Model T
Janet and Alan Bullard
Timeline
Janet Bullard (born 1957) and Alan Bullard (born 1947)
- Alan Bullard was born in London and studied with the composer Herbert Howells at the Royal College of Music
- He then studied at Nottingham University
- After teaching in London then moved to Colchester where he married singer and piano teacher Janet in 1981 and taught at the Colchester Institute.
Style
Alan Bullard has written for almost every instrument and his music is widely performed, broadcast and recorded. Husband and wife partnership Alan and Jan Bullard are co-authors of the Pianoworks series of piano tutors and music books.
The Ford Model T was the first mass-produced motor car and was first manufactured in 1908 in the USA. Because it was cheaper to produce, this car was much more affordable to many more people.
Model T is written in a CONTEMPORARY style with a strong jazz influence.
Interpretation
- The dotted rhythms need to be kept quite crisp but with not too much of a lazy swing to capture the jazzy style of this piece. Make sure the crotchet rests are really silent too with the accents punching through clearly:
- Think of the right hand chords in bars 9 – 15 like the car horn. Make the most of the dynamic contrasts in the left hand here too:
- Notice the big diminuendo in bar 16 down to piano with slurred jazzy scales in the left hand, and then the crescendo all the way up to the forte in bar 22:
- Near the end at bar 23 there is a pair of crunchy discordant chords in the left hand – like two really loud car horns. These really need to stand out as they are fortissimo and played with strong accents. The fortissimo playing needs to continue to the end with a big heavy chord in the bass at the end:
