14 December 2012
Ear training -- and finger training
Interval Studies is now up. A set of 12 piano pieces, one for each interval from minor seconds through octaves, it's the second time a project has taken me 33 years to complete. This one is educational, and I hope also interesting to play for people learning the sound, feel, and appearance of the various intervals.
It began during an ear-training class. Some students had problems identifying or singing the intervals. I practiced playing them all over the keyboard, and realized that actual music which did that might be helpful. I wrote the first five (through perfect fourths) in 1979 and 1980, then ran out of steam. Two years ago, I decided to finish the set, and wrote the music focusing on perfect fifths through octaves.