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Category: Piano Solo
Type: Character Piece
Style: Contemporary Classical / Humorous Character Piece
Mood: Mischievous • Playful • Slightly Irritated • Quirky
Level: Intermediate
Instrumentation: Solo Piano
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: Moderato
BPM: ♩ = approx. 100–110
Duration: Approx. 2–3 minutes
Technical Focus: Hand independence, rhythmic clarity, articulation, character phrasing
Format: Digital PDF Download (Printable Sheet music)
 
About this Composition:
I Resent the Cat piano sheet music is an original contemporary piano solo by Justin James. This witty character piece blends subtle musical irony with playful rhythmic textures, making it ideal for intermediate pianists looking for expressive and humorous recital repertoire.
 
A Note from Justin:
The cat vomited a short while ago. Terrific. Nine lives? What is useful about life number one? It's not exactly productive. Even a cat o’ nine tails couldn't motivate this sedentary ball of fluff into an existence that counts. Not even the seventh son of the seventh litter in kitten terms could provide qualities suitable enough to be considered sustainable.
 
This is a story of a four legged, fluffy, feline. A short musical journey into the human/cat mirror and the search for common ground amidst some sort of recurring struggle for culinary satisfaction. The cat inhabits its own ecosystem. Debt based. Extracted from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. 24/7 stupidity, tempered with an ability to coil up and sleep anywhere. His habits are frowned upon. For example, licking the back of a cockroach, chasing a gecko under a mat or sniffing a patch of overgrown bacteria.
 
This composition, once done with the resent, explores the playful, connected and more genuine side of the feline narrative. And, my inability to process its "interesting" behaviour, prior to a morning coffee.
 
The right hand begins on a higher plane, peaceful, purring. Everything is right with the world. Oxytocin for all. A tiny undercurrent of resentment creeps into the left hand, but not for long. The harmonies develop with gravitas, playfulness and poise, centred around the melody.
 
A cat has the ability to lick its arse. How is this an advantage? Ultimately, a cat is a beautiful addition, despite it being a horrendous contraption. Eccentric, purposeless, walking here, there and back here again. Why? That lack is not our gain. While the cat licks its chops, post-feed, like an ungrateful child, we live in a 24-hour news cycle, things to do, people to meet, purchasing cat biscuits to sustain a freeloader offering nothing, with the possible exception of choking on its own fur, fresh vomit and demanding attention. 
 
This piece is around the intermediate level. Not to be taken seriously.
 
Ideal for: Studio recitals, character performance study, and students developing musical storytelling.
Technical Focus: Articulation contrast, rhythmic precision, tonal colour shifts.
Performance Use: A witty concert interlude that balances humour with controlled musical expression.