nice duet
10/27/2015 11:25:53 AM
I had students play this at an ensemble recital last weekend and it sounded great, the audience loved it. The kids enjoyed learning it and had fun playing it. This version has secondo and primo on separate pages. The piece is rhymically challenging for kids because it is in 6/8, but it goes back and forth between a 6/8 feel and a 3/4 feel. For measures 37-39 they change the time signature from 6/8 to 3/4, which is totally unnecessary and confusing for students. I just had them continue counting in 6/8 to avoid confusion. There are several places in the piece where it has a similiar 3/4 pattern, but this is the only place where they actually change the time signature. The other thing that made it challenging for the students is that the strong notes on beats 1 and 4 are in the bass of the secondo, the primo part has more of a 3/4 feel, so it is extra challenging for the primo part learn to listen for beats 1 and 4 and to feel the piece in 6/8. On page 4 of the secondo part m. 78 they have the RH and LH playing the same D, the RH D is in parentheses, but it would make more sense to have the LH play a lower D. So, for m. 78 - 79 I had my student play the lower D, then D in octaves, then the lower Bb, and Bb in octaves. I also put 8vb below several of the LH notes between m. 70 - 83 to help minimize the jumping around. I had another student already learning the solo version of "Hes a Pirate" from Hal Leonards Pirates:The Curse of the Black Pearl book (which I think is the same as music notes version mn0056944) and was pleased to discover that they work together. The only difference is the Hal Leonard solo version is in 12/8 and therefore had 1 measure for every 2 measures in the duet, so I had to match up measure numbers so we could stay together. It worked well to have a more advanced student play the solo version on one piano and have an easier duet version on the other piano, it really added to the fullness of the piece.
