40 Piece Challenge

The 40 Piece Challenge was issued to our piano forum group on facebook: Learn 40 NEW pieces over a period of eight months (I joined late). Here is my video journal of the challenge. Enjoy!

The complete 40 Piece Challenge 2015

40 Piece Challenge #40: Indigo Moon

This is the last video in this project, but definitely not the least! I wanted to include a piece in my challenge which would give a nod to Elissa Milne, the creator of the 40 piece challenge concept. I ordered Elissa’s fantastic Pepperbox Jazz collection and had the unenviable task of choosing just one to post!! Indigo Moon comes from Book 2 of the collection which thankfully arrived just in time to be included in my challenge!

I love everything about this song: the title, the haunting melody, the harmonies, the rhythms and the expression markings. Elissa’s music is well-edited with very clear directions about what the composer wants the pianist to feel and express. This piece is listed as a Level 7 Royal Conservatory of Music repertoire selection.

40 Piece Challenge #39: Cancion y danza VI

I am quite happy to include Cancion y Danza VI by Catalan composer Federico Mompou in my 40 Piece Challenge! The piece is from the Level 10 Royal Conservatory of Music repertoire. Cancion y Danza means literally ‘Song and Dance’, but is so much more than just a song and dance.

The Cancion has a delicious Spanish flavour, is expressive and moody and it’s so fun to ‘wallow’ in it. The fast tempo marking of the Danza makes it even more challenging on top of the triplet-feel, leaping bass notes, and right hand double third passages!

(Please excuse my video-editing skills, I couldn’t connect the two videos seamlessly and due to time constraints (and muscle tiredness!) I had trouble recording the two sections of the piece in one take.)

40 Piece Challenge #38: Pas de Deux

I used to be so jealous of the string players that got to perform Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings (one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching pieces for string orchestra). So imagine my joy when I found this composition: Pas de Deux by Samuel Barber in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s 2015 Celebration Series Level 10 collection for piano!

This piece has a sinuous melody and is challenging to perform. There is much interweaving of melodic lines, unusual harmonies, and powerful buildups of crescendos and washes of harmonic colour. It lends itself well to ‘octopus’ hands and if I could do only one thing further with this piece, it would be to memorize it, so that I can ensure the accuracy of bass notes / chords.

 

40 Piece Challenge #37: October (Autumn Song, Op. 37b, No. 10)

October – Autumn Song, Op 37b, No. 10 is a beautiful piece by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky. A standard in the Level 9 Royal Conservatory of Music repertoire, it is apparent why this piece is well loved.

Why am I playing a song called October in June? Well, we were having a heat wave this past weekend, and I was dreaming of the cool, crisp Autumns that we are blessed to have in Canada. So what happened on the day that I was recording this one? A cool, crisp, Fall-like day! Perfect inspiration! Perfect end to the heat!

40 Piece Challenge #36: Old-Adam

Old Adam Two-Step puts the challenge in 40-piece challenge!! The piece by William Bolcom is a lively number, with 5 flats in the key signature, heart-stopping left hand leaps, and crazy little right hand flourishes that make your hands numb.

This piece is a welcome new addition to the Level 10 Royal Conservatory of Music repertoire. I love Old Adam.. it makes you want to dance! I definitely want to explore this more fully at a later date.

40 Piece Challenge #35: Carnivalse

Is it just me, or are carnivals kind of creepy? Carnivalse – by Chilly Gonzales is perfectly named: it has eerie harmonies, a kind of off but pretty melody, and stretchy rubato passages that bring to mind fun houses, cotton candy, clowns, carousels, and the dark side of carnivals!

Chilly Gonzales is a Canadian-born pianist, producer, and songwriter who is currently living in Germany.

Carnivalse is one of the new pieces in the repertoire for the Level 9 Royal Conservatory of Music examination. It has challenging harmonies and some tricky passages but is really interesting to learn and play!

 

40 Piece Challenge #34: Reverie in F minor

The Reverie in F minor is a piece by Dennis Alexander, a noted clinician, teacher, and prolific composer. It is featured in the Level 9 Royal Conservatory 2015 Celebration Series collection.

This particular piece is a lovely, contemplative treasure with a soaring melody that uses the rhythmic tension of two-note groupings against three-note groupings. Four note groupings are thrown in there occasionally for a lovely rhythmic challenge. Reverie is an apt name: I love to just let the harmonies dreamily wash over me like meditation (Keys with flats are my favourite!)

40 Piece Challenge #33: Decadent Sentimental Song

The title says it all: “Sentimental Decadente”…from a collection called Spanish Preludes. The song is written by Miguel Manzano and is a new addition to the RCM Level 9 Exam pieces. The song is also featured in the 2015 Celebration Series for the Royal Conservatory of Music.

This contemporary song has beautiful countermelodies and some unusual (and tricky!) harmonies. The liquid melody sails over a flexible rhythm that ebbs and flows to accommodate. To me, the song didn’t sound like the typical Spanish melodies that the Western ear is familiar with (No Arabic/Andalusian modes here!!) and upon further research, I found out that the composer uses what he refers to as “traditional Spanish modes” to evoke the mood and atmosphere of Spanish music. The ending has quite the build up and is challenging but interesting!

40 Piece Challenge #32: Interlude III

This is the third Interlude in a set of 3 Interludes for Piano by Rami Bar -Niv. The Interludes as a whole explore blues, jazz, and the ballade form.

This interlude in the ballade style has a lovely melody accompanied by 7th chords, with classical flourishes that embellish the melody at key points. A big thank you to Rami Bar-Niv for letting me try this piece for my 40 Piece Challenge. It was a lovely introduction to his works for piano!

40 Piece Challenge #31: Milonga del Angel

The beautiful Milonga del Angel is a piece written by Astor Piazzolla, master of the tango genre and native of Argentina. The word ‘milonga’ is a style of music that was the pre-cursor to tango! While you can hear the foreshadowing of tango in this piece (the rhythm, beautiful melody, and passion are there) it is a little more restrained than the familiar tango. Interesting rhythms and build up of emotion, with hints of Spanish inflections make this song lovely to listen to and to play. This as one of the recommended pieces in the Level 8 Royal Conservatory of Music exam requirements.

 

40 Piece Challenge #30: Etude Allegro

Etude Allegro can be found in the collection “Japanese Festival” (or “Collection of Piano Pieces for Children” as it is known in Japan). The composer, Yoshinao Nakada, was a well-known composer in Japan. The brisk tempo in this study makes it a really fun piece to learn. Instead of frantic fingers though, it was helpful to use larger muscles in the arm in order to prevent the fingers from getting tired–after all, it’s a five-page piece, almost all sixteenth notes!! You can find this as one of the recommended pieces for the Level 8 Royal Conservatory of Music exam.

 

40 Piece Challenge #29: Castle Ward Temple Dancer In Blue

Castle Ward Temple Dancer in Blue is from the lovely Strangford Sketchbook by June Armstrong. The piece has a bluesy melody over an elegant left hand accompaniment (a musical nod to Erik Satie’s dreamy Gymnopedies).

Fun to play, but not simple! The slightly swung eighth notes were a challenge for me to get. Thanks to June for letting me try her beautiful music! This piece is a requirement for Trinity College Grade 6 Exam and Royal Irish Academy of Music Grade 7 Exam.

40 Piece Challenge #28: Mysterious Summer’s Night

I like to think, if Tim Burton was wandering through a haunted forest on a dark summer night, this would be his soundtrack!! Mysterious Summer’s Night, by Larysa Kuzmenko is a beautiful exploration of tritones and rubato. (Tritones are intervals of augmented fourths and rubato means ‘robbed time’ or a flexible tempo).

As with #27, this is one of the choices for a contemporary selection in the Level 8 Royal Conservatory of Music exams.

40 Piece Challenge #27: Jazz Exercise No. 3

Jazz Exercise No. 3 is another piece by Oscar Peterson. An exercise in seventh chords and swinging eighth notes, this little gem is included in his collection called ‘Jazz Piano for the Young Pianist, Volume 3’. You can find this as one of the contemporary choices for the Level 8 Royal Conservatory of Music exam.

 

40 Piece Challenge #26: Petites Litanies de Jesus

Petites litanies de Jesus (or Little Litanies of Jesus) is an early 20th century contemporary piece from a collection called L’Almanach aux images by Gabriel Grovlez. First published in 1911, the collection of 8 pieces are based on poems by Tristan Klingsor.

The Grovlez piece is a recommended piece for the Royal Conservatory of Music Level 8 exam. While not a traditional religious arrangement, there are still elements of four part harmony in place, although the effect is modernized with smoothly moving seventh chords that are peaceful and inspiring to me.

 

40 Piece Challenge #25: Souvenir

Souvenir is a piece from the Romantic period by Genari Karganov (1858-1890). It is featured in the 2015 Celebration Series edition of the Royal Conservatory of Music – Level 8 collection.

The Romantic period is one of my favourite styles of music to perform. I was delighted to find this graceful gem by Genari Karganov. Not much is known about the composer except that he was an Armenian who became a naturalised Russian. He was a composer and piano teacher that lived in Georgia.

40 Piece Challenge #24: Sneaky

Sneaky is a piece by Professor Stephen Chatman (University of British Columbia, Canada). This is the second piece by Prof. Chatman that I’ve included in my 40 piece challenge (See also #18 – Katherine). ‘Sneaky’ can be found in the Royal Conservatory 2015 Celebration Series in Level 8. It is a fun piece in 6/8 time that brings to mind small children and Bugs Bunny!!

 40 Piece Challenge #23: Every Heart

This one is for my piano students who are always bringing me anime music to try out! Every Heart or ‘Minna no Kimochi’ is a song by BoA and was featured in the anime series Inuyasha.

Usually anime arrangements are a bit of a gamble when it comes to notation of pitch and rhythm, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this version by Kyle Landry. It’s a well written (5 page!) arrangement full of lovely harmonies, interesting rhythms, and rippling arpeggios and scales. A little bit nerve-wracking to pull off, but beautiful nonetheless.

40 Piece Challenge #22: The Gentle Waltz

I am re-visiting Oscar Peterson this week with ‘The Gentle Waltz’. (I explored another of his compositions Jazz Exercise No. 2 in challenge piece #7.) I found the piece in the Grade 7 collection of Conservatory Canada’s New Millennium series. I remember wearing out his 5 CD Collection, “Exclusively For My Friends” when I was exploring great jazz pianists. I like to think he is somewhere humming along while I’m playing!

40 Piece Challenge #21: Solfeggietto

This composition is by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (also known as CPE Bach, to differentiate him from his famous father JS Bach). It is featured in the Study section of the Grade 7 Conservatory Canada New Millennium Series. Studies are short instrumental musical compositions that are designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. That being said, many studies, or etudes are beautiful pieces, as is the case with this one. I found it particularly challenging to avoid using the sustain pedal and play it cleanly! Fingerwork!

40 Piece Challenge #20: Ottawa Valley Song

This piece is also found in the Conservatory Canada Grade 7 New Millennium series. The composition, by Court Stone, is a peaceful song with interesting time signature changes that ebb and flow around the composition’s rhythmic motif of offbeat chords under a smooth chordal melody.

 

40 Piece Challenge #19: Audley’s Castle

This beautiful piece by June Armstrong had me dreaming of Ireland! June Armstrong offered me her compositions as part of the 40 piece challenge and I couldn’t decide between this and another song so she kindly sent me both! Well, I still couldn’t decide, so the second song will be included in a future challenge piece. (It’s like somebody asking me, “Who’s your favourite child?” Impossible to choose!) Audley’s Castle has a beautiful, stately, grand melody that was fun to bring out amid cascading sixth passages that colour the melody so well. I just love her compositions!

40 Piece Challenge #18: Katherine

Katherine is a beautiful contemporary piano piece written by Stephen Chatman, a professor of composition at the University of British Columbia in Canada. It is included in the Royal Conservatory Syllabus at a Grade 7 level AND is also included in the Canada Conservatory series at the same level. The harmonies are beautiful and the tempo changes fluidly. I found it interesting that the two conservatories edited the piece differently–the Canada Conservatory series had a slower tempo marking, I think I play it somewhere in the middle of the two tempos. The slower tempo gives you more time to enjoy the phrases and harmonies, I think.

 

 40 Piece Challenge #17: A Wink and A Smile

A Wink and a Smile is a piece that was written by Harry Connick, Jr. for the movie soundtrack of the film “Sleepless in Seattle“. I love that film–as much for the soundtrack as for the storyline! This was one of the few “contemporary” songs to be included, and fits seamlessly with other classics by legends such as Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Jimmy Durante, and others. The left hand stride-piano patterns are enough to make your heart stop when recording–trying to get all those jumpy bass notes accurate was really hard! It also features my first ever composed solo in the middle!

