Lead Yourself To Music: Bach. (Keyboard).

Lead Yourself To Music: Bach, by Susan Cheung. Futurific Music, (2299 Dundas St. W., Ste. 302, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6R 1X7), 2001. 11 pp., $3.95. Intermediate.

As a child, I loved playing my big-note arrangement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. As a teacher, however, I have mixed feelings about the practice of dumbing down the classics even for pedagogical purposes. Some teachers intentionally teach easy arrangements of masterworks in order to introduce important works to students. Others shun such practices, standing firmly on the conviction that there is enough literature of all levels without resorting to diluted arrangements of dearly loved music. Teachers of integrity and conscience will continue to wrestle with this issue.

The author of this collection, Susan Cheung, clearly stands on the side of those who believe in the value of arranging great music with the purpose of introducing students to major themes and composers. This collection consists of eight arrangements of Bach works such as Italian Concerto, Largo from the F-minor Concerto, Wachet Auf and Sheep May Safely Graze.

The music is clearly printed with a beginning student in mind: The notes are nearly big-note version in size; the music is predominately in two voices, and the arrangements range in length from four to 'twenty-two measures. Therein lies the first problem. While the arrangements are tastefully done, they are so short as to be jolting to the ear. For the first several measures the listener hums along undisturbed by the simplified version; the rhythms are authentic and the harmonies (simplified though they may be) are correct. But due to the brevity of the arrangements, within a few bars the music takes a sharp and often abrupt turn to the final cadence in ways that are disruptive to a listener or a pianist familiar with the original themes.

Assuming this collection is written with a ...