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Pedagogy Corner - March Past from Oscar Peterson’s Canadiana Suite Dr. Kathy M. Robinson - Associate Professor of Music Education, University of Alberta Editor’s Note: This lesson appears in “ Canada’s National Treasure: Jazz Great Oscar Peterson and March Past from his Canadiana Suite ” published in the Spring-Summer 2019 issue of Ostinato Volume 45, No. 3. The complete article is found in the Members Only section of the COC website.

The Canadiana Suite evokes a train ride across Canada. Moving from east to west the 35-minute Canadiana Suite paints a blues-based picture of places Peterson’s father, a train porter, told him about when returning from his cross-country travels, and from Peterson’s own experiences on concert tours across Canada. It begins in the Maritimes with Ballad To The East, traveling west into Quebec with Laurentide Waltz - the Laurentian Mountains, Montreal with Place St. Henri - Oscar’s neighbourhood, Toronto’s Hogtown Blues, Manitoba Wheatland, Saskatchewan Blues Of The Prairies, Calgary’s March Past, and finishes with Land of the Misty Giants - the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia.

While many of the eight pieces could be the catalyst for creative and compositional activities and experiences with timbre, dynamics, melody, rhythm and the jazz idiom in general, I find the March Past particularly suited for use with children.

Ø This piece is a sound picture of the Calgary Stampede parade as it begins far away, passes by and fades into the distance. It begins pianissimo (pp) with the parade far away and increases in dynamics as the parade gets closer and closer before fading away and returning to pp. Ø The main theme of the piece is a very catchy easily recognizable tune with its quick tempo (half note =160) is especially accessible for young children. Ø The tune is 16 beats in length and is often repeated before being paired with contrasting material making it perfect for the experience of section form. Ø In the chart below you will see each section outlined with the length, number of repetitions and the dynamic scheme. Ø There are several recordings of this piece readily available online, but I especially like the version played by Peterson himself recorded in 1964 with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FoxxHw_o6Y

MARCH PAST - Calgary Stampede Parade Main Theme - very catchy, easily recognizable, easy to march to - always 16 beat sets - dynamics starts at pp, gradually gets louder, gradually returns to pp , and fades away 2

Contrasting Sections Timing reflects the Oscar Peterson Trio performance of 1964 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FoxxHw_o6Y A - Theme 16 beats piano alone with finger cymbals - pp Repeat – Bass added 16 beats B (:13) - Contrast: 16 beats A (:19) - Theme 16 beats, Repeat 16 beats piano drops an octave, Repeat 16 beats and theme harmonized C (:38) - Contrast: 16 beats A (:44) - Theme 16 beats getting louder and Repeat 16 beats , Repeat 16 Beats D (1:03) - Contrast: 16 beats A (1:10) - Theme 16 beats (14) E (1:16) - Contrast: Long section on piano, bass, drums– loudest part of piece, begins to fade at end

A (2:53) - Theme 16 beats, Repeat 16 beats begin fading away

F (3:06) - Contrast: 16 beats fading away

A (3:13) - Theme 16 beats fades away – pp

Movement A section - walk the fast beat with the dynamics in mind Contrasting sections – play piano, string bass, or drums

Extensions Ø I could imagine children becoming familiar with just the Main Theme while keeping the steady beat and then marching around the room when hearing the theme and standing still and keeping the beat on the Contrasting Sections. Ø Questions about the number of repetitions and contrasting material could lead students into discovering the different instruments playing then leading into jazz and Oscar Peterson himself. Ø Once students have identified the different instruments heard in the jazz trio they could stand and “play” those instruments during the contrasting sections of the piece and march again on the A section. Ø Section E is the loudest and longest of the piece (90 seconds) and requires some special treatment that could entail changing instruments at a teacher’s prompt or perhaps portraying other activities that one might find in a parade. 3

Teaching Ideas • Connect his movements from the Canadiana Suite to studying those Canadian regions in Social Studies, Art or other areas of the curriculum • Discuss how his Canadiana Suite movements evoke the 8 places across Canada and create your own piece of art or music capturing the same or different places in Canada • Explore improvisation and creativity with his renditions of well-known songs – Summertime; I Got Rhythm; The Way You Look Tonight; Tonight and Somewhere (from West Side Story) • Explore Jazz - the instruments that play it and other contextual info • Travel to the Epcor Centre in Edmonton to see one of 12 Oscar Peterson digital pianos that play his music with his touch and pedaling! • View the statue of Oscar Peterson in Ottawa where you can join him on the piano bench; view this statue in the context of statues found throughout Canada; explore the movement in these works of art

Artists playing Canadiana Suite arranged for solo piano are found at the following YouTube links: Ø Ballad to the East https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWdhZpQNWhw Ø Laurentide Waltz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dk39Eoqvi4 Ø Place St. Henri https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-EpLRuta58 Ø Hogtown Blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tKLo9P8odQ Ø Wheatland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_edcCUYD34 Ø Blues of the Prairies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LlKHdFywTg Ø March Past https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FoxxHw_o6Y Ø Land of the Misty Giants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtc0yaWsJrc&list=RDvtc0yaWsJrc

For more information on Canadiana Suite http://www.cshf.ca/song/canadiana-suite/ http://digmagazine.ca/2008/11/oscar-peterson’s-the-canadiana-suite/ Oscar Peterson discusses the Canadiana Suite http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/oscar- peterson-plays-from-canadiana-suite Ballet Kelowna’s performance of Canadiana Suite (begins at 1:45) http://www.madeinbc.org/mibcshowcase/canadiana-suite/