WAYNE HORVITZ

For the Piano

L I T T L E P I E C E S

All Rights Reservedwww.waynehorvitz.net

Notes to the 1st and 2nd Edition:

The pieces contained within this volume are intended for beginning to intermediate students, young and old alike. They are presented progressively in order of difficulty, and often present a specific concept, either in technique or in theory. This is not, however, a piano method, but rather a collection of compositions.

The debt to Bartok’s Mikrokosmos is not only obvious, but overwhelming. As a late starter, (I didn’t seriously begin studying music until well into my adolescence), the pieces in the Mikrokosmos provided music that was technically accessible, modern, beautiful, and inspiring. I found many of the pieces profoundly moving.

I count as my primary influences the great composers in jazz, much of the popular music that began in the psychedelic bands of the 60s, the roots music, white and black, of the early and mid-twentieth century, and the experimentalist in the avant-garde, in particular Cecil Taylor and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Add to that very American list Bela Bartok, and the Mikrokosmos specifically. To this day, I tear up when the minor 3rd becomes major in bar 13 of “Accompaniment in Broken Triads” from Book II, and again later when the theme moves to the bass clef. This moment, and others like it, became the harbinger for what I love in music. It remains at the very core of what I strive for as a musician and a composer.

In this collection, I hope I have achieved more than an homage to Bartok. Like any artist, my composing is an amalgamation of all that has come before me, combined with something that is mine alone. I like to think these pieces speak with a clear and personal voice, and I hope that student and teacher alike find pleasure therein. Most of these compositions were written specifically for this collection, but a few come from pieces written in the past, and a few of them can be found on recordings.

I would like to thank all my students for their inspiration. Also my teachers, especially Dick Cady, Kendall Feeney, and the folks at the Golandsky institute, whose technical insights into piano playing were very much on my mind during the final edits of these pieces.

Additional thanks Daisy Zajonc for her early comments and suggestions, Robert Puff my copyist, Nanette Davis for graphic design and printing, and Nica Horvitz for the artistic design.

I would like to extend a very special thanks to the Blue Mountain Center for the three different residencies they provided me, and in which I composed most of the original pieces. This volume would not exist without their invaluable support. Also to Ucross where I wrote several newer pieces in 2015.

Notes to the 3rd Edition:

The additional 40 pieces in the 3rd edition were all written during the period immediately following the Covid-19 pandemic in March of 2020. I had been meaning to create a larger body of work for the project, and to address specific technical and compositional ideas in a more comprehensive fashion. I also wanted to compose additional pieces for less advanced students. With some extra time on my hands, and fewer distractions, I did just that. What is contained within this volume is more than twice the original volume - and although it is still not a piano method, it is considerably more progressive, and should provide the student a steady incline without too steep a climb.

I would again like to thank Daisy Zajonc, who worked with me over many weeks to correct, and revise, all the pieces, both old and new. Her assistance has been invaluable and I am forever grateful. In addition, I’d like to acknowledge all the pianists who helped make recordings and videos, and in doing so provided me with insight and important feedback. Many thanks to Kate Molloy, Chris McCarthy, Daisy Zajonc, Cristina Valdes, Alex Guilbert and Alex Guy.

Performance Notes:

Fingerings are provided in many of the pieces to help teacher and student alike. Fingerings are personal, idiomatic, and can vary greatly among pianists. The ones provided are a starting point only. As the pieces progress, there are fewer fingerings, if any. It is assumed that as players advance they can, in concert with their teachers, create their own fingerings.

Pedaling is specific in many of the compositions, and less so in others. If a piece has no pedal markings it should be assumed that the pedaling is ad lib. Some of the easier pieces are marked “senza pedal” which may be of use to beginners, especially younger students who cannot reach the pedal easily.

Two of the compositions, both blues of a sort, do not have dynamic markings. Musicians who play idiomatic forms, including blues and jazz, are familiar with the idea of using different dynamics for the same piece at different times, just like they might vary phrases, create new melodies, or alter harmonies. If it is intentional, I encourage students to try different dynamics, or pedalings, or even tempos, in any of the pieces. And if a musician chooses to take a particular composition as the starting point for an improvisation, a variation, or a new composi-tion, all the better.

I hope you enjoy the music.

Wayne Horvitz

October 2020

Seattle WA

© and ℗ Other Room Music ASCAP 2020

Little Pieces for the PianoWayne Horvitz

Table of ContentsBack and Forth........................................................ 1Left and Right ......................................................... 1One Sharp, Two Hands ........................................... 2Lowell's New March............................................... 3Alexander's Little March ........................................ 3Alexander's Waltz ................................................... 4Halves and Quarters................................................ 5Five Fingers ............................................................ 6Snake Man, Snake Man .......................................... 6In a Minor Key........................................................ 7Off and On .............................................................. 8Minor Scales ........................................................... 9On The White Keys............................................... 10Alone..................................................................... 10Spaghetti Western ................................................. 11Speed Walk ........................................................... 11Sly (simple Song).................................................. 1216th Notes ............................................................. 13Between the Hands ............................................... 14Black and White.................................................... 14In a Dream............................................................. 15Five Fingers 5/8 .................................................... 16The Arm Moves the Hand..................................... 176/8 ......................................................................... 18On The Black Keys............................................... 19Opposites .............................................................. 19Space Cowboy Song ............................................. 20Small Hand............................................................ 20On The Black Keys Again .................................... 21Far Away............................................................... 22Pentatonics ............................................................ 23Parallels................................................................. 24Cloud Chambers.................................................... 25Diminished............................................................ 26Down and Surround .............................................. 27Little Study ........................................................... 28Skate Park ............................................................. 29Friends .................................................................. 30

Cycles.................................................................... 31Hands Over ........................................................... 32Harmonic Minor.................................................... 33A Mystery Song .................................................... 34Easy Hands............................................................ 35First Blues in C ..................................................... 36After the Fair......................................................... 38The Three Sisters .................................................. 39All the Major Keys................................................ 39Sweet Pea .............................................................. 40Waltz in Four Sharps............................................. 41Tom Joad............................................................... 42Ends in Sadness .................................................... 43Fourths and Fifths ................................................. 44Eighths and Sixteenths.......................................... 45Lydian Sounds....................................................... 46Waltz Around the Keys ......................................... 48Lost Waltz ............................................................. 49Clusters ................................................................. 50Chorale.................................................................. 52First Date............................................................... 53Threes.................................................................... 54Wedding Song...................................................... 55In Three Voices ..................................................... 56 Little Man.............................................................. 57William Wayne Horvitz ........................................ 58The Little Parade................................................... 60Road Trip .............................................................. 62Boogie for a Brand New Day................................ 64The First Last Thing I Remembered About You... 66 A Little River Flows ............................................. 67From a 9 Note Scale.............................................. 68Home..................................................................... 69Little Rag .............................................................. 70The Trees............................................................... 72The Fence.............................................................. 74Triads .................................................................... 76Impromptu............................................................. 77

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