Winter - Grade 1 Piano

Teaching Notes

The tempo chosen for this piece should be slow enough to portray the sad and empty character intended by the composer. It also has a song like feel to it which you can imitate on the piano by slightly lifting your hands as if breathing between each phrase.

You will notice that most bars start with a rest in the left hand. Make sure that as you start each of these bars, there are no notes lingering over from previous bars. 

Make full use of the dynamics that are instructed. For example, the second phrase needs to sound like an echo of the first, but as the music moves onto bars 7 and 8, it has built up to something more intense. The very last chord of the piece is supposed to be the softest, and this will need extra control as it is the only time you play three notes together, which would normally be naturally louder.

Both halves end with a slight easing of the speed (poco rit) but be sure to pick the tempo up again at the beginning of bar 9 ("A tempo").