“Brightness” - a piano solo for the late beginner
I am so happy to share this piano solo with you today! This piece is called “Brightness”. It is a huge favourite in my studio and has featured many, many times in my recitals this year. This is the first piece I teach after a student has finished PianoForte Level 3. It sounds fun and has several new elements that students don’t find overly challenging. The whole piece can be learned in just a few lessons.
The first new element is the Key Signature. At some point during Level 3, students begin learning the major scales, so the concept of a key signature isn’t new. However, they haven’t encountered music written like this yet and the prompt at the top of the score says “Key Signature is ONE sharp, what is ‘Do’? This is a wonderful carry-on from the previous levels because they have been working in solfa from the very beginning of Level 1 and this question makes sense.
The second new element is the Time Signature. Brightness is written in triple Metre (6/8 time). So studnets are introduced to the dotted Crtoched/Quarter Note and the concept of this being equal to 3. This makes sense because they understand that the dotted minim/half note, is also a value of 3. 6/8 time also introduces a new way of counting the pulse of semi-quavers/16th notes.
The third new element is the addition of the pedal. As with all the concepts in this method, the pedal is introduced musically by demonstrating to the student how the pedal modifies the quality of sound. The pedal is meant to be held throughout the entire piece which creates a grand resonating sound which suits the character of the music and allows them to really understand what the pedal does.
This piece is highly patterned and the outer note ranges are written with ledger lines, which gives the student a more advanced practice with notational reading. FINALLY! the piece ends with performance flare as the ending notes require the hands to be far apart at opposite ends of the piano keyboard. This is super fun and really showy, especially for the young beginner.
Where to Find ‘Brightness’?
You can download Brightness for use with your students with a PianoForte Printable Membership.