Song of the Sweetgrass

A lovely, melodic intermediate solo inspired by the meaningful spiritual traditions of indigenous societies that connect humans to the living earth and the creator. This mysterious and lyrical piece is a perfect way to work on bringing out the right hand melody, and focus on giving direction to the phrase. Have students practice using a flexible wrist to control the volume and shape the left hand.

Listen

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Difficulty Level

Video

Elements

16th Notes

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Rhythm

Notes whose lengths are equal to one-sixteenth the value of a whole note or one quarter of a quarter note.

8th Notes

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Rhythm

Notes whose lengths are equal to one-eighth the value of a whole note or half the value of a quarter note.

Broken Chords

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Chords

Chord tones played one note at a time that are not part of an accompaniment pattern.

Parallel 6ths

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Intervals

A series of any amount or quality of blocked 6th intervals that are played in one hand, and where both notes move up or down in parallel motion.

Details

Title

Song of the Sweetgrass

Year

2016

Instrumentation

Solo Piano

Time Signature

# of Measures

63

Teacher Duet

No

Lyrics

No

Student Ages

Student Type

Teaching Tips

Help Student Achieve Sensitive and Musical Playing,

Work on Creating a Good Tone