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 Step Four you will revisit the layout of the keyboard. Just like in Step Two, each lesson here will focus on a different group of keys: three black keys, all black keys, four white keys, etc. In the later lessons, the patterns you play will usually cover a wider area of the keyboard than in Step Two. For example, in Lesson 4 you will play on two groups of three black keys and in Lesson 7 on three groups of three white keys.
In these lessons, the patterns you play will be longer with less repetition and be more rhythmically challenging. The music has been composed to give you a more prominent part amongst the other instruments. In previous lessons, the part you played served essentially as harmonic support for the lead solo instrument(s). In these lessons, your part serves more as a secondary melody and in the final two lessons you will play the main melody in the music.
Having worked through the previous three Steps in this course, there will be little for you to learn in these lessons that is actually new to you. The purpose of Step Four is to allow you to challenge and test what you have learnt so far, to expand your playing experience, and finally to give you the opportunity to play a leading part in the lesson music.
The structure of the lessons in this course, as you have no doubt noticed by now, is always the same. Practise and preparation tips I have offered in previous lessons, therefore, are just as applicable here as in previous lessons. From now on, completing each step in the lessons will be left much more in your hands. I will continue to guide you through the lessons but it will be up to you to decide how you complete each step.