40 Piece Challenge 2017
Here we are, back again in the school year of 2017 – 2018. This is my third year of doing the 40 piece challenge and it is going to be an exciting year. The movement is gathering momentum and more and more teachers have been trying this in their studios with their students and for themselves. I have had a nice summer off and had a chance to rest and recuperate! Again, I don’t have an overall plan to the music that I present on my 40 piece challenge. As per the rules, these are 40 pieces that I have never learned before.
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The 40 Piece Challenge Videos (2017-2018)
40 Piece Challenge Video #40 – Berceuse from “Dolly Suite”
I often play duets with my students at the end of the year recitals, and this year was no different. One of my students decided to perform the Berceuse from Gabriel Faure’s Dolly Suite. When you teach duets, it’s always a good idea to learn both parts, so for my final challenge piece I decided to not only challenge my music abilities, I decided to challenge my tech abilities!
I have not been hiding a secret twin in a closet somewhere.. ha ha.. I recorded this piece twice and learned how to split the frame so that it looked like I was a twin! Playing duets this way is somewhat challenging. When you play a duet “live” with another person, you have the opportunity to use your other senses to pick up on other cues that help you play as an ensemble. Here, I had to rely on my multitrack recording, instinct, memory, and hearing to try to synchronize the two parts together.
This duet is challenging to perform. The primo part needs to sing over the somewhat busy secondo part. There are some neat harmonic changes that happen rapidly in several spots near the end. And the elastic tempo of the slow downs is challenging to play together, as are the sections that restart after a ritardando!
40 Piece Challenge Video #39 – Sarabande in D Minor + 3 Original Variations
Sarabande in D Minor is a piece by George Frederic Handel that can be found in the Royal Conservatory of Music Level 6 Celebration Series (2015). It is the fourth movement of the Suite in D Minor, HWV 437. This favourite has been included in several editions of the Piano repertoire books. I played this for an exam many years ago (too many to count!).
For the 40 piece challenge, I usually only play newly learned pieces. However, I thought I’d challenge this rule in this instance by composing and adding my own variations! Since our 40 piece challenge deadline is fast approaching, these three variations were something quick that I wrote in a day. Hope you enjoy them.
0:00 Handel’s Sarabande in D Minor
2:04 Three variations inspired by Handel’s Sarabande in D Minor – by Elena Fortin
40 Piece Challenge Video #38 – Nocturne No. 1 in E-flat Major
Nocturne No. 1 in E-flat Major is a piece by John Field. John Field was an Irish composer that eventually lived in Russia and in England. He was a student of Muzio Clementi. Nocturnes are pieces that are inspired by or evocative of the night. John Field’s nocturnes were admired by Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt.
The texture of this piece has a chromatically decorated melody, ostinato patterns in the left hand, and legato pedalling. I’m better acquainted with Chopin’s nocturnes, but it was interesting to study this piece and see the connections between the two composers’ music. You can definitely see how Field’s Nocturnes influenced the style and writing of Chopin.
40 Piece Challenge Video #37 – Valse Caressante
Valse Caressante is a beautiful piece by Ottorino Respighi. It can be found in the collection “Six Pieces for Solo Piano”.
Waltzes bring to mind beautifully dressed couples, swirling and dancing to lovely music. The Valse Caressante is a wonderful example of all that is lovely about the waltz. A piece in 3/4 time, the Valse Caressante has lovely flourishes, legato (smooth) melodies, and leaping left hand bass notes.
The waltz was a shocking dance when first introduced but was wildly popular in Vienna around the 1780s. Many composers build on what came before, while testing and sometimes breaking rules and boundaries. Respighi was a 20th century Italian composer, but was fascinated by 16th-18th century music which led him to compose music based on these time periods.
40 Piece Challenge Video #36 – Place St. Henri
Place St. Henri is a jazz piece by Canadian jazz legend Dr. Oscar Peterson. It is the third song in the Canadiana Suite, recorded by the Oscar Peterson Trio.
St. Henri is a neighbourhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. One of the characteristics of the neighbourhood was a busy nearby passenger rail station. The hustle and bustle is definitely found in this song!
My interpretation is a little (haha) slower than Dr. Peterson’s. I don’t have his huge hand span, nor do I have his speed and agility! Even though I can’t play it as fast as he does, I still enjoy the melodies and harmonies that he composed!
The piece has lots of sudden changes: complex six and seven-note chords split between the hands, lyrical fast passages that span the keyboard, one-hand tenths (that are changed to more manageable octaves for me), and did I mention the speed!? Luckily, I listened to his version AFTER I had recorded mine. Otherwise, I would have been too depressed to hit “record”.
40 Piece Challenge Video #35 – Nocturne
Nocturne (Op. 88, No. 3) is by Heinrich Hofmann. This Romantic repertoire Royal Conservatory piece can be found in the Celebration Series Perspectives edition (2008) Level 8 book and also in “Stimmungsbilder, Op. 88”.
Nocturnes are musical pieces that make us think of, or are inspired by the night. It is one of my most favourite genres. Chopin’s book of Nocturnes is a great source of enjoyment.
Heinrich Hofmann is a composer that I’ve explored quite frequently this year in my 40 Piece Challenge. His music always has beautiful, legato melodies that are dreamy and supported by interesting harmonies and sometimes unexpected chord changes.
40 Piece Challenge Video #34 – Winter Scene
Winter Scene is a piece by William L. Gillock, an American composer. It can be found in Level 6 of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series Perspectives (2008). It is also in the collection “Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style: 24 Short Piano Pieces in All Keys”.
William Gillock was a music educator and composer. His pieces have become really popular in the RCM education system. He often explores difficult key signatures. It’s not unusual to see double sharps in his other pieces in other levels of RCM and key signatures with more than a few sharps (usually more than five, but in this particular piece [only] three)!!
Winter Scene is a pretty, lyrical piece with a sweeping waltz-like feel. It is a short song, but challenging because of accidentals and changes in tempo, harmonies, and mood.
40 Piece Challenge Video #33 – Sonatina in G Major (Op. 20, No. 1)
Sonatina in G Major (Op. 20, No. 1) is by Jan Ladislav Dussek. This List B Royal Conservatory piece can be found in the Celebration Series edition (2015) Level 6 Repertoire book and also in “Sechs Sonatinen, Op. 19/20”.
Sonatinas are the smaller relatives of their larger counterparts, Sonatas. The three and four movement Sonatas that we are familiar with now solidified as a form in the Classical era. The title refers to the form and musical structure of the piece.
This piece is the first movement and is characterized by Alberti bass (a left hand repetitive chord pattern), different articulations, and rapid scale patterns.
40 Piece Challenge Video #32 – Prelude (Op. 43, No. 1)
Prelude (Op. 43, No. 1) by Reinhold Gliere is a List C Romantic period repertoire piece for the Level 8 Royal Conservatory of Music piano exams. It can be found in the Celebration Series Perspectives edition (2008) and also from “Eight Easy Pieces, op. 43”, written in 1909.
This piece has beautiful cascading chords, a lovely rippling middle section, and interesting harmonies. Since the chords change almost every measure, it is helpful to understand the underlying harmony structure by playing the chords in solid form!
Because of his name, I assumed that Gliere was a French composer, but he is in fact, a Russian composer of German and Polish descent. (He changed his last name from Glier). Some of his pieces are politically themed. His pieces were popular in Russia, but some of his ballets and symphonies became known outside of the Soviet Union. As a teacher, two of his famous pupils were Sergey Prokofiev and Aram Khachaturian.
40 Piece Challenge Video #31 – Dragonfly Scherzo
Dragonfly Scherzo is a piece by Anne Crosby Gaudet. It can be found in the Level 5 Etude book from the Celebration Series (2015) by the Royal Conservatory of Music. It can also be found in the collection ‘In the Mermaid’s Garden‘.
Many of Canadian composer Anne Crosby Gaudet’s pieces are connected with nature. Dragonfly Scherzo is a delightful etude that challenges the pianist with changing time signatures, giant hand-crossing leaps across the keyboard, abrupt contrasts of dynamics, and dazzling changes of direction.
40 Piece Challenge Video #30 – Allegretto in C Major
Allegretto in C Major (Opus 55, Number 10) is a piece by Theodor Kirchner. It can be found in the Level 5 Etude book from the Celebration Series (2015) by the Royal Conservatory of Music. It can also be found in the collection Neue Kinderszenen, Op. 55.
The Allegretto is a pretty piece, in 3/8 time that studies many different articulations. There are staccatos, legato notes, and accents, all played at a fairly quick tempo, which is what “allegretto” means. The challenge is to keep it light and let your fingers dance across the keys!
