Playing Piano with Small Hands

Did you know that Franz Schubert was one of the fastest composers ever? Although Schubert only lived until the age of 31, he composed over 1000 works in 18 years! Schubert was so fast that he often started and finished a composition on the same day. Schubert wrote 600 songs, 9 symphonies, dances for the piano (especially waltzes), operas, sonatas, and chamber music. Franz Peter Schubert (1797 – 1828) Franz Schubert was born near Vienna, Austria on January 31, 1797. His father was a school teacher and ran a private school. He taught Franz to play the violin, and Franz’s older brother Ignaz taught him to play the piano and write music. They soon realized that young Franz was very talented, and he quickly became a better pianist than his brother. By age 10, Franz was the best singer in the local church and composed music for the church services. A year later Schubert won a choir scholarship to go to a school in Vienna. He studied very hard, took music lessons at night, and sang at concerts and church services on the weekends. He was a good student, and his teachers were impressed by his musical talent. During his free time, Schubert preferred to practice and compose instead of spending time with other students. He was very shy and quiet. Schubert at the piano performing for friends Fun Facts During the three years when Schubert was a • Schubert learned to play school teacher, he still found time to write the piano, violin and more than 400 pieces, including 350 songs. organ, and was a very talented singer as a boy until his voice changed. An Unhappy Teacher • Schubert did not own a Schubert’s father wanted his son to be a piano and had to use teacher rather than a musician, so after finish- ing his studies in Vienna, Franz came home to someone else’s instrument to hear his compositions. teach at his father’s school. He stayed there for three years but he hated the job. • Schubert was only about 5 feet tall, so Becoming Known as a Composer his friends gave him the nickname Schubert was so unhappy teaching school Schwammerl, which in German means that he quit when he was 19. He became little mushroom. friends with some important musicians and focused on composing. His friends helped him • Schubert fell in love with Therese Grob get started in his musical career. One of them when he was just a poor teacher. Her was Johann Michael Vogl, a singer and com- parents wanted a better match for her, so poser who liked Schubert’s music and per- she married a wealthy baker instead. formed many of his songs. Soon Schubert began to gain recognition as a composer. Schubert’s Life as a Composer On a typical day, Schubert might compose from 9 in the morning until 2 in the Schubert’s Music afternoon. Then he would meet with his friends at a café to drink coffee, talk, and read Schubert is best known for his songs the papers. He was a very fast composer. There and symphonies. Sometimes he com- are many stories told by his friends about how posed a group of songs on a single subject, he would come up with an idea for a work and while other works are single songs for then quickly write it down. He never com- voice and piano. Although Schubert posed at the piano because it made him lose lived in the same time and place as his train of thought. Instead he preferred com- Beethoven, his symphonies are very dif- plete silence. ferent. One of his most famous works is Unlike Beethoven, who was composing and his Symphony #8, which he never fin- performing in Vienna during the same time, ished. Although it has only two move- Schubert was shy and did not like to play his ments, it is frequently played today. music at public concerts. Because of this, many of his compositions were not well known. His Music Schubert was blessed with kind friends, how- • 9 symphonies (1 was unfinished and ever, who helped him promote his music. They there are unfinished ideas for more) would throw parties they called Schubertiads, • Over 600 songs (145 of them were which gave Schubert the opportunity to play written in 1815!) his compositions in a smaller setting where he felt more comfortable. He also composed many works for piano, four hands, solo piano works, Changing Musical Styles chamber music, a number of masses and Like Beethoven, Schubert wrote music at a other religious works. time that was in between the Classical and Romantic periods. Schubert and Beethoven 3 are often called transitional composers. This beautiful melodies, great harmonies, and sud- means that their music was like a bridge den changes of key. between the Classical and Romantic styles. Schubert was in poor health for the last few They influenced the composers who came years of his life. He died of a fever in 1828 and after them in the Romantic period. Few com- was buried next to Beethoven, whom he great- posers changed their writing styles as much as ly admired. Although few people realized it at Schubert did. His early works sound like the the time, Schubert was one of history’s greatest Classical music of Mozart, and his later works composers and inspired many other musicians, sound very Romantic, like the music of including Frédéric Chopin and Robert Brahms or Wagner. All of his works are full of Schumann. Schubert’s Songs Schubert is famous for his beautiful vocal music. He was trained as a singer at school, Song Cycles so he understood how to write songs. He This is a group of songs that are per- also loved poetry and was inspired to com- formed together. Often, the composer pose music when he read poems. used poems from the same poet for all of the songs in the cycle. They might all be about the same topic or tell a story. Schubert’s songs are called lied or This idea was invented by Beethoven. lieder. Lied (pronounced leed) means Schubert wrote several song cycles, song in German, and lieder is songs. including his famous Winterreise (which means Winter Journey). It has 24 songs He wrote more than 600 songs that were and tells the story of a man who is reject- often based on German poems about nature ed by a woman and wanders from place or love. They were performed in small, to place. Each song shows his changing informal settings like recitals or parties or mood, from sadness to anger. just at people’s homes. Schubert’s Famous Piano Works Fantasie in F Minor D. 940, for piano, four hands Schubert wrote this piece very quickly during the last year of his life. This is one of the most significant and famous pieces for four hands. The piece has four movements, but they are played without breaks between them. It takes about 20 minutes to play the whole work. The delicate opening theme is simple and beautiful, and uses dotted rhythms and returns in the very last movement. Schubert playing for his friends. Schubert was a very good pianist and understood how to compose for the Impromtpus instrument. He wrote beautiful, flow- Schubert wrote two sets of four Impromptus. The first is Opus ing melodies and tried to play the 90, and includes four pieces in different keys. The second set piano with a lovely singing sound. He was not published until after Schubert’s death, and is designated was always happy to play for his by Op. posthumous 142. The word “posthumous” means a work friends at parties and sometimes was published after the composer died. made up the music on the spot. 4 Word Scramble Instrument Families There are many different types of instruments V E T E B E H N O___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ from the tiny piccolo to the large string bass. M A H B S R ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Musicians group instruments that create sound S H A M N U N C ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ in similar ways together. In addition to the standard orchestra and band N I C P H O ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ instruments below, there are many other instru- Scrambled word answer ments that are played around the world. Watch (Unscramble the letters in the circles.) for features on these instruments in future issues. ___________________________________________________ String Family Violin Viola Missing Barlines Cello String Bass The barlines are missing from the music below. Figure out Guitar where they should go and write them in. 1. Woodwind Family Piccolo Flute Clarinet 2. Saxophone Oboe Bassoon Brass Family 3. Start by looking at the time signatures Trumpet to figure out how Trombone many beats should Horn be in a measure. Tuba Percussion Family Impromptu Various drums and instruments that are An impromptu is a type of composition that became popu- struck lar in the 1800s. It does not have a standard form because it was supposed to sound free – as if the performer was impro- Keyboard Family vising it or creating it on the spot (although they were actu- Piano ally played from previously written music). They were usu- Harpsichord ally written for piano or another solo instrument. Schubert, Clavichord Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Scriabin, and Fauré wrote well- Organ known improptus. 5 Beginner’s Corner What is Beginner’s Why is Posture Important? Corner? hen students begin taking les- Musisicans also try to position them- Beginner’s Corner is a sons, teachers talk a lot about selves so they can play freely and easily.

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