The Other Pedals Bundle: Jumping Jacks & Ice Crystals, Studio License
What a special treat to be able to offer these 2 pieces to you! Nicola Cantan of Vibrant Music Teaching commissioned these pieces for her Concept Collection 2: The Other Pedals. I was honored to be included in her book, along with composers Juan Cabeza Hernandez, Donna Mitchell, Anna Robinson and Brock Chart. Nicola offered them through her website for only 2 months, so now I can offer them to you!
Jumping Jacks
Have your students ever experimented with the Sostenuto pedal? Most don’t encounter it until they hit more advanced literature, but why wait?Jumping Jacks is a fun piece to introduce Elementary students to this unusual pedal.
The Sostenuto pedal, which is the middle pedal that only holds down selected notes, is the focus of this piece. Here’s the idea: In m. 1, play the Bass C on beat 1, then depress the Sostenuto pedal on beat 2 and hold it until the first beat of m. 3. and lift it when you play the Bass D on beat 1 of m. 3. Meanwhile, Left Hand crosses over to play the Treble cleff C on beat 1 of m. 2. The pattern remains the same throughout the piece. Doesn’t this remind of you Jumping Jacks?
Notice that there is a gradual crescendo throughout the piece in the Right hand from m. 1 until reaching forte in m. 10, then decrescendo to the end. Left hand is the star in this piece! Practice this a lot before you increase the tempo. How fast should this go? As fast as you dare!
Ice Crystals
And what about the other pedal - Una Corda? This one is also largely ignored until students reach a more advanced level, but the tone and colors it can create are magical! Let’s tell a story together...
When you play Ice Crystals, imagine you are in a Winter wonderland, stepping on crunchy snow, feeling the the ice cold wind blowing on your face, as you watch the ice crystals hang on the trees. What happens in measure 10? Take a moment to stop and notice a cracking sound- did an icicle just fall off the tree?
The Una Corda pedal plays an important role in this piece- creating the mood in the the A section- the scale like eighth note passage should be subtle, like the Winter wind gently stinging your face.
