One of my adult pupils is deeply embedded in J.C. Bach’s Prelude in A minor which is a soulful outpouring of broken chords with patterns and symmetries built into its harmonic fabric. Yet through a sequence of secondary dominants that heightens the composition’s beauty, a melodic line is interwoven, and it needs to be fleshed out.
Legato pedaling is another feature of this work. It challenges a student to listen attentively to harmonic movement as the impetus for sustain pedal changes.
To follow this composition with still another that had a complementary landscape, but in the Romantic genre, seemed natural.
My choice was Robert Schumann’s “Little Etude” no. 14 from Album for the Young, because it provided an additional opportunity to draw a melody through broken chords, while it required a raised consciousness about voice leading, harmonic contouring, chord inversions, and pedaling.
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“Little Etude” (Kleine Studie) Album for the Young
Chord blocking:
LESSON IN PROGRESS
Piano Instruction J.C. Bach Prelude in A minor
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