Mel Bay's Creative Keyboard® Webzine | Gail Smith - FIVE MUSICAL CURIOSITIES

FIVE MUSICAL CURIOSITIES

Some composers were just a little more clever than others. Wolfgang Amadeaus Mozart WAS clever. He composed a piece that could be played upside down and then right side up and sounded great. Yet it could also be played at the same time as a duet. It was called Table Music. Composed originally for two flute or violin players, each musician could see the score when seated at a table facing each other. The one piece of music was played with each one seeing his part perfectly.

Another clever composer was Guillaume de Machaut (1204-1377). He demonstrated sophisticated musical ingenuity in composing a palindrome in a tenor solo. The text is "Ma fin est mon commencement et mon commencement ma fin" (My end is my beginning and my beginning my end"). In this composition a portion of the tenor line could be sung backwards as well as forward and sound the same.

Robert Schumann was a very clever composer too. He took his friend's name and composed a special piano solo using the musical notes as the melody. Mr.Gade's name has four musical notes. The piece is called "Norse Song", Op. 68, No.41. The melody moves from the treble to the bass throughout the song. The melody is unmistakable and lovely.

Amy Beach composed a piano duet that I find clever and almost unbelievable. The secondo part has 24 different rhythmic ways of playing two notes (B&D). The piece is called Katy Dids and these notes played with the right and left hand combine to create an unusual accompaniment for the solo in the primo piano part. The piece is enjoyable to hear. The secondo part is extremely difficult even tho it is made up of just two notes in each hand. The most advanced player can hardly sight read the piece because of the tedious changing combinations. Everyone needs to try this piece to test their sight reading ability!

My personal favorite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach. He not only was clever, Bach was the most prolific composer. He wrote preludes and fugues in every single key. One of his clever piano pieces is the Minuet in G minor. In reality, the one piece turned into two separate pieces. Each part was interchangeable. The right hand melody in the first piece becomes the left hand part in the second piece and the left hand part of the first piece becomes the right hand melody in the second piece. You must play this piece to truly comprehend his genius as well as the other pieces I have mentioned by Mozart, Schumann, Machaut and Amy Beach.

Have fun playing these pieces and perhaps you will think of some special, clever way to compose music

The pieces may be found in Celebrate the Piano Series and Palindromes for Piano by Gail Smith

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