A Distant Blue

(33 customer reviews)

$9.99

A Distant Blue is an elementary solo full of mystery and intrigue.

Bundle: A Distant Blue, A Royal InvitationFor more savings, click here to buy the discounted bundle!

Studio Use License – This single piece comes with a studio license and is a fantastic value as this can be used for as many students as you directly teach!

  • Level: Mid Elementary
  • Pages: 5 pages, 3 pages of music, cover included!
  • Style: Mysterious, Compelling
  • Format: PDF instant download

So many ideas inspired this elementary piano solo – a misty mountain range to the gorgeous blues of the sky. A Distant Blue seemed like just the right title for a blue that’s just beyond your reach. A blue that’s full of mystery and intrigue. A blue changes as you study and observe. A blue that just feels like you almost have it in reach, but not quite.

Features of A Distant Blue

A Distant Blue is in C major with a dark, lowered 6th. The piece is easy to play and features easy hand crossings. The left hand contributes with deep fifths on C and F. A Distant Blue contains mostly steps and skips in the right hand, but it uses the entire piano with 8vas and easy whole tone scale passages.

Who will enjoy A Distant Blue

Any age of student with an appreciation for nuanced sound or a need to learn it. This piece feels like it could accompany an interesting scene from an epic movie, so it is appealing even to older elementary students like teenagers and adults.

Teaching Tip

It is a good idea to play this piece for the student before they attempt to play it on their own. This will give them a vision of the nuanced beauty that they can achieve. There are many hand crossings in this piece, but what makes them easy is that almost all of them cross to an A flat! Take a moment before the student plays the piece to note all the Ab’s in the LH that are at the beginning of a hand crossing. This will help make these hand crossings easier to master.

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33 reviews for A Distant Blue

  1. Jeff Scott

    I love this piece! I enjoy playing it myself. I assigned it to an 8 year old and a 65 year old, both came back the next week ready to show me what they accomplished. It has that unique quality to appeal to all ages. The sound is sophisticated yet straight forward.

  2. Mary Avery

    My young teen student loved “A Distant Blue,” and so do I. The hardest thing about it is remembering to keep on holding the pedal down. 🙂 The sound is sophisticated and intriguing.

  3. Joanne Tyne

    My students like this piece very much and their parents like it even more. They enjoy hearing their children play such beautiful sounds.

  4. Kathleen

    I love this piece! IMO it’s one of Wendy’s very best offerings! I admit to playing through it a bunch of times right after I downloaded it, and before showing it to students — it is that good. I have given it to two beginner-type adults, and a 9-year old, and I suspect it would also appeal to elementary teen students. It has a timeless, meditative quality and as usual with Wendy’s compositions, rhythmic and melodic patterns make it easy to teach by rote or by reading. The beautiful cover is just icing on the cake. I want to put it up on the wall of my studio, to remind me to take a break now and then, into the distant blue……

  5. Jane Taylor

    I gave “Distant Blue” to a 10-year old student recently, and she is returning today with the entire piece mastered. She loves playing this beautiful, mature-sounding piece, and her father commented how much he enjoys hearing this gorgeous melody in their home! This will be a perfect Spring Recital addition.

  6. Simone Tran

    This is a very cool and mysterious sounding piece, it could be used during Halloween time. Wendy, can you make a second version without crossing LH and just using RH play the whole piece? That would be so neat that a student can play in two different styles.

  7. Valerie A Evensen, NCTM

    You know you have a great piece of music when your student says,” I can’t wait to show this piece to my mom”. Thank you so much

  8. Sally DuBois

    I have two students playing A Distant Blue. The 9 year old had been struggling with the rhythm of “Let it Go” which she wanted to play for the recital on Feb. 17. Two weeks ago I assigned A Distant Blue and she loved it. Her father loved it even more. He persuaded her that it would be a better choice for the February recital.
    The other student is my 20 year old granddaughter who learned it as an extra piece. It sounds so much more contemporary than her Suzuki pieces. It’s as if I opened a window on new possibilities for her. Thank you Wendy.

  9. Melinda

    This piece is a true winner! I have given it to a new ninth grade student and another young teenager. Both of them absolutely loved it and came back after one week with the entire piece completed. It is so hauntingly beautiful and easy to grasp. Great piece for all ages!

  10. Melissa

    I really love the sound and peacefulness of this piece. I was excited to see my newest beginner student, a very gifted third grader begin working on it. She loves it.

  11. Kim

    A Distant Blue is so beautiful! As soon as I heard the opening couple of measures I was hooked and know it is perfect for some of my students who will be as captivated as I am with it! The patterns in the piece make it easy to learn and the pedal makes it so lush and full. Mysterious and beautiful! Thank you Wendy!

  12. Val

    A hauntingly sophisticated sound for young and old alike! I changed the title to be Alien Ship Arriving for an 11 year old boy who REALLY doesn’t like reading, but has LOVED this piece and is motivated to figure out more on his own. A BIG WIN for sophisticated sound with simple techniques! Thanks so much Wendy!!!!

  13. Renee

    A Distant Blue is a beautiful piece that is lovely to the ear. I gave it to a brand new student and she was extremely motivated to learn more of this song in the first week than I had assigned. Her mother said she was spending a lot of time at the piano practicing! Wonderful addition to our repertoire!

  14. Debra

    You’ve done it again, Wendy! I’m handing this out to several of my older beginners, as well as my young adult beginner who loves minor pieces. I know they will all love it. I enjoy playing it myself! My goal is to eventually have all your pieces, Wendy – they are really great, and have rescued more than one struggling student! Thank you.

  15. Priscilla

    lovely piece and all the students loved it too!

  16. Tom

    I haven’t given this piece to a student just yet (next week!), but I can hardly wait. This will really get the imagination going. It is lovely and accessible! It will be a great recital piece!

  17. John Viljoen

    From the first measure, this piece captures my students’ enthusiasm. They want to learn it — now! This piece is their reward for progress in note reading. It’s musical. It’s moody and mysterious. It gives students a fine sense of accomplishment. And it empowers them to make music that they and others will enjoy.

  18. Susan

    Love the opening up of the whole piano, crossing hands, and keeping the brain on the go … through the soul felt music.

  19. Susan

    Love how this piece is so different from some of Wendy’s other pieces. She is noted for popping excitable music and this one is more peaceful and mysterious.

  20. Karen

    A clue to knowing when a piece is a hit is when they come back the next week with it all learned and can’t wait to show you. That has been the case with this one! It appeals to all ages and they all love it. One students said – it’s so peaceful! – another said it’s very pretty and calm. Love it! Another hit for Wendy

  21. Kerry

    This is a wonderful piece to teach students how to play expressively-employing all of those techniques we use to create a subtle, reflective performance. It’s simple, yet sophisticated . It will be a wonderful recital selection!

  22. Caroline Quinn

    I gave this to my 13 year old students over the winter break and he nailed it in record time. He said, “I likes all the A flats which give such a great sound. I also like the way the music goes higher and higher.” We did an analysis of the music looking for patterns and simiarities which was fun to do.

  23. Mary Majerus

    The Bold Escape and A Distant Blue are pieces that have helped students learn to create great tone quality by dropping boldly into forte notes or gently into those mysterious passages. They love being more musical!!

  24. Theresa Gayle

    This piece was perfect for my first year students, they enjoyed moving their hands to new ranges and caught on to the concept within minutes because the hand position remians the same! Truly inspiring piece for students of any age, and the parents enjoy it too!

  25. Beverley Haley

    This is a great recital piece for my dreamy 11 y.o student – she loves it!

  26. Debbie

    My 15 y.o. beginner student just loves this sophisticated sounding piece! Thanks, Wendy, for creating a beautiful piece I can offer to this sensitive, teen beginner that doesn’t sound juvenile.

  27. Mary Jane

    The student I had in mind when I purchased A Distant Blue absolutely loves this piece. She’s had it for only two weeks and has is pretty much learned. She is a Harry Potter fan and had planned on doing Hedwig’s Theme for our recital, but now wants to do this instead. And that’s saying something right there!

  28. Sarah

    This is such a lovely piece! I have an adult beginner, and we needed a recital piece fast (pandemics really mess with my ability to look ahead and plan recitals). He learned A Distant Blue in a week, and then we still had a couple weeks to perfect his performance and play it really beautifully.

    If you’re a fan of the music from Lord of the Rings, this will be a good selection for you.

    I can’t wait to teach it again!

  29. Mary Ash

    My student just played your “Distant Blue “ on a piano in the airport in Adelaide, South Australia .
    I love this piece. My students do too!

  30. Mary Ash

    I had a little 6 yr old ask for a challenge yesterday , so I gave her Distant Blue! She jumped up and down all over the room squealing in delight saying she couldn’t believe she was going to play that!

    She’s going to use your cover as a screensaver! She loved that too!

  31. Jane

    At our last recital, a first year adult student (72!) played “A Distant Blue” beautifully. When he sat down, his wife grabbed his arm, looked him lovingly in the eyes and said, “I’ve never heard you play so expressively!” He loves your music, and we are exploring more in your series. Thank you!

  32. Jura

    My ten year old student was ready for a new rote piece, having learned three of Wendy’s elementary solo compositions. I introduced “A Distant Blue” and what a whirlwind ensued. He learned it lickety split after several patterns became very clear and were easy to execute. The right hand stays mostly in C pentachord position, while the left hand has several phrase endings that begin with A flat. Once these variants are learned, the piece plays almost by itself. This is a true builder of confidence, musicality and enthusiasm for practice.

  33. Amy Hansel

    I gave this piece to a 7th grade boy who is not motivated to practice anything, and his skills have suffered because of lack of practice. A Distant Blue sparked his interest from the first 5 notes! The rhythms were easy enough for him while still sounding sophisticated. Now he’s begging for more like that one! Thank you for saving this student, Wendy!

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