Step Two of the First Steps in Piano course is free on this website. However, you can also purchase the all six lessons in Step Two in PDF format together with all MP3 audio tracks should you want to practise it offline. Click here for more information or click the button below to buy it now.
Lesson 2 introduces the group of three black keys, illustrated below. The music in this lesson is for Flute, Harp, Woodblock, Taiko Drum, Strings, and Piano. For musicians, playing as part of a larger ensemble often requires not playing at all during certain sections of the music. In this lesson you will get a taste of that since in the lesson music there are two sections where you will not be playing anything. It is important in these moments to keep listening carefully to the music; firstly so that you are ready to play when your part begins, and secondly so that you can follow the emotional progression of the music and play appropriately.
Step 1. First, listen to the lesson music. Listen out for the piano part. There are two sections in which you play. See if you can hear them.
Step 2. Now listen to the patterns and count along as you do.
Step 3. The first pattern you heard in step 2 should be easy enough to find on the keyboard but the second might be a little more difficult since it doesn’t consist of single notes. Without giving too much away (and assuming you haven't watched the video lesson), if you can’t find what notes to play from listening alone, consider the title of this lesson as a clue. Now play the two pattens along with the percussion accompaniment.
Step 4. As you now know, there are two sections in the lesson music in which you play. Listen to the first of these sections played without the flute.
Step 5. Then, play the first pattern along with this section’s accompaniment. Make sure you come in at the right time and, as much as you can, try to have your playing fit in with the atmosphere of the music.
Step 6. Now listen to the ending section played without the flute. This will not sound so different to the full version of the lesson music since the flute is only playing a single note here, but it is still worth practising.
Step 7. Playing soft to loud, as you will here, is something that can take a little practice. If you begin too loud you will have nowhere to go, and if you get loud too quickly you may overshoot or reach the goal before it is time. Conversely, getting loud too slowly will fail to create the effect you want. Practise playing the ending pattern now along with the accompaniment.
Step 8. And finally, play along with the complete version of the lesson music.