This section is reserved for pieces I love to teach. Staples of my teaching repertoire. Pieces that help students achieve longer term goals. Repertoire that is tried and true, that propels us forward in meaningful ways.

I decided to start with a great teaching piece that is not necessarily a “beginner” piece. It is something that I’d love for every human to be able to play, to enjoy, to go through the process of learning if for no other reason than to appreciate its true artistry and musical syntax.

Kabalevsky.

Folk Dance #17, from Op 39 - 24 Pieces for Children.

This piece is written in D Major - certainly not a beginner’s key.

It requires both hands to actively interact - certainly not a beginner’s skillset.

It requires awareness of contrasting textures and articulations - at once the hands work together to achieve a detached, loose wrist to produce a staccato sound - then the next instance we are slurring a passage to create a connected, smooth sound.

The opening passage is a 4 measure, eighth-note pattern of alternative thirds then seconds in a relaxed mf dynamic. The right hand then joins for 4 bars an octave higher, in a piano dynamic. How do we achieve this softer sound? We have to focus our fingertips - strong and poised - in order to coordinate both hands without creating something that is too loud or otherwise not in staccato touch. Is every note evenly staccato? Or did we throw a sneaky slur into the mix?

Then we have a secondary theme - two sixteenth notes, a tied eight note, each hand is positioned an octave and a third apart. We enjoy this harmonic moment slurred briefly - through a crescendo, into an increasingly prominent staccato - then up a third into a sequence of pitches that build the excitement. The left hand sounds like it wants to continue - then we get the RH solo again. More harmony - the right and left hands are again distanced from one another by an octave and a third, in parallel motion.

Did I mention that while both hands are working together - often the RH is playing a “black key” while the LH is striking a “white key” - this requires a careful attention to unique hand shapes, always formed within confident five finger positions. They constantly shift across the middle of the keyboard - at once my third finger is shaped by the black key, but the other hand needs to adjust and that LH fifth finger needs to shape itself around a black key (C-sharp). The ending is subtle but striking - ascending the keys into a final cadence - forte, staccato, accented.

This piece is triumphant and significant. I’d love for each of my students to master its 32 measures with dignity and confidence.