- Level: Early to Mid Elementary
- Pages: 4 pages, 2 pages of music, cover included!
- Style: Thoughtful
- Bonus and Features: mp3 performance track; First notes have note names in them to help find position and learn note names.
- Format:PDF instant download
- Series: Entering Beautiful Places
That deep breath and sigh at the top of a mountain or even the contented sigh you feel when you are gazing at the mountain from below is the essence of Summit Reflections. Adults will love playing this thoughtful piece for others or for themselves after a long day. It invites expressive playing, and sounds full thanks to ties, pedal, and clusters of notes. However, the actual notes being played are quite simple and easy to read. Multiple registers reflect what the beautiful cover shows – pondering calmness.
What level is Summit Reflections?
Summit Reflections is an elementary level piece in C major. The smallest note value is a quarter note, and the damper pedal is held throughout. While multiple registers are explored, it is always with a repeated pattern. The left hand contains a lot of ties, so the focus can be on creating a right hand melody that really sings.
Any jump greater than a step is notated with finger numbers to help students “land” on the right note. As with the other pieces in this series, alpha notes (notes on which the note name is written) are carefully placed on new notes so that students have a greater chance of successful practice, without feeling like they are being spoon fed. This gives older students a feeling of accomplishment, without taking away the help they may still need.
Note: the alpha notes are not a “crutch” for the student. Seeing the note names only the first time they play the note and then seeing the patterns without those notes should help improve students’ reading abilities.
Bonus recording included!
Summit Reflections comes with a bonus mp3 recording performed by Wendy Stevens. You are permitted to send this example performance track to your students to help them learn the piece.
More About the Entering Beautiful Places Series:
Summit Reflections is part of the Entering Beautiful Places series which gives older students (like teens and adults) mature sounding music. It’s especially suitable for pianists who are just learning to read music or just learning to play piano. This series features only Music Adults Love® and Music Teens Love® – beautiful, mature sounding music that doesn’t sound like it comes from a child’s method book.
The collections in this series include:
- Finding Beautiful Places – EE (Early Elementary) Music on the black keys; For those with no prior piano experience
- Entering Beautiful Places – E (Elementary) Music for those who are transitioning to the white keys or who need to review their white key note names
- In Beautiful Places – E (Elementary) Music for mid elementary students containing some across the bar line syncopation, but music that is still quite achievable and beautiful at this level
- Exploring Beautiful Places – LE (Late Elementary) Music for the late elementary pianist that contains eighth notes that are easy to feel and play.
What is the Studio License?
Summit Reflections is delivered digitally (through your email receipt) and is studio licensed. This means that you can print and use this for any student that you directly teach for your entire lifetime of teaching.
Sandra –
I gave Summit Reflections to a new adult student last week and she loves it!
Valerie –
I am loving the new music that I purchased! Gathering Storm has been a big hit with my young boy students!! 🙂 Summit Reflections has been a big hit with two of my adult students – not difficult, yet relaxing and beautiful!!
Kelly –
My boys love Summit Reflections!! I think the combination of beautiful harmonies and a bold, straight forward melody hits just the right note! Perfect for the students not yet ready for the next level of Beautiful Places, but eager for expressive pieces.
Mary Beran –
I just taught this to my 80 year old beginner student. It was so nice to have a mature sounding piece that he could play fairly easily, but still be challenged with some new concepts (8va, not in C position). It sounded beautiful! It was his first experience with pedal. Thank you for a beautiful piece for beginners!
Betsy –
This piece has transformed one of my 8-year-old transfer students from a “pounder” to a musician who appreciates beautiful sounds and who is striving to bring out artistry elements which are all found in this very accessible piece. She always asks to begin her lesson with this piece, which will be her recital selection, and would happily play it for the entire lesson. I have a strong suspicion it’s the only thing she’s practicing right now, but when we practice her other pieces together she is playing them with greater musicality right off the bat! Such a dramatic change for her!
When I asked Miss M what she likes about Summer Reflections she said, “the slower, quieter sounds are beautiful and relaxing…almost like a lullaby! And it uses the pedal which makes it fun.”
alisa henderson –
This is working well from one of my college students, a “hey I’ve always wanted to play piano and I need one more credit hour to retain my scholarship” type. She is concerned that the reading is not sticking. This gives her plenty of practice with a limited amount of notes.