Interview, Andrew Eales on Naoko Ikeda: The Graded Collection

Japanese composer Naoko Ikeda has composed many appealing piano works, introducing the world to the essence of Japan through music. Expert piano educator Andrew Eales recently edited a selection of Ikeda's compositions for pianists at grade 2-5 levels. Andrew answers some questions about the new collection, his Graded Gillock series, and the popular book How to Practise Music. Read the full interview below.

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I first wanted to ask you about your new publication, Naoko Ikeda: The Graded Collection. What attracted you to Naoko’s compositions, and what led to your decision to publish the collection?

Thanks for asking! Naoko’s music is actually a fairly recent discovery for me. On my website Pianodao.com I regularly review new sheet music for piano, and just last year her collection Aya dropped onto my desk as a possible title to consider. The book itself is beautifully presented and although I hadn’t heard of the composer at that point, I was certainly intrigued. When I played through the various pieces in the collection, I knew right away that Naoko’s music is something special. So purely for my own use, I purchased several of her previous collections, and began teaching her music.

At that time, I was working on the Graded Gillock series for the Willis Music Company, who are also Naoko’s worldwide publishers. They liked what I did with the Gillock series, got wind of my interest in Naoko’s music, so the whole project very quickly fell into place and I was given a chance to shape how the new collection would develop. Willis Music sent over all the music that I hadn’t already acquired, and my search for her best work began in earnest!

Can you tell me more about Naoko: her influences, her style, and what pianists can expect from the compositions in the book?

One of the things I love about Naoko’s music is that it encompasses such a broad range of influences, from popular, jazz and classical genres. And yet she infuses all her music with a unique personality that is steeped in Japanese culture.

One of my students said to me that her mum noticed all the pieces are about flowers and rain, which is about right! But there’s something very natural, timeless, and universal about that. So Naoko’s music has picturesque qualities, with a wonderful cultural flavour that will be new to many players, and when selecting the pieces for Naoko Ikeda: The Graded Collection, I was keen to showcase the pieces which are most distinctive.

At the same time, of course, I wanted to highlight the range of her music, making sure there is plenty of music to appeal to all players. There are several jazzy and character pieces alongside those which are more overtly Japanese in their flavour.

Naoko cites William Gillock as her biggest influence, and I can see that quite clearly in her music, even down to her composition of several pieces in the Viennese waltz style he enjoyed so often. I made sure to include one of those in my selection here. Those familiar with Gillock’s music will know that he was a true master of taking different styles, making them his own, and turning out pieces which are rich in educational content as well as incredibly appealing and fun to play. And that’s exactly what you can expect from Naoko’s music too!

What is your favourite piece in the collection and why?

Always a difficult question! A real strength of this collection is that there are no weak pieces. When I was selecting, I would rate each piece as a “yes, maybe, or no”, and once I had been through all Naoko’s work there were more than enough “yes” pieces to make at least two collections! The good thing is that there are no duds in the mix.

And this is a collection which will last many players for a few years, across the whole of their intermediate development at the piano. So, the collection can be likened to Schumann’s Album for the Young, Bartók’s For Children, or Burgmüller’s Op.100. Teachers and learners only buy so many books, so in a sense the collection is competing with those classics.

I think it actually stands up very well on those terms, which is amazing really. Like those books, which I have enjoyed using for so many years, Naoko Ikeda: The Graded Collection will now have a regular place in my teaching work, and I have no doubt these pieces will be appearing in exam rooms, teaching studios and recital programmes for a long time to come!

On a purely personal note, I would mention Soft Rain, which has a special place in my heart. When I first came to this piece, I had already spent an afternoon playing through, grading, and rating several collections of Naoko’s music. I was tired and about to stop work for the day, but Soft Rain completely gripped me. It was the quickest and most definite “yes” throughout the process, and it has remained one of the pieces which have been constant earworms throughout my exploration of Naoko’s work. I have made a recording of Soft Rain, and several other pieces from Naoko Ikeda: The Graded Collection, which is freely available to listen to on my website and on SoundCloud.

How challenging was it to split the pieces up into the graded system? Which aspects decided the outcome of the grading?

