Kathryn Mishell

Introduction to Teachers and Parents

By Kathryn Mishell

Learning to master something as difficult and complicated as playing the piano involves the personality of the student in an all-encompassing way, and makes demands on him psychologically which are as fierce as those which are made on him technically and musically. This book presents new piano pieces for students. more than that, the book addresses itself to the student's personal struggle to learn a new skill, and to master an art.

As we go through the long process of learning to play an instrument, for whatever reason we may have embarked upon this endeavor, myriad issues must be faced, and questions answered, almost as obstacles–if not barriers–between ourselves and the instrument: Why must I practice? Is it worth it? Am I getting any better? Will I ever get good at this? Wouldn't I rather be doing something else? I'm never good enough. Whom will I disappoint if I don't do this? If I quit, will I be sorry? If I hate it, why must I do it? I like it, but it's so hard. I love music, but not the way I play. There's always somebody better than me. And on and on. These feelings, to use a contemporary idiom, are stressful. Yet surely no student of any age can escape having to cope with them to some degree.

In the commentary that goes with these new pieces, I try to expose some of the difficult struggles with which all students must deal, with the hope that this will help alleviate stress and anxiety.

Each book in this series is graded by level of difficulty of the music (Elementary, Early Intermediate, Late Intermediate). Thus, only a handful of the psychological issues appears in each book. The series as a whole, however, covers a broad spectrum of the developmental issues confronting the student. It will prove helpful for the young student to look ahead to what's to come, as well as comforting and interesting for the older, more advanced student to look back at what's been accomplished.

Musically, the material covers a wide stylistic range, including pieces in Baroque, Classic, Romantic, Contemporary, Jazz and Blues styles. This literature is designed to develop pianistic technique at each level. It gives opportunities for the student to work toward acquiring a fine rhythmic pulse as well as rubato, an awareness of counterpoint, an ear for harmonic progression and voice leading, a a sense of color and voicing, and a sensitivity to style. The student's expressive playing is enhanced by the programmatic aspect of the pieces. The titles and commentaries give ideas which are emotionally relevant to the student and thus provide easy access to the expressive possibilities of music beginning at the earliest level.

Preface to Students

These pieces are fun. Each one requires you to use something in addition to your fingers. Some of them use other parts of your body. Some use toys that you can easily find on Amazon or at your neighborhood store.

In order to play all the pieces in this book, you will need the following supplies: a party horn, a small stuffed animal, a balloon, and a Frisbee. There is a piece to play when your arm is in a cast; but if it isn't, you can just pretend.

When there is a big sharp sign covering the whole staff in the key-signature-place, it means that all the notes on that staff are sharped. The same goes for the natural sign. You will find more instructions with each piece.

These pieces are fun to watch as well as to listen to, so play them for your friends after you learn them, and enjoy!

Preface to Teachers and Parents

These pieces offer more than the novelty they obviously bring to the task of learning. They enable intermediate-level students to transcend their technical limitations at the piano and to obtain sounds which would otherwise require several more years of study and practice. For example, the delicate balloon glissandos, which are not difficult, would take – sans balloon – much work and experience to master. What is particularly valuable for the young pianist is that the balloon automatically provides a sound-model which is beautiful and which can then be imitated "legitimately" with great chance of success.

"More than ten fingers" has another meaning: the technical skills which these solos develop are beyond dexterity. The coordination required to bounce a stuffed animal on the keys with one hand while playing normally with the other is considerable. Yet mastering the skill is fun. The grand, sweeping gesture of rolling a Frisbee over the keys is a valuable arm-freeing exercise for the student, and the result is a rich, virtuoso sound. Thus the aural palette and the technique are both expanded with relative ease. The technical problems of the pieces are projected onto the "objects" of the pieces, thus diffusing the distinction between work and play. The way is paved: technique serves art.

A grand piano is not required to play any of these pieces. The objects used will not harm any piano in any way.

Below is my student Gleb performing "Duet for One Human."