COURSE

Piano II

COURSE OVERVIEW

Tickle the keys of learning with your child as you help them build on their foundational knowledge of piano. Through music libraries, learning videos, and hands-on practice, they’ll be introduced to notes below middle C, half-note rhythms, and an expanded repertoire of music notation symbols. They’ll also delve into essential concepts like common time, measures, bar lines, and repeat signs, gaining a deeper understanding of music structure, various music styles, and music history.

After completing this course’s 15 lessons, your child will have learned about the A below middle C, half notes, half rests, and other notation symbols.

Unit 4

1. Playing Hands Together & Walk in the Park

Get ready to introduce your child to playing the piano with two hands simultaneously, building their coordination. They’ll learn that accompaniment is the musical parts that support the melody, and that melody is the sequence of varying pitches and rhythms that’s often hummable or sung along to.

2. Continue Learning: Walk in the Park

In this lesson, your child will focus on learning the recital song Walk in the Park. They’ll discover that improvising is creating music as it is performed and begin improvising with two hands for the first time. They’ll also replay some of the songs they learned from previous units.

3. Sato

Keep practicing! During this lesson, your child will practice the recital songs Walk in the Park and Sato. They’ll focus on recognizing which hand to use when they see a music note with stems up versus stems down and learn that a notehead is the oval part of a music note and a stem is a thin vertical line attached to the notehead.

4. Preparing for Recital Day IV, the Blues & Boogie Woogie

As your child focuses on learning the recital song Walk in the Park, they’ll improvise with two hands for the second time. They’ll also learn about a style of music called the blues, created by African Americans and part of United States music history, and discover that boogie-woogie is a style of blues music for the piano.

5. Recital Day IV

It’s recital day! If your child feels ready, they can perform the songs they’ve been practicing. 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 5

1. Popcorn Party, Measures & Stevie Wonder

Ready for a Popcorn Party? This fun recital song emphasizes the left hand and introduces your child to the new left-hand note A. They’ll also discover the concepts of common time, measures, and bar lines for reading music notation and explore the iconic musical style of Stevie Wonder!

2. Popcorn Party, Soulful Sunset & Rhythm Listening

It’s Soulful Sunset time as your child is introduced to their second recital song! They’ll continue practicing Popcorn Party and will learn that neumes are a way to write music using curving lines. They’ll also explore rhythm as patterns of sounds and silences in time and discover that a staff is comprised of five lines used in European music notation.

3. Ear Training, Finger Exercises & Learning Recital Songs

What do you hear? In this lesson, your child will practice finger exercises, which consist of repeated patterns to enhance fluency in playing the keys. They’ll also discover that bpm stands for beats per minute, which measures the tempo of a beat, and learn that a metronome is a device used to maintain a steady beat at different tempos.

4. Preparing for Recital Day V

As your child prepares the songs they’ll perform on their recital day, they’ll continue to build on the fluency they’ve built through improvising using the three notes they’ve learned with their left hand. They’ll also be introduced to jazz, a style of music that’s unique to the United States.

5. Recital Day V

It’s recital day if your child is ready! At this stage, your child will have developed greater familiarity and proficiency in playing notes B, C, D, and E using quarter notes and quarter rests with both their left and right hands. As they perform, you can support them by monitoring their accuracy and technique.

UNIT 6

1. Half Notes & New Songs

This lesson introduces half-note rhythms to your child as they practice writing and counting half notes, which are rhythms that last for two beats, and half-note rests, which are periods of silence that last for two beats. This is the first new rhythm after quarter notes and quarter rests that your child will be learning!

2. Spanish Water Dog, Half Notes & Repeat Signs

Your child will practice the main song for their recital day, Spanish Water Dog, and will be introduced to two new music notation symbols in this lesson: the double bar line and the repeat sign. They’ll also practice drawing these symbols along with half notes, helping their recall when reading music notation.

3. La Cumparsita, Tango & History of the Drum Kit

In this lesson, your child will continue to practice the main song for recital day, Spanish Water Dog, and will also be introduced to the optional second recital song, La Cumparsita, one of the most famous Tango music melodies. They’ll also discover some famous Tango music composers and artists!

4. Preparing for Recital Day VI & the Sitar

As your child prepares for recital day, they’ll also explore the world of traditional Indian music and instruments! They’ll learn that the sitar is a stringed instrument made famous globally by musician/composer Ravi Shankar. They’ll discover that the tabla consists of a pair of hand drums and that the tanpura/tambura is a stringed instrument used for accompaniment in Indian music.

5. Recital Day VI

Today’s the big day as your child performs their favorite songs from this course. They’ll also have the opportunity to evaluate their performance for rhythm/beat, accuracy, technique, posture, and overall performance. If possible, record their performance and view it together, celebrating your child’s progress!

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