 

40 Piece Challenge #16: Theme from Schindler’s List

Since the current buzz is all about John William’s OTHER film music (if you haven’t been on Planet Earth recently, I’m talking about the new Star Wars movie), I thought I would explore some of his other compositions. The ‘Theme from Schindler’s List’ is a piece that wrings at the heart-strings. If you’ve ever heard Ishtak Perlman on the soundtrack, you’ll know what I mean–he makes the violin SING. I chose this song because I love John Williams work ethic. With a career that spans 6 decades, you know that he’s a hard worker!

“Any working composer or painter or sculptor will tell you that inspiration comes at the eighth hour of labour rather than as a bolt out of the blue. We have to get our vanities and our preconceptions out of the way and do the work in the time allotted.” – John Williams

 

40 Piece Challenge #15: I Should Care

It is certainly not a statement about the first song I should play in 2016–it’s just the title of the song! This song was written by Sammy Cahn, Axel Stordahl & Paul Weston. The version I chose to play is a jazz ballad with lovely written-in jazz embellishments and runs. A boon for the classically-trained player.

 

40 Piece Challenge #14: The Shepherds’ Cradle Song

The Shepherds’ Cradle Song is an arrangement of a German folk melody called Wiegenlied Der Hirten by Sally Deford. I was looking for a piano solo to perform at church and came across this beautiful song. I had already performed her solo version of Silent Night / Still, Still, Still, and re-visited her website to look for more. I didn’t end up performing the Cradle Song at church but thought I would post this anyway. Halfway through the recording of the song, the sun started streaming through the window, wanting to play along!

40 Piece Challenge #13: The Christmas Song

Christmas song + Peanuts Gang + Jazz = PURE JOY! I love this jazz arrangement of “The Christmas Song” or (as everyone knows it) “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” found in A Charlie Brown Christmas Piano Collection. Since it seems like we are looking at a green Christmas this year, I wanted to get into the mood of Christmas by learning this holiday favourite.

40 Piece Challenge #12: Fuga in a moll con Angry Birds Thema

This 3 part fugue treatment of the Angry Birds theme by Piotr Tomasz Harasimiuk is what might have happened if JS Bach had played video games. In music, a fugue is a multi-voiced composition that is built on a subject or theme (in this case Angry Birds). The theme is repeated throughout the song at different pitches. This particular composition was offered to the MuseScore community and the score is a highly popular download. If you get the theme song stuck in your head, it’s not my fault!

40 Piece Challenge #11: Shooting Stars in Summer

This piece by Nakao Ikeda is aptly named. With sporadic falling triplets scattered throughout the RH melody, it brings to mind, well, shooting stars! I really like the harmonies and the triplet passages in the RH are fun to play.

40 Piece Challenge #10: Seven of Hearts

Seven of Hearts is by Kevin Olson. This piece is fun because it’s in 7/8 time. Not a typical time signature that we ever encounter, so it’s a dramatic piece because the downbeat always comes sooner than you think. The time signature gives a unique feel to the song and it’s a challenge to always look ahead and play in the 7/8 pattern.

40 Piece Challenge #9: Far Away Friend

One of the things I love about the contemporary piece choices in the Celebration Series are the titles. The song titles paint a picture of what the composer might have intended their song to be. This song by Mark Springer is a slightly wistful tune and has lovely harmonies.

40 Piece Challenge #8: Jazz Suite No. 2, Third Movement

This piece by Glenda Austin is a rhythmic, jazzy piece with contrasting sections of dense chords and smooth legato melodies. The challenge for this piece, besides the rhythm, is the tempo marking!! The composer chose the description ‘Presto e deciso’ (fast and decisive) and a tempo marking of quarter note = 160-176. (In case you’re wondering why the eighths are not ‘swing eighths’, the composer specifically marked them to be played as straight eighths). It took one practice session of taking certain sections of the piece and move them from about 120 – 160 range through gradual increments. A practice technique I often try to teach to my students when playing a fast piece!

40 Piece Challenge #7: Jazz Exercise No. 2

Last, but certainly not least this week, is this offering by Oscar Peterson, one of my all time-favourite jazz pianists! And he’s Canadian!! Don’t let the title fool you, this little “exercise” is a fun piece to play and certainly not without challenges. It can be found in Level 8 of the RCM repertoire books. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, “I love the new Celebration Series books!!”

40 Piece Challenge #6: Waltz

This lovely little Waltz by Viktor Kosenko is reminiscent of the style of Chopin. This piece is also found in the Level 7 repertoire book of the RCM Celebration Series. If it sounds a little melancholic, see the above comment about “snow”.

 40 Piece Challenge #5: Fantasy Bossa

I’m continuing the exploration of the 2015 Celebration Series by the Royal Conservatory, this time the Level 7 and Level 8 books. This first selection, from RCM Level 7, is a piece by Christopher Norton and brings to mind tropical breezes, sandy beaches, umbrella drinks and peaceful waves. Indulge me in my fantasy getaway… it’s snowing here in Ottawa. 🙂

40 Piece Challenge #4: Happy Time Jazz

Since the 40 Piece Challenge can also include songs we want to teach, I wanted to include this little gem by Martha Mier. When the new 2015 editions of the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) came out, I was happy to see the new music that has been added, especially in the contemporary genre. More living composers, more styles of music, and more great music! This RCM Level 6 song was fun to prepare–only took 30 minutes! Which was good because a) I need to catch up with my colleagues and b) it’s been a busy week! This is a song I will definitely be teaching to my students.

40 Piece Challenge # 3: Root Beer Rag

I have always loved Ragtime as a genre. Billy Joel’s songs are very popular as a whole, but I never knew that he had written a ragtime piece. The Root Beer Rag is really fun to play and every recording I have heard of this song is played at an ear-blistering pace. It’s funny, but I remembering reading Scott Joplin’s complaint that people played his ragtime too fast. In fact, in one of my editions of his music, the composer specifically wrote ‘Not too fast’ as an instruction to the pianist. For this week’s selection, I worked on the Root Beer Rag at several different speeds but found that for me, it settled into the tempo in the video. The slightly slower speed allows for some more dynamic nuance, even though the overall performance might seem less ‘virtuosic’… Still enjoyable though!

40 Piece Challenge # 2: Kiss the Rain

This is a beautiful piano instrumental by Yiruma, a well-known South Korean pianist and composer. Most of my students fall in love with Yiruma as soon as they hear his pieces. His music generally piques their interest in other Classical pieces. This particular song is great for learning RH octave melodies and LH arpeggiated chords (my personal nemesis!!)

40 Piece Challenge # 1: Over The Rainbow

This is from a transcription of Keith Jarrett’s dreamy jazz version. I wanted to start the challenge with another first — it’s the first jazz piece that I’ve publicly posted. I chose this piece to start off the challenge a) because it’s on my list of “pieces-to-do-that-I-need-to-make-time-for” b) Over the Rainbow has to be one of the most uplifting songs out there!! c) Keith Jarrett’s version is filled with the coolest chords and most intriguing counter melodies ever!!

 

What is the 40 Piece Challenge?

It all started with Elissa Milne, a piano teacher in Australia. Recognizing that there seemed to be a disturbing trend among piano students who studied only enough pieces intensively each year in order to pass their piano exams, she instituted the 40 piece challenge. Placing a deadline on learning 40 pieces gave students incentive to learn more music – this in turn would increase their understanding of piano styles, increase their reading skills, introduce them to the wonderful music out there for the piano and teach them more about the art of making music.

A professional Facebook group of piano teachers and pedagogy experts took it to the next level (we decided to make this one for teachers only) and jumped on board. So when I heard about this, I knew I had to take part.

Just to be clear, I’ve never been had a problem with playing loads of repertoire before. I used to enthusiastically read through anything I could get my hands on. Even the RCM graded books were read from cover to cover. AFTER playing through everything, I would THEN choose which pieces I really wanted to perfect for examinations and recitals. I know that having studied music this way gave me the interpretation and sight reading skills that I still use today, and it sure helps in teaching when you have a deep knowledge of piano music that is out there. I can always find something that will ‘catch the ear’ of a piano student!

If you are interested, the rules for this particular challenge are this: we are planning to make our way through 40 NEW pieces by May 24, 2016. We are allowed to learn a challenging solo work, a piece that you plan on teaching, a vocal accompaniment or chamber work, create your own piece, or even transpose something you have already learnt. Also, in my case, the pieces are presented as something new I’ve learned–not necessarily perfected or memorized.

If you are curious about my personal journey with the 40 Piece Challenge and the challenges and lessons I’ve learned, please click here to read 40 Piece Challenge – The Journey.

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