4 BOOK1: STARTING TO PLAY é —\ TheClassié \ Piano Course. The new piano course for older beginners by} a 5 \ CAROL BARRATT s é \ a s —Place your right hand in the position shown. You are now ready to play the notes C DEF @. Play these five notes going up and then down, Look at where the notes are positioned on the staye (ie. on which line or space). Legato ‘As you play the exercises below, hold each note until you play the next note. Then let it go - it isa ‘see-saw action. This kind of touch is called gato - Italian for smooth or foined-up’. It is used for most of the music you will play. Think of smooth, even, connected, but make sure that one sound does not overlap with the next. Starting points - Right hand Look atthe time signature of each exercise and count evenly as you play. 1 Fingering Now practise the above exercises saying the letter-names (in time) as you play. Notice where each note is written in the stave eg. Dis in the space dow the stave, Ei on the Ast line and F isin the 1st space.Au Clair De La Lune Repeated notes can't be played with a true legato. In bar 1, try to play the three repeated Cs as smoothly as you can ~ the following notes, € to D to E etc. are easily played legato. eid hpi in i gages Moderato meme French Folk Song ‘Accompaniment for teacher (of friond//son/daughtert... Moderato RH LH -” Shoo Shaggie (Counts are not usually written in - you should count in your head all the time.) Andantino 2 Scottish LullabyChange hands Place your left hand in the position shown, You are now ready to play the notes FG AB, Play these five notes going down from Middle ¢ ang then up. Notice where each note is positioned, Look at page 12: the stems go up on the righ? ofthe no head from Middle © upwards. (On this page: on these notes the stems go down onthe {eft of the note head from Middle © downwards. Hints and Reminders 1. Listen as you play ~ make sure that you are playing legato. 2. Try not to look down at your hands. 3, Remember to hold your fingers in a curved shape. Starting points - Left hand 2 Now practise the above exercises saying the letternames (Gn time) as you play. Notice where each note ison the stave eg. Bis inthe space above the stave, Ais om the Sth line, @ isi the 4th space.Air Des Bouffons SF = forte = tous P = piano = son When you play a key with a little weight or pressure, you make a sof? tone, When you use more weight, you make a oud tone, French Folk Tune Largo (from the New World’ Symphony ) Adapted from Stowly Antonin Dvofék (1841-1904)Pick ‘n’ mix A multi-piano work-out These four exercises will work together ~ at the same time. If you are on your own, just practise each exercise separately. I you are in a group situation with one, two or more keyboards, comfortable octave for each player - higher or lower. ‘Two or three players at one piano can be quite an experience! Exercise 1 should be played at the highest pitch and the 9 exercises must be positioned below the ¢ exercises, Expenment with the different areas of the keyboard. You could record one or two of them to play alongside put each exercise at a 1 CB.Teacher's accompaniment: “This must be played above all the other parts. Pay it one or two octaves higher than written, ‘Suggested listening ‘This ‘workout’ fe written in ‘waltz’ Ue. Listen to The Bive Danube War by Jehan Strauss Il (1825-99) to put you in the ‘mood. You wil be playing an excerpt yourself before you reach the end of this book. 13Alternating hands place both hands in the position shown, Play these 9 noes in contrary motion (both hands moving together but in different directions e.g, from fingers 1-5 and back) starting from both thumbs on Middle C. “The following pieces will contain notes in both the treble and bass staves. Reading Hint ‘When notes move from space to space or line to line, skip out one white key. oS= «§ SSE EtoG GtwoB skip out F skip out A Accent > f) =Accent (play slightly louder than other notes). Hint Decide how loud or soft you want a key to sound before you play it. A Surprise! Theme from ‘The Surprise’ Symphony . Adapted from Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Favciang sipoet ‘Te Suse’ Symphony & socalled becouse of sudden 5.Canons A.canom 1s a piece of music where two oF more parts follow each other with the same tune, When you reach # , a teacher/friend can join in, starting from the beginning, to