Piano Piece

7/29/2019 Piano Piece

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ISBN 0-15-323172-6

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 026 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01



ChaptersAdam’s Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

A Bad Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

A New Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

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2

Adam’s Problem

“Adam! Mr. Peters is on the phone,” Mom

called. Adam stopped playing basketball. He

knew why Mr. Peters was calling. The concert

was only three weeks away. Adam still had to

pick something to play.

Adam didn’t want to play anything. He

had a terrible time at the last concert.Adam was playing from memory, and

forgot what he had to play. He played the

same melody over and over. Finally, he gave

up. He bowed and got off the stage—fast.



3

Adam never wanted to perform again.

“Adam? Oh, there you are! Just roaming

around?” Mom said. She came out into

the backyard.

“Is Mr. Peters still on the phone?” Adam

asked.

“No, he’s not. He wants you to call him

back later. He needs to know what you want

to play,” said Mom.

Adam hung his head and shrugged. He

didn’t care.



4

Mom mussed his hair. “Look, I know you’re

still upset,” she said. “The way to get over it is

to play again.”

“Yeah, Horowitz,” said another voice.

“Time to face the music.”

It was Adam’s older brother, Gary. Gary

teased Adam by calling him “Horowitz.” The

real Horowitz was famous for his playing.

He was also famous for his stage fright.

“Easy for you to say,” said Adam. “You

never mess up.”



5

It was true. Gary was three years olderthan Adam. He also played the piano. Adam

was shy, though. Gary loved playing for

people. He never forgot his music.

Gary was just coming home from soccer

practice. His team had a game on the

weekend.

“So, Horowitz, what are you going to play?

I’m going to play Mozart,” Gary said.

“I don’t know,” Adam mumbled. “Can’t I

skip this one, Mom?”

“Why don’t you think it over first?”



6

Mom said. “After you do, you ought to

call Mr. Peters.”

Mom went back into the house. Gary and

Adam played a little basketball. “I heard you

practicing yesterday,” Gary said. “You know

that Copland piece really well.”

Adam said, “I know I know it. I’ve played it

billions of times. I just get nervous on stage.

Even the piano starts to look strange. It’s

different when I play at home.”

“Pretend that you are home!” Gary said.

“That’s all I do. Take a deep breath. Have fun

with the music.”

“I can’t,” Adam mumbled.



7

“Well, I can suggest one other thing,” Gary

said. “Make sure you know the music cold.

Hey look, Dad’s home! I hope that means

we eat soon!” With that, Gary ran off.

Adam followed a little more slowly.

“Maybe Gary’s right,” he thought. “I just

need to practice more.”



8

A Bad Fall

Later that night, Adam lay awake in bed.

He had called Mr. Peters. He said he would

play the Aaron Copland piece. Adam didn’t

feel good about the concert, though. He felt

very nervous.

“Adam? You still awake?” Dad asked from

the doorway.“Yeah, Dad,” Adam answered.

“I hear you’re worried about the concert,”

Dad said. “You know, Adam, your mom and

I love music. We want you boys to love it,

too. We won’t make you play if you

’re not

enjoying it, though.”



9

Adam sat up. “Oh, I like music, Dad. I like

to play. I just don’t like playing for—”

Suddenly, there was a call from Mom.

“Jim!” Mom shouted. “Jim, come down!

Gary’

s had a fall!”

Both Dad and Adam came hurrying down.

Gary was sitting on the basement stairs. He

had a cut on his forehead. He was holding his

right wrist.

“

What happened?”

Dad asked.“I was coming up from the basement,”



10

Gary said. “I tripped on the stairs. I’m OK, but

I fell on my wrist.”

Mom, Dad, and Adam got Gary to the

doctor. He was not badly hurt. His wrist was

sprained, though. He would have to rest it for

a while.

Everyone was quiet going home. “No

soccer games for me,” Gary said. “I guess I’m

out of the concert, too.”

Adam felt terrible. He wished he could

help.



11

A New Plan

Two days later, Adam had an idea. “Hey,

Gary!” he yelled when he saw his brother. “I

know how you can be in the concert.”

“How do you figure that? I can’t sing or

dance,” Gary said. “I don’t know any poetry

to recite.”

“

No. We can play a duet!”

said Adam.“

Youcan play left hand. I’ll play right hand. Just

pick something we both know!”

Gary thought for a minute. “That’s not a

bad idea, Horowitz,” he said. “What made

you think of that?”



12

“Some kids were playing handball in the

gym,” Adam said. “Two of them took turns

hitting the ball. We could do the same kind

of thing.”

“Wait a minute. I thought you wanted

out,” Gary said. “Do you want to play?”

“Sure. This way I’ll have company,” Adam

said. He felt a big weight leave his shoulders.

“We can play with our music, since it’s a duet.

We don’t have to memorize anything!”



Right away, the brothers started practicing

the piano. It was tricky at first. They had to

get used to sitting together. They had to

listen carefully to each other. Sometimes Gary

played too fast. Adam could not keep up. At

other times Adam played too loudly. The two

parts were not equal. Adam made a list of

things to practice.

13



14

Little by little, it started to come together.It sounded better and better every day. Adam

started to prefer playing with a partner.

Sometimes he forgot about everything else

around him.



15

Finally, the day of the concert arrived. The

hall was filled with parents, kids, and friends.

Mom and Dad were there, too.

Adam still felt a little nervous. Gary still

teased him. “Remember, Horowitz,” he said,

“you’re playing right hand. You’ll be closer to

the audience than me.”



16

Mr. Peters told the audience about theprogram change. He told how Gary had hurt

his wrist. Adam walked out first, followed by

Gary. The boys bowed. They took their places

at the keyboard.

Gary leaned over and said, “Remember,Adam. Take a deep breath. Don’t forget to

listen. Have fun with the music.”

They put their hands on the keys. As they

had practiced, Gary made a nod. They started

to play.



1 What did the title tell you about the story?2 What is the suffix in the following words:

slowly , loudly , carefully ?3 What do you think is the main idea of this

story?4 What did you learn about piano playing from

reading this story?5 How were Gary and Adam alike? How were

they different?6 Are you more like Adam, or Gary? Explain

your answer.

Performing Write a paragraph about a

time you had to perform in front of an

audience. Were you nervous? How did you

prepare for the performance? How did it go?

Think and Respond

School-Home Connection Put on a

performance for your family. You can sing a

song, recite a poem, read aloud, or play a

musical instrument. Later, talk about how

you felt.

Piano Piece

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