The Curious Pianist

Play in a flowing manner and mark the natural phrases with slur marks. This can also be played as the Secondo part for the Duet!

This can be played as the Primo part for the duet.

C Major, C suspended 2, C suspended 4, C 5 (shell chord), and a first inversion G chord. A great set of chords to use when improvising or composing your own song!

DYNAMICS - dynamics make a piece interesting and memorable. Add some dynamics to The Wave that you think make the piece interesting! Note that musical notation is generally in Italian!

Steady rhythms with even EIGHTH NOTES.

Listen to the 1-2-3 beat and change chords in a relaxed manner, lifting the notes between chord changes. Keep your wrist relaxed.

Arpeggios! Broken chords in different positions - C Major, F Major, and G major. Note the leger line note above Middle C in the LEFT HAND in the G chord. This is D above MIDDLE C!

Learn hands separately and look for landmark notes in the LEFT HAND (BASS C, GROUND FLOOR G, and FEARLESS F (under GROUND FLOOR G). Use EIGHTH NOTE "AND" counting to keep a steady beat for learning: 1+2+3+4+. Identify and annotate the CHORDS above the STAFF.

A bluesy walking BASS. Note that the distance between the notes - SKIPS and STEPS is the same in the C, F, and G position. Play this with the indicated rhythm then try with a SWING rhythm - slow-quick-slow-quick ...

Walking shuffle BLUES scales and surprise GLISSANDOS!

We have the addition of a STACCATO notation. Your staccatos should be crisp and clear and SHORT. Strike the key like you would a hammer. Remember to play the last chord an OCTAVE LOWER than written as indicated by the 8vb (OTTAVA BASSA) symbol.

A piece with EIGHTH NOTES - use "AND" COUNTING in COUNTS of 4. Remember that 8th notes get 1/2 COUNT in this TIME SIGNATURE.

More complicated rhythms! Note the 8th NOTE REST. COUNT with "AND" COUNTING ALL THE COUNTS when learning. After learning, SWING IT with a swing rhythm. End with the SHAKE/TREMOLO!

Note the 2 NOTE SLURS and emphasize the FIRST of these note pairs. Read notes CAREFULLY and learn with "AND" counting for the 4/4 TIME SIGNATURE.

An accompaniment part for A Knight in the Forest!

A percussive and fun CHORD PIECE to play with your online BAND. Note that this piece is in 3/4 time.

Play in a flowing manner and mark the natural phrases with slur marks. This can also be played as the Secondo part for the Duet!

Play either duet part with your online band in a Country Western style (steel guitar, piano, fiddle, harmonica).

Using the chords in BLOCKED and ROCKING (top notes to bottom single note) rhythms.

Steady rhythms with even EIGHTH NOTES.

Using the chords with a single note in the Bass Clef/Left Hand. Use a 5 finger position in the Left Hand with the 1st finger on Bass C

Use relaxed hands and hear the 1-2-3 beat. Lift the hands naturally at the rests in preparation for the next measure so that the weight from your arm is used at the next chord or note in both hands.

Change all the chords to MINOR chords by lowering the middle note ONE HALF STEP to the next note (BLACK OR WHITE). This is how to convert any MAJOR CHORD to a MINOR CHORD from a root (SKIP-SKIP-SKIP) position.

Learn hands separately and look for landmark notes in the LEFT HAND (BASS C, GROUND FLOOR G, and FEARLESS F (under GROUND FLOOR G). Use EIGHTH NOTE "AND" counting to keep a steady beat for learning: 1+2+3+4+. Identify and annotate the CHORDS above the STAFF.

A bluesy walking BASS. Note that the distance between the notes - SKIPS and STEPS is the same in the C, F, and G position. Play this with the indicated rhythm then try with a SWING rhythm - slow-quick-slow-quick ...

Play the chords with SINGLE NOTES in the LEFT HAND. Note that the A MINOR and F CHORDS are not in the ROOT POSITIONS but are in easy reach of the C Major CHORD. They are both in FIRST and SECOND INVERSIONS and have different sounds than the ROOT POSITIONS.

We have the addition of a STACCATO notation. Your staccatos should be crisp and clear and SHORT. Strike the key like you would a hammer. Remember to play the last chord an OCTAVE LOWER than written as indicated by the 8vb (OTTAVA BASSA) symbol.

A BLUES piece that you can play with a SWING (slow-quick-slow ...) RHYTHM! Learn with straight 8th note counting so that you can understand the rhythm relationships between the 8th and QUARTER NOTES FIRST. Listen to the track to hear this rhythm variation. Note the LEFT HAND notes which live on the leger lines above the BASS CLEF.

More complicated rhythms! Note the 8th NOTE REST. COUNT with "AND" COUNTING ALL THE COUNTS when learning. After learning, SWING IT with a swing rhythm. End with the SHAKE/TREMOLO!

Make your own percussion on the keyboard for this story piece! Learn with "AND" COUNTING in the 3/4 TIME SIGNATURE.

An alternative third melody part for a TRIO or to play with one of the tracks. You can double the part by playing the same notes with the LEFT HAND.

This can be played as the Primo part for the duet.

Play either duet part with your online band in a Jazz style (vibraphone, guitar, flute, soprano saxophone)

Remember to keep a steady rhythm and that the EIGHTH NOTES will be going twice as a fast as the QUARTER NOTES in a 1-2-3-4 or !+2+3+4+ count.

Steady rhythms with even EIGHTH NOTES.

Walking Bass using notes from BASS C down to the bottom notes at the STAFF. GROUND FLOOR G is one way to remember the bottom line of the BASS CLEF.

Use relaxed hands and hear the 1-2-3 beat. Lift the hands naturally at the rests in preparation for the next measure so that the weight from your arm is used at the next chord or note in both hands.

A review of C MAJOR, C5 (SHELL), C2 (C suspended 2), and Csus (C suspended 4), and a G MAJOR CHORD in a FIRST INVERSION. This G chord is easy to reach from the C CHORD. Note the shapes of the chords on the STAFF.

NATURAL SIGNS cancel a SHARP or FLAT within a MEASURE. SHAKES (TREMOLOS) are like TRILLS but on non-neighbor notes. The number of lines indicate the speed of the TREMOLO. 2 LINES are the equivalent of 16th notes. GLISSANDOS are showy and fun and are more commonly done with the thumb nail or finger nails depending on the direction of the GLISSANDO.

Walking shuffle BLUES scales and surprise GLISSANDOS!

Improvise on the white keys with the associated track. You can use patterns or rhythms that sound good to you! Use the staff paper in the book to write down some of your ideas. When you have something you really like, right it down.

A piece with EIGHTH NOTES - use "AND" COUNTING in COUNTS of 4. Remember that 8th notes get 1/2 COUNT in this TIME SIGNATURE.

A BLUES piece that you can play with a SWING (slow-quick-slow ...) RHYTHM! Learn with straight 8th note counting so that you can understand the rhythm relationships between the 8th and QUARTER NOTES FIRST. Listen to the track to hear this rhythm variation. Note the LEFT HAND notes which live on the leger lines above the BASS CLEF.

Note the 2 NOTE SLURS and emphasize the FIRST of these note pairs. Read notes CAREFULLY and learn with "AND" counting for the 4/4 TIME SIGNATURE.

Make your own percussion on the keyboard for this story piece! Learn with "AND" COUNTING in the 3/4 TIME SIGNATURE.

A percussive and fun CHORD PIECE to play with your online BAND. Note that this piece is in 3/4 time.