To read Rebekah Maxner's Titanic Piano blog, please click here.
Have you ever played a piece and wondered what was on the composer's mind as s/he was creating it? The purpose of this "Composer's Blog" is to give you insight into the creative process behind the music in my piano books. The entries are a mixed bag of teaching hints, musical influences, alternate fingerings, structural analyses, and the care that went into creating collections suitable for teaching, learning and performing.
The pieces are arranged by date in the order in which they were composed. We are also working to include audio and visual elements. Click to enlarge the original manuscripts, listen to sound clips, and click on the link to the books page to find out how to order your copy. I am working on three new titles right now, and will upload the blog entries for those books at the time of their release. Play on!
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Elementary) — Elementary (Grade 1) D Major, Cut time
January 20, 2011 One of the most memorable passengers on the Titanic was survivor Margaret Brown. I had been hearing about her as The Unsinkable Molly Brown since I was a child. It seemed fitting to write a rag-inspired piece about her to finish the book on a positive note. Like Farewell, I wanted this piece to be versatile to be arranged for easy or intermediate piano. On Super Bowl Sunday 2010 I created the intermediate piece keeping the tune simple so I could also arrange it as an elementary piece, which I did almost a year later. There are no words to the piece, but in the first line of music you can hear (even in the simplified rhythm) “The unsinkable Molly Brown, she was the unsinkable Molly Brown”. The teacher’s duet, composed on Jan 27, 2011, adds the sound of the walking bass, reminiscent of the stand-up bass in Titanic’s five-piece band.
Rainbow Swirl (Blog Entry 3/3) — Late Intermediate (Grade 7) D Major 9/8, 6/8, 3/4, 2/4
June 27, 2010 From its beginnings in 2002, and after eight years of on-and-off composing, I was finally taking The Color Collection to print. Prior to publishing I took a good hard look at the order of the pieces in the book. Originally Purple had appeared as the 9th piece, just before Rainbow Swirl, in the same order as the colors in I Feel Orange Today. I chose to change the order and place Purple 4th because it belonged alongside other pieces of a similar level. Why is this important? Because if you want to solve Rainbow Swirl's musical puzzle, the harmonic progression of the piece would need to be re-written if the published order of the collection changed. So, now Rainbow Swirl went through its last re-write, thus:
Section A: Melody loosely based on poem (Measures 1-7)
Measure 1 D Major Orange
Measure 2 a minor Gray
Measures 3-4 D Maj, a min (Orange and Gray repeated)
Measure 5 C Major Blue
Measure 6 a minor Purple
M6 beat 9 G note Yellow (M32 has G Major 6th interval B-G)
Measure 7 E Major Black (final chord of the piece)
Raindrop Sequence: (Measures 8-12)
Measure 8 E Major Black
Measure 8 E-flat Major Green
Measure 9 d minor Red
Measure 9 c-sharp min White
Section B Thunder Storm Sequence: Original melodic and harmonic material (Measures 13-26)
A Major (Dominant of D), finishing on D pedal tone with A7 and D alternating in the right hand.
Section A': Based on Section A with expanded arpeggios (Measures 27-34)
Raindrop Sequence: (Measures 35-37)
Closing material: (Measures 38-43)
As with many of my pieces there are the two tonalities competing throughout the piece. These two tonalities are not always related keys and the original tonic usually doesn't win. In Rainbow Swirl D is the original tonic. D and A duke it out and eventually A wins, D giving way with a lovely Plagal IV-I cadence.
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Intermediate) — Early Intermediate (Grade 4) G Major, Cut time
February 07, 2010 Like Farewell, I wanted this piece to be arranged for easy or intermediate piano. It was Super Bowl Sunday and I created the intermediate piece in its entirety that day. I played it so many times that my family got sick of it, and because of that I wasn’t sure that I would actually use it for my book. I didn’t write it down until December, 2010. I took a break from working on my Titanic books so I could edit and print Old MacDonald had the Blues (April 2010), The Color Collection and Jolly Pachelbel (both September 2010). By the time I played Molly Brown again for my family they liked it. Ragtime is defined by musicians as a ragged (syncopated) tune with a steady bass line, without a swing. However, in the early days of Ragtime there were no such strict rules, and Berlin’s song Alexander’s Ragtime Band is always (even in early recordings) played with a swing. It is possible that Scott Joplin’s songs fit the narrower definition, but he wasn’t the only composer writing in the new popular style. This piece is a Rag with a swing.
