facdlts - Contents 2 KEYBOARD STICKERS 26 “London Bridge” QUIZ 3 LET'S PLAY RIGHT AWAY! “London Bridge” 8 LONG AND SHORT NOTES 28 TIES 9 PLAY THE ACCOMPANIMENT ALL TIED UP 11 MELODY AND AGCOMPANIMENT TOGETHER 12 “Chopsticks” 13, THE MUSICAL ALPHABET “When The Saints Go Marching In” FINGERING 32 REPEAT SIGNS AND DOUBLE ENDINGS 14 SPELLING ON THE STAFF “Michael, Row The Bost Ashore” 15 JOHN'S DOT GAME 34 EIGHTH NOTES REGISTRATION NUMBERS COUNTING EIGHTH NOTES 16 TIME VALUES 36 “Scotland The Brave” 17 “Barearolle” 37 “Are You Sleeping” 18 HOW MUSIC IS ORGANIZED 38 SEVENTH CHORDS 19 MATCH NOTES TO THE KEYBOARD “Skip To My Lou” 20 FOUR BEATS IN A MEASURE 39 MORE ON FINGERING COUNTING NOTES IN 4/4 TIME “Can Can” 21 TRY THE RHYTHMS 40 MISSING BAR LINES “Merrily We Roll Along” “This Old Man” 22 NEW CHORD: F 42 NOTES WITH DOTS 6 NOTES - 5 FINGERS “Al ” FINGER SUBSTITUTION 43 MORE DOTTED NOTES 23. “Mumpty Dumpiy” 44 "Carnival Of Venise” QUIZ 24 PICKUP NOTES “Carnival OF Venice” “It's Raining, It’s Pouring” 46 FINAL QUIZ 48 REGISTRATION GUIDE 4 y Va HAL*LEONARD® CORPORATION ats E-ZPlay ® TODAY Music Notation © 1675 HAL LEONARO PUBLISHING CORPORATION ‘Copytight © 1860 by HAL LEONARD PUBLISHING CORPORATION 7 Intemational Copyright Secured All Fights Reserved i as For al works contained heren: __ Unauthorized copying, arranging, adapting, recording or public performance i en infingement of copyright. Iningers are liable under the law.HI... I'M JOHN AND THIS IS MY KIDS KEYBOARD COURSE. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF FUN TOGETHER. WE'LL PLAY SOME SONGS AND LEARN ABOUT MUSIC, YOUVE PROBABLY HEARD MANY OF THESE ‘SONGS BEFORE. YOU MAY HAVE SUNG THEM AT HOME, AT SCHOOL OR WITH YOUR FRIENDS. IF THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOUVE EVER PLAYED A KEYBOARD, THAT'S. OKAY.... WE'LL START AT THE BEGINNING. MY FRIENDS SALLY AND BUSTER AND MY DOG ROVER WILL BE HERE TO HELP. ‘THERE ARE SONGS, GAMES, AND PUZZLES FOR YOU 10 D0, ‘ALL FUN WAYS FOR YOU TO LEARN ABOUT NAMING NOTES, FINDING KEYS, ‘STUFF LIKE THAT. ‘SPEAKING OF FUN, LET'S GET STARTED! Most keyboards can be divided into two parts - a solo section for playing the melody (with your right hand) and a chord section for playing the accompaniment, o: background (with your left hand). The names of the chord keys are usually marked - th solo keys may or may not be. This book has colored stickers for your solo keys. Put then on as shown in the picture. YOUR KEYBOARD MIGHT NOT LOOK JUST LIKE THE PICTURE. YOU MIGHT ‘AVE MORE KEYS...OR FEWERIN ONE SECTION OR THE OTHER. BE SURE ‘TO PUTTHE STICKERS ON STARTING ATTHE FIRST G KEY AFTER THE CHORD SECTION, AS THE PICTURE SHOWS. IF YOU PUT THEM CLOSER TO THE BLACK KEYS, YOUR FINGERS WONT COVER THE NAMES WHEN YOU PLAY. ‘YOU ALSO WON'T WEAR THEM OUT BY PLAYING ON THEM,1. Find the button marked Waltz and press it. 2. Press RHYTHM START and listen to the drums. You'll hear one beat, like John’s bass drum, and two other beats, like Buster’s snare drum. If you could see it, it might look like this: 3. Find a button called PIANO and press it. It will be with others in a group called SOLO, MELODY, or UPPER VOICES. 4. Play the middle G that has a colored sticker, so you match the rhythm. Use your right thumb and do it like this: ® Keep going and listen! If the drums are too fast, use the TEMPO control to slow them down. As you learn to play more keys, the colors will help you find them. 5. The beats of the waltz are in groups of three. Count along with the drums.6. To help you find your way, the groups can be separated Dy lines. Play the next example. 7. It will be easier if you use a different AW’ WC) finger on each key. Start with your right thumb and play the example above a few more times. 8. Play this and see what song it sounds like.cb 9, If you said CHOPSTICKS, the old piano favorite, you're right! Can you play it without John’s and Buster’s pictures?.... Try it! ofl | oe 6 eo 0 = 6 @ = ® ®@ = ® oO Be 6 6 6 ae o 8 6 = oe eo 6 Be 6 6 6 ce | | o© 6 0 of = oe @ = o oO eo 6 BE OE o 6 oe @10. Some notes must be held longer than others — these are the white notes. Their color bars tell you to hold them twice as long — for two beats. HEHE SB BH Ff © © ©|0® ® ©|6 6 @ SB BB S| SS & |e al eo © ©|6 © ©|}|0 6 mE EE mi a oS © @|;e 6© 6|6 6 6 BE RH 8B2EH EB HH H 6 ®© ®©|;6 6 ©|6 6 6 BH | Ee eo 6© ©|/06 6 0@| © @ * % - | 1 | @