Competition Time!
At the bottom of this post, you’ll see a score of a song. This song is in a piano book which I use with adult beginners. The song is called “The Donkey”.
This competition has four categories. Here’s what I want you to do:
Category 1 is for beginners up to and including Grade 1. Learn the song as it’s written. You can print it out, or use the digital score on your device.
Category 2 is for Grades 2 and 3. Learn the song, and then learn it off by heart. Can you think of any way to make it more fun? Like, for example, swapping your hands around and playing the tune with your left hand and the chords with your right hand? Experiment!
Category 3 is for Grades 4 and 5. I want you to add chords to the empty left hand bars. Try different ideas and find out what sounds right to you. Then experiment with different ways of playing the left hand – for example, you could split the chords up and play one note at a time, filling the bar with four crotchets instead of held notes.
Category 4 is for Grade 6 and above. Extemporise, using this song as your basic framework. What can you add? How can you develop the music? Can you vary the rhythms, the harmonies, the style and the vibe? Can you make a jazz version, a romantic version, or a baroque one? How creative can you get with “The Donkey”?
If you’re a keyboard player rather than a pianist, please bring a print-out of the song to your next lesson and I’ll show you how to adapt it. You’re in the competition too!
How does the competition work?
In your lesson during the week beginning Monday 15th December I will ask you to play me your version of “The Donkey”, and the best in each Category will get a Christmas Prize!
I hope you all have fun with “The Donkey” – I can’t wait to hear all the performances of this classic song! Good luck!
The_Donkey-Full-ScoreDid you know there’s a Donkey Sanctuary in Devon? All over the world, donkeys are often mistreated and abused. They’re even bred for their skins, a component of which is a valued ingredient in Chinese medicine. Donkeys suffer every day, but the Donkey Sanctuary rescues as many as it can and cares for them in a healthy and loving environment.
If you’re interested, you can learn a great deal about donkeys and the work of the Donkey Sanctuary here. You can support their work in many different ways, if you’d like to. Donkeys need all the friends they can get!
I’d love to know what you think of this Humoresque. You can put a comment in the box below this post, or you can email me directly. I read and respond to everything.
Humoresque is available to anyone who might be interested. You don’t have to be one of my pupils, or even learning music. If you know anyone who might be interested in subscribing to Humoresque, please let me know. I will only need their name and their email address. Thanks.
Humoresque = a whimsical or fanciful piece of music. Be whimsical, be fanciful, but play in time!
This is Humoresque Number 23