40 Piece Challenge Video #29 – Dulcimer Tune (Op. 42, No. 7)
Dulcimer Tune (Opus 42, Number 7) is a piece by Alec Rowley. It can be found in the Level 5 Etude book from the Celebration Series (2015) by the Royal Conservatory of Music. It can also be found in Thirty Melodic and Rhythmic Studies, Op. 42.
A Dulcimer is a musical instrument with a sound board. Strings are stretched over the sound board and the instrument is played by being struck with handheld hammers. The effect of the Dulcimer is mimicked by using the damper (sustain) pedal and a staccato touch. This study is tricky to coordinate–the hands are almost always alternating, and there is an overall pattern to the music, but the tempo makes it challenging to hit the notes accurately.
40 Piece Challenge Video #28 – Romance
Romance (Opus 28, Number 25), is a piece composed by Samuel Maykapar. The composition can be found in the Level 6 Etudes book by the Royal Conservatory of Music (2015 Celebration Series).
An Etude is a short piece that tackles specific technical challenges for the piano and pianist. This piece has tempo changes, a challenging key signature (6 sharps!) and different articulations such as portatos and different types of accents. It also has different sections that have different Italian directions for expressive playing: dolcissimo (very sweetly), espressivo (with feeling), molto risoluto (with determination) and calando (gradually decreasing in volume and tempo).
40 Piece Challenge Video #27 – Aria in G Major
Aria in G Major by Georg Philipp Telemann is a Baroque selection found in level 6 Repertoire book of the Royal Conservatory of Music Celebration Series (2015).
This graceful piece is the fifth movement of his Overture in G Major, TWV 32:13. Telemann composed sacred and secular music and lived during the late Baroque period. He was the godfather of CPE Bach (son of J.S. Bach) and held many music director positions in Germany. Britannica.com says of Telemann: “His music was natural in melody, bold in harmonies, buoyant in rhythm, and beautifully orchestrated.” This particular aria has a beautiful, singing melody.
40 Piece Challenge Video #26 – Improvisation (Op. 84, No. 5)
Improvisation (Op. 84, No. 5) is a piece by Gabriel Fauré, a French composer born in 1845. The piece can be found in the Level 9 Etudes book in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series 2015 edition.
Etudes are short pieces that tackle a particular technical challenge on an instrument. Improvisation is an etude that includes arpeggios, timing challenges of two notes against three notes, and interesting harmony and key modulations.
Usually, Improvisations are spontaneous–they are musical compositions that combine performance, emotions, technique, and communication with other players. Most of the time, improvisations aren’t written down. I think that in this case, it can also mean the musical ideas are spontaneous but built on a framework of harmony.
40 Piece Challenge Video #25 – Floating
The 40 Piece Challenge is all about trying and learning new things! This is the first composition upload I’ve done for the 40 Piece Challenge. I composed ‘Floating’ using the built in multi-track recorder on my digital piano. I wrote the piano part first and then played the string track in afterwards (it was improvised over top). In the video, I’m playing along with the string track.
It’s hard to believe that the digital piano (a Technics SX-PX 336) is almost 20 years old. If this tells you anything, it uses floppy disks for storage! It has travelled with me around North America, when we moved frequently because of work. So many years later, it still has amazing sound!
40 Piece Challenge Video #24 – Pajaro Triste (Sad Bird)
Pajaro Triste (Sad Bird) is a piece by Federico Mompou. Pajaro Triste can be found in Level 7 of the Royal Conservatory of Music Repertoire Book.
I love it when titles give you clues about what the composer was thinking when they wrote the piece. This character sketch, like the name suggests, has a plaintive, melancholy sound to it, with imitation bird calls scattered throughout.
40 Piece Challenge Video #23 – Moonlight Mood
Moonlight Mood is a piece by William Gillock. It can be found in Level 7 of the Royal Conservatory of Music Celebration Series Repertoire Book. The beautiful, quiet piece has an opening nod to Debussy’s “Claire de Lune”.
Canadians have become more familiar with the songs of William Gillock with the new 2015 editions of the Celebration Series. A popular American composer, he was being featured as a Teacher’s choice in many exams across North America. As Examiners became more familiar with his music, the Royal Conservatory decided to include his music throughout the levels in the new Repertoire and Etude books.
