SOON TO BE RELEASED!
13 & 1/2 Études in Asymmetry for Solo Baritone or Bass Piano
Short Film Scores Without Moving Pictures
Hear here (Sneak Listen) - In advance of the full release of 13 & 1/2 Études in Asymmetry for Solo Baritone or Bass Piano - Short Film Scores Without Moving Pictures, a collection of five of the études have assembled themselves into a very loosely stylized Dance Suite for Solo Piano, which will be available this July 2025, with Clunky Train arriving ahead of schedule! Who would’ve thunk? Sign up for the newsletter above to get your free downloadable PDF score now!
Clunky Train (One-Step in D) - Carefully mind those mis-meshed gears, blasting discordant horns, foreboding tunnels with dopplers messing with time and pitch, agonizingly steep hills, and terribly tall trestles - because simply keeping this glory hunter of a hogger and Iron Horse Puffer Belly Clunky himself on the rails is challenge enough!
Contemplative Crow (Promenade in E-Flat Minor) - Terribly afraid of heights and prone to regular bouts of over-thinking pretty much everything, Crow convinces herself that wandering on the ground as a pedestrian in a permanent state of deep ponderment was a good enough life. However, ambling and not paying attention to one’s surroundings tends to tempt fate - just like being chased down by a loud and angry train. Frightened to near death, Crow could no longer ignore the incessant poundings of her heart. It was as simple as fly or die.
Tricerastomp (Waltz in B Minor) - Help this usually gentle giant of a herbivore choose between stomping stubbornly tantrum-like in 2, or gracefully and jazzfully waltzing on a trapeze in 3, high above an excitedly terrified crowd under the big top. Better yet - blend them beautifully and intricately together into a well-balanced whole of a tricerastomp. Ah, alignment.
Itchy Bear (March in B Minor) - Set in 5/8 time of course, with an insistent growling “D” on every single one of those eighth notes, it’s the perfect lumbering marching pulse for a massively grumpy, growly, and limpy fur ball roaming deep in the dark woods. This mamma bear forces you to cross hands and strrrrretch to accurately reach that insatiable dramatic itch, or note, whether you like it or not. I wouldn’t argue with her.
Brave Chicken Dances the Mambo (Mambo in C) - Having super powers and wearing a cape doesn’t make you courageous. However, doing something new - despite your utterly and profoundly mortifying dread of humiliation - is indeed true bravery. So then, fluff those feathers and let them fly, as you set free your inner mambo!
SOON TO BE RELEASED!
13 & 1/2 Études in Asymmetry for Solo Baritone or Bass Piano
Short Film Scores Without Moving Pictures
This collection of solo piano works was created out of a fascination with and love for music’s powerful ability to profoundly move our emotions through story - whether we are aware of it or not. This deep understanding has been significantly augmented through my work as a composer and sound designer for film and television. That, combined with over four decades of music education experience with much wisdom gained, along with extensive performance experience, has all led to this unique and lively collection of solo piano works.
Each piece is completely original, yet there is no denying the many influences which have shaped my composing and playing styles over the years. Reflected in many of these études are the spirits of Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Holst, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Dave Brubeck, Queen, Sparky’s Magic Piano, Meade Lux Lewis, Billy Joel, Elton John, Rick Wakeman, J.S. Bach, Rush, Lionel Hampton, Scott Joplin, Alan Parsons, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Opeth, and I’m sure many more. I trust there’s plenty of me in here too.
It will only take a few quick skim-throughs or listens to catch on that the whole baritone or bass piano concept is reflected in how frequently melodies are featured in the low registers in this collection. Enough of those tenors and sopranos hogging all the spotlight! Asymmetry addresses the common practice in many of the great piano works of employing complex cross-rhythms - familiar patterns such as 2 against 3, 3 against 4, or something like 19 against 7 as Chopin might write. The ultimate aim of course, is for all of these passages to come together fluidly and effortlessly, and not sound forced or awkward - not an easy task at all! Personally, I feel 3 “weaving with” 4 sounds far more collaborative.
Other common techniques explored and developed in this collection are wide sweeping arpeggios, octave melodies, complex rhythms and harmonies, rapidly changing articulations, frequent tempo shifts, large dynamic ranges, inner voice melodies, multiple voices within one hand, pedal points, wrist rotations, long-line melodies (another unique challenge to the piano), and many other elements - all in an exciting, entertaining, and meaningful context.
These études are also highly stylized, a technique frequently employed by Chopin. This means that the pieces are not simply exercises to develop specific techniques, but rather short dramas set to music, employing specific techniques required to perform them convincingly. For example, a “waltz” by Chopin is not meant to literally be danced to. Rather, it is like experiencing a musical drama starring a pair of elegant waltzers, with all the relationship entanglements between them and the dramatic journey and story they share. That’s how I approached this project. Each piece is preceded by a short original story, an adventure that is part of the larger story being weaved throughout all 13 1/2 études and chapters. It has its heroes, villains, inner demons, conflicts, dramatic climaxes, resolutions, and expansion. What good story doesn’t?
Accompanying each étude is a cover page with a hand-sketched “still” depicting a dramatic moment from the score/story. The images frequently feature one of my many childhood imaginations. By the way, I really wish everyone would please stop growing up. It’s far too over-rated. Also provided is a link to a professionally produced MIDI mockup of the étude (soon to be replaced with live performance recordings!), and a page of entertaining and hopefully helpful performance notes which address techniques and practice suggestions specific to that piece, as well as in general.
The stories themselves are geared towards teens and young adults, as each explores themes and common struggles we all share, tapping into a wide range of emotions and issues. Each character has its own unique and quirky personality, and the music explores the antics and adventures shared between them as they experience fear, pain, joy, sorrow, friendship, growth, peace, and love together. The performer’s role is to portray these stories in such a way as to actually invoke those desired emotions and throughly engage the audience into active critical listening. Make them feel the story.
Each score is beautifully arranged and engraved, as I firmly believe that a musical score needs to look pleasing and feel intuitive, and also be easy to follow. Scoring for piano comes with several unique challenges, as we have ten fingers and the occasional fist or forearm across a grand staff with a range of eighty-eight pitches! As a natural consequence, complex pieces can easily be scored in a variety of ways, each looking radically different than the others, and yet being technically correct. Therefore, the scoring choices I frequently made were based upon how easily and fluidly the music leads the eyes. This will encourage students to be more willing to actively learn traditional musical notation reading, as there is a stronger connection between the visual component and the sounds we are creating. And what a wonderful way to get into the heads of the great composers through studying their scores!
I trust you will enjoy this collection and find it very motivating and inspiring for students, as well as for yourself to play and teach. I am always open to feedback and suggestions, and would love to hear anything you have to share about this collection of études.
Oh, I almost forgot. Why the half étude at the end? Well, let’s just say that students will be strongly encouraged to compose and perform their own cadenza to this whole crazy thing. We’re each far more creative than we often give ourselves credit for. Maybe we’ll even share performances with each other in an online community. Why not? The ideas are endless. This collection of deeply engaging works is exactly what I wish I would have had when I was a teen losing steam. Better late than never, as they say!
Thanks so much - I look forward to this adventure together. Now go rock your day!
Kirk