The Misplaced Trooper

The Misplaced Trooper Description:

• Level: Late Intermediate, Early Advanced
• Mood: Dark, Playful
• Pages: 5 pages, 3 pages of music, cover included
• Format: Instant PDF download
• Studio Licence Bonus: Cover art, composer notes with mastery tips and “make it your own” suggestions
• Collections: May The Fourth

“The Misplaced Trooper” is a late intermediate to early advanced piece composed almost entirely of minor chords that range from dark to playful.  Between the rhythms and 7th through 13th chords, this piece is meant to feel a bit off for a march.  Yet when marching to the music, it works!  It was inspired by the idea “What happens when you turn a march on its head rhythmically?”

The Misplaced Trooper Level:

“The Misplaced Trooper” is a late intermediate to early advanced piano solo in 4/4 time.  The initial chords keep the mode a bit ambiguous (much like its inspiration).  While the piece has a dark mood overall, there are moments of lightness and fluidity with the march.  This piece spans over four octaves of the piano to create these moods.

• Mode: F minor (key signature)
• Time Signature: 4/4
• Concepts: 7th through 13th chords, cross-rhythms (2 over 3), ledger lines (up 4), walking bass (octaves, chord bridges), 32nd notes, left hand over right-hand pattern, triplets (accompaniment, both hand together), accidentals in chords

The chord progression was inspired by a variation John Williams has used to create a foreboding, menacing mood and relies somewhat on borrowed chords.  This means over 50% of the measures have accidentals in addition to the key signature and lend to the overall menace of the march. 

Another inspiration for this piece came from “Celebration” by Anne Crosby Gaudet (fellow Canadian).  She used atypical rhythm accents which inspired the rhythmic approach in this piece.

The smallest note is barred thirty-second notes.  These mini scales help your students’ fingers fly over the keys while keeping the drama.

The 4/4 time signature for a march could have been straightforward.  Most of the rhythms create a juxtaposition between the dark march and the playfulness of the trooper.  The cross-rhythms section lightens up an otherwise dark piece.

Chords (ranging from 7th through 13th) create many of the moods within this piece.  These range from sparse chord bridges with octave accompaniment to lush, full 4-note chords in the right hand and triplet chord inversions.  The cross rhythms section in particular is chord-intensive to create a lighter mood.

The Misplaced Trooper Bonus:

All sheet music comes with original cover art.  “The Misplaced Trooper” comes with tips for your students to master the piece.

More About “May The Fourth” Collection:

“The Misplaced Trooper” is part of the “May The Fourth” collection that pays homage to a classic movie saga in a galaxy far, far away.  Your late intermediate to early advanced piano students will love the different takes on various moments or places from the saga.

All piano solos in this collection are at a late intermediate through early advanced level.  Each piece includes 7th and 9th chords (and sometimes beyond) plus sections with cross-rhythms.

• Time To Go: Be transported to the end of the night at a famous cantina!  This smooth jazz piece explores lush chords and interesting rhythms in 6/8 time.
• Looking Up From the Forest Moon: Look up through the canopy of redwoods to the stars beyond on this famous forest moon.  This piece explores the vulnerable, introspective side of life in 5/4 time.
• The Misplaced Trooper: Perhaps this trooper didn’t want to originally join, but this oddball march has a dark, yet sometimes playful mood.  This piece is almost entirely composed of minor chords and spans over 4 octaves on the piano.
• Trek Across the Desert Planet: Country swing creates a laid-back feel as you travel across the (original) desert planet. Tranquil, mysterious, and bold, this piano solo in 6/4 time explores different rhythm groupings and quartal chords in G minor.