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Schumann - Melodie (No. 1 from Album für die Jugend, Op. 68)

ABRSM Grade 1 – B1

Robert Schumann’s Album for the Young is a treasure trove of 42 pieces written for young people. Melodie features a melody in the right hand with a gently flowing quaver accompaniment in the left. This piece requires sensitivity to touch and tone, and the ability to phrase and project a singing line. ... Read >>

Head - The Quiet Wood

ABRSM Grade 1 – B3

This piece has an interesting structure that will interest enquiring minds. The opening six-bar phrase returns twice more, both times with slight variations on the original. See if you can describe these differences. A four-bar middle phrase gives the piece an overall A A’ B A’’ design. Sing the melodic line to discover high and low points of the phrase, and where it needs to breathe. Preview (please log-in or subscribe to see full video) Resources & links This piece... Read >>

JL Dussek - Gavotte in F

ABRSM Grade 2 – A2

A gavotte is a pastoral folk dance in duple time that originated in France, common during the 18th century. The dance quality in this piece can be brought out by playing the crotchets detached, apart from in bar 4, etc., where a drop-roll slur is effective. Give melodic shape to the quavers lines, hiding the repeated thumb Cs in the left hand from bar 17 - 22 by playing them more softly than the other left hand notes. As with any piece of music, dynamic contrasts bring colour and variety to our sound. ... Read >>

Trad. Irish (arr. Blackwell) - Down by the salley gardens

ABRSM Grade 1 – B3

In the opening of this imaginative arrangement of the traditional Irish tune the left hand holds down three notes silently, allowing sympathetic resonance from the undamped strings. Attention to expressive detail is called for in this piece, which offers the opportunity to cultivate a vocal style of phrasing and shaping in a melodic line. ... Read >>

Burgmüller - 1. La Candeur (Openness) in C major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

The quaver patterns require the cultivation of a legato cantabile touch and tonal gradation. Begin with the voice and sing the lines, shaping expressively and giving some space where the music breathes. Fingers need to be close to the keys, and the wrist flexible and mobile. As you glide through the five-finger positions sense the alignment of the arm behind each finger. You’ll feel this either as a tiny lateral movement in the wrist in the direction of travel, or as a small wrist circle (either is fine). Don’t overlook the chordal accompaniment in the LH; a solidly prepared background... Read >>

Handel - Sonatina in G, HWV 582

ABRSM Grade 3 – A1

Handel's Sonatina in G is part of a new series on the ABRSM syllabus designed for youngsters, or elementary players. This series of articles provides a step-by-step (or phrase-by-phrase) approach to learning the piece thoroughly and securely, building a solid foundation for performance in an exam, or if you are... Read >>

Bartók - Dialogue (from First Term at the Piano)

ABRSM Initial Grade – B3

The great Hungarian composer Béla Bartók was an important educator, writing piano music for all levels, including the very early stages. Dialogue comes from a set of elementary pieces entitled First Term at the Piano. It features the two hands in conversation with each other, the right hand leading and the left hand imitating a bar later. Each hand stays in its own hand position throughout; the player’s task is to manage the five-finger positions with flexibility of phrasing and hand movements, avoiding locking the wrist by adjusting it laterally in order to align the arm behind the finger that... Read >>

Burgmüller - 21. L’Harmonie des Anges (The Music of the Angels) in G Major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

The marking armonioso (harmoniously) implies that L’harmonie des anges (The Music of the Angels) requires pedal to blend the notes into clouds of harmony. How we pedal is actually the main objective of the étude; it will soon become apparent that there are plenty of possible solutions that can work, and that variety in our pedalling is called for. Literal-minded players may conclude that the pedal must be cleared in the presence of rests. While this may be a good guideline for Baroque and Classical period music, Romantic style is much freer. The left-hand rests in bar 1, for example,... Read >>

Beethoven - Sonatina in G (2nd mvt - Anh. 5 No. 1)

This walkthrough of the second movement of Beethoven’s popular Sonatina in G will help students to assimilate essential elements of the Classical style: articulation, balance, ornamentation, and clear phrasing. The series of reduced scores provides students with a step-by-step approach to learning the piece, and makes it easier for teachers... Read >>