Let's play piano! In this flex course, beginning students will learn the basics of playing the keyboard. This is a follow up course from "Let's Play Piano-Level A Part 2." Students may also join this course if they have some beginning piano experience and know the rhythms of quarter note, quarter rest, half note, half rest, whole note, whole rest. If you are unsure if this course would be right for your student, and your student has played the piano before, please reach out to the teacher. Students will have the opportunity to play some well known folk songs such as "Yankee Doodle" and "Alouette." 

In this class students will use the "Bastien New Traditions All In One Piano Course" B Primer by Lisa, Lori and Jane Bastien. The purchase of this book entitles students to access the Kjors Interactive Piano Studio available for desktop and tablet. The Interactive Piano Studio will give students the opportunity to play along side a backing track.

In this course students will focus on using all five fingers of their right and left hand to play the keyboard. We will focus on various finger patterns, basic rhythms, dynamics, and music articulation. Students will learn to read notes on the staff.
Students will be expected to practice outside of class time. Students should bring a pencil to class in order to complete the writing assignments that will be presented in class. 

Flex classes work best for self-motivated students. There are no live meetings of this class. Two class videos will be presented to the students each week. Students should follow along with the video. After watching the video, students are expected to practice on their own. After practicing, students will need to make a video of themselves playing the assigned music for the teacher to see. The teacher will comment on the video with helpful tips for the student. The teacher will need to see the students hands on the keyboard to ensure that the student is playing correctly when making their video. You may need to adjust your webcam or device to make this view possible.

Students will be able to share what they have been learning by creating videos directly to the teacher through the Outschool classroom. Because this is a flex course, it is important for students to submit videos to the teacher. 

The course will break down as follows:
Week One: Videos 1 and 2
Video 1: We will learn to identify the "C-D-E" notes on the treble clef staff. We will also learn the quarter note, half note, whole note, and dotted half note rhythms. We will identify the 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures.
Video 2: We will learn to identify the "C-B-A" notes on the bass clef staff. We will review the rhythms and time signatures from the first class.
Week Two: Videos 3 and 4
Video 3: We will play the notes "A-B-C-D-E" on the grand staff using the right and left hand. 
Video 4: We will review the 3/4 time signature.
Week Three: Videos 5 and 6
Video 5: We will learn about stepping notes and the interval of a second. 
Video 6: We will learn the quarter rest and half rest rhythm.
Week Four: Videos 7 and 8
Video 7: We will learn to identify "F" in the treble clef. We will learn the whole rest rhythm.
Video 8: We will learn "G" in the bass clef.
Week Five: Videos 9 and 10
Video 9: We will learn about skipping notes and the interval of a third.
Video 10: We will play "Yankee Doodle" and "London Bridge."
Week Six: Videos 11 and 12
Video 11: We will review the 3/4 time signature and the intervals of a 2nd and 3rd.
Video 12: We will learn to identify "G" in the treble clef. 

This schedule is subject to change based on the needs of the individual learners in each session of the course.

Some weeks will include short theory assignments. Students will complete these assignments and submit a picture of the completed work to the teacher. That will give the teacher the opportunity to check their understanding of the concepts presented in the class videos.

Please let me know if you have any questions!