The Clearing of the Clouds begins in a minor key and moves to a major key in measure 9. The change from minor to major is very similar to clouds clearing after a storm. Minor keys in music are often associated with words like "dark and sad," while major keys are associated with words like "bright and happy."

Helpful Suggestions

Sound: This piece has a range of low G to D. You can find the fingerings here. The piece is marked mezzo piano and then mezzo forte, so play the first half of the piece medium soft and the second half medium loud.

Rhythm: Your time signature is three-four time, which means that there are three beats in a measure and the quarter note is equal to one beat. Play along with MetronomeBot's talking metronome in triple meter to help yourself maintain a steady tempo and play accurate note values.
The piece includes note values of quarter notes and dotted half notes.

Melody: The Clearing of the Clouds consists of 4, four-measure phrases. All the notes should be tongued.

Harmony: This song begins in the key of G minor and moves to G major in measure 9. There is one flat in the key signature, so play B flat for the first half of the piece. In the second half of the piece, the B flats are all replaced with natural signs, so play B natural.
(Technically, the key signature for G minor has two flats, but we haven't gotten that far, yet.)

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