Farewell (Intermediate) — Early Intermediate (Grade 4) F Major, 4/4
February 06, 2010 Ask anyone about Titanic and music, and more often than not you will hear about James Cameron’s Titanic movie and its theme My Heart Will Go On. I wanted a compelling theme for my books that would appeal in a similar way to today’s piano students. Most movie themes can be arranged for people of all abilities so I challenged myself to write a versatile theme that could be arranged for easy or intermediate piano. I wrote the beginner and intermediate versions on the same day to ensure the music worked both ways. There are two reasons I chose to write the piece with a Celtic folk flavor. The Titanic was built in Belfast, Ireland and its birthplace lends to the Celtic style. Also, I have spent my whole life in Nova Scotia, and here Celtic music has deep roots. It felt natural for me to write in the folk style.
February 06, 2010 Beginners love to learn music they hear played by older students. This easy arrangement is based on Farewell published in Titanic A Voyage in Piano Music for intermediate piano. I shortened the beginner version, taking the original ABAB’ and making it ABB’. On January 14, 2011, almost a year after the theme was finished, I wrote the optional teacher’s duet. I wanted this arrangement to have moments where the harmony went in different directions from the intermediate version. Can you find them? It was my original plan to place this piece at the end of the book, Farewell as a ballad to say goodbye to the lost passengers. However, I always like to design my books so the first piece is also the easiest piece, so I moved this piece to the beginning of the book. Thus Farewell takes on a double meaning, as in the farewell spoken to someone embarking at the beginning of a voyage, as well as the final farewell spoken when that someone will never again be seen.
Hot, Hot Buns — Early Intermediate (Grade 4) e minor 8/8
November 30, 2009 I stapled together a little mock book and noticed there was room for one more piece. I still wanted a piece in the Latin/Caribbean style, and thought about the Arrow song Hot Hot Hot. Why not Hot, Hot Buns with a Latin feel? We were listening to Buena Vista Social Club in anticipation of a trip south, and the minor, tragically sweet sounds had me transfixed. I divided the Hot Cross Buns tune, and extended each part into a sequence, the descending "hot cross buns" notes in the A section, the ascending "one a penny" notes in the B section. The piece is easier than it looks, because it is simply made of cool patterns that repeat on different chords. When I was a kid I was spooked by complicated-looking notation like the 8/8 time signature and eighth note groupings. No problem - once you hear this piece you will understand the dance in it, and you will be infected by the rhythmic groove.
R & B Baby — Early Intermediate (Grade 4) D Major 3/4
November 07, 2009 I had long wanted Rockabye Baby in the collection, but couldn't figure out a way to make the title and the music work. Rock was already in the title, but I always heard the music in a Latin 4/4 style. But the title wouldn't work, and I was tired of 4/4. Rockabye was already in three, and I wanted to keep that feel. The other problem to solve was the melodic span, too wide for young hands. I chose the key of D to allow the melody to cross the middle of the staff, divided between the hands. It was a Saturday night and I let the family go upstairs without me for bedtime. I wanted to have quiet time to compose, which I didn't often get. I think the personal sound in the lullaby reflects just how much I enjoyed this time. Paul solved the title challenge, R for Rock and B for Bye. Rhythm and Blues has some gorgeous tunes, like I'll Be There sung by the Jackson 5 or Mariah Carey, and I hope students like the soul in this one.
Mary had a Little Jam — Elementary (Grade 1) C major 4/4
November 06, 2009 It is so difficult to compose for the early piano levels. There were several strategies I used to keep Mary accessible for younger learners. First, the key of C offers a clean slate on which the accidentals can stand out. The RH tune carries the musical momentum, with a swing and fun anticipation ties. The LH texture is kept to a minimum, for the most part harmonizing only on the first and third beats. Notice that G is the top note of each LH interval. This anchored thumb will help the student with the physical feel of the other intervals, including hand extension at the sixth interval. The key of C also offers the opportunity to reinforce the reading of sign-post C notes, the space Cs and outside ledger Cs.
Twinkle, Twinkle Superstar — Early Intermediate (Grade 4) B-flat Major 4/4
October 09, 2009 was the day of my Dad's 81st birthday. It dawned on me that I had completely missed Twinkle, one of the best-loved children's songs of all time. Musically speaking, Twinkle is always associated with the interval of the fifth. Many teachers use this song in ear training to teach students how to recognize the sound of the fifth. So, the open fifth became the focus of my introduction, in the style of Janis Joplin's The Rose. I grew up hearing friends play this style of pop music at school on old out-of-tune gym pianos. In the last section I kept getting the sound of Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World in my head. Then it occurred to me that Wonderful World is Twinkle. I created it in the morning at the piano with baby Clara on my knee. But there was a birthday cake to bake. Later that evening I played the collection for everyone and Twinkle was the clear favorite.
Jingle Bell Swing — Early Intermediate (Grade 3-4) G Major 4/4
October 05, 2009 What tune is more familiar than Jingle Bells? The composer is known – James Pierpont of Boston. Inspired by the big band feel in Harry Connick Jr.'s music, I created the introduction from the "jingle all the way" line. You will find the piece easier than it looks. Remember, pop rhythms are so much part of our culture that they are easier to learn when heard. The piece is easy also because so much of it is the same thing again and again. Repetition is a major characteristic of pop music. Good ideas are worth repeating. I had a lot of fun creating the surprise pp at "sleigh" where kids usually sing it really loud (and around here, sing, "Sleigh, HEY!" on the two ascending notes of the fourth interval). Chopin often surprised his audiences with the opposite dynamic of what they knew. If performed well, this unexpected turn in the music promises to get a chuckle from the audience.
Three Cool Mice — Late Elementary (Grade 2) a minor 4/4
September 30, 2009 The idea for this piece had been in my head for a while. By now I was thinking the collection needed to explore new keys. So, a minor became the key of choice for the cool little mice. In the past year I had discovered how fun rests were. Rests aren't just nothing, they are something, silence that interplays with sound to create excitement. The rests in this piece are so important for feeling an internal rock groove. Does the rhythm on line three look too complicated? I considered different rhythms that looked easier, but the piece became really boring. While pop rhythms look complicated, they are easier to learn by rote because children are exposed to them daily, and have an ear for them. I was so happy there was room for an illustration on the page because of the sunglasses and cane theme. Blind or not, these mice are the essence of cool.
Hickory Dickory Rock — Early Intermediate (Grade 3) C Major 6/8
September 30, 2009 I wrote Mice and Hickory on the same day. I had created them days earlier, and now grabbed my chance to scribble the two pieces down during my baby's afternoon nap. The idea for this piece came from my husband, Paul. I asked him if he knew any nursery rhymes that had tunes. He mentioned Hickory Dickory Dock, but didn't think it had a tune. I knew the song and loved the idea. 'Of course'! Hickory Dickory Rock. Usually piano rock reflects high-energy rock music, and I wondered if I could figure out a rock variation for the traditional song. I felt my collection was a bit square so far, with five pieces in 4/4 and only one in 2/4. I wanted to keep the 6/8 feel for this one, and thought about 6/8 hits like Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers. I wanted to go for that sound. I simply began to play it straight from my head. Paul said, "That's it!"
London Bridge is Gettin' Down — Early Intermediate (Grade 4) G Major 2/4
August 18, 2009 My children also thought of London Bridge is Falling Down. The word 'down' intrigued me, because people 'get down' when they dance. Cape Bretoners, who love kitchen parties, say "gettin'." At the piano I sped it up and used the walking bass line common to piano accompaniments in Cape Breton fiddling. My ear always heard the chorus of Yankee Doodle following London Bridge. Rhythmically and melodically very similar, the two tunes are musically complimentary. I created this in a real hurry just before I visited Holly Carr. Late in September I actually wrote it down, with Newfoundland's well-known I's the B'y as the third tune, accompanied by the Scottish pedal bass, which sounds like bagpipes. The piece was now culturally well rounded, with British, American and Canadian tunes. The ending posed the biggest creative challenge. I wanted it to build as the tunes came together. It is a joke - picture the fiddler losing focus and playing London in the middle of Yankee where the notes and rhythms of the two are identical.
Jack and Jill went to the Beach — Late Elementary (Grade 2) F Major 4/4
August 17, 2009 With my focus back on this project, and a date at Holly Carr's house to talk about cover art the very next day, I panicked a bit. I had only four pieces so far, and thought I should have many more. At breakfast I asked my children which kids' songs I should make into popular music. Jack and Jill was called out. 'Of course', I thought, and after breakfast I went straight to the piano. There is a lick in the bridge of the Beach Boy's California Girls that sounds exactly like the beginning of Jack and Jill went up the Hill. I had always thought so, and knew this was the perfect occasion to capitalize on the similarity. The title and rhythmic groove pay homage to the surfer rock style of the mid-60's. I also love the connection of the bucket in the illustration, thinking Jack and Jill still have one, this time to play with at the beach.
The Babe in the Cradle goes Rock, Rock, Rock — (cut from book)
June 02, 2009 At this point I was scouring the house for children's books with printed song words. I liked the repeated words of this one and made up a fun piece to go with them. But I had made up this music from scratch and as my collection kept growing, this one no longer fit in with the others. I knew I had to stick with familiar music so the entire collection made sense. This one was eventually cut from the book.
The Wheels on the Bus go Ragtime — Early Intermediate (Grade 4) G Major 4/4
May 26, 2009 This project was now fully on my mind and I was mentally reviewing traditional music to find tunes that could be re-mixed into popular pieces. The broken chords in The Wheels on the Bus caught my attention and I sat down at the piano to try it in the Ragtime style. It worked! I wasn't truly happy with my first draft, as it went into the diminished hand-over-hand run too soon. I tried the V-I chord sequence but wasn't sure about it until September when I revisited the piece. I decided I liked it, so I wrote it in to build the excitement to the end, as the piece is now printed.
Jazz! Goes the Weasel — Early Intermediate (Grade 3) G Major 4/4
May 20, 2009 I had a feeling I was on to a cool idea, if only I could find other traditional tunes that were equally adaptable to popular styles. I needed to find tunes that had titles I could twist, and music that was naturally inclined to the style suggested in the new title. Two days later I got my wish with Pop! Goes the Weasel. Inspired by Diana Krall's Quiet Nights concert (which I had attended just the week before), I played around with the tune. The original was in 6/8, but in the spirit of Krall's understated style I changed the opening rhythm into straight quarter notes that burst out with a jazzy rhythm and texture every so often.
Old MacDonald had the Blues — Elementary (Preparatory-Grade 2) F Blues 4/4
May 18, 2009 was a sunny spring day. Looking for student repertoire, I came across Boris Berlin's Old MacDonald had a Farm. I chuckled to myself, "Wouldn't it be funny if Old MacDonald had the Blues instead?" So I fiddled with the Old MacDonald tune in different keys, in the blues mode and with bluesy rhythms. In about a half an hour I had created the piece almost as you have it, except for one detail. It took me longer to decide on the D-flat7 harmony in measure 10. To simplify the notation I decided to nix the F Major key signature, which eliminated the need for several accidentals. I chose to simplify the spelling of the D-flat7 harmony, substituting the C-flat with a B. I also left out all of the rests to keep the score clean.
Rainbow Swirl (Blog Entry 2/3) — Late Intermediate (Grade 7) D Major 9/8, 6/8, 3/4, 2/4
December 29, 2006 As a full-time Mom and piano teacher, composition often came last place, only if I had everything else done, or no one was hungry or hurt or if the house was quiet and no one needed me. The Christmas holiday was an opportune time to compose. My days were unscheduled, the kids had new toys to keep them busy, and Paul snoozed in the afternoons with a full tummy. Rainbow Swirl had been worked out on the piano much earlier, and was finally written down on December 29-30, 2006. Now that more of the pieces were written, I was able to expand the musical puzzle, with the raindrop sequence in measures 8-10, moving through E major (Black), E-flat major (Green), d minor (Red), and c-sharp minor (White). The thunderstorm sequence was challenging to write out, because I wanted to be very clear about beat emphasis and tempo. Notice that Purple is still missing.
Purple Mystery — Early Intermediate (Grade 4) a minor 4/4
April 16, 2006 I originally thought I would write this as a canon, and sketched an idea on April 16, 2006. But then I focused on the lost shoes mentioned in the poem, and thought it would make a great detective piece, like the theme music for Inspector Gadget. In June 2006 Paul had an ACA conference in St. John’s Newfoundland, and I went along for the trip (without the kids!). While Paul attended a talk by author Michael Crummy, I filled in my time in the hotel lobby and composed on the grand piano there, finally with the spare time to write Purple down. Here’s an inside scoop on composing: it often doesn’t sound that great. You play and stop and play and stop. Some passers-by thought I was a hired musician and sniffed, thinking I wasn’t that great to listen to. One mom and her daughter chatted for a while, but as a completely unknown and unpublished composer, I simply listened to their stories and stayed pretty quiet about myself. I think it is cool that Purple has that connection to Newfoundland, even though the Newfies mistook my artistic process as the playing of a very bad lounge pianist!
March 29, 2006 Our kids were now old enough for Paul and I to go to concerts, and we were lucky enough to hear Michael Kaeshammer. His boogie-woogie baselines were so thrilling and I wanted that kind of energy and exhaustion for Red. I played around with it for several weeks, focusing on the energy of the poem, rather than the rhythm of the words, and wrote it out in full on March 29, 2006. Stylistically, the RH line at measure 17 always reminds me Bartók. Several people have asked what a Red Line is – it is the centerline on a hockey rink where the puck drops and the game begins. The tempo marking says “On Edge”, so imagine the intensity felt when two teams face off. In summer 2008 I entered Red Line in CBC’s contest for the new Hockey Night in Canada theme. Holly Carr’s original illustration was a penguin and polar bear facing off, and I loved it, but we wanted to extend the circus theme from the cover, and the bear riding a unicycle on a tightrope was a suitable replacement. The polar bear and penguin version is available as a sheet music download for those who would prefer it.
White Drift — Late Intermediate (Grade 7) c sharp minor 4/4
August 31, 2005 For some reason I had Christmas on the brain in August 2005. I had just created Jolly Pachelbel, and I created White with a beginning that reminded me of swirling snowflakes. I like playing this with fingers 2 and 3 on the black keys and the thumb tucking under to the white key, like the c-sharp minor scale pattern, but if you prefer to play it like a five-finger pattern, you are free to create a new fingering that makes you feel comfortable. At measure 6 when the melody comes in, you can almost hear the words, but because this poem is so long, I knew I would have to create the music as its own entity for the sake of unity. From here it is also inspired by Spanish guitar music, which is an odd way to express music with a wintery flavor, but somehow it works! When he first heard it, Paul asked what it was. “White.” “Of course it is!” He replied. This has remained one of my favorites and I always play it on snowy days. I think this piece would be beautiful as a wedding solo. It is for “new beginnings”!
Yellow Boots — Early Intermediate (Grade 4) G Major 4/4
June 08, 2005 My first version of Yellow, created on October 24, 2004, was a complete dud, so it was all cut. Sticking to the rhythm of Patricia Godwin’s words didn’t really work with this one. When I revisited this piece on June 8, 2005, and wrote the first eight measures over, I decided to follow the rhythm of the poem for the first two measures only, with the rest written in the spirit of the words instead. On August 31, 2005, I finished it to the end, and later moved the RH of measure 12 up an octave to allow the music to build more, then added measure 13, in the style of a solo improvisation, a moment to show off. The overall style draws its inspiration from Ragtime, but uses swung eighth notes, so I call it a “hybrid Rag.”
Rainbow Swirl (Blog Entry 1/3) — Late Intermediate (Grade 7) D Major 9/8, 6/8, 3/4, 2/4
June 01, 2005 This piece literally began from exploring the tonalities of the pieces of the collection, lined up in a row. Because the rainbow poem brings all the colors together, I thought it would be fun to do the same with the music. So, the Rainbow piece began as a key signature puzzle that would move chord to chord in the order of the keys of the pieces. So far I had Orange, with D major in measure 1, Gray, with a minor in measure 2, (repeated in measures 3 and 4), Blue, with C major in measure 5, and Black, which ends on an E major chord. But at this point in the project I hadn’t yet composed all the pieces (notice that Yellow and Purple are missing), so I would have to come back to it. All I had was a sketch of the melody (based loosely on the poem) and the letters of the chords. Although I was already playing the left hand patterns as printed, I didn’t have time to write them down and didn’t want to commit to them, anyway.
Green Shade — Intermediate (Grade 6) E flat Major 6/8
May 21, 2005 I remember the creation of Green very clearly. It was evening and my last piano student had just left. She was a very talented student, but recently her attention had turned to basketball and her interest in piano lessons had waned. At her lesson she had just informed me that she would not be returning to piano lessons in the fall. This news made me very sad, so I turned to the piano and played and played until Green was done (I had time to actually write it down the following Saturday). It is composed in a style that I knew she would like. I thought other students her age would like Green Shade. The happy ending of the story is that this student returned to piano lessons, learned Green Shade and loved it.
Orange Juice — Early Intermediate (Grade 3) D Major 4/4
July 03, 2003 It was the day before my 30th birthday! The orange poem, all about the beach, inspired me to write something like Caribbean music. On this day I got as far as eight measures. On April 20, 2004, I re-worked these eight measures with a new LH rhythm (more like the published one) that took turns with the RH so the hands only occasionally played together. This simplified the piece and made it more kid-friendly. I was learning to discipline my artistic side to make my music pedagogically functional. On October 23 I rewrote it again and created the music all the way to the end. After this there were only two minor edits. The most important was to figure out the RH of the final measure. After changing it many, many times, I finally made up my mind the moment I sent the final to the printer for proofing on September 1, 2010!
February 18, 2003 This piece came together in one evening. Sometimes that happens. I had helped put my son to bed, and was carrying my baby daughter back down the stairs when the melody came to me mid-flight. I went straight to the piano, and the key I had heard in my head was the key it became: a minor. I was feeling rather sad about the passing of my soul-mate cat, Rose Petal Tortoise-Shell Tossed Salad (her name). With baby Heidi in my lap, I played out my thoughts for about half an hour until the piece was finished. I made two edits later to add eighth notes to measures 9 and 13 to flesh out the rhythm. Otherwise, my original sketch is printed note-for-note. Gray Day reminds me of Dmitri Kabalevsky’s A Little Song, op. 27, no. 2, a piece I have always loved.
November 14, 2002Black was the second Color Collection piece I began. On November 14 I composed the first three measures as you see them, and eight other measures that were cut. On March 11, 2003, I composed nine more measures that were cut. I continued to play Black from time to time, with new notes and rhythms, but I wasn’t sure about them. Finally, on June 29, 2003, I decided I liked what I had been playing and wrote it out once more, up to measure 11, beat 1. After that I simply couldn’t decide what to do. This time I left blank space in my book so I could add more later. More than a year later, on October 20, 2004, I completed the final measures. I think this one was so tricky to compose because I wanted to balance the darkness with the beauty. There is a programmatic purpose for the through-composed structure and the departure from the opening key of d minor to the final chord on E. When wind blows, it ends up far from where it started.
Blue Train — Early Intermediate (Grade 3) C Major 4/4
November 11, 2002 The first Color Collection piece I attempted to create was Blue. On November 10 my husband, Paul, heard me trying to compose it and he simply hated what he heard. It was dissonant and asymmetrical. He made me stop. Point taken. This was a turning point for me as a composer. In university I had studied the composition techniques composers have been taught for the past seventy-five years, and at this moment I went with my gut and abandoned it all. The next day, November 11, I began again, this time with a twelve-bar bluesy groove. “That’s it!” Paul said. A composer was re-born.
