Betsy, a teaching friend of mine, wrote to me recently and said that a student of hers played Twister at a winter recital and loved it. She said that it was a good piece for helping her learn to loosen up and let the notes flow. I was humbled and excited about this, but then she shared with me the program notes from this student. It is the highest compliment I think I could ever earn from a student. Here is what she wrote:
The composer of this piece is Wendy Stevens; she is a piano teacher herself and that is why I enjoy her pieces. She knows exactly what kids certain ages want to play for fun at their level. When someone plays the song to you it sounds too hard to play, but when you try it yourself you see that it is easy. This piece is also fun to play because the rhythm is so fun and bouncy. Whenever I plan this piece it reminds me of the Wizard of Oz!
I will treasure these words for a very long time. Thank you Maddy.
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.