Level 1

This section contains warm-up exercises that target specific pianistic skills that you will want to develop as you work your way through this level.

A bagatelle is "a little trifle," and an often used compositional form. This is a great short piece to use to start incorporating the techniques you have been learning in the "Warm-ups" section of the book.

This piece provides an excellent opportunity to get used to playing two notes perfectly together and keeping the transitions between nice and legato. This piece will definitely take your technique to the next level.

This etude is great for teaching you to play eighth notes against quarter notes. This is an essential piano skill. However, it can take. a little time to develop, so be patient with yourself. It is perfectly fine to revisit this piece throughout your time in Level 1.

More often than not, pieces will have the melody in the right hand and the harmony in the left hand. However, this is not always the case. Every once in a while. the left hand will have the melody and the right hand will have the harmony.

This is exactly the case with this fun little piece. It is good practice to be able to bring out a melody in the left hand.

A scherzo is a play type of musical composition. It can be a bit of challenge, but also a lot of fun to play on the piano. The more more you can contrast your staccatos and legatos throughout this piece, the more character it will have.

This little piece is great for bringing out a melody in the right hand. The changes of harmony in the left hand will provide you with an opportunity to change chords as you move through the piece.

This short, little piece is stately and dignified. You do not need to play it overly fast. Instead, try to capture the mood. Work on bringing out the melody and counting evenly.

This light-hearted little piece sounds very much like a child taunting someone with the words, "Told you so!" Think of this as you begin learning the piece.

This was a popular compositional form during the Romantic era. It features a simple melody that sings out over simple broken chords in the left hand. You will sound quite professional as you master this piece.

A sonatina is a slightly larger work that usually follows a specific pattern. This could almost be called a miniature sonatina as it is quite short as sonatinas go. It is in ABA form, therefore, it has an A section that repeats at the end. This shortens the amount of material you have to learn by about one third. I would advise focusing on the B section the most as it is unique material, and not repeated like the material of the A sections.

Enjoy the sophisticated sound that you will be able to produce once you master this one.

This is a short, expressive piece by Diabelli that will allow you to get more practice playing with double treble clefs. In addition, you will have an opportunity to practice including expression in the phrases as you continue to perfect your legato technique.

A quadrille was an old-fashioned dance designed for four or more couples. When taken up to tempo, it gives the impression of dancers moving lightly around the floor. Take your time and make sure to get a good contrast between the legato and staccato in this piece. A light staccato on the chords in the left hand will help to give the piece a light feeling that doesn't become too weighed down with heavy chords.

The Hunt is a really fun piece by Cornelius Gurlitt. Like many pieces of the Romantic era, it paints a picture in the listener's mind. Play this correctly, and it will sound like something from "The Fox and the Hound." It can be fun to let your imagination take over as you play this piece.

This is a stand-alone video to explain triplets. "Triplet Study" is an opportunity for you to explore the concept of triplets and try them out a bit before encountering them in repertoire.

Use this as an opportunity to get comfortable with triplets before moving on.

This short little sonatina packs a punch in terms of combining the challenges of playing triplets while navigating a number of shifts in hand position. However, it is well worth tackling because it sounds amazing when you get all of the parts working together.

Take your time in learning to count with subdivision, and make sure to get very accurate with your fingering. It will definitely pay off!

Here is another opportunity to encounter triplets in a slightly different setting. This time, we have a 3/4 time signature and a slightly different style of piece. A minuet is a dance that was popular back in the 1700's. The triplets give this piece a fun sound.

This is a fun Irish folk tune that will give you yet another opportunity to work with triplets. There is a fair amount of fingering that you will have to pay attention to in addition to be able to count the triplets using subdivision. The secret is to go slowly. As you become more comfortable, you will be able to drop the subdivision out and simple feel the beat.

It may take a little to master this one, but it is well worth it as it is a ton of fun to play.

An aria is a composition designed especially for the voice. Even though there are no words to this piece, it is still easy to imagine someone singing it. This is a great piece to practice adding expression to your playing.

This little piece by Kohler is a great opportunity to start learning about cut time. Although upon first glance, it may look a lot like 4/4 time, learning to feel the beat in 2/2 will make a big difference in how this piece feels and sounds.

This short, patterned piece is a great opportunity to practice finding patterns within the music. It also have a fair amount of opportunity to practice adding more expression. Have fun as you learn this one!

This piece is written in A Minor, but doesn't move beyond that hand position. After playing other pieces that had a lot of hand movement, this may come as a pleasant surprise. It may also feel a bit easier just knowing that you don't have to be as concerned about hand movement, and you can focus on other details in the piece.

Strive for even rhythm and expressive phrases as you work on this piece.

Joplin's "Entertainer" is a well-known piece that will give you a great opportunity to practice something with a syncopated rhythm. Take your time and be sure to use subdivision when you count. With a little practice, you will sound just like a ragtime piano player.

Here is an example of 6/8 time. There are two ways to count this time signature. The first way is to count, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6." The second way is to count, "1 & a, 2 & a." Both have their place. As you become more advanced, you will develop a sense as to when to use each. However, at this stage, we will use the first way to just get used to seeing and counting six eighth notes in each measure. We will use the second way to start feeling the two big beats in each measure.

"The Swing" is yet another opportunity to get used to playing in 6/8 time. There isn't a great deal of movement in terms of having to navigate the keyboard. However, you will have plenty of opportunity to practice shaping phrases and keeping a nice, steady legato with the left hand.

This is a fun piece written by Leopold Mozart, father of the more famous Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is a minuet that packs a bit of a punch. This will be your first opportunity to start playing with octaves. I think you will enjoy the rich bass sound that you will now be able to produce.

Appoggiatura and acciaccatura are two different forms of grace notes. Grace notes are tiny notes added to the melody as a way to embellish it. Learning to distinguish the two forms is crucial to the interpretation of many pieces. This section of the course will help you become familiar with these.

Here is another example of appoggiatura. Now that you have had a little practice with this from the previous piece, you may find it a bit easier to add into this piece. The grace note adds a nice touch to this otherwise basic piece.

This piece will give you your first glimpse into playing acciaccatura. Getting this crushed effect on the piano can take a little getting used to. Take your time and go slowly. This is your first try at this, so do the best you can. Remember, you will continue to see acciaccaturas pop up from time to time in your music. Each time you encounter them, they will seem a little easier.

This fun piece has a real Scottish sound to it when you master the acciaccatura. Enjoy learning this one!

This piece provides an excellent opportunity for further coordination between the two hands. Different sets of eighth notes in each hand played simultaneously provide a fun and interesting challenge.

This piece provides an excellent opportunity to practice shaping phrases. The two preludes are in fact, one piece. It is basically just a different way of creating a piece with two sections.

This short little piece does a great job of imitating an old-fashioned hymn. It gives you a chance to practice bringing out the soprano voice while pedaling more by ear.

This piece is based off from a bit of folklore. It is said that at one time, hundreds of years ago, there was a young boy in an Italian village who was bitten by the dreaded tarantula spider. His mother was desperate to help him and took him to the only person who might be able to help him, the local witch doctor. She advised him to dance rapidly and thereby sweat out the poison. This musical form is based off from this idea. There are many "tarantella" pieces by various composers based around this basic idea.

This piece offers a unique opportunity to learn how to sustain a note with one finger while playing other notes using the same hand. This is a technique that will be required from time to time as you progress through more sophisticated repertoire. This is a great chance to start getting the hang of it.

This is a simple dance piece from the Baroque era by Schein. There is nothing particularly new with this piece, but it will give you a chance to continue honing the skills you have been learning up to this point.

This is a simple minuet that will give you further opportunity to practice the skills that you will need to master in Level 1. Now that we are nearly to the end of the book/level, these skills should feel familiar. Use this as an opportunity to see how easily you can work through this piece.

This piece will be your first chance to experience the key of G Minor. You will have two flats: Bb and Eb. Look for patterns in this piece to make learning it easier.

A gavotte is a stately court dance dating back to the 1600's and 1700's. This particular piece is going to require a fair amount of moving around in each hand. This can get challenging especially when you first try to play the hands together. However, if you go slowly, you will be able to master it. It can be a lot of fun to play once you get everything working together.

This gavotte varies a little from the previous one due to the fact that it was written during a different musical period. However, it offers a chance to see some variety in the compositional form.

One new item that is introduced is D. S. al Fine. This different from D.C. al Fine, and you will need to understand the difference as you are likely to encounter both instructions quite regularly.

This piece is likely to challenge you a bit, but it is the last step before we hit Level 2, so take the time to get to know this piece. I look forward to hearing your progress.

This section of the book/course is intended to either introduce or review basic theory concepts that will contribute to your overall musical knowledge and help improve you playing.

At first, you might wonder how knowing theory concepts will contribute to your playing ability. However, it is absolutely essential that you understand how music is both constructed and written out on the staff. By gaining even a basic understanding of music theory, you will see things more quickly in your written music, and understand the rules by which the music is written onto the staff.