A Creative Introduction to "Enjoy!" by Kerstin Strecke
This charming piece opens the wonderful book "Little Moods", reviewed last week
In Kerstin Strecke’s Little Moods, which I reviewed last week, the composer encourages us to “try to transpose the pieces into other keys or use them as an inspiration for your own improvisations.” Inspired by that, here are some creative ways to explore “Enjoy!”, the first piece in the book.
Transposition
In the notes at the back, the composer suggests “You might like to play it in D major”. This is an excellent suggestion and if you play it first in C major and then repeat it in D major, you recreate a classic pop key change.
This piece also lends itself well to transposing into A natural minor — simply move every note down two steps.
Alternatively, turn every E into E♭, every A into A♭ and every B into B♭, and you’ve got the piece in C natural minor, which also works well and is comparatively easy for students to understand.
A Creative Introduction…
Here’s a set of other activities you can use to introduce the piece, in the format of one of my “A Creative Introduction to…” posts. You can use these activities to:
reinforce the connection between the piece and its scale, C major
practise ensemble playing
experiment with other styles of playing
improve aural skills (e.g. play your student one of the improvisation ideas and ask them to identify which one you played)
practise melodic improvisation
give them a springboard into their own composition
