After 30 years of teaching piano and observing the various technical challenges that pianists need to master (particularly contemporary and late romantic repertoire) I have often felt the need to prescribe preparatory exercises for students. These have ultimately taken the form of little extended pieces of which this collection is a sample. For this reason it might be best to think of these pieces being ‘about the piano’ as much as ‘for the piano’.
These pieces set out primarily to aid the student in their orientation on the piano by exploiting the inherent symmetrical characteristics of the keyboard. They are designed to be easy to remember and fun to play. Each piece has a sub-title which alludes to the character of the work and perhaps might offer a technical narrative for the teacher/student to refer to.
These works explore the rhythmic diversity and expressive possibilities of music which is primarily shared between the hands, this approach helps the student to play complex and juxtaposed rhythms and articulations within the context of simple symmetrical sequences of notes.
Thus ‘complicated’ time signatures like 5/8 and 7/8 become more natural for the student. Syncopation, articulation, and quick register jumps are also explored throughout the pieces, adding to their fun and technical challenge. This also helps to develop keyboard orientation and inter-hand coordination.
I trust both the student and teacher will enjoy discovering these pieces as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Jeroen Speak