ClassPiano

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In measures 1-8, the right hand is actually playing in octaves and filling in with chord tones at the same time. This is a common technique in piano, but it can be difficult if your hand isn’t used to stretching like that. If you practice this technique often, the hand will get stronger and it will be easier to play.

The left hand is in octaves for measures 1-8 so don’t worry about counting ledger lines.

The right hand is surprisingly easy in measures 21-28. The left hand is fine too, but requires some endurance. Use the sustain pedal to help fill this section out.

Measures 50-57 should be practiced slowly at first and then gradually sped up. For this section, the left hand is written in the treble clef and does a lot of “filling in.” That means it plays mostly on the off beats and “fills in” the gaps of the right hand part.

Measures 58-65 are similar to what you played earlier in the song, but the right hand has been taking up one octave. Also, the left hand is played in octaves to give this section a bit more weight.

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This song has some unique chord progressions that I’ve never tried before. Sometimes shuffling chords around, or throwing in unrelated chords, can lead to new compositional ideas.

The song is in 3/4 and has no flats or sharps in the key signature. So each measure will have 3 beats and you don’t have to remember any accidentals. The form of this song is AABA, so once you learn measures 1-24, you’ll have 75% of the song learned.

Measure 25 should be noticeably louder than the first section. Since this is the same music as before, the louder dynamic will help it stand out.

The left hand notes in measures 49-58 should be played short. Also, you should not use the sustain pedal for this section. And speaking of sustain pedal, you should use it for the rest of the song, and reset it about every measure.

Measures 59 to the end uses the same music as before, but it’s been moved up an octave. Notice how the left hand changes to treble clef at measure 66. If I had stayed with bass clef, the left hand would have had a TON of ledger lines. So changing to treble makes it easier to read.

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I’ve been in Blooomington the past few days visiting with my friend Charles Webb. He is an excellent pianist and helped me with the arrangement of this piece.

As you play this song, feel free to speed up or slow down whenever you feel like it. This piece does not need to be perfectly in time with a metronome. If you feel like stretching a measure out, or accelerating through a measure, then go for it.

Look at the left hand in measure 21. This is an example of doing two things at once with the same hand. You need to hold D with your left hand thumb while your other fingers continue to play the other notes in this measure.

Remember, the sustain pedal is your friend. Use it to help you connect notes and fill out the sound. Just make sure to reset it regularly so the notes don’t blend together too much.

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Just one sharp in the key signature. However, there are a lot of accidentals so pay attention to whether it is F-sharp or F-natural.

This upbeat rock song requires a pretty strong left hand, especially the thumb and pinky. For example, the opening bass line uses mostly thumb and pinky.

Measures 5-12 is probably the easiest section of the song. Pay attention to the rests in the left hand. Remember, rests are just as important as notes because they give the music space and anticipation.

Look at the right hand in measures 25-32. As you play this part, give more emphasis to the higher notes because they move up and down. The lower notes of the right hand just stay on D the whole time so you don’t need to play them as loudly.

Measures 33-40 is the hardest section of this song. Eventually, you want to be able to play very loudly with both hands. However, I recommend that you practice quietly at first so you can save your hand strength while you’re still learning the notes.

You only need to use the sustain pedal for sections like measure 33-40. The other sections are optional and it really depends on what you think sounds best.

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The intro looks a little complicated, but it’s really just the same right hand melody repeated over changing left hand notes. The only change in the right hand is in measures 7-8 and 15-16.

Not much to say about measures 17-32. Keep the left hand steady and make it a little bit louder when it changes to eighth notes at measure 25.

The left hand is in octaves for measures 33-38. Now look at the right hand part. You can think of all the G notes that the right hand plays as filler notes, because they “fill in” the gaps between the higher note melody.

For measures 39-42, start loudly in the left hand and then get gradually softer. This will help transition to the next section, which should be played softly.

Use the sustain pedal for every section in this song and you should reset it whenever the left hand changes to a different note.