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Elementary Pedagogy Notes

Prepatory B:

Title: Minuetto op. 37, lesson 2

- Short dance
- Baroque style, clavichord
Composer: James Hook
- English composer and organist
Source: Guida di musica, op. 37
- A pedagogical work for beginners on Harpsichord
of Pianoforte
Challenging aspects:
- Parallel rhythms
- Simultaneous hand coordination
- Legato RH, detaching LH
- LH technique
- Triplet at the end
Notes:

Title: Pop Goes the Weasel

- English folk song
Arr. By: Andrew Markow
- UofT prof, Glen Gould School, in charge of piano
curriculum for ~4 decades
Challenging Aspects:
- Grace notes – have the S play the 2 notes slow
detached, then legato, then emphasize the
melody note.. OR play them both together
- Changing clefs – have S recognize the 8ve
changes in LH (from b7-12)
- 6/8 rhythm, clap, counting rests
- accidentals
Notes:
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Title: On a Greek Island
- folk dance feel
Composer: Mark Mrozinski
- author of Celebrate Piano!
Source: Celebrate Piano! Lesson and Musicianship 3
- Beginner method (newer)
Challenging Aspects:
- LH and RH technique – slurs in RH, staccato in LH
- Accidentals
- Changing dynamics
- Even 8th notes
- Fast (Presto) – start slow then build up speed
- If S not picking up on different simultaneous techniques,
s/he can play LH detached first
Notes:

Level 1
List A: Minuet in A Minor
- Social dance of French origin
- Usually in ¾ time
Composer: Johann Krieger
- German composer, most notably for keyboard
Source: Second last movement of Partita No. 6 from Sechs
musicalische Partien
- Contains harpsichord suites, organ toccatas, fugues,
etc.
Challenging Aspects:
- Detaching (harpsichord)
- Moving hand positions, memorize note mvmt
- Counting, dotted quarter to eighth
- RH and LH conversation – highlight rhythm echoes
Notes:
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List B: Angelfish
- Light nature, flowing, peaceful
Composer: Anne Crosby Gaudet
- Canadian
Composes pieces for young children on
piano and harp
Source: Freddie the Frog
- Pieces that refer to animals
Challenging Aspects:
- Highlighting LH, even RH
- Crossing over, learn LH first, note
the 8ves
- Note the RH pattern of 3s
- Keeping 8th notes even, especially
balancing top of 2nd page
- Dynamics
Notes:

List C: Teapot Invention

- Inventions help students practice indepd’t lines
- Based on popular “I’m a little teapot” song
Composer: Andrew Markow
- Worked at RCM, shaping piano curriculum
Challenging Aspects:
- Different rhythms, clapping to learn counts
- Staccatos
- Detaching vs. slurring
- RH and LH melody lines
- Changing clefs at the end
Notes:
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Etude: Far Away
Played dreamily, lightly
Composer: Teresa Richert (Canadian)
Source: Days of Summer
Challenging Aspects:
- All flats (black keys), point out 5 black keys
- Point out changing 8ves but same notes
- May change fingering at b 3-4 depending on S
- Skipping pattern from b7-10 & 11-13
- Slowing down/a tempo
- Changing LH positions, memorize the diff chords
since there aren’t that many
- Pedalling
Notes:

Level 2

List A: Menuet en rondeau

- Lively French dance in Rondo form (a round)
- Originally written for harpsichord
Composer: Jean-Phillippe Rameau
Source: Piece de clavecin (1724)
- Part of a 3 part series with 2 other suites
Challenging Aspects:
- Even RH, practice in diff rhythms, detaching,
connecting, lifting between slurs
- Detaching LH
- Light trill at the end, if feasible
- Counting 1+2+
Notes:
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List B: A Little Song op. 27, no.2
Composer: Dmitri Kabalevksy
- Russian
- 20th century
Source: Thirty Children’s Pieces, op. 27
Challenging Aspects:
- Bringing out melody in each hand
- Singing, “a little song”, expressive
- Parallel thirds in RH/LH
- LH chords @ 3rd line -> memorize
- Dolce, sweetly
Notes:

List C: Jazz Invention No. 2

Composer: Pierre Gallant
- Acadian descent
Challenging Aspects:
- Repeated melody lines
- Helps student listen to independent lines
- Swing jazz
- Accidentals
- LH holding whole note @ b4, start by
playing the F, holding then add notes
slowly
- Syncopated rhythm – on beats on
unexpected notes
Notes:
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Etude: Scherzo op. 39, no. 21

- “a little joke”, light, playful

Composer: Dmitri Kabalevsky
- Russian, wrote lots of pieces for children
Source: Twenty-four Pieces for Children, op. 39
Challenging Aspects:
- Tempo, quite fast, lively
- Repeated rhythm, breaking down the 16th
notes, clapping it out first
- Connecting, then staccatos
- Steady pulse, use metronome or count out loud
- Dynamics
Notes:

Level 3

List A: Musette in D Major BWV Anh. 126

- Lively dance, small bagpipes
- Baroque
Composer: attr. J.S. Bach
- Not sure if he actually wrote it
Source: Notenbuch de Anna Magdela Bach
Challenging Aspects:
- Detaching 8ths
- Count 8th and 16ths
- Practice/memorize moving from b2-3, shut eyes
and do it too
- Practice parallel rhythms – b3-4
- Memorize notes @ lines 4, accidentals
- Repeating D.C. Al Fine transition
- Evenness for 16th rhythms
- Learning keys – D major
Notes:
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List B: Second Movement
(II) of Sonatina in C Major
Composer: Muzio Clementi
- Legato and technical
style
Source: 6 Progressive
Sonatas for the Pianoforte,
op. 36
Challenging Aspects:
- Played somewhat
slowly
- Steady triplets, say
words like
“wonderful” to learn
their value
- Point out LH broken
chords, (i.e. chord
change at b3)
- Highlight singing
melody in RH/LH
- Quick 16th note at
b8, 24
- Parallel 3rds and 6ths
Notes:

List C: The Song of Twilight

- The original copy, Nakada had intended the 2nd
time to be played “pp”
- Played very softly, tranquil
Composer: Yoshinao Nakada
- Japanese composer
Source: Japanese Festival
- Album of pieces that allude to oriental culture
Challenging Aspects:
- Pedalling
- Break up chords to learn them, i.e., b5 and on
- Even RH 16ths
- Remembering all 3 sharps
- Bass notes in LH are following A+ scale
Notes:
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Etude: Etude in D Minor op. 261, no. 53

- Practice 16th note lines

Composer: Carl Czerny
- Known for his finger exercises
Source: 101 Progressive Exercises op. 261
Challenging Aspects:
- Even RH and LH, creating 1 smooth line,rhythm
- Learning about dminor, C#
- Slow first, then try faster
- Pedal, lifting right off
- Memory
Notes:

Etude: Witches and Wizards

Composer: Christine Donkin
Source: Legends & Lore
- Based on mythical themes (dragons, pirates,
etc.)
Chellenging Aspects:

- Lively, changing moods (3rd line)

- Steady pulse, emphasizing 1st and 4th beats to
create “1, 2” effect
- Accents
- Event 8th notes
- Highlighting LH in 3rd line
- Pedalling
- Crossing over, learn separately first, repetitive
triplets (broken chords)
- Memorize crossing over notes
Notes:
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Level 4

List A: Rigadoon in A Minor

- Lively dance, for harpsichord

Composer: William Babell
Challenging Aspects:
- Detach, dance-like
- Differentiate between detach and slurred
notes
- Teaching cut time, try faster when ready
- “echo” effects since there are lots of repeats
- Holding F at b13, play without F first, then add
it slowly
- Clear contrast in dynamics
Notes:

List B: Sonatina in C Major, op 34, no.1

II: Rondo

- Rondo form, point out repeated A section

Composer: Johann Anton Andre
- Did a lot of Mozart research
Source: Six sonates progressives, op. 34
Challenging Aspects:
- Changing clefs in LH
- RH and LH melodies
- Lifting between slurs
- Accenting esp. b9-10,line 4
- Clear 16th notes, b20-21
- LH 16th bass lines, practice slowly and
detached- scale @ b10-11
Notes:
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List C: Old French Song op. 39, no. 16
- Original title, “Melodie antique francaise”
Composer: Tchaikovsky
- Russian composer, ballets
Source: Album for the Young, op. 39
Challenging Aspects:
- Singing, sweetly, expressive
- Holding LH bass notes, can practice bar by bar,
detaching top notes first in LH
- Practicing top notes first
- Lifting between slurs in RH
- Light staccatos/mood change in b17 and big jumps –
memorize bar by bar
- Counting 16th notes carefully, clapping rhythm and
counting 2/4 time
- B31: the 16th note is after “and” of 2
Notes:

Etude: Dragon Fly- Effect

Composer: William Gillock- American composer
Source: Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style: Twenty-four
Short Piano Pieces in All Keys
Challenging Aspects:
- quick technical RH line, practice slowly to keep
even pulse using accents
- Counting “1+2+” while playing
- B5-6 and 13-14 start on the 2nd 16th, teacher can
clap before the RH comes in, or use LH as a
helper
- Point out that it is not the “on” beat so should
not be emphasized
- LH has sharp marcatos: very short but still strong
- Review added accidentals
- Practice chords in LH b7-8, memorize, point out
the pattern
Notes:
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Etude: Etude in E Major op. 139, no. 66

Composer: Carl Czerny

- Known for technique

Source: 100 Exercises in Progressive Order, op. 139
Challenging Aspects:
- Singing style, slowly, sweetly
- Bring out RH melody
- Holding down LH half notes may be a challenging,
practice without the holding first then practice in
groups
- Point out repetitive pattern and hand position
- Review 4 sharps before beginning
- Review high notes b6, 11, 13-14
- Turn at b15, practice spreading out amongst 8th
notes
Notes:
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Method Features Listening Technique Creativity Notation

Written words in their exercises at the imagination, Lots of pieces
exercises beside songs for end, and Dozen pictures, that don’t
each song singing, and a Day descriptive develop too
can use 4 star titles, “Apple quickly so
ABC by Boris books Pie, A School student can
Berlin March, etc.” focus on a
single hand
position and
learn notes that
way

Piano
Adventures by
Faber & Faber

Celebrate
Piano by Mark
Mrozinski

Beginner Methods
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