Popular Piano Styles for Beginners
In this 6-week course, students will learn to use chords and letter names to play piano in the style of popular songs.
Rebecca Maurer
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(15)
What's included
6 live meetings
4 hrs 30 mins in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. Each week a solo practice at home assignment will be given, usually requiring about 5-10 minutes of time at the piano for 3 separate days to help learners retain muscle memory and knowledge from the previous lesson.Class Experience
In this 6-week beginner course, students will learn how to identify letter names on the keyboard, play basic major and minor triads, and interpret chord charts. Students will need their own instrument at home, which can be either a piano or keyboard with at least 60 keys. No prior piano experience is required, although it would potentially be helpful for brand-new-to-piano players complete my class “An Introduction to Piano for Older Beginners” before taking this class. I am a Kodaly-certified teacher with over 17 years of experience teaching piano, and I have designed my curriculum for this class to coincide with play along resources created by free music education site Music Will (formerly Little Kids Rock) and posted on Youtube, with their permission. The emphasis of this course is on playing piano first, and using simplified notation to remind us of what we’re playing second. My philosophy is that learning is best when it’s fun, so in addition to skills, I also include interactive elements in each class. Over the course of six classes, students will learn: • All of the letter names of the white keys on the piano, and how to easily find them in each octave of the instrument • How to build triads using those keys as roots, some major and some minor • How to read basic chord charts/leadsheets and interpret them • How to use play-along tracks to build rhythmic and chord playing skills, and play in the style of popular songs such as "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars and "Can't Stop This Feeling" by Justin Timberlake • How to have constructive discussion surrounding each other’s playing, using the “I noticed, I valued, I wondered” framework Some of the music in this class is in the style of popular tunes, but we will not be focusing on lyrics, complete melodies, or whole songs, so as to stay within fair use guidelines. We will instead be focusing on how to create accompaniment for a song using its chord structure. Tools learned in this class will allow students to choose songs they know and love from any genre (especially modern pop, country or rock) and play those songs for themselves.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Music Will, formerly Little Kids Rock, is a free music education resource. The teacher will share audio play-along tracks from their Youtube channel and website in class, and will share two lesson videos to practice along with in the classroom. The first video can be previewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Q-y7AkAwQ and is a play-along video in the style of Can't Stop This Feeling by Justin Timberlake from the movie Trolls. The second video can be previewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5suHdv5CWI and is a play-along video in the style of Count On Me by Bruno Mars. When movies are shared they will be embedded in the classroom so that the students are not required to access Youtube directly.
Supply List
Students will need an instrument at home, either an acoustic piano or a keyboard with at least 60 keys. Textbook/written materials will be provided by me, and can be either read from a separate digital device or printed. Each student will also find a notebook and a pencil handy to have nearby, and will want the ability to write on the provided materials either digitally or physically.
1 file available upon enrollment
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined February, 2021
5.0
15reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Connecticut Teaching Certificate in Music/Theater/Arts
New student? Get $10 off my classes with coupon code REBEC1STCLASS10 until Jun 30, 2023. Look through my classes at https://outschool.com/teachers/Mrs-Maurer and enter the coupon code at checkout.
I am a certified teacher with a Master's Degree in Music Education. I have completed all three levels of Kodaly music education training, which means that I specialize in creating sequential curriculum using folk and art music. My undergraduate degree was also in Music Education, and my major instrument was piano.
I love to teach, especially preschool group classes, piano and ukulele lessons, and anything that includes joyful music making. My favorite classroom moments are when students light up with the realization of how much they really can do. It is my hope to bring that moment of confidence to each student, so they may become lifelong learners.
When I am not teaching, I am usually crocheting, reading a fantasy book, or dancing around the living room with my family.Reviews
Live Group Class
$84
for 6 classes1x per week, 6 weeks
45 min
Completed by 2 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-14
2-4 learners per class
