Over the course of my piano training, I have played a number of pieces from Shumann's Album for the Young. Of course, when I learning individual pieces from a large collection, I knew what they were from, but didn't think much of it. I've recently had a couple of students learning pieces from Album for the Young, and I got inspired. What if I learned the entire Album for the Young (at least the first 18) over the summer? They are relatively easy and good supplemental lesson songs for my students. And could possibly be the theme/music for next spring's recital.
So, I decided to tackle this project (in addition to my other practice because I can never do things easy :)). I printed off the first twelve pieces and got started. The things I have noticed are. First, these pieces feel really nice in my hands. They don't have a lot of stretching or jumping, but they are not boring. Second, when you play them in succession there are some themes and variations that come back. I mean, there are pieces that are similar, but different, and I love it. Phrases remind you of what you heard before, which I like and never would have noticed if I didn't start working through the collection in order. Third, there is a nice variety of calm legato pieces and more staccato pieces. Finally, it's a nice break from more challenging pieces. Since I don't already know all of them/haven't played the ones I did know in a long time, it does require focus and is new, but it's not draining and good to have something that I do have to work for but isn't as frustration inducing as pieces actually at my level.
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