This course was an experiment in which I tried guide beginning students to learn and practise some fundamental aspects of piano playing without the need to learn to read music notation. I can't say that I fully endorse this course any more. There are certain aspects of it that I think people have found confusing, and the progression of difficulty is probably not as well suited to a beginner as I would have liked. However, I have decided to keep it available for now on the off chance that someone finds it interesting of finds some value in it.
In Lesson 2 you practised moving up the keyboard by step. In this lesson you will practice moving down the keyboard by step. In the same way that the patterns you played in Lesson 2 where built on a short melodic motif that ascends by step, the patterns you will play in this lesson are built on a melodic motif that descends by step. The music in this lesson is for Basset Horn, Drum Set, Upright Bass, and Piano. The patterns you will play in this lesson are quite long and using the right fingering will help make playing them a little easier. Watch the video lesson as you go through each step and pay attention to which fingers are being used to play each note. You won’t need to play with exactly the same fingering but it will be instructive for you to see the fingering that I chose for myself.
Step 1. Listen to the lesson music. Usually in these lessons I ask you to count the beats only in the next step, since the percussion accompaniment marks out the beats for you. This time, however, try to see if you can find and count the beats just by listening to the lesson music. (Hint: The bars alternate between two different beat counts.)
Step 2. Now listen to the patterns. Count along and check to see if you found the correct beat count in the previous step.
Step 3. Find the notes of the patterns on the keyboard now and play along with the percussion accompaniment. Remember to watch the video lesson to see the fingering I chose to play these patterns.
Step 4. Next, listen to the patterns accompanied by the drum set. Count along out loud and silently, and sing the patterns as you listen.
Step 5. Before you play the patterns with the drum set accompaniment try playing just in your mind. When you do this, remember the fingering you chose to play with in step 3 and use that same fingering when you play in your mind.
Step 6. Now listen to the patterns accompanied by drum set and piano. Just like in step 4, count and sing along as you listen. Be careful of the ending where the final chords in the piano accompaniment play notes that are higher than your final notes. This can make your part sound different than it actually is. If you are uncertain about your final notes, listen again to the audio in step 4 of this lesson.
Step 7. Play along with the drum set and piano accompaniment now. As you play you can practise counting and singing. You might also try singing along with the accompaniment without playing.
Step 8. Next, listen to the lesson music played without the basset horn. Play the patterns in your mind as you listen.
Step 9. Now play the patterns with this version of the lesson music. In this version your part is the main melody so make sure your playing expresses the mood of the music.
Step 10. And finally, play along with the full version of the lesson music.