A Creative Introduction to 'Pluto' by Pam Wedgwood
This will inspire your students!
Composer Pam Wedgwood has contributed so much to music education in the UK that she won a Lifetime Achievement award in 2024’s Art of Piano Education Awards!
‘Pluto’ is a good-natured jazzy piece that reminds me of the Disney character of the same name. It’s part of her popular Up-Grade! series and a popular selection in the LCM’s Grade 1 syllabus.
How to teach a “Creative Introduction”
First, download the PDF and print off a copy for you and your student. (Feel free to print as many as you like!)
This new series of Creative Introductions are in two parts.
The first part is a duet designed for when you start teaching the piece. It helps your student understand the tonality and metre of the piece. They’ll play the scale (or scales!) in time with an accompaniment based on the original piece. There are a bunch of challenges to complete, including improvising, and I’ve included some suggestions to get them started with improvising.
The second part is designed to be used after your student has learnt the piece. It prompts them to think about how they could change it. This is a great opportunity to get them improvising and to review theory topics. Enthusiastic students might go so far as to write their own variation of the piece, which gives you an opportunity to improve their notation skills.
Requests are welcome!
I love writing these, especially when I know they get used. If you’d like me to write one for a piece you enjoy, let me know in the comments.