COURSE

Piano I

COURSE OVERVIEW

Play, sing, and dance your way to learning as you introduce your child to the basics of playing piano! Designed to nurture your child’s creativity, the three units of this course provide an experiential music curriculum centered on developing their innate musical abilities into early musical literacy. Covering melodies, the names and fingering of piano keys, music theory, and more, your child will practice listening skills and improvising while learning about the structure and history of music.

By the end of this course’s 15 lessons, your child will have been introduced to multiple facets of music making, empowering their creativity, developing their music mastery, and nurturing their love of music.

Unit 1

1. Introduction to the Piano Keyboard

Do you hear that? In this lesson, your child will learn that pitch is how high or low a sound is, and that improvisation is creating music as it is performed. They’ll also begin to associate high and low pitches with piano keys as they explore and improvise with black keys.

2. Piano Key Name, Finger Numbers & First Song

Get ready for middle pitches as your child explores music notes for middle C and D. They’ll learn that a music note is the representation of a musical sound and that a keyboard instrument is a musical instrument with a row of levers that are pressed by the fingers to trigger sounds.

3. Piano Key E & Music Note E

Learning notes C and D leads to learning note E! In this lesson, your child will begin to improvise and experiment with making three-note music, which also helps develop their fine motor skills.   

4. Preparing for Recital Day I

What do toe tapping, head nodding, a conductor’s arm movements, and clapping have in common? They all involve moving to a beat, which is a steady, evenly spaced unit of time that’s represented by a regularly repeating sound, feeling, or movement—what your child will be practicing in this fun lesson!

5. Recital Day I

Today’s the day that your child can perform their songs if they feel ready! While this lesson focuses on accuracy (playing rhythms and pitches correctly) and technique (maintaining good posture, hand shape, and fingering), the most important thing is to have fun!

UNIT 2

1. Rhythm & Quarter Rests

Help your child understand that rhythm is a vital part of music because it allows musicians to effectively play together. In this lesson they’ll also learn that a rest is the length of time a musician doesn’t play in a piece of music, and they’ll practice drawing a quarter rest!

2. Melody

In this lesson, your child will learn to play Mary Had a Little Lamb for beginner pianists! They’ll use a metronome for practice and also learn that a melody is a sequence of varying pitches and rhythms and that tempo refers to the speed or pace of music.

3. Technique Tips & Shosheen Sho

It’s all about technique as you introduce your child to finger exercises, which can help them develop some fluidity with the piano. You’ll also introduce a new song, Shosheen Sho, so they can continue building their repertoire!

4. Preparing for Recital Day II

As your child prepares the songs they’ll perform on their recital day, you’ll also introduce them to the concept of dynamics or the varying degrees of loudness and softness in a musical performance. They’ll also experiment with using different dynamics as they play.

5. Recital Day II

It’s time to perform if your child is ready! As they play, you can help them by monitoring their tempo, accuracy, and technique. Then it’s time to celebrate their progress and talk about what they’ve learned.

UNIT 3

1. Introduction to the Left Hand & Music Note B

This lesson features folk songs and musical styles from Latin America, so it’s time to find the beat and salsa dance with your child! They’ll also practice playing with their left hand and learn that a music genre is how people describe different styles of music.

2. Clapping Rhythms & A Ti Na Ma

Get ready to clap along with rhythm patterns as you and your child listen to A Ti Na Ma and Cheki Morena! They’ll play along and learn that an accompaniment is a musical part that supports a melody and that an instrument family is a group of instruments that have similar characteristics and are similarly played. 

3. Tips for Song Practice

In this lesson, you and your child will continue to celebrate Puerto Rican musical culture as you learn about Plena, a style of music that uses frame drums called Plenera drums. Your child will also discover that the stem of a music note is a thin vertical line attached to the notehead.

4. Preparing for Recital Day III

It’s time for your child to prepare for another recital as they practice A Ti Na Ma and Cheki Morena at slow, medium, and full tempos. They’ll also practice clapping the rhythms and try writing their own rhythms by drawing four to eight music notes!

5. Recital Day III

Congratulate your child for a job well done as they perform the songs they’ve learned! Through sharing your observations with them, in terms of their tempo, accuracy, technique, and overall performance, your child will be better prepared for more fun learning the piano.

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