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We are continuing our journey through the year with Chris Caine’s A Year in Twelve Keys. And we’ve now arrived in March. The name of this week’s piece is March, Promise of Spring.
And this one did not tiptoe in quietly. It absolutely roars in like a lion. It’s big and bold, and it’s full of octaves.
After that, I’ll play another spring-themed work, Kevin Costley’s Symphony of Spring, also quite challenging, but perfect for a strong late intermediate or early advanced student.
I’ve got spring fever, even if the temperature hasn’t quite caught up yet. And that’s what’s coming up on the Piano Pedagogy Playlist. Hello and welcome, I hope your day is going well.
I’m Luke Bartolomeo, pianist, teacher, and developer of music education apps, including Flashnote Derby.
Each Monday, I share some of my current favorites from the contemporary piano repertoire, music written for students by living composers, pieces that challenge and inspire, and help us all grow as musicians and teachers.
Today, I’m playing two works that definitely fall into the growth category. Both are challenging. The first is advanced level, and the second is powerful repertoire for a late intermediate to early advanced student.
We’ll start with our piece of the month. Now after last month’s foray into the world of Seven Sharps, we have something a little more manageable this month from Chris Caine, at least on paper. It’s in the lovely key of D major.
But have we got octaves? The composer notes that this piece evokes the wide open spaces of North America, and you can hear that in the opening melodic figure.
It’s built on rising fourths, open intervals, that immediately give you that big sky feeling. And then there are the octaves. Or stuffed octaves is what I like to call them.
Octaves with something tucked inside. You’re never quite sure what you’re going to get. Sometimes there’s a fifth inside, sometimes a sixth.
And that constant recalibration, physically and mentally, makes this piece a challenge. Especially at tempo. You have to prepare each shape in advance, constantly thinking ahead.
And honestly, this was a piece I needed to learn. See, I’ve been doing quite a bit of accompanying lately. And as you may know, when you accompany, you often end up being called on to sight read things.
Sometimes at the last minute. These octave chord passages are exactly the kind of thing I’m tempted to cheat on and just play the outside notes. This piece forced me not to chicken out.
It made me commit to the full sonority, to plan the fingerings carefully, and to feel the distance between shapes before leaping. And that should be the case with any good etude. It’s not just technical.
It’s musically compelling. It surges with springtime energy. You can hear the earth’s potential waking up.
You can feel the ground beginning to thaw beneath the surface. There’s a sense of something pushing upward, wind sweeping across the open fields. It’s powerful and hopeful.
Here is March Promise of Spring, from A Year in Twelve Keys, by Chris Caine. Cha cha cha indeed. That was March, Promise of Spring by Chris Caine.
That’s so much fun to play. I absolutely love all the 5-8 measures in that piece, when you’re entirely expecting a more symmetrical 6-8. That missing beat pushes the music forward.
It’s as if we simply cannot wait another moment for winter to end. I feel that. So, that was our advanced level Lion of March.
Now for something equally spring-themed, but at a slightly easier level. I’m going to play Symphony of Spring by Kevin Costley. This piece begins innocently enough.
Lyrical melody in the right hand, broken chord patterns in the left. It feels like the first warm day. But just as spring weather can turn unexpectedly, the mood shifts.
Inner voices begin to emerge. The harmony grows more dramatic. Things start to get stormy.
The thunder erupts, courtesy of some more of those stuffed octaves we heard in the previous piece. Not quite as fast or as relentless, but still excellent octave training for students building strength and coordination. Then comes the rain.
And this is where the pedagogical beauty of this piece shines. Students can experiment with creating dimensions in their sound. Voicing, in other words.
There’s a clear melody that must sing, a left-hand accompaniment that needs prominent bass tones without overemphasizing the inner chord tones, and a counter melody in the right hand that should be present, but never steal the spotlight.
Balancing all those layers is the real artistry here. And then, as the storm passes, the rainbow appears. The music settles, and it’s calm once again.
This is Symphony of Spring by Kevin Costley. Today, we heard two fairly challenging pieces. I ended with Symphony of Spring by Kevin Costley, and before that, it was the third piece in Chris Caine’s A Year in Twelve Keys, March, Promise of Spring.
If you’re enjoying his journey through the seasons and through the keys, be sure to come back on the first Monday in April when we’ll keep moving through the year together.
And as always, links to where you can purchase today’s music can be found in the episode description or at pianopedagogyplaylist.com. And just like that, it’s time to close the lid on today’s episode of the Piano Pedagogy Playlist.
As the weather shifts and the days start to grow longer, I hope we can be okay with a little unpredictability this week. And practice your octaves, stuffed or otherwise.
I’ll look forward to seeing you next Monday when I share some more of my current favorites from the Contemporary Piano Teacher’s Repertoire. Until then, keep nurturing the music, and have a great week.