Haha ... no, the cat did not really compose anything! My cat, Oscar, couldn't care less about this piece, because cats are like that!
Anyway, this piece is a mix of light jazzy 'throwaway' tune and some 'cat interruptions' on the keyboard.
It came from an idea my daughter had lying in bed one morning. She imagined playing a light jazzy number, then the cat interrupting by plonking around the keyboard.
At first I didn't think I'd get around to writing anything, but when I sat down at the piano, the jazzy melody came to me almost immediately, and I realised that it was going to happen.
Have a listen to it on YouTube if you haven't already.
Click here for the video - https://youtu.be/mfnSwB9D3RA
Naming the piece was challenging, as usual, as it's hard to avoid the obvious 'Kitten/Cat on the Keys'. But the final title had a good ring to it, with both words starting with the same letter, similar to my 'Tambo Tango' and 'Wandering Waltz'.
Some other ideas were: 'Cat Attack', 'Oscar's Overture', 'Keyboard Kontender', 'Oscar's Tune'. Or even 'Skat Cat' which wasn't chosen for various reasons!!
Well if you are interested in learning more about the piece, here goes:
It starts with the entire main theme played in F# Pentatonic (Major)
Then the cat comes in walking up the keyboard on white note seconds (C and D)
then walks back down the keyboard on blacks and whites.
then I attempt to start playing the theme again in the F# key
but break out into a G augmented arpeggio up the keyboard to start the theme again in C Major
some trivia - the augmented G arpeggio is an obscure connection with Billy Joel's song 'Zanzibar'.
the theme is then played twice - there's only one theme by the way!
then the cat comes back, walking up on black note seconds (C# and D#)
then a quick flourish to end.
I hope you enjoy this piece, or get to learn it. It is approximately grade 3 Australian examination level.
You can purchase the sheet music at:
P.S. No cats, or piano, were harmed in the making of this blog!