Most students shudder at the key signature: five sharps, until I point out that means ALL the black keys, except for accidentals, Bs and Es! They are also often intimidated by the two runs of scales in the piece, until I point out that they are both marked “liberamente”, which means freely.
Almost every student that has heard this song decides to give it a try when they hear the magical, dreamy quality of the piece.
40 Piece Challenge Video #22 – Monarchs
Monarchs is a beautiful piece by Martha Hill Duncan. It can be found in the contemporary section in Level 9 of the Royal Conservatory of Music 2015 Celebration Series.
I have been extremely blessed to connect with many living composers on Facebook. Martha Hill Duncan shared a lot of interesting and useful information about learning ‘Monarchs’ when I told her I was studying her piece.
The piece has many challenges–balance between melody and harmony, pedalling, beautiful, rapid scale passages, crossing hands, and a lyrical, soaring melody to love and learn. The fluttering of butterfly wings is always present! It is always amazing to me how composers can take something they see and let us experience the same vision through sound.
40 Piece Challenge Video #21 – I Believe in Christ
As in previous challenges, I sometimes include music that I learn for particular performances. A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to play a solo hymn during Easter services. This is one of my favourite hymns, so even though I don’t perform solo very much anymore, I was happy to play this one!
The hymn music was written by John Longhurst. This beautiful arrangement (with some minor alterations to the ending) was arranged by Eric Pratt.
40 Piece Challenge Video #20 – Mist
Video #20 is always a nice milestone to get to every year, but this one is especially sweet, since it marks the 100th video I have uploaded to YouTube!! Who knew this could happen when I rather innocently started the 40 Piece Challenge 3 years ago?!!
Mist is by Court Stone, and can be found in the Level 10 Repertoire book of the Royal Conservatory of Music 2015 Celebration Series.
Mist is a mysterious, haunting, lyrical piece which is challenging to perform. There are many wide spaced chords in certain sections that would be difficult for pianists with small hand spans. This piece teaches a lot about the subdivision of beat and learning to play the contrasting sections fluently and dynamically. The melody is beautiful and is harmonized by arpeggios and broken chords.
40 Piece Challenge Video #19 – The Gear Wheels of a Watch
The Gear Wheels of a Watch is a delightful etude, found in the Level 6 Piano Etudes book in the Royal Conservatory of Music 2015 Celebration Series.
The Gear Wheels of a Watch is by Yoshinao Nakada, a composer from Japan. I was introduced to his work through some of his pieces in the RCM series. Pieces from Japanese Festival and The Song of Twilight are always popular choices among students. This particular etude studies repeated-note patterns and LH chords. The piece is a wonderful character piece and definitely lives up to its title.
40 Piece Challenge Video #18 – Tickled Pink
Tickled Pink is a bright, happy, energetic piece by David L. McIntyre. This piece is in the Level 7 Piano Repertoire book in the Royal Conservatory of Music 2015 Celebration Series.
David L. McIntyre was born in Edmonton, Alberta and now lives and works in Regina, Saskatchewan. In addition to being a freelance composer, teacher, and pianist, he also conducts, plays organ, harpsichord, and adjudicates!
Tickled Pink is just like the colour: sassy, bright, and in-your-face. Alot of staccatos (short notes) and accents, fun with dynamic colouring, all taken at a healthy tempo.
40 Piece Challenge Video #17 – Rock Zone
Rock Zone was written by Robert D. Vandall. This piece can be found in the Level 7 Piano Repertoire Book in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series (2015 edition).
This is a popular piece for students that are interested in performing genres other than classical. It has a steady bass beat that injects the right hand rock chords with high octane energy!
Robert D. Vandall lived in New Philadelphia, Ohio and was well-known there as a composer and teacher. His music included folk, patriotic, sacred, general and seasonal works.
40 Piece Challenge Video #16 – Secrets, Op. 25, No. 5
Secrets, Op. 25, No. 5 was written by Amy Beach. This piece can be found in Level 6 of the Royal Conservatory’s Celebration Series (2015 edition).
Amy Beach was an important female composer in America. She was one of the first composers that was recognized to have been taught outside of the European tradition. If you read about her life, you might find it interesting to learn that she was considered a child prodigy (able to sing 40 songs by age 1, and by age 4, composed three waltzes in her head while without a piano).