make a proper canon, Ifyou are in a group lesson, other pupils can join in at other octaves or on other pianos, Tallis’ Canon ioves don't always start with the first beat of the bar, In this piece, the last bar has only 3 counts because the first bar Aqgest with count 4, (First and last bars must add up to the time signature.) Count 2.23 and then start playing on 4, ‘Thomas Tallis (1505-85) Tol’ Canon was witon dung te en of Quon Eabeth ates, Baran Rite (191376) used nis opera Noyes Na Barratt’s Canon!in the position shown, ce your left hand in Fc now ready ply the notesC DEFG an octave below Middle C. Play these 5 notes going up and down from the new ¢, Stems “Above the third line the stems go down. ‘Below the third line the stems go 4p. On the third line the stem can go up or down, Ode ‘To Joy Theme from the last movement of the Ninth Symphony Fonciating elppet "he symphony has more than stood the tst of time; i on of he atest masiemices ever weston, dosote the composer's ‘rorsening deafress, However, when was ist perormed, ota {he emics mere complimentary We fr Beethoven's Mn Simpronyto be precicoy one hour end fire minutes long a fed er nde. wien pute the muscles and kungs ofthe band, ond ‘he potionce of the audience toa seve tr. te last movement. Schon, heterogeneous. What lation tars to the symaHeny [re [Du pc make out.” (The Harmonicon, London. Aa 1825) Adapted from Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Your eat may want your finger to play this more correct but oa ah more sicat myenm. See page 21 aa. 18 Lj essQuavers Aguaver 2) (ory Vis twice as fast as a crotchet. J = b+ Two quavers are usually ined together to make one count. J = J” To start with, say the word ‘and’ between the counts Emphasise the main beats, keeping the ‘ands quieter. count as you play = je Le2 34 1-2-3 (and) Phrase-marks ‘The long curved lines over the notes below are called phrase-marks, language, is expressed in phrases. A phrase is a musical sentence or idea ~ imagine taking a breath at the end of each phrase-mark and lift your hand off briefly without changing speed. Unless directed otherwise, play all the notes within each phrase-mark smoothly (legato). ‘Add two phrase-marks to Ode to Joy on page 18. Ode To Joy (contd. from previous page) : Nd) Now play all 16 bars of the Ode te Joy theme continuously, from page 18-19. Suggeeted tetening Beetnoven's Ninth Symahony (ast movement) ord Brahms" Fist Symphony (30 page 22) (lest movement). This symonory See a aa aaa —Din, Don Spanish Folk Song OMase Shepherd’s Hey Ina bar of f ifthe first or last two beats are quavers, they can be grouped in fours, Dance English Country Dare at ef Sungested tlatoning Surgested item gance acangoments make interesting Hstoning,Dotted crotchets ‘A dot placed after a note makes it half as long again. Adetted crotehet J: = J a) to die Jd Clap the rhythm for bars 1-4 of the Skye Boat Song. alos) 1d Jil df 1d | 46260300 262 8 4e2 4 3 4-2-3 K Skye Boat Song Binch A Lullaby from the Isle of Skye ini D.C. al Fine = back to the beginning and finish at the word Fine. (D.C. (Da Capo) = repeat from the beginning) D.C. al Fine 21Hands together Play these notes» both hands together © Practise Nand separately at frst and then, when each part as perfec, try the piece hands together SLOWLY, Playing it faster {so problem once you know it well © Practise with the correct Fingering, © Practise beginning at any bar of the piewe, © Liston as you play, ALWAYS, Hint Ae the rhythins are very tricky, try tapping them out - tap out the R.H, rhythm on your right knee and the LH. rhythm on your left knee, Practise knees separately then knees together! Three ‘Hands Together’ Exercises hw Follow the directions of the arrows « they have been added to this exercise to help you. Bars 1-2, hands move in similar motion (both hands moving together in the same direction). Bars 3-4, hands move in contrary motion (see page 14), ie 3. ! RH, A hint of Three Blind Mice’, . LH. A hint of Frere Jacques’,First Study In the original version the left hand plays chords. This simplified arrangement has been designed to develop co-ordination between the hands. Adapted from Karl Czemy (1791-1857) fis nen ad revtton a8 0 ache. Ha tmo ars to teeve mere 1) at Pe tg US od 2) a ne wot vast cotectane f sues ana emesestChords ‘Two of more notes played fegetder are called a chord. | . Find and play the chords below, saying both letter-names, (Use any’ suitable fingering.) é = = ° * tHtwo notes of a chord are adjacent notes, the witten notes Mt sideways —> he - te fe ts Drink To Me Only An excerpt Ji In vocal music, singing more than one note on one syllable is shown by a slur, 8. u ia bao bela wn Traditional English Song é Pa Drink toCarefree John Daniel Gottlob Tark (1756-1813) @ - = Reminder: check that you are still holding your hands in a curved shape. Miserable Mary!Expression marks scsaresl musical. Composers use expression marks to make pices sound more interesting and more ‘Most of these derive from Italian terms used since the Renaissance. Dynamics Notes can be varied by playing them with different degrees of weight and intensity. Composers indicate their intentions by writing a dynamic marking under the note. See page 11 for f and p and page 23 for crese. and dim. Here are some other common dynamics: mf’ (mezzo forte) - moderately loud Aff (fortissimo) - very |oud mp (mezzo piano) - moderately soft Pp (planissimo) - very soft Tempo Indications At the beginning of most pieces you will find a word (or group of words) to show both the speed and the character of the music. They are not usually written in English as on page 27. Here are a few of the most common ones: Allegro = lively, quick (means ‘cheerfut’) Andante = at a medium pace (walking speed) Adagio = slow Largo = very siow, stately Presto = fast Moderato = moderately (Allegro moderato = moderately fast) Clog Dance English Folk Dance 3Gavotte | = getting gradually slower = getting slower, held back lean poco =alitte a tempo = in time, indicating a retum to the original speed after e.g. mt. poco Fit. = slow down a little Adapted from James Hook (1746-1827)New position Place both hands in the position shown. You are now ready to play the notes @ A BC D in both hands ~ an octave apart. Play these § notes in similar and contrary motion, ‘The D in the lft hand in often called Middle D (see page 36). fd Aline over or under a note = slight stress or pressure on the note. Exercises When you can play this exercise, try closing your eyes and playing it from memory. ‘Then play it with your right hand starting on 2. “This is half of a tune you may recognise, Play the repeated 4th finger note quite firmly, but don’t allow it to become ‘locke id, SSS When i you can play Exercise 2, close your eyes and play it from memo ‘Then play it with the lft Band, starting on =F ”Der Meyen ‘In the month of May” anLittle Sonata First movement * Sometimes is written as C (common time). Hint Practise this piece knees separately and then together (see Page 24). Charles Henry Wilton (1761.2) of * originally in another key. 32Gavotte ‘The Gavotte is a dance originating from France. Yeusually begins on the second half of the bar when the dancers traditionally raised their left feet on the third beat. s Adapted from an excerpt by George Frideric Handel (16851759) 4 t Tones [A tone is the distance of two semitones, e.g. C-D or FR-G# or E-FE. In 2. below, the Gavotte you have just played is written out one fone lower. RH. Céunge your hand position but the fingering remains as for 2. LH, Seay in the same position as but it starts one finger lower. g 33Naturals Anatural sign cancels ah ora $ sign. Sometimes you will sce a 4 sign in brackets (). This isn't theoretically required, but acts as a helpful reminder that the note does not have a } or a $ sign although it is very near to one that has. Mopstick Rag Tomcnting etree ‘See pie king of ear gon wee te soning ‘er sve fis mai: ot Dn ay Do ce fast 8 veh to ln rag at cB. 3 3 +oe Aaa aneS SST More notes GABCDEFGABCD Different Clef - Same Notes The two groups of notes below notate the same pitch. They are written here in both clefs so that cither hand may play them, eo 2 ‘Usually played 2 Usually played SS] with the (9%) with the [24] = Middle Mice Mile vs eo es cD Middle Middle Middle Note Mnemonics To help withthe ‘geography’of the keyboard, you may find it useful to remember the lette-names ofthe notes ‘on the lines and spaces by remembering certain sentences and words. LL S———_= SS FAC Eg finite isms oor ers Sight-Reading (Playing at sight) Tobecome a good sight reader you need to develop the habit of reading notes a a © Look at groups or phrases of notes © Observe whether they go up or down, 36 