In this current global epidemic, kids are home from school, and many adults are house bound as well, and I hope some people are finding time to play the piano. For the foreseeable future, I would like to offer free downloads, as a PDF, of my book of compositions entitled Little Pieces for the Piano.
Download the PDF here.
The book is not a piano method, much of it is easy, but it is not graded. It is essentially my take on Bartok’s Mikrokosmos, and is meant to be ancillary to any piano method or traditional repertoire. Like the Mikrokosmos, the idea is to present easier repertoire that explores 20th and 21st century harmonic and rhythmic ideas. Most of these pieces were written specifically for this book, although a few compositions that are included have had other incarnations.
When the book was first published, I did receive several nice reviews. One critique, however, was that there were not enough easier pieces, and that the compositions moved into less common keys, and time signatures, a little too quickly. I have been meaning to rectify this now for the last 5 years!
I hope you enjoy the music!
Wayne Horvitz
Seattle WA
April 2020
If you would like to purchase the PDF instead, starting at $1 or more, please visit this item on BandCamp.
“The pages of Little Pieces fairly leap with inventiveness and ingenuity. Each miniature – all but a handful are a single page in length – has a distinct character and an irresistible rhythmic vitality. Some of the pieces are named after musical concepts (“Between the Hands,” “16th Notes,” and “Fourths and Fifths”), while others are named for emotions and extramusical concepts (“Forgiveness,” “The First Last Thing I Remember About You”) … For a contemporary-minded teacher with a sense of adventure, however, Little Pieces for the Piano would make any rewarding supplement to a traditional method book.” – Clavier Companion.
Read the full review of Little Pieces in Clavier Companion (now Piano Magazine) here.