I felt when I put both inspirations together that my new piece became a little more challenging. That’s why I’ve bumped it up to Prep B. It may even be fun for a young conservatory Level 1 student.
- Here are some hints for success:
- Even though technically the right hand could play the left hand repeated notes, as a composer I decided to divide the work between the hands. When the repeated notes are played by the LH, this helps you shape the sound.
- Both hands are in the same range on the piano and cover the same keys.
- Play with the LH wrist higher and forward on the keys (further in).
- Play with the RH wrist lower and slightly closer to the edges of the keys.
- Not only does this help the hands play the same keys without bumping into one another, it will help the playing sound musical.
- Play the LH repeated notes slightly softer. In music, repeated notes usually aren’t the most interesting ones. They’re usually there to create harmony and rhythm. Therefore you don’t want them to stand out, you want them to stay in the background. By playing with your LH wrist higher, you are automatically making it a little easier to keep the LH notes softer. A higher wrist feels “up” and this lightness keeps the sound a little softer.
- Let the zigzagging RH play a little deeper into the keys. Because the RH is tucked under the LH, this wrist is a little lower and it will be a little easier to play deeper into these keys. Playing deeper into the keys will help draw more sound out of the piano.
- The difference in the hand angles and sound will truly make this piece shine, just like more advanced ragtime!
- It’s challenging and fun!
March 2023 – Farewell
Levels: US, Intermediate. AMEB, Level 3. ABRSM, 3. RCM, Level 4.
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Teaching hints
- When I was a young piano teacher, many of my students wanted to play melodies like “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie Titanic or “In Dreams” from The Lord of the Rings. What I loved about these pieces was that they were beautiful enough to be played by upper piano levels, yet simple enough to also be played by beginners. With Farewell, I wanted to compose a tune that would be just as appealing, and that could be played by all levels. It was my original plan to create different versions for various levels. Twelve years later, here’s a new version!
- Farewell is a song for the piano. Not every piano piece is a “song.” Here I’m using the word very specifically—when we play Farewell, we want the piano to sing. To help the piano sing, we work a little musical magic.
- First, the left hand part should be softer. It plays a supporting role as it accompanies the RH song. With its broken chords, the LH is similar to a Classical Alberti bass. Every LH Alberti bass has a lot of thumb, and every pianist must work hard to help the thumb play its part of the pattern softly. For this reason, I suggest learning the LH separately. Once your LH is playing softly, it will be easier to make the RH melody sound like it is singing.
- Second, play the RH melody with a clear and rich sound, shaping the phrases and shading the music with the dynamics. To help the RH sing, play it with slightly more weight than the LH. With balance between your hands, softer LH and richer RH, your piano will sing.
- Pedal carefully. Page one offers suggested pedal changes to maintain a good balance between blending and clearing of sounds. In the last two measures (35 and 36), if your piano has a middle pedal (the sostenuto), press both it and the damper pedal at the beginning of measure 35. Continue to hold the sostenuto pedal to the end (this holds the low F-C fifth) and change the damper pedal with each of the new LH notes (this clears only the upper notes).
February 2023 – The Babe in the Cradle goes Rock, Rock, Rock
Levels: US, Late Elementary. AMEB, Level 1. ABRSM, 1. RCM, Level 2.
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Teaching hints
- Knock their socks off with this 12 Bar Blues in jazzy rock style, inspired by the Batman theme and the Pink Panther theme.
- In the Level 2 original version, the suggested fingering for the RH repeated notes is 2-3-4-5. At first your students may balk at this, but once they try it they’ll get hooked. It’s infinitely more musical (and actually easier) to play repeated piano keys with different fingers.
- Why does it sound more musical to play repeated keys with different fingers? Because you can shape the sound! Playing the same key with the same finger over and over can be tricky to control and can come out sounding a little harsh.
- The dynamics are carefully chosen. The RH tune stands for the words of the traditional “Babe in the cradle” rhyme and sounds like a solo blues/rock singer. Bring this out with a singing forte.
- The LH fifth-sixth pattern stands for the backup band. Because these lower piano strings are naturally longer and thicker they produce more sound by default, so there’s no need to play too heavily. That’s why I’ve chosen the mezzo-forte dynamic. That’s all it needs!
- The black-white key patterns are highly memorable and very fun! This is the music that happens when I play around on the piano keys just enjoying repeating patterns.
- These LH black-to-white-key slurred notes are inspired by guitar slides (when fretted strings are played by sliding the fingers without taking pressure off). To get this effect on the piano, keep pressing fingers and slide from black keys to white.
- I’ve included a simplified version just in case you have a student who would benefit from it.
January 2023 – First Blush
Levels: US, Early Advanced. AMEB, 6. ABRSM, 6. RCM, 7.
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Teaching hints
- First Blush is a very special piece. The music and the title came to me separately, and then one day I realized that they belonged together.
- First Blush (as a phrase) can mean many different things. “At first blush” can mean “when first seen” or refer to love when it’s new, so it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day. “First blush of spring,” can make it an uplifting piece to play while looking forward to warmer days.
- Students who love The Princess Bride or Chopin’s Prelude No. 4 in e minor, Op. 28, will love this piece. It’s something of a cross between a Baroque aria and popular music.
- It’s levelled as RCM Level 7 for two reasons: 1) the length of the piece (time-wise) is appropriate for a Level 7 exam, and 2) there are several broken four-note chords, which are introduced in Level 7 technical work. However, if you have an adventurous Level 6 student whose hands have reached a good size, they may be able to meet the challenges.
- Like Chopin’s prelude, most of it isn’t technically very difficult. The challenge is in keeping the repeated left hand chords tender and nuanced so they don’t sound overly heavy, and allowing the melody to shine above. When playing chords in a steady quarter note rhythm, play them not up and down one chord at a time, but imagine them all flowing towards a destination. I suspect it might take some personal maturity to play the piece to its full effect. But with the right student, this may just help them get in touch with deeper feelings and ways of expressing themselves through music.
- The suggested left hand fingerings will help the hand play close to the keys. However, if standard triad (blocked chord) fingerings are more appropriate for your student, please feel free to swap them out.
- Pedal by ear. This may mean changing the pedal on the first beat of each measure or in some places, every second measure.
- The accents in the right hand melody simply highlight dissonance so it sparkles and shouldn’t make the notes heavy.
- The rest in measure 36 is part of the phrase, like you’ve started to say something, then forgotten a word, then keep speaking once you remember it. In other words, play the next note like it’s part of a phrase already begun.
- First Blush stirs up feelings of innocence, vulnerability, sweetness and all things tender and lovely. I’d love it if teachers also played it, and I feel it would be an excellent piece for weddings—perhaps even as a march (it is in 2/4 after all).
There’s nothing better than engaging your students with music they love to play, at the MaxMusic Club price!
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