Fantasia in D Minor - CPE Bach

I really like C.P.E. Bach. He's a cool composer. His dad, J. S., is one of the most well-known keyboard composers out there, and some of his brothers were famous too, but there's something really nice about the flow of Carl Phillip Emanuel's work. He was a big influence on the next generation of composers for piano, like Haydn and Mozart.

Here's a short tune you can learn, which is great for working on stamina when playing fast. It's pretty intense-sounding, like a swirl of serious notes. It's a fun challenge for anyone Grade 4 and up to have a go at, and a good precursor to learning Solfeggietto, one of his most well-known keyboard pieces.

Fantasia in D Minor - CPE Bach

Here's a link to a harpsichord version:

Fantasia in D Minor - CPE Bach on harpsichord

What key is that?

Ready... set........... START COLOURING!!!!!

Hey, ever looked at a piece of music and looked at the key signature and wondered why on earth people wrote music like this? Like, with key signatures and stuff?!?!?!

Well..... it all does end up making sense in the end. The best way to make sense of it all is called 'the circle of fifths'. Have a look at this link, then continue reading.

• Circle of fifths link

There's a pattern to both major and minor scales.

1. For every key signature, there is a major key and a minor key that use it. If you look at the linked picture, you'll see every possible key signature. You'll see the major key that goes with it on the outside, and the minor key that goes with it on the inside of the circle.

2. If you start at the top of the circle and go around clockwise, one sharp is added to every new key signature you see. After a while, it gets into a world of flats and then they begin to disappear as you keep going around. All the way around the circle, the corresponding major and minor keys go up in an interval of a fifth. So, if you want to know which major key has three sharps, just move around the circle from the top and you'll find out. One day, you won't need this picture to help you out because you'll do it all in your head.

3. I would suggest printing it out and colouring in every key signature so you can kinda memorise it better. Like, you could end up thinking, "yep, A flat major and F minor - I know those - they're the aqua ones."

4. Every single key signature in western music is here. Only twelve to learn........ (yay)

AMEB Grade 4 List C - Bartok's Mikrokosmos

Bela Bartok's Mikrokosmos is a large set of piano pieces which range, in order, from very easy to very hard. The pieces have lots of interesting harmonies and rhythms influenced by the music of Eastern Europe.

You can read an excellent in-depth, but not-too-long article about why Bartok wrote the pieces here.

Here's links to some tunes from Mikrokosmos you can play for a Grade 4 exam:

• Bartok - Mikrokosmos no. 87 - Variations
• Bartok - Mikrokosmos no. 90 - In Russian Style
• Bartok - Mikrokosmos no. 94 - Once Upon a Time
• Bartok - Mikrokosmos no. 96 - Jolts
• Bartok - Mikrokosmos no. 100 - In Folksong Style (just the first one in this video)
• Bartok - Mikrokosmos no. 108 - Wrestling

Picture from http://www.last.fm/music/B%C3%A9la+Bart%C3%B3k/+images/58911017

Vivace - J C Bach

A very, very brief, but very, very fun piece of music written by one of the many talented sons of J S Bach.

The title means 'lively', and the piece sure is!

Vivace - J C Bach

 

AMEB Grade 4 List A - lots to choose from

List A in Grade 4 is an interesting one. There are studies and there are Baroque pieces (music written between approx. 1600-1750). This means there's a huge range of style to choose from. The studies are in green, and the Baroque tunes are in blue. Below are just some of the tunes you could possibly learn:

AMEB Series 15

• Hyde - Melody for the Left Hand
• Kabalevsky - Dance
• Maykapar - At the Blacksmith
• Scarlatti - Sonata 

AMEB Series 16

• J S Bach - Praeludium (played by great Bach pianist Angela Hewitt)
• Farrenc - Etude
• Pascal - Grand Ball for the Little King
• Telemann - Easy Fugue

Other randoms you can choose from:

• J S Bach - Invention no. 1 in C Major (played by Angela Hewitt)
• J S Bach - Invention no. 4 in D Minor (also played by Angela Hewitt)
• Heller - Study Op 46 No. 1
• Heller - Study Op 46 No. 3
• Heller - Study Op 46 No. 7
• Heller - Study Op 46 No. 11
• Burgmuller - The Return Op 100 No. 23
• Burgmuller - The Swallow Op 100 No. 24

And one played by me :-)

Burgmuller - Harmony of the Angels Op 100 No. 21

 

ANZCA Grade 2 Rock/Pop - Two Part Intention

Click on the link to a VERY cool tune from the early grades.

• Kerin Bailey - Two Part Intention

Left hand sight reading practice

 

Here are some music sheets to get you more used to the challenges of left hand sight reading. This would be good for people playing Grade 5 music and above. Left hand sight reading is lots about knowing what types of chords to expect in a piece in any given key. So, work out the key signature first, work out what the names of chords 1, 4 and 5 are, and then check out what rhythms appear in the piece. Then it's time to have a go.


The first sheet has notation that looks a bit small, so maybe try a different one first.

I'll put up exercise no. 2 as soon as I can.

Left hand practice no. 1

Left hand practice no. 3

Image found on http://letsrunlikewater.tumblr.com/post/32336560310