In this class, you will learn how to make beautiful sounding improvisations on the piano, how to name the notes and number our fingers, and how to play songs by ear in many keys. We will also start learning about musical solfege and rhythm syllables.

Students that have taken at least 2 months of piano lessons, or who have taken Andrew Bishko's Piano Now! First-Year Piano - First Semester will do well in this class. If you have any questions about whether your learner is appropriate for this class, please contact the instructor.

This semester we will build on our core repertoire of songs, learning how to add left-hand harmonies and to play songs with a wider melodic range using finger crossing techniques and building into full major and minor scales. We will also learn how to transpose our songs into different keys.

We will also explore the musical dimensions of rhythm, dynamics, and simple modal harmony through creative improvisation.

Once we have firmly established these core skills - 

-playing songs with understanding of finger numbers and the names of keys, 
-adding simple left-hand harmony, 
-establishing good piano technique through finger exercises,
-transposing into different keys
-learning scale-playing ande finger-crossing techniques

we will begin to explore our repertoire using Kodály-style rhythm syllables and solfa syllables, which is the forerunner to reading and writing music.

The class sessions will be divided into segments of group learning, individual practice, and one-to-one attention from the instructor. 

Please note: some parental, adult, or older sibling assistance during class and practice times will increase success for younger students.

The class taps into the students' creativity from the very beginning, and teaches you to hear and feel the music that you are playing. 

The following lists the topics per session. Topics and songs are subject to change depending on the pace and musical interests of the students in the class. While there will be plenty of songs to learn, and more rich full harmonized arrangements of songs that they already know, the actual song repertoire will be partially determined by student requests and the instructor's discernment.

Session 1 - Getting acquainted, playing songs we know already, improvisation exercises, key naming exercises.
Session 2 - Adding left-hand harmonies, finger-crossing, five-finger scales, transposing songs. Improvisation
Session 3 - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (finger-crossing song), left-hand harmonies continued, improv.
Session 4 - Review,  left-hand harmonies continued, improv. Song requests.
Session 5 - We Three Kings (finger-crossing, relative minor and major scales) left-hand harmonies continued, improv.
Session 6 - Review, rhythm syllables (ta titi), finger exercises, left-hand harmonies continued, improv.
Session 7 - Review, rhythm syllables -echoing, rhythmic dictation, finger exercises, left-hand harmonies continued, improv.
Session 8 -  Review,  simple modal improv, Song requests, rhythmic dictation, finger exercises, left-hand harmonies continued. Introducing solfa syllables for pitch.
Session 9 - Scales - major and minor, with finger crossing, review songs, modal improv, more solfa
Session 10 - Songs with scales,  rhythmic dictation, finger exercises, left-hand harmonies continued, solfa and scales
Session 11 - writing songs with stick notation (solfa and rhythm), review, improv.
Session 12 - Big Final Concert!

Please note: This is a secular class - any songs that make reference to religious subjects have been chosen for their musical content and suitability for teaching purposes only.