pattern of shapes, © Look at the pattern of each note group.Two-Part Invention Se— ] _ mse sien tet you to pay the note => | © notes an octave higher than written. Se | mse sigs te you to ply te te ot 2 | notes an octave lower than written. D.C. al Fine stoning number of two end three-part invertions {or his son Witnelm Friedemann. Listen to these or Bach's The Art of Fugue, written in the 1740s. 40L’homme Armé traditional melody said to have been sung by the Crusaders (Eleventh century). me mse by nr of en tr oe erin Semen ean peed me wm ‘tamaong ease m Soutern Geary 8 eared sn oe emgone atLes Cinq Doigts the note G is held on with the left hand In this piece dor) hands play in the treble clef, In bars, a 1617, aa Seto pa peycl thumb fora minim, as fingers 234 and S play the Jd J . Thisis called port playt Played ‘one hand, Watch out for the time signature changes. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Moderato el — _—_—-. Foacinating soe! ‘Srna. on the greatest composer ot teeth cet ‘re Aron ois ce Wim can De see Bh fonng (904: "Too mary ee fh to ng ere erKey signatures A key signature, when needed, is placed at the beginning of each line of music. It comes after the clef and before tbe ime signature. The composer uses it as shorthand to avoid having to write in the relevant # or bs each time, Key sgneture: mimefswade gf x . : vi iene mariad eVeeltaven This is the key signature of G major” which wah has one sharp - FH. Russian Dance ‘Alexander Goedicke (1877-1957) _—_————Extending the hands eau or phrase: Prior o this page, the hands have usually played in 5-note hand positions within each group o* P! _—_—— “$B From now on, the hands may be extending or contracting so that the range of not widened. tes within each phrase can be Exercises for the Allemande below. a Hang see bers 7-8 extending —_beiow. a Hand ‘see bars 9-10 contracting below. Allemande Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630) 45Another key signature Koy shgnature (The bison the B line) pause on the note This isthe key signature 7). over a note of F major which has | one flat - Bb NY surorenae o 4 wo Poor Wand’ring One from The Pirates of Penzance Adapted from Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) 2Scarborough Fair Changing the fingering on one note. ‘This isa useful technique when running out of fingers. omen, SEES (ipbars 10:11 RM. es ES | prcie ese bate es Traditional English Song Gaspard ae [¢ nuit by Maurice Ravel (18751937) containg ‘some fiendishly dificult repeated notes. LUsten in awe!Slurs A slur isa curved Line over or under a group of two or three notes. a ‘Think of it as a very short phrase and float your hand from the keyboard between slurs, The weight is put on the frst note of the slur and is released at the end of it. Progress: Now that the pieces are gradually getting more difficult, don’t expect instant achievement! Make sure ‘hat you practise hands separately until perfect before attempting hands together. Most of the pieces will take longer an a week to leam and it is worth spending time consolidating what you already know before moving on to a new topic Exercise 1 SS ry ss — ee Now try it with the left hand starting an octave lower than written. ‘The note value of the last note of each slur will be reduced slightly e.g. the first two bars should sound more like tla dtd id dre Cradle Song Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-87)German Dance First and second time directions. ‘The end of a section of music which is repeated, can be altered when it is played the second time by the use of F4.~T and £2. directions, Don't forget to leave ‘out the [2,~] bar (or passage) when you play the second time ending Adapted from Franz Schubert (1797-1828)Don Giovanni Zertlina’s Aria Bani, barti, 0 bel Masetto “Do not spare me, dear Masetto’ Adapted from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (175691) Andante grazioso 5 (oot, at wary a8 ar rweded, Yur Mies 61 aaaStaccato Study Make sure that the notes of both hands sound exactly together. Keep the wrist loose but don't allow the repeated fo notes t0 get ‘flabby’ or lazy. Allegro Karl Czemny (1791-1857) oh oo ada really impressive when played on more than one keyboard, or with you are ina group situation this study sou You are in a group situation, ly ne ane i “usin the ‘ever! players at one keyboard ll plying