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March in G HWV 419/3
Air in D Minor ZT 676
Sonata in C Major K. 73B
German Dance Hob. IX/22 No. 3
Minuet in F K.2
Horn with Echo from 49 Pieces for Beginners at the Piano
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Foreword
Classics Exploration aims to provide students and teachers with an attractive selection of repertoire suitable
to supplement a formal coursework of study. The books in this series are designed to complement the
graded examination systems currently in use in UK and many other parts of the world i.e. ABRSM, Trinity,
LCM, etc. The pieces have been carefully selected to represent a mix of styles and characters that will appeal
to broad range of students. There is also a range of difficulty present in the selection; the easier ones can be
given as supplementary pieces before the actual grade and the more challenging ones can be used as
bridging point to the next grades. Teaching notes are provided as well to provide teachers with useful
info and teaching tips for the pieces. Recordings of these pieces can be found at my Youtube channel by
searching for "cwdorianmusic". I hope these pieces will provide many hours of enjoyment for students
who attempt them.
Editor
Charles Wu
All rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior
permission for education purpose only. This publication may not be reproduced or distributed in any way.
Personal website: www.wunadymusicstudio.com
Email: cwdorianmusic@gmail.com
Copyright 2011 by Charles Wu
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sadq = 100p[]as
Henry Purcell
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Domenico Scarlatti
sadq = 120p[]as
sadq = 130p[]as
sadq = 105p[]as
sadq = 120sas
Robert Schumann
sadq = 70p[]as
Theodore Oesten
sadq = 120p[]as
Robert Fuchs
Cornelius Gurlitt
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Stephen Heller
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Friedrich Burgmller
bars 17-19 is a tricky spot and may need careful slow practice. The left hand plays a supporting role in
this piece; care must be taken not to accent the quavers on the third beat of each bar to maintain a
gentle swinging feel. There are no dynamic markings indicated in the original score, but an overall mellow
dynamics not exceeding
would suit this piece well. Tempo should be moderate and not too fast to
maintain the gracefulness of the piece. A slight
at the last two bars will bring the piece to a
more graceful close.
German Dance Hob. IX/22 No. 3
This delightful little dance is one of Haydns most popular easier compositions for piano. Although there
is no specific dance mentioned, the dance in question here is most likely a
judging from its
graceful and smooth flowing melody.
The suggested tempo for this dance is
; efrain from being too excited and maintain a steady
pulse to let the melody flow gracefully. From bars 1-4 and bars 5-8 try to gently shape the melody up
to middle of the phrases before gradually rounding off. Be extra careful of the crotchets at the third
beats; avoid creating unnecessary accents on them. Although there is no articulation marking in the
original score, a mixture of slurred and detached notes can be utilized here. Students are advised to
practice the right hand separately first to execute the suggested articulation markings correctly. There is
no dynamic marking indicated in the original score, but an overall mellow dynamics of not more than
will suit the
character of this piece well.
Careful practice and listening will be needed by students to balance their two hands correctly for this
piece. The left hand only provides accompaniment to the right hand melody. Students would do well to
keep it in check even in the second half of the piece when the left hand plays in parallel motion with
the right hand. A slight
may be added at the last two bars to give the dance a more graceful
close.
Minuet in F K.2
This delightful little piece is a perennial favorite among beginning pianists. The
tempo here
suggests a lively but unhurried tempo that allows the music to flow gracefully. Phrases here are all
four bars in length and take care to round off each of them with a
. Think of these phrases as
four bars with a rise in tone towards the minims to help shape the melodic line. Although there is no
articulation marking in the original score, a mixture of slurred and detached notes will bring out the
elegant dance-like character of the piece. Keep the overall dynamics mellow and not more than
to
preserve the elegance of the piece.
The rhythmic patterns here are fairly straightforward and should not pose much problem for students.
Be very careful not to accent the crotchets unnecessarily; a common error here is to drop the right hand
into the second crotchet of each bar. Every first note of each bar will need to be slightly emphasized with
slightly more tone, but keep it gentle and dont overdo it. Beware the triplets at bar 7; do not rush them
unnecessarily.
Students will need to balance their two hands carefully for a successful performance of this piece. The left
hand will need to be as unobtrusive as possible to highlight the upper melodic line. The fermata at bar 20
can be approached with a slight
; Mozart cleverly introduced a false ending here. A more
deliberate
is then added at the last two bars to give the
its actual ending.
Horn with Echo from 49 Pieces for Beginners at the Piano
Many young students find this cheerful little piece very attractive thanks to its energetic and infectious
tune. But dont be fooled by its apparent simplicity in notes, there are some tricky bits in there! The dotted
rhythms will need extreme care; students often play them as swinging triplets instead. A precise execution
of these rhythms coupled with a steady pulse is the key to a confident and rousing performance of this
piece. It may be helpful to get your students to clap or march to the rhythms first. Be careful not to
accents the offbeat notes unnecessarily; remember in 4/4 time signature the strong beats are on the first
and third beats of the bar. Avoid dropping hands on every single beat in this piece.
The left hand and right hand parts of this piece move in parallel motions throughout this piece. There
should be no notable coordination issues here with the exception of bar 8 in which there is a change of
rhythm in the left hand. Students would do well to practice each hand separately first before combining
the two hands first. Take care also to balance the dynamics between two hands carefully. Play the left hand
slightly softer than the right hand to project the main horn melody better.
Soldiers March from Album for The Young Op. 68
This piece is part of a collection of short pieces composed by Robert Schumann for his three daughters;
its cheerful depiction of a soldiers march proves to be popular among young students up to this day.
Note that the rhythmic patterns for this piece stay the same throughout save for some variation in the
middle section. Still, it is a good idea to make students clap or march the rhythms first before learning
the notes. Pay careful attention especially to the dotted rhythms; do not turn them into swinging triplets.
Make sure that all the rests are observed correctly; students often held the quavers longer than necessary
turning them into crotchets. It may be helpful in initial practice to count the rhythm in quavers to avoid
this problem. Likewise, do not shorten the quavers unnecessarily causing them to sound too
.
Precise execution of these rhythms coupled with a steady pulse is the key to successful performance of
this piece. Take care not to play this piece too fast; remember that the soldier would not be able to march
to the music if it is too fast!
The piece should not pose any coordination issues as both hands move in parallel motion throughout
the piece. Avoid lifting and dropping hands on the chords to prevent the piece from sounding heavy.
The only dynamics articulation Schumann indicated in this piece is but students should try to shape
each individual 4-bar phrase in this piece. A gentle rise in tone towards the second bar of each phrase
followed by a subtle
towards the end of the phrase would give a satisfying musical result.
The more ambitious students could try to voice the top notes of the chords to improve the clarity of the
melody. Articulation should be nonthroughout, though optional
can be added at bars
17-18 and bars 21-22 if some variety is desired.
Echo from Mayflowers Op. 61
This gentle, atmospheric piece is an excellent study of dynamic contrasts and tonal control. Students can
imagine that they are on top of a picturesque canyon with plenty of echoes to get them in the mood for
this piece. The notes are relatively simple and should not pose any coordination problems, but students
with good attention to details will be rewarded. Observe the
indication carefully; the tempo
should be gently flowing and not too fast. Keep the tempo steady throughout the piece and be careful
not to rush the successive triplets at bars 3, 8 and 13.
The phrases are four bars each with the exception of the phrase leading to the climax of the piece from
bars 9-13. Although it is not indicated in the score, a
can be applied here to emphasize this
climax. Be careful of the minims at bars 16 and 18; care must be taken not to produce unwanted accents
here. Do not let the hands fall unto these notes.
The
dynamics indicate which passage need to be played as echoes; the words Echo are printed above
those bars as well. The notes should provide a good contrast to the
echoes, but be careful not to play
them too loud to maintain the
character. Likewise the accents just need to be slightly louder
and more sustained.