Big Ben by Dennis Alexander and Martha Mier

Bass C

Notes and Notation

One of the landmarks; the C an octave below Middle C.

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Dotted Half Notes

Rhythm

Half notes whose lengths are increased by half; equal to three quarter notes.

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Forte

Expression

An indication instructing the player to play loudly.

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Melody Between Hands

Texture

A simple melody line shared by both the right hand and the left hand.

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Off-Staff Notation

Notes and Notation

A type of notation that doesn't use staff lines; sometimes called "floating notes".

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Piano

Expression

An indication instructing the player to play softly.

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Quarter Notes

Rhythm

Notes whose lengths are equal to one-fourth the value of a whole note.

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Shifting Hand Positions

Hand and Finger Techniques

A technique that requires the player to pick up and move their hand to a new position; usually from a five finger scale to another.

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Skips

Intervals

Simple intervals that introduce students to 3rds and use two white keys with one white key in between; skipping over one white key.

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Steps

Intervals

Simple intervals that introduce students to 2nds and use two adjacent white keys.

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Sustain Pedal

Expression

Also called the damper pedal, it is the rightmost pedal on the piano and used to sustain notes by moving the dampers away from the strings.

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Big Ben

Dennis Alexander
Martha Mier

Video

Elements

Bass C

Dotted Half Notes

Forte

Melody Between Hands

Off-Staff Notation

Piano

Quarter Notes

Shifting Hand Positions

Skips

Steps

Sustain Pedal

Details