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Lesson 51 Focus: Arrangement Possibilities
You'll begin week 51, a lesson practiced completely in the last supplementary book, with a classical piece written in 3/8; consisting of staccato phrasing, counter melodies and broken chords, the song functions as a review of several techniques. Duane guides you through the song, both hands alone and hands together, explaining the middle section's key change and sixteenth-note pattern. You'll then move on to another, similar song, this time written in 6/8, that focuses on chord recognition and your ability to distinguish between C major and A minor. One more song in 6/8, a march, solidifies your knowledge of the time signature and provides a review for a few arrangement techniques, such as descending bass and melody octaves.
The next song, "Git Along Little Dogies," is a more advanced piece including complicated rhythm patterns in 6/8 time. There's quite a bit to think about while playing this song, so you'll be asked to go through it as written several times before attempting an arrangement. Once you're ready, Duane guides you through a stylized arrangement including western bass, right hand harmonies and twangs before moving on to "Mexican Hat Dance," another 6/8 review piece. Like the previous piece, "Mexican Hat Dance" includes some varying rhythm patterns and the room to create a very stylized arrangement.
Week 51's last song is a minor-key piece designed to test your chord and key recognition abilities. As always, you'll play through it as written before reviewing your arrangement possibilities, through which Duane guides you. You'll review several arrangement techniques with this piece, including right hand octaves and left hand chording.
Review by Mollie Wells
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