Beginning Piano

Textbook: Step by Step Book 1
Play It! Classical Music: A Superfast Way to Learn Awesome Music on Your Piano or Keyboard
Play It! Children’s Songs: A Superfast Way to Learn Awesome Songs on Your Piano or Keyboard

Materials: Travel Piano: 61 key Vevor, black or white. Please do not get the larger one.

Supply Fee: $35 per year Please make checks payable to OKHSA

Length: 1 hour Class

Class Description: Weekly Lesson Objectives for First Semester:

Unit  1:
• Familiarity with the black and white keyboard landscape.
• Aural discrimination of high and low sounds as well as loud and quiet.
• Music term “Piano” means quiet or soft.
• Quarter note, half note and the beat values of these symbols in common time.
• Keeping the beat with rhythm instruments and on the piano.
• Distinguishing left and right hands.
• Finger numbers for playing keyboard.
• Introduction to basic songs.
• Introduction to pre-Staff note reading by patterns.

Unit 2: 
• Play pre-Staff note patterns on the keyboard.
• Review all concepts from Unit 1.
• Introduce characters for C, D, and E and their location on the keyboard.
• Play simple songs with these notes.
• Aural discrimination of high, middle and low sounds.
• Music terms “Piano” and “Forte.”
• Identify simple rhythms.
• Introduction to two Solfege terms.

Unit 3:
• Clap back simple rhythms.
• Review all previous concepts.
• Add characters for F and G and their location on the keyboard.
• Play simple songs with these notes.
• Eighth notes and their beat value in common time.
• Addition to Solfege terms.
• Proper hand and finger position at the piano.
• Addition to pre-Staff note patterns and playing them on the keyboard.
• Identify pre-Staff note patterns by ear.

Unit 4:
• Review all concepts.
• Add characters for A and B and their location on the keyboard.
• Play simple songs with these and other notes.
• Whole notes and the quarter rest with beat value in common time.
• Addition to dynamic terminology.
• Proper hand position and fingering for the music scale.
• Addition to pre-staff note patterns, playing these patterns on the keyboard and identifying them by ear.
• Introduction of staff reading using patterns.
• Identify line and space notes.

Unit 5:
• Review all concepts.
• Introduce Treble and Bass clefs together with the Grand Staff.
• Emphasize character to letter and letter to placement on keyboard.
• Introduce the dotted quarter note and its’ beat value in common time.
• Addition to dynamic music terminology.
• Fingering for the C major scale.
• Introduce time signature and measures divided by bar blinds.
• Addition to more note patterns, playing them on the keyboard and identifying them by ear.
• Learn to read these patterns on the staff.
• Introduce simple methods of composition.
• Read music on the staff by pattern.

2nd Semester

We will add Step by Step Book 1. We usually do a recital in April, time permitting!