This is the final piece in the Interludes for piano – a series of works devised for my music theory teaching. The last movement contains one of my earliest ideas – during the B section. Somewhere in my old files is a bunch of scherzo sketches that never amounted to a work. The B section in this piece uses exactly one of those concepts from the scherzo sketches. It is something I have always liked and it fit this particular piece very well, even as an old idea and super secret introduction to the octatonic scale.
And here is where I admit that I didn’t know what the octatonic scale was until much after I had invented this idea. Or perhaps I didn’t pay enough attention to my theory classes as an undergrad but absorbed particular ideas. It does’t matter. It fits the piece and if you want my original idea, pull an 8′ and 2′ flute, play the beginning of the B section quickly, and you’ll hear my original plan.
Always write down every musical thought. Every idea can have a place: discard or future use. This piece is an excellent example. Download here! Here’s me performing the work: