May Free Sheet Music: SPRING from Vivaldi's Four Seasons plus Boogie #2
- Gaili Schoen
- Apr 29
- 5 min read
Updated: May 4
I'm going to be very nerdy and admit to you that one of my favorite movies of all times was Alan Alda's 1981 feature film, The Four Seasons, starring Alda, Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno and others. It's about 3 longtime best couple-friends whose relationships fracture when one of them, Nick, leaves his wife Anne for a beautiful, much younger woman. I love how we see the couples talking out their feelings with each other, how their friendships are so precious to them that they travel together every season, and I love that Alda uses Vivaldi's Four Seasons to underscore many of the scenes. This is some of my very favorite music, and it works SO well in the score! When my children went away to college I watched the Parents' Weekend portion of The Four Seasons (Autumn), looking forward (minus the drama between the ex-es) to having that fun experience for myself. And the Summer portion made me want to rent a sail boat! I didn't actually rent one, but our family did take a 4-day schooner trip in Maine. Our kids got to come free in exchange for my husband and I playing Sea Shanties on board. That was super fun in spite of our sea-sickness! See, I really am a nerd about this movie 🤣🤣🤣
So the exciting news for The Four Seasons geeks like me is that there is going to be a new The Four Seasons series on Netflix starting May 1st! It stars Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, Colman Domingo and others, and seems to have much the same premise as the original, with a few fun updates. The trailers feature Vivaldi's Spring, so I am hoping that his music will be featured in the actual series as well. To celebrate, I have re-arranged the main Allegro theme from Vivaldi's Spring for intermediate piano. As you may know, I presented an easy Spring theme in my Upper Hands Piano: BOOK 1 (p.63) as well as a late beginner arrangement in my Song of the Seasons: SPRING book (p.4) Today I am giving away an intermediate Spring arrangement, in the original key of E, with more of the theme. Even if you don't care to watch the series, I hope you will enjoy this expanded arrangement of Vivaldi's celebratory Spring! Remember my free sheet music is only available for 1 year, so print today!
Here is my slow demonstration video:
For those of you who played my Boogie #1 last month and are ready to go to the next Boogie, here is the sheet music for Boogie #2:
And my demonstration:
Boogie #2 has you playing 2 right hand eighth notes per measure in swing rhythm to go along with the left hand swing eighth notes. When you first try it, it will probably feel difficult and maybe even impossible! But as you already know, you will get it, as you keep practicing with your hands together s.l.o.w.l.y.... Don't rush it! Slow and steady wins the woogie!
Once you feel comfortable playing Boogie #2, try playing Boogie #1 and #2 one after another without stopping or hesitating in between. That's going to be really fun! But for now, be patient with the process, and try to practice your boogies every day, for even 5 or 10 minutes. You will see the greatest progress if you play at least a bit each day, when you are able.
As you might know, I have written a series of piano instruction books for adults over 50, called Upper Hands Piano: A Method for Adults 50+ to Spark the Mind, Heart and Soul. I hope you might consider purchasing them for yourself, or a loved one or friend. My Upper Hands Piano books teach A LOT about chords, which is really important because the piano is a chordal instrument! The books I used as a kid didn't teach chords, isn't that crazy?! I endeavor to make learning to play the piano as fun and easy as possible in my Upper Hands Piano series. And I have recorded page by page videos to go along with BOOK 1 on an online magazine platform called Sixty and Me. I virtually hold your hand through each page of my first book, so that you can learn to play the piano at your own pace in your own home, for free! (You only have to buy the book :) I hope you beginners will check it out.
I also have four Songs of the Seasons books ⬅️ for the late beginner featuring seasonal songs and pieces, plus my MusicRemedy books ➡️ for late intermediate / early advanced pianists. You can learn more about my books on my website.
Thanks so much for reading my blog today. I really enjoy arranging music for you, and I just love writing these blog posts. There is something so satisfying about sending free sheet music along with a few thoughts and practice tips to hundreds of you lovely piano players. I wonder if you will play the piece I send out; will you like the arrangement? Will you enjoy practicing it? Will you play it for others? I wish I knew each one of you. If you are willing, I would love it if you left a comment below this post. Make my day by telling us a little about yourself, or what you are playing, or commenting about this post.... And remember I'm happy to answer questions if you post them in the comments below.
Happy May Day! 💚💙💜🧡💛 See you again soon. With love and music, Gaili
Addendum!
My daughter and I watched all 8 episodes of The Four Seasons 2025. Predictably I didn't think the episodes were anywhere near as good as Alan Alda's original 1981 film. Other than Colman Domingo who plays Danny, I didn't think the actors were nearly as great. The episodes were more plot driven than character driven, and as a voracious reader I always prefer a character driven story. However I still enjoyed the episodes and most importantly, the 2025 episodes used themes from all of Vivaldi's Four Seasons! There was much more of Vivaldi's piece in the episodes than in the original. And that means a new generation of television viewers are getting exposed to Vivaldi's music. Perhaps that will inspire them to listen to more Vivaldi, and more Baroque and Classical music generally. This is a VERY good thing! Some viewers might find some of The Four Seasons 2025 scenes objectionable but these updates of inclusion keep younger viewers engaged and these younger viewers will determine the fate of orchestras and classical music in the future! So I think The Four Seasons 2025 is a win. Let me know what you think!
As an aside, the Netflix documentary series Chef's Table: Legends (I am loving the episode with Alice Waters, one of my most cherished heroes) also uses Vivaldi's Four Seasons for its title music. How wonderful to see that this beautiful piece keeps popping up on the screen! So great to see popular culture keeping Baroque and Classical music alive and relevant!
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