Much of her composition skills seem to have been largely self-taught, although she took harmony and counterpoint at age 14 for one year. She collected theory, orchestration, and composition textbooks and self-studied from them, even going so far as to translate French ones into English to continue her studies!
40 Piece Challenge Video #15 – Prelude No. 2
Prelude No. 2 was written for Michael Spivak by Srul Irving Glick. He was a Canadian composer that studied in Toronto, Ontario and in France. He returned to Canada to teach at the Royal Conservatory of Music and at York University. This piece is in the Level 6 (List C) requirements for the Royal Conservatory of Music.
The metronome marking for this piece is set at a very slow, dotted quarter note to 40 – 44. With the slow, sustained notes and interesting harmony, the melody reminds me of something you’d hear at Hallowe’en, maybe from a Tim Burton film.
Some things that are hard to achieve with this piece have to do with the slow pace. It becomes hard to maintain and sustain a long phrase of melody.
It’s also tricky to read all the accidentals. It helped me to think of some of the passages as temporary key changes instead of trying to keep track of all the notes that were changed.
40 Piece Challenge Video #14 – River City Blues
River City Blues is found in Jazz, Rags & Blues, book 5 and in the Level 6 Royal Conservatory of Music Etudes book. River City Blues is written by Martha Mier.
This piece is excellent for learning swing rhythm and stride bass. A good sense of keyboard geography is a great help in finding those bass notes accurately. Stride bass traditionally has huge leaps between left hand quarter notes and chords, so being able to read chords quickly is also helpful in the River City Blues piece.
40 Piece Challenge Video #13 – Laurentide Waltz
Laurentide Waltz is the second selection in the collection ‘Canadiana Suite’ by Oscar Peterson and the Oscar Peterson Trio. This piece is in the Level 9 requirements for the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Dr. Peterson recorded this album in 1964 with his trio. Dr. Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on double bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. The solo piano score is a challenge for pianists. It contains complex chords, rhythms, and did I mention the large, complex chords?! If you ever watch Dr. Peterson videos, take note of his humungous hand span. Most of the chords that he reaches easily have to be “rolled” by everyone else!
Excuse the weird video quality. Trying to figure out how to override the automatic settings for video on my tablet!
40 Piece Challenge Video #12 – Prelude in C minor
Prelude in C Minor was composed in 1877 by Charles Gounod. The piece can be found in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series (2015 edition) Level 6 book.
Charles Gounod was a French composer and I found it interesting that Camille Saint-Saens played the organ at his funeral, with Gabriel Faure conducting! I enjoy music history and seeing how all these lives intersect.
The Prelude is a beautiful piece and I feel like it is tinged with sadness. I wish it was longer, but there is a lot of emotion packed into these two pages!
40 Piece Challenge Video #11 – Mignon
Mignon (Op. 68, No. 35) is by Robert Schumann. The piece can be found in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series (2015 edition) Level 6 book. It can also be found in Album fur die Jugend (Album for the Young).
Mignon is a slow, delicate piece with very specific expression markings. It’s one of the few pieces that I have seen marked with fp. (Fortepiano means to play a note loud and then immediately soft–something that is more likely to be found for an instrument where you can control the decay of a note). On the piano, you can only control the notes around it to give it that effect.
The challenge in this piece is to allow the melody to soar over the beautiful harmonies that Schumann composed. It requires control of all your fingers–to let the melody still be shaped with dynamics and expression while still maintaining the quiet accompaniment.
40 Piece Challenge Video #10 – Zigzag
Zigzag is by popular American composer Dennis Alexander. The piece can be found in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series (2015 edition) Level 6 book. It can also be found in his collection called “Twenty-four Character Preludes”.
Zigzag is a fun, tempestuous piece to play. It is written mostly in 5/8 time–which is the equivalent of pulling the rug out from under the listener. The downbeat is never where you expect, and the changing time signatures in the middle section keep you guessing.
40 Piece Challenge Video #9 – The Olive Tree
The Olive Tree is a piece about missionary work written by Kurt Bestor. The vocal version has words by Don Stirling. This particular arrangement, for vocal trio and piano was arranged by Brian Jensen.
The video is following the piano accompaniment. Last year, I did another choral work and learned how to mix tracks together. I record the piano track first, and then add the “vocals” afterwards. Once with the top two voices, and then the final time with the lowest voice. (Just because I wanted to make sure I hit the right notes–it’s tricky to read three staves at once!!) I had the privilege of performing this with three lovely ladies at a recent church gathering. I’d much rather do the live version–there’s a different energy and spirit felt with live performances!
40 Piece Challenge Video #8 – Douglas Firs
Douglas Firs was composed by Stephen Chatman. The piece can be found in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series (2015 edition) Level 6 book. It can also be found in the collection “British Columbia Suite”
Stephen Chatman is on the faculty of University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. In 2012, he became a Member of the Order of Canada.
If you’ve ever been lucky enough to visit Western Canada, you would see these majestic evergreens, towering over the forest and prized as an important timber species.
Dr. Chatman’s composition explores the idea of height (in volume and register) and space (in held chords and wide open chords). As a musician, I am especially thankful for the long pauses–it gives you time to figure out the chords coming up next!!
40 Piece Challenge Video #7 – Spanish
Spanish, Opus 55, Number 5, was composed by Norwegian composer Agathe Backer-Grondahl. The piece can be found in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series (2015 edition) Level 6 book.
Agathe Backer-Grondahl was born in a wealthy and art-loving family. Her three sisters were all gifted in drawing and music. She studied piano with many famous teachers, including Hans von Bulow and Franz Liszt. She was a close friend of Edvard Grieg.
Spanish is from a set of Twelve Small Fantasy Pieces.
40 Piece Challenge Video #6 – Winter’s Northern Scene
Winter’s Northern Scene was composed by Jean Coulthard. It can be found in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series (2015 edition) Level 6 book.
Jean Coulthard was a Canadian composer and music educator. She formed a part of the trio of women composers who exercised great influence in Western Canadian music. (The others were Violet Archer and Barbara Pentland). She studied with many famous composers, among them Bela Bartok, Aaron Copland, and Arnold Schoenberg. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Winter’s Northern Scene is an unusual and dramatic contemporary piece. There are crashing chords that signal an “iceberg motive”, accents, theatrical crescendos, and dissonance.
40 Piece Challenge Video #5 – Sonatina in A Minor
Sonatina in A minor is number 3 of a collection of Thirty-four Sonatinas by Georg Anton Benda. It can be found in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series (2015 edition) Level 6 book.
Georg Anton Benda was a Czech composer, violinist, and Kappellmeister for the Duke of Gotha. He wrote religious music, operas, operettas, melodramas, and many instrumental works. His development of the melodrama genre was said to have influenced Mozart.
The Sonatina in A Minor is a quick piece with lovely flourishes and a challenging middle section with hand cross-overs.
40 Piece Challenge Video #4 – On the Lake
On the Lake (Op. 77, no. 12) is by Heinrich Hofmann. It can be found in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series (2015 edition) Level 6 book.
Last year, I played a number of Heinrich Hofmann’s works that were found in the Etude books of the RCM collection. His pieces invariably have pretty melodies. He was known as a very traditional composer, with very simple pieces that show off a classical style. This piece is no different: a peaceful, graceful piece with traditional classical harmony.
40 Piece Challenge Video #3 – Gentle Breeze
Gentle Breeze is a beautiful piece by Joanne Bender that can be found in the collection “Things Bright and Beautiful”. It is also found in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Celebration Series (2015 edition) Level 6 book. Joanne Bender is a fellow Canadian that makes her home in Waterloo, Ontario. She is an active piano teacher, performer, and composer.
This piece has beautiful arpeggios of major seventh chords that pass from hand to hand with a melody that sings above. Close your eyes and imagine a day with a beautiful, gentle breeze that passes overhead and dream of summers past.
40 Piece Challenge Video #2 – Nocturne
I used to be an early bird in my growing-up years, but since adulthood, have slowly become more and more of a night owl. I just love Nocturnes–night pieces are just so moody and expressive! This Nocturne, by Clifford Poole has all the dramatic elements of a good Nocturne: dark chords, moody, repetitive left hand, and a soaring, expressive melody. It can be found in Level 7 of the Royal Conservatory of Music Celebration Series.
40 Piece Challenge Video #1 – Peace Country Hoedown
Why should fiddlers have all the fun? Peace Country Hoedown, by Christine Donkin, is from Level 7 of the Royal Conservatory of Music 2015 Celebration Series. It is a joyful, lively, toe-tapping call to dance and has all the fun elements that show up in a fiddlers square dance celebration. Yee-haw!