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F Major Demonstrations

La Llorona
(Key of D MINOR)

I heard this beautiful Mexican folk song La Llorona (“The Weeping Woman” or “The Wailer”) at the Opening Ceremonies of the U.S. ’68 Olympics in Mexico City. This arrangement is for an intermediate-advanced level pianist and includes three short variations. It serves as an exercise in varying dynamics for melodic expression as well as octave changes for both hands from section to section. Chords Dm Gm A A7 Bb and C from both the D natural and harmonic minor scales are used. Coordination of lefthand arpeggios for a righthand melody combined with chords is required in the last Section B1.

Overhead View

Side View

IMAGINE

Coordination of eighth note broken chords in the right hand with accented notes of the melody and left hand mostly half note chord roots in one position. Some right hand changes and block chords are required. Practice in the chord progression F FMAJ Bb occurring 11 times with A and A7 in the last 3 repetitions and also chords Dm Gm C and C7.

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Side View: The arrangement was played on a Yamaha AvantGrand Hybrid Digital Piano with Voice 2, Bosendorfer Imperial.

Overhead View

Side View 1

Side View 2

Summer
of ‘42

This slow and expressive theme serves as a right hand exercise for a repeated short rhythm pattern arranged in a higher and lower octave requiring several hand position changes. It also is an exercise in half-steps demonstrated with each varied melodic pattern in a small range and the key change from F minor to F major with left hand chord progressions F or Fm to Bb or Bbm.  Simple left hand broken chords or octave shifts from root or chord notes to broken or block chords are used with chords F Fm Bb Bbm and C7. Other chords include A, Ab, Dm D, E, Eb and Gm with some 6ths, major 7ths and lowered 5ths and 9ths.

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Summer of '42/Alternative Recording 2: The arrangement was played on a Yamaha AvantGrand Hybrid Digital Piano with Voice 2, Bosendorfer Imperial.

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Summer of '42/Alternative Recording 1: The arrangement was played on a Yamaha AvantGrand Hybrid Digital Piano with Voice 6, Stage E. Piano.

Alleluia

(8 measures)

For coordination of a right hand single position melody having a short repeated rhythm pattern of eighth, quarter and half notes combined with chords F Bb and C7, accompanied with a single position left hand for whole note chord roots.

Amazing Grace (16 measures)

For coordination of a pentatonic melody having two repeated patterns of eighth, quarter, dotted quarter, half and dotted half notes with two hand changes, accompanied with mostly sustained left hand partial chords F, Bb and C7 in E position.

French Lullaby (16 measures)

For rhythm coordination with both hands in F position, this melody includes quarter, half and dotted half notes accompanied with block and broken F and C7 chords.

Plaisir D’Amour I (16 measures)

For rhythm coordination with both hands mostly in F position (the right hand has two changes), this melody includes quarter, half and dotted half notes accompanied with block and broken F, Bb and C7 chords.

Plaisir D’Amour II (16 measures)

For rhythm coordination with both hands mostly in F position (the right hand has two changes), this melodic variation includes quarter, half and dotted half notes accompanied with block and broken F, Bb and C7 chords.

The First Bach Chorale (12 measures)

For a coordination challenge with two simultaneous melodic lines requiring several changes in both hands.

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