Easier
A list
'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery', so the saying goes. Chee-Hwa Tan ~ Jester's Jig (A3) might well fall into that category. The composer has fun imitating a Baroque gigue and hinting at keyboard techniques such as some of those found in pieces like the Goldberg Variations, with its crossing hands in the latter section. Be sure to have fun!
Haydn ~ Allegro (B7) with its many sequential passages and sudden forte/piano dynamics, is typical early Haydn - delightful, playful and pure sunshine! If the eight-note trills are too awkward to fit in, then instead play six notes (a triplet semiquaver to each left hand quaver).
Krebs ~ Toccata in Eb (A9) is a fairly straightforward piece of counterpoint in two parts. Don't be persuaded, on account of the title, to play it too fast. It's more like a two-part invention that, when carefully phrased and played with some interesting dynamic variety, will be a satisfying piece to play.
Gade ~ Ringeltanz (A11) sounds like a more moderate difficulty piece, but when you delve into it, much of the writing is in unison and involves easy-to-play scale and broken chord patterns. Some pedal can be used to add warmth to the arpeggiated passages, but is not necessary.
_____________________________
B list
Kenneth Graham's well-known stories may not be on many children's radar, but a foray into that particular world could be an informative and entertaining one, nonetheless.
A gentle pastoral scene is thoughtfully created in Bernadette Marmion ~ Wind in the Willows (B2). Note the very slow dotted crotchet metronome mark for this amble through the score. The few moments of more chromatic angst give way to a return to the peaceful summer's day, down by the river.
pianist ~ Peter Noke
Heller ~ Study in E minor (B6) is one of the easiest pieces at this grade. It needs a good grasp of twos against threes and the capacity to project a melodic line above a smooth and quiet accompaniment. Some judicious use of pedal would also add warmth to the textures in places.
Massenet ~ Mélodie (B7) is another piece that should lie readily within the grasp of most grade 5 standard pupils. The textures remain much the same throughout - a mournful minor key left hand melody with an offbeat right hand accompaniment.
_____________________________
C list
David Onac ~ A Distant Star in the Stillness (C3) creates an aural impression of the vastness and emptiness of space. He does this through the steady, unchanging tread of time, at around 80 bpm, a continuous reminder of the specks of distant light through the reiteration of the ascending fifth in the upper register, and the distant profundity of the low Cs, all resonating in long pedals. The mood is best enhanced by following the pulse fairly metronomically. The only hint of sentience comes midway where the growing presence of something other than space is suggested through the 'poco a poco più appassionato' marking.
pianist ~ Peter Noke
Nikki Iles' understated playing in Agay ~ Blue Waltz (C4), with its jazz-tinged harmonies, is a musical delight. The left hand keeps well out of the way of the right, where most of the shaping takes place. The rubato is supple and the playing eloquently phrased.
Alwyn ~ The Sea is Angry (C5) is a great bit of descriptive writing. Its target learner may well be the younger student who revels in the capacity to create lots of loud and powerful waves! A lot of the passages are in unison and the broken chord moments are fairly easy to grasp. It's the kind of piece that will always sound better when it is well phrased. Even the sea, in its ferocious tumult, has a shape!
Victoria Borisova-Ollas ~ Silent Island (C7) is a disparate collection of musical motifs with an air of lonely distance to them. Although the notes may take some learning to ensure accuracy, the playing is not particularly demanding, and an atmospheric effect can be fairly readily created.
Ludovico Einaudi ~ Elegy for the Arctic (C8) is a piece that effectively conjures the lonely mood of its barren white landscape, albeit somewhat nostalgically. The repetition of ideas and the patterns themselves are not unduly difficult and the length will be satisfying for many, finishing on an unresolved dominant chord.
Why not indulge yourself? Chocolates may be a different temptation, but music? No slimming required there! Catherine Rollin ~ Love Theme (C10) is a place where you can be as indulgent as you like, but do note that the composer suggests 'flowing and very expressive', so if you milk it and stop at every other bar line it does tend to lose the simple beauty of the line, something which Richard Uttley (ABRSM Grade 5) captures so well.
André Bangambula Vindu ~ Lullaby (C13) on first hearing, is an interesting way to compel a little one to sleep. Its strange harmonic ways seem to grow on you with repeated listening and there is definitely a hint of tribal mood in the mix.
_____________________________
Other content in “Grade 5”
-
Current: Easier