one hand wsing allae a a cc le TTT La Traviata Drinking song Libiamo from Act 1 ‘Let's drink” The left hand chord notes in brackets are actually needed (and played) by the right hand tune. You can either omit them in the left hand or play the D in both hands, ‘Adapted from Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Allegretto 5 Fowcnating eet Tre fvoutie per fe seston Ros Ba0n La Trovit. The gnet society Enns has trorend the opera rouse nt aa hgh to ee er youn ad ocert cig ny mpmsonate the erare of en lero Fench no ho aris he stan ‘roe pasion. era's muse, which gmeray descend below he jects, can a isc cla fe aNBELE rt being one sory of sujet. (The Landon Tes, 2856, olAir In F ~ dor FP Lf ind or insidea “5 indicate semi-staccato (half-staccato). The notes should be played slightly ed but not as much as staccato. This kind of touch is used for most of the music of the Baroque era eg JS- Bach, Handel, Purcell when played on the piano rather than a harpsichord. Attributed to Moderato, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) 4 4, 2, ‘ mp eer Tat pre ra Ao agave Bach Noor 778 | SO Bsn compa fre second wrt ny of esas ME ‘2 a wm can sare wc one act ne eveThe sustaining pedal Sometimes called the damper pedal “Most pianos have two or thrce pedals, but stat with use only the one onthe right - al Sr . (sometimes incorrectly called the loud pedal), When this pedal is pressed down, the ea ‘a ce “ual . re enriched sound. strings, allowing the strings to vibrate without restriction and thereby giving @ faller and mos Place the ball of your right foot on this pedal and rest your heel onthe floor. Now press the pedal “ seen a times as quietly as possible, keeping your hecl on the floor. Keep the sole of your foot in contact with the ped: the time you use it - the ankle should feel like a hinge. Reasons for using this pedal: 4. To sustain and join sounds which cannot be played legato by the hands (wsually notes belonging to the samme chord but which are out of reach). 2. To connect different chords and make them legato - this overlapping is often called legato pedalling. “There are several markings to indicate the pedal but che following one is the most common nowadays. (Hoi) ws own up) “The pedal is pressed down at the beginning and released immediately at the end of the sign. |. Try playing the following exercises without pedal to start with, so that you can hear the difference it makes to the sound. aH. a 2[nthe exercise below, connect one note fo the next by letting the pedal come up just at the moment when the key i played and then pressing the pedal down again before the finger leaves the key (Change) oS (Down Hold = Up Down Hold Up) ‘edingoring low wll mae it imposible to pay legato without the use of the pedal. ‘The counts are given to make it easier for you to see and feel where to change the pedal and the —A— ching has therefore been exaggerated, 5 1 & Legato pedalling is used herein the eight bars of The Blue Danuberelow. Ifthe pedal was left down for three bars, the fet would be too heavy For the staceato chord 8 the right hand. Johann Strauss I (1825-99) To be continued in Book 21Valse Before playing a new piece with the pedal, always practise it itbout a first. You may not want to use the pedal with every piece: Here the tune is in the left hand, so try to bring it out. Adapted from Frédéric Chopin (1810-49) — [Krew by Hoy Fires Charey of Copin etal in Longo in ised Oropnmcreouighy aes the ces moxAONS. Caring ve uigrans woe when wrong nee or pyed. Swezeatodtatening Famous wetzes to Istento are: Nod ina hac on gtsteh #2 a6: Op.28 in E fet, Op.34 P64 No.1 in D flat nute Waltz) and 0p.34.N0.2 In A minor oo oo at (the MinuteAdapted from Johannes Brahms (1833.97) 1 ‘we rede he ico at soa BEN Ma npness bai Teranorn.Auld Lang Syne ‘You may be called upon to play this on New Year's Eve! ‘Soberly! a and — | ne mf shoud | auld ec -qusin-tanee | be forgot 2 snouid | auld ac-quain-tance | be forgot, and |days of Auld LangTheme from Swan Lake tamost music, pedal marks are not written in, ‘ry changing the pedal where you think suitable and where the notes ofthe chord change. faeriment with the sounds you want, Adapted from Andante Peter Ilyich Tehaikovsky (1840-93) 2+ see pose 64 for con moto, Fiir Elise 62 micciainpaneatemiaeie Adapted from an excerpt by Ludwig van Beethoven (17701827) a a