A Kwela for Caitlin
Richard Michael
ABRSM Grade 4 Piano 2019/2020.
Teaching Notes
This energetic Kwela has swung, offbeat quavers - often cut short by rests and would ideally suit a student with a taste for jazzy pieces and a strong sense of rhythm.
At the start, make sure you have a legato LH (which happens to be the tune) to contrast with the light RH staccato chords. It is tempting in this introduction to separate the LH line in a kind of "See-Saw" with the RH chords.
Another thing the examiner will be looking out for, is your dynamics. Sometimes they change very quickly in this piece. Within the dynamics, you will also notice that there are often many accents. These should not be overdone, but try to give a little extra lean on these notes. For example, an accent within a "piano" dynamic, should stay "within the context of piano".
Accents are also very precisely placed within the music, often in places where you might not expect them. You'll need slow practice at first to commit these to muscle memory.
Accents are also very precisely placed within the music, often in places where you might not expect them. You'll need slow practice at first to commit these to muscle memory.
The rhythm of the last line, particularly bar 39 is quite tricky and you might find playing off a metronome helps here.
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