That’s a really good question! With the Graded Gillock series, I was able to start out by identifying all the pieces previously selected by exam boards, but Naoko’s music is relatively unknown here in the UK. The only piece previously used in the grades is Moonlight Rose, currently in the RSL Classical Grade 4 lists, which I have included even though I consider it quite challenging for the Grade 4 player.

And more generally, I wanted to err on the side of the pieces being easy, accessible, and consolidating for players at each level, with no “roadblock” pieces to undermine confidence and enjoyment. Within those parameters, I looked at the musical techniques, creative content and artistic expectations of each piece, matching them to similar repertoire on the current and recent syllabus lists of all the main boards.

One thing I have ignored in this process is the length of pieces. When repertoire is selected for the exam room this tends to be an important consideration because of strict time limits, and potentially that can exclude some great pieces from the learner’s development. I’ve included pieces which would be too long to appear in an ABRSM exam book.

That said, any of these pieces could be used in a Performance Grade video recording, and would make highly attractive, compelling additions to any programme! I have no doubt that examiners are going to really enjoy discovering these lovely pieces!

Your series The Graded Gillock is a helpfully organised collection of pieces from grades 1-6. How did this series come about, and what do you particularly enjoy or appreciate about the composers’ work?

I discovered William Gillock’s music early in my teaching career back in the 1990’s, and straight away it was obvious to me that students absolutely loved learning and playing his pieces. A fair few have appeared in exam lists over the years and have always proved to be the runaway favourites. Add to that the fact that Gillock was a master educator whose music is full of what I call “pedagogic wins”, and it becomes obvious that his music is a very special resource for piano educators.

The idea for the graded collections came from the publishers a couple of years ago, at which point I was already working with Hal Leonard on my book How to Practise Music and had started work on another series of yet-to-be-published anthologies. Gillock’s best pieces are spread across literally dozens of publications, and many remain unknown largely because of that. There was a strong rationale for bringing those pieces together in affordable, graded collections, and I was thrilled to be invited to work on the project. The books also include some playing and teaching tips, specially written by me for these collections.

The Graded Gillock proved to be a fantastic diversion, and one which has quickly caught peoples’ attention. Gillock’s music is such a brilliant resource, and it’s great that these three books are already becoming huge favourites with teachers and learners all over the place, adding rocket fuel to progress!

How to Practise Music is a fantastic resource to aid musicians in their practise. What did you learn in the process of making the book, and what is the one key piece of advice you would give if you had to choose?

Thanks! When I was approached with the idea for this book, I have to admit I initially wondered whether I was the person for the job. I wasn’t sure whether I had addressed the topic of practice on my own site, Pianodao, so I did a search. It turned out that I had written a fair bit, but without framing it as “practice”. And that thought informed the whole book. We perhaps need to rethink our whole vocabulary and concept of practice, because it should be enjoyable, it should be creative, it should be fun, it should be the highlight of our musical journey!

And there it is – the one point I would highlight. Practice should be “play”, just like the child building with lego bricks or digging sandcastles. Truly absorbing. And when we reach this point of being completely absorbed, the best stuff happens!

Practice is a vast topic; I learnt loads when researching How to Practise Music and there are some great books about it. My little book doesn’t attempt to replace any of those, it’s more a handy book of tips that offers a comprehensive introduction to the many topics that make up the big picture of what practice is, and how we can best approach it and benefit as musicians.

Even though I studied that the Royal College of Music back in the day, and have subsequently taught for three decades, there’s still plenty to learn about practice. I learnt loads from my research, and writing the book has been a great opportunity to crystalise my own thoughts, experiences and expectations about what practice is, and how to get the most from it.

What are you planning next? Anything else with Naoko or Gillock, or something new?

I think with these collections we have some great resources to bring Gillock and Naoko Ikeda’s music to a wider audience in the UK, but there’s always scope for the future! Naoko remains busy as a composer, and has also produced a significant duet repertoire, so who knows?

I have another series of anthologies for Hal Leonard which have been taking shape in the background for the last two years, and which I hope will appear before 2023 is done. Those collections will deliver a core musical repertoire for elementary and intermediate players. William Gillock and Naoko Ikeda will feature there alongside many others!

Some readers will recognise my name from the piece Fresh Air, a composition of mine which is presently in the ABRSM Grade 1 book. And there are more compositions coming to print soon, as well as a whole bunch of other writing ideas presentably taking shape. It’s all very exciting!

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