List of Compositions

• Lazy Lion

• The Pogo Stick

• The Tightrope Walker

• Elegant Alionus

• Sassy Seal

• Wonky Woodpecker

• Sino-Starlings

• Wonky Warbler

• Chuckling Chicken

• Sleepy Bear

• Run, Rover, Run!

• Jumbo's Lullaby

• Dreamy Dragon

• The Oranga-Thumb

• Cockatoo Carol

• Skating Sloth

• Squirming Worm

• Quiet Crocodile

• Yawning Alligator

• The Thumb Troll Tromp

• Lipizzaner Leaping

• Floating Flamingo

• Waltzing Wally Walrus

• Abominable Ape

• Teetering Toucan

• Teetering Trill

• Amorphous Amoeba

• Be My Valentine

• Happy Birthday

• Church Bell Changes

• The Bonging Bells of Big Ben

• Termite Temerity

• Stepping Stork

• Singing Stork

• Strolling Stork

• Sauntering Sandpiper

• Snapping Scale

• Stretching Spider

• Barmy Bunnies

• Slinky Snail

• Rotating Rattlesnake

• Kangaroo Chords

• Gyrating Jarret Waltz

• Forte Flying Fox

• Baby Flamingo

• Grownup Flamingo

• Mozart Monkey Business

• Playful Possums

• The Jackdaw Jackhammer

• Fox Fandango

• Swinging Song

• Time to Go

• "Five-Finger Overholding Exercise

• Farewell – Closing Recital

LEARN THE PIANIMALS PIECES BY WATCHING PERFORMANCES.

This page will feature video performances of all the Pianimals' compositions, once we actually create the recordings. Until then, try to create your own performances, and feel free to add variations as they occur to you!

VOLUME 1

SECTION I - Lying Down

LAZY LION

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The hand and arm float downward, yet somehow the finger manages to play using its flat underside.

THE POGO STICK

The Pogo Stick

Make your finger as stiff as a Pogo Stick and use it to bounce straight up and down on the keys.

THE TIGHTROPE WALKER

The Tightrope Walker

Dangle a completely limp finger from a relaxed arm and lower it till the fingertip brushes the key top.

ELEGANT ALIONUS

Elegant Alionus

Move your flexible arm lazily up and down in a wavy motion. On the descent, let the finger catch the key as if by chance.

SASSY SEAL

Sassy Seal

Glue all the fingers together to make your hand into a seal flipper. Lay the heel of the hand on the white keys and flop the flipper side to side to play the black keys. Keep the elbow loose.

WONKY WOODPECKER

Wonky Woodpecker

Lay the heel of your hand on the white keys. Bunch your fingers together to form a bird beak. Keep the beak tight as you peck the black keys rat-a-tat. Leave the elbow loose.

SINO-STARLINGS

Sino-Starlings

Lay the heel of your hand on the white keys. This time leave the fingers loose as they peck the black keys rat-a-tat-a-tat. Keep the elbow loose.

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WONKY WARBLER

Wonky Warbler

Lay the heel of the hand on the white keys and lightly tap the black keys. Remember the feeling of the bird beak without actually making it. Leave the elbow loose.

WONKY WARBLER - EXTENDED

Wonky Warbler – Extended

Proposed commentary on the video.

CHUCKLING CHICKEN

Chuckling Chicken

Lay the heel of the hand on the white keys, and peck a black key by flexing the finger vigorously, curling the tip tightly into the palm. Keep the elbow loose.

SLEEPY BEAR

Sleepy Bear

Lay your hand palm down, heel on the white keys, fingers on the black keys, and roll to the inside to flop your bear paw fingers onto some other black keys.

RUN, ROVER, RUN!

Run, Rover, Run!

Play this piece by laying your thumb on the white keys and playing the black keys by twitching your fingers the way a dreaming dog's legs twitch.

RUN, ROVER, RUN! - EXTENDED

Run, Rover, Run! – Extended

Play this piece by laying your thumb on the white keys and playing the black keys by twitching your fingers the way a dreaming dog's legs twitch.

JUMBO'S LULLABY

Jumbo's Lullaby

Lay your hand on the white keys. To play the notes, roll it even farther left and right than Sleepy Bear did. Jumbo can roll right over on his back!

DREAMY DRAGON

Dreamy Dragon

Lay the heel of your hand here and there on the white keys to help your fingers reach the black keys more easily. Curl your fingers or leave them straight, however you like, whichever feels most comfortable.

SECTION II - The Thumb

THE ORANGA-THUMB

The Oranga-Thumb

Make a fist and stick your thumb out as straight as a screwdriver shaft. Turn your hand over and poke the key vertically with that screwdriver thumb.

COCKATOO CAROL

Cockatoo Carol

Bunch your fingers into a bird beak. Slide the beak back and forth on the key to sound the note.

SKATING SLOTH

Skating Sloth

Slide the birdbeak fingers back and forth on the keys like a skater skating on the rink.

SQUIRMING WORM

Squirming Worm

Lay the entire underside of your finger in a white key, and slither it up the side of the black key like a worm, always maintaining complete contact between the underside of the finger and the key.

QUIET CROCODILE

Quiet Crocodile

Lay the entire thumb in a white key and the entire second finger in the adjacent black key. Keep them snug like the thin snout of a crocodile. Play the notes without opening the crocodile's snout at all, as if he were a ventriloquist.

YAWNING ALLIGATOR

Yawning Alligator

Lay the entire thumb in a white key and clamp the straight second finger's pad to the thumb pad, making a triangle. A crocodile's jaw is thin but an alligator's is fat. Raise the straight second finger sky high to make the alligator yawn.

THE THUMB TROLL TROMP

The Thumb Troll Tromp

Make the thumb straighter than straight. Turn the thumbnail towards you and poke the keys with it. Then stay standing on a key and raise the fingers sky high.

LIPIZZANER LEAPING

Lipizzaner Leaping

Stand the straight thumb on the key and "paw" the air with the fingers. The thumb is the horse's hind legs, the fingers the front legs. Let the thumb feel springy, but don't collapse it even when the fingers play notes that are far away.

SECTION III - Standing Up

FLOATING FLAMINGO

Floating Flamingo

Move your flexible arm lazily up and down in a wavy motion. On the ascent, let the finger catch the key as if by chance. Do this slowwwwwly.

WALTZING WALLY WALRUS

Waltzing Wally Walrus

Stand the hand up on the backs of the proximal phalanges. Walk around the keys as if your arms are two stilts.

ABOMINABLE APE

Abominable Ape

Stand the hand up on the backs of the proximal phalanges on a group of keys. Use these "hand stilts" to create a crescendo in one place of eight dynamic levels - and then decrescendo again.

TEETERING TOUCAN

Teetering Toucan

Glue the four flat fingers together and stand on the tip of the third finger. Teeter from side to side to play the adjacent notes.

TEETERING TRILL

Teetering Trill

Glue the four flat fingers together and stand on the tip of the third finger. Teeter from side to side Faster and faster to increase the speed of the trill. Eventually let the fingers unglue.

AMORPHOUS AMOEBA

Amorphous Amoeba

Destructurize the hand completely. Dangle the fingers above the keyboard and lower them until their structure gently collapses to sink deep in the keys.

BE MY VALENTINE

Be My Valentine

Play this piece with completely flat fingers, as if each finger only had one bone. Keep the wrist medium low.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday

Make a fist, and stick the thumb out straight. Turn the hand over and bong the piano keys with your thumbs to sound the notes like bells. Use lots of pedal to make the bells really clang.

CHURCH BELL CHANGES

Church Bell Changes

Bunch the hand into a solid bell clapper and bounce The thumb tip or fingertip off the key. Don't do this heavily; don't hurt the piano! Make a light but strong bouncing action.

THE BONGING BELLS OF BIG BEN

The Bonging Bells of Big Ben

Make the fist into a bonging bell clapper. Raise the arms really high in between each note as you alternate the hands.

VOLUME 2

SECTION IV - From Walking to Running

TERMITE TEMERITY

Termite Temerity

Grab the key edge between thumb tip and fingertip to wiggle the keys and sound this composition.

STEPPING STORK

Stepping Stork

Stand the hand on your thumb, and raise your fifth finger sky high before swinging it down to play the melody notes. Alternately stand on the straight fifth finger, and lift the thumb up high before swinging it down to play the melody notes.

SINGING STORK

Singing Stork

Stand the hand on your thumb, and raise your fifth finger sky high before swinging it down to play the melody notes. Alternately stand on the straight fifth finger, and lift the thumb up high before swinging it down to play the melody notes.

STROLLING STORK

Strolling Stork

Stand on the thumb; raise the fifth, and swing it down to stand on its note. Now raise the thumb, and swing it down to stand on its note. Continue to alternate.

SAUNTERING SANDPIPER

Sauntering Sandpiper

Make a completely firm arch shape between the thumb and the fifth finger. Rock back and forth between them to play this melody. Keep the hand totally solid.

SNAPPING SCALE

Snapping Scale

Play a two-note group as quickly as possible and snap the thumb pad to the finger pad to stand on the last note of the group. Do the same for the three-note and four-note groups. Make sure the sound is as crisp as is absolutely possible.

STRETCHING SPIDER

Stretching Spider

Stand on the thumb, and as you stretch your finger out to a note far away, do not let the arch collapse.

SECTION V - From Running to Rotating

BARMY BUNNIES

Barmy Bunnies

Whip the arm up so quickly, as you play this lightning-fast group of notes, that it seems like the fingers have hardly any work to do. Notice that the sound is incredibly even as well as being incredibly fast.

SLINKY SNAIL

Slinky Snail

This is the reverse of Amorphous Amoeba. Begin with the hand arch collapsed, and inflate it to play the arpeggiando chord.

ROTATING RATTLESNAKE

Rotating Rattlesnake

Stand on the thumb and lift the fifth finger high in the air. Wiggle it before you swing it down to play its note. Then do the same in reverse. Stand on the 5th, lift the thumb high, wiggle it, then swing it down to play.

SECTION VI - Hopping & Leaping

KANGAROO CHORDS

Kangaroo Chords

Exercise by collapsing The hand arch, then growing it to full height while staying in the notes of the chord . Finally grow it so quickly that the hand leaps up into the air.

GYRATING JARRETT WALTZ

Gyrating Jarret Waltz

Stand the finger up suddenly on each note you play, without hopping off the key.

FORTE FLYING FOX

Forte Flying Fox

Stand the hand up on the notes marked ⋀, and leap up on the notes marked >. Never round the wrist: keep it level or flip the hand back instead.

BABY FLAMINGO

Baby Flamingo

Stand the thumb and fifth on a medium-wide interval, and wiggle the middle of the hand to play the middle notes. Rotate the hand in a pronation-supination movement.

GROWNUP FLAMINGO

Grownup Flamingo

Play a rather large interval with your thumb and fifth, then rotate your forearm to wiggle your hand, supinating it and pronating it. Make it ropey without letting it collapse completely.

MOZART MONKEY BUSINESS

Mozart Monkey Business

Play this piece with your fingers pretty straight. Dance the hand on the keys, keeping the wrist neutral - not too high, not too low.

SECTION VII - Return to the Fingertip

PLAYFUL POSSUMS

Playful Possums

Curl the fingertip and hang the entire hand lower than the keys, like an opossum. Almost touch your elbow to the floor!

THE JACKDAW JACKHAMMER

The Jackdaw Jackhammer

Lay the entire forearm sideways on the keys and play this piece by curling the fingertip a little more or a little less.

SECTION VIII - The Whole Body

FOX FANDANGO

Fox Fandango

Rock the pelvis forward and back to slide the fingers forward and back on the keys in the rhythm of this fandango. First move pelvis and hands in the same direction; later on move them in opposite directions.

SWINGING SONG

Swinging Song

Rock your pelvis side to side, bending your body the other way. Move the hands with the pelvis to play the notes, but move the head with the body to maintain balance.

TIME TO GO

Time to Go

Make each finger into a pogo stick as it plays its note to bounce on the key and make the piano sing with real gusto.

FIVE-FINGER OVERHOLDING EXERCISE

Five-Finger Overholding Exercise

Hold each successive key down until all of the notes are held down. Begin with a low-lying thumb and then grow the hand shape through the four finger notes.

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