PIECES FOR PIANO STUDENTS

You will find here many of the pieces already included in the PIANO SOLO page,
​plus other pieces composed specially for students,
​with information about the level of difficulty, dissonance, duration and style
​
ORGANIZED FROM EASY TO DIFFICULT LEVEL

Scroll down to go to the advanced level pieces

BEGINNER - INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

FLOWING RIVER
​Short piece for piano solo

LEVEL: Easy beginner-intermediate
READING DIFFICULTY: Easy
PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY: Easy
TARGETED SKILL: Flow and gentle legato motion, transfer of focus from one hand to the next, balancing accompanied melody, voicing of the melody, flexible tempo, pedal management.
STYLE: Impressionistic
DISSONANCE LEVEL: Very consonant.
DURATION: 3 minutes, 37 seconds
DESCRIPTION:  Piece with constant flowing movement (the river), in which the melody (the boat) floats over the accompaniment.

Composed under a faculty grant from Levine Music
Composer's explanation: 00:00 to 00:55
Performance starts at 00:55
DOWNLOAD "FLOWING RIVER" FREE
GABRIEL RUIZ-BERNAL Flowing River
File Size: 56 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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GENTLE RAIN
​​Short piece for piano solo

LEVEL: Easy beginner-intermediate
READING DIFFICULTY: Easy
PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY: Easy
TARGETED SKILL: Melody voicing over repeated notes (the rain), balancing weight from fingers, transferring the melody from the LH to the RH, focus on legato touch, flexible tempo, pedal management.
STYLE: Impressionistic, some jazz harmonies.
DISSONANCE LEVEL: Very consonant.
DURATION: 1 minute, 25 seconds
DESCRIPTION:  Very calm piece with repeated ostinato in the background.  The singing melody raises over the harmonies.

Composed under a faculty grant from Levine Music
Composer's explanation: 00:00 to 00:52
Performance starts at 00:52
DOWNLOAD "GENTLE RAIN" FREE
GABRIEL RUIZ-BERNAL Gentle Rain
File Size: 50 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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​

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

UNDER WATER EXPLORATION
​​​Short piece for piano solo

LEVEL: Moderately difficult beginner-intermediate
READING DIFFICULTY: Moderate
PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY: Moderate
TARGETED SKILL: This piece has as a goal to teach the student to see and recognize the chords, learned as blocks, then performed as broken chords rolling the hand.  The effect is a piece that sounds more difficult than it really is to play.  Melody voicing on the broken chords.  Long sustained sounds and pedal control.  Voicing of melody over block chords. 
STYLE: Impressionistic,  jazz harmonies.
DISSONANCE LEVEL: Mostly consonant. Use of the lydian mode for under-water effect.  Some jazz chords that will feel adventurous at first.
DURATION: 2 minutes, 20 seconds
DESCRIPTION: A good recital piece for a student that wants the Debussy sound without the technical difficulty, not difficult to prepare, but it sounds virtuosic and has a big satisfying ending that the student will enjoy.

Composed under a faculty grant from Levine Music 
Composer's explanation: 00:00 to 02:02
Performance starts at 02:02
DOWNLOAD "UNDER WATER" FREE
GABRIEL RUIZ-BERNAL Underwater Exploration
File Size: 71 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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​

SERENITY
​Short piece for piano solo

LEVEL: Moderately intermediate level
READING DIFFICULTY: Easy to Moderate
PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY: Moderate-advanced
TARGETED SKILL: This piece is all about creating a special space, balancing the tone so the melody is delicately heard over the counter-melody.  The middle part has the texture of Debussy and Grieg, but without the difficulty that Debussy requires.  Ideal piece for students that are not ready to tackle Debussy yet but are ready to explore the type of textures of the impressionistic style.
STYLE: Impressionistic-Post romantic. A mixture between Grieg, Debussy and Peterson-Berger
DISSONANCE LEVEL: Consonant.  Some advanced chords.
DURATION:  3 minutes, 37 seconds
DESCRIPTION: A good recital piece for a student that wants the Debussy sound without the technical difficulty, easy to prepare for an intermediate student.  Middle section with bigger sound.

Commissioned by Jonathan Cain and Shannon Cain-Dooling

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AWAY
Short waltz for piano solo in D Major

LEVEL: Intermediate
READING DIFFICULTY: Moderate intermediate
PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY: Moderate-advanced
TARGETED SKILL:  Managing texture with a structure that provides a melody, counter-melody and accompaniment.  Creating contextualization in sound, the pedal has an important role. Some difficulties, but the piece repeats, so that the work invested in learning the difficult section is used more than once.
STYLE: Modern-Impressionistic with romantic melodies. A mixture between Ravel, Grieg, and Debussy.
DISSONANCE LEVEL: Some adventurous chords and contexts, but easy to assimilate.
DURATION:  3 minutes, 46 seconds
DESCRIPTION: A good recital piece that manages a singing waltz melody in a more sophisticated harmonic environment for students that are transitioning from predictable harmonies to more daring harmonies and chord progressions.  A middle section brings a dialogue between the main melody and a counter-melody, surrounded by the larger sounding arpeggio accompaniments.

Commissioned by Jonathan Cain and Shannon Cain-Dooling

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INTERMEDIATE - ADVANCED LEVEL

FIREFLY
Short waltz for piano solo in A minor

LEVEL: Intermediate-advanced
READING DIFFICULTY: Intermediate-advanced
PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY: Intermediate-advanced
TARGETED SKILL:  Arpeggios that pass from one hand to the next while sustaining a melody on top.  Broken chords that need to flow smoothly for surprising harmonic texture. Glissando.  Waltz dance feel despite the difficulties below. 
STYLE: Modern, bright and dark at the same time, film score style resembling composer Bruno Coulais (Coraline) and Danny Elfman (The Nightmare Before Christmas).
DISSONANCE LEVEL: Adventurous chords and contexts, surprising chord progressions.
DURATION:  1 minutes, 43 seconds
DESCRIPTION: A great recital piece that leaves the audience spell-bound.  This piece illustrates the flight of a firefly illuminating the night as it goes from place to place.  The harmonies are more resembling the film scores of Bruno Coulais (Coraline) and Danny Elfman (The Nightmare Before Christmas) with unpredictable chord progressions and mysterious textures.
The piece repeats, therefore the effort invested in learning these difficulties is rewarded by playing it twice for more effect.

​Commissioned by the Hughes family in memory of Bob and Ginny Hughes.

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Fantasy on the 19th-century Irish song
"ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN"

LEVEL: Intermediate-advanced
READING DIFFICULTY: Intermediate-advanced
PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY: Intermediate-advanced
TARGETED SKILL:  Mainly color is the goal of this piece.  The sound is more modern that the previous pieces, more challenging at times until the entire piece is put together and the sounds can be integrated in the context of the folk song that appears at the end of the song.
STYLE: Modern, XX-century sound
DISSONANCE LEVEL: Moderately dissonant, yet easy to recognize the theme during the development of the material.
DURATION:  1 minutes, 23 seconds
DESCRIPTION: This piece is based on the Irish folk song "Rocky Road to Dublin", which is developed in reverse order than usual.  rather than presenting the theme first, and then the improvisatory fantasy following, here the fantasy starts with the improvisatory character.  The theme is always present but surrounded by modern sounding harmonies.  Only at the end, the full theme appears in the final statement.

Dedicated to Professor of Piano Elizabeth Temple
FINALIST
IMPRESSIONISTIC CATEGORY
XXI COMPETITION FOR PIANO COMPOSITION "FIDELIO"
​Madrid, Spain

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ADVANCED LEVEL

DISTANT WALTZ
Waltz in G minor for solo piano

Comments. Fidelio Competition:

My favorite piece so far in the competition, easily. Exquisite harmonies and figurations; extremely idiomatically written for the instrument. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I was getting hints of jazz, impressionism, Ligeti… the list goes on. Fabulous ending as well.

Some expert use of embellishment and chromaticism with a wandering rubato. A hybrid mix of Debussy meet Rachmaninoff! 
LEVEL: Advanced
READING DIFFICULTY: Very advanced
PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY: Advanced
TARGETED SKILL:  Striking a balance between keeping the piece moving along as a waltz, yet allowing it to be "slippery" with tempo.  Challenging dissonances, the sense of tonality is diluted, it comes and goes. Difficult to memorize due to the complex harmonies and figurations.
STYLE: Contemporary, yet it keeps recognizable structure, recognizable chord movements and progressions within the ambiguous tonality.
DISSONANCE LEVEL: Dissonances are present and challenging.  Yet because the piece has very clear definitions, it is easy to follow the thematic line and its development.
DURATION:  2 minutes, 44 seconds
DESCRIPTION: A slippery piece, at times tonally close, at times tonally far, between dancing and escaping away.  It presents extended harmonies with jazz influences, a nebulous theme that hides behind the texture, and a sense of floating in the air.
SECOND PRIZE WINNER
IMPRESSIONISTIC CATEGORY
XXI COMPETITION FOR PIANO COMPOSITION "FIDELIO"
​Madrid, Spain

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VERY ADVANCED LEVEL

OBSIDIAN
Solo piano piece built on an original
​ostinato theme

Comments. Fidelio Competition:

An unusual insightful, aural interpretation of this volcanic glass stone.  The stone’s diverse characteristics translated into various moods, beautifully integrated.  Holistic style and structure. Expressive and masterfully interpreted.

Ecriture virtuose et difficultés rythmiques mais presque atonal…

Truly original and shows musical knowledge that's put to good use to compose a piece that is very interesting to listen to. It has a nice arc, good variety, and the bass holds the piece together well - repetitively but rhythmically and tonally interesting and even exciting.
LEVEL: Very advanced
READING DIFFICULTY: Very advanced
PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY: Very advanced
TARGETED SKILL:  Articulations, ostinato theme, energy, forward motion, wise use of the pedal to emphasize sections and accents, dynamic contrast, building the piece and taking the listener to the climatic points.
STYLE: Contemporary, a mixture that sometimes resembles Samuel Barber, mixed with atonal, chromatic elements, and more romantic moments.
DISSONANCE LEVEL: High level of dissonances, on top of a tonality that shifts from different tonal centers.  Yet, the energy level and rhythm drives the piece and keeps the listener focused.
DURATION:  2 minutes, 30 seconds
DESCRIPTION: A solo piano piece with rugged edges, warrior character, yet clearly identified themes and melodic subjects within a constantly shifting tonal center.
SECOND PRIZE WINNER
CONTEMPORARY CATEGORY
XXI COMPETITION FOR PIANO COMPOSITION "FIDELIO"
​Madrid, Spain

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Theme and Five Variations
​on the Spanish Folk Song
LA TARARA

Comments. Fidelio Competition:

Very Ravel, very imagery, I like the smouldering power beneath the waves. Love it. 

Great piece, good piano sound and energetic and original texture. Whole tone scales and flamenco rhythms reminiscent of Debussy preludes and Albéniz.
​
A fantastic piece in the impressionistic style, very reminscent of L'isle Joyeuse by Debussy but with your own original spin. [...] Wonderul harmonic ideas and pianistic fireworks.
​Each variation represents a scene:
Tema / Theme Var. 1 La Tarara y los niños ("La Tarara and the children")
Var. 2 Monólogo (Monologue)
Var. 3 Arrebato (Burst)
Var. 4 Soledad (Solitude)
Var. 5 La Tarara baila ("La Tarara" dances)
​
La Tarara is a song that for generations Spanish children sung in circles. Some specialists point out that its origin would be Sephardic, although the first known versions date back to the 19th century. Collected by Spanish poet Federico García-Lorca in 1931, still today it can be heard sung as part of the folk tradition of Spain.

The song tells us about a Spanish traditional character (Tarara) who walks through the fields dancing, with add clothing and somewhat strange behavior, most likely crazy. Children would follow her and laugh loudly while playing and dancing.

This piano piece presents the theme accompanied by a simple harmonization, followed by 5 variations, each of which uses the theme as material. The first variation (Tarara and the children) watches the scene from outside, while variations 2 to 5 describe the character of La Tarara from inside her own point of view.
LEVEL: Advanced to very advanced
READING DIFFICULTY: Very advanced
PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY: Very advanced
TARGETED SKILL:  Every variation presents a different color, technique, articulation, sound, image and feeling.
STYLE: Mixture of contemporary, impressionistic, atonal elements, described by some as having Ginastera's vibes, some numbers are created outside the tonal range, but they stay coherent using other elements to maintain the thread and the attention of the listener.
DISSONANCE LEVEL: High level of dissonances, on top of a tonality that shifts from different tonal centers.  Yet, the variety in material and the presence of a thematic material provides a thread throughout the entire piece.
DURATION:  7 minutes, 30 seconds
DESCRIPTION:
​Each variation represents a scene:
Tema / Theme Var. 1 La Tarara y los niños ("La Tarara and the children")
Scenes of children playing, church bells in the background
Var. 2 Monólogo (Monologue)
"La Tarara" speaks to herself
Var. 3 Arrebato (Burst)
"La Tarara" followed and mocked on the streets has a burst and runs after the children.
Var. 4 Soledad (Solitude)
Introvertid moment
Var. 5 La Tarara baila ("La Tarara" dances)
"La Tarara" dances like nobody is watching, without caring what everyone thinks of her
FINALIST
Variation 3 "Arrebato"
CONTEMPORARY CATEGORY
XXI COMPETITION FOR PIANO COMPOSITION "FIDELIO"
​Madrid, Spain
Performed by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal at the piano
Approximate length: 7 minutes, 30 seconds
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