Tag Archives: Composition

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Waltzing with Kabalevsky

 

**Waltzing with Kabalevsky sheet music**

The music of Dimitry Kabalevsky has had a big influence on me both as a student and teacher. The first work of his I learned to play was The Clown, a comical and indecisive caricature of a piece that every beginner pianist will recognize. I fondly remember learning his 24th prelude from op. 38 in the first year of my undergrad. This work barrels ahead like an industrial tempest but subsides in the closing section as the sun peaks its head out. Among my other favourite Russian composers such as Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich and Scriabin, Kabalevksy has influenced me greatly as a composer and it’s no surprise that soon after starting this funny waltz it seemed only fair to dedicate it to him.

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My First Sonata: Behind the Scenes

 

**Sonata in E Minor Sheet Music**

I wish I could say that one morning I woke up and decided, gee I’ve never written a sonata before, let’s go and write one… In reality, my need to brush up on my harmony theory in order to help out a student is what got the creative juices flowing.

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Evoking Chopin’s Ghost

My experiments in the realm of harmony continue. Currently I’m about half way through the RCM 10 Harmony book at we’ve just finished the passage on V9s and 13s. To me these chords immediately make me recall Chopin, as if they were his musical fingerprint. I thought I’d take another stab at composing something simple. My tendency is often to begin with simple intentions but end up with a piece 10 pages long and hard for anyone to play. This time I restricted myself to 16 measures. I thought I’d try to write another minuet, this time in the minor mode but by the time I tried it out at the keyboard I realized it was much more like a waltz. I almost achieved my first goal as it ended up being 21 measures. It turned out a tad more difficult than I wanted it to be but oh well. I’d say it’s more like grade 3 or probably 4 RCM. Still, I’m happy with the result. It reminds me a bit of Chopin combined with some Danny Elfman. What does it remind you of?

 

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Triumphant Minuet

I’ve been working my way through the RCM Harmony books. Much of the information is review but some of it is also new; I never had this amount of time to study theory in depth when I was a busy undergrad many years ago. After all this theory I thought why not try and apply it? So I sketched up this little minuet and was pleased with myself for composing something that at least resembles one of the many minuets I’ve heard or played throughout my life written by those old dead white guys.

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So You Didn’t Practice…

Every so often a student will email me the day of their lesson and admit that they haven’t practiced since I last saw them. Perhaps they were sick or just too busy; whatever their reason they sometimes ask not to have a lesson because it would simply be a waste of time. Here you’ll discover that this couldn’t be further from the truth!

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Nordic Fantasy

If you love exploring the fantasy realm, be it through art, music or literature, then check out this new work for solo piano. Come and be whisked away into lands of ice and snow, where horn calls echo in the valleys as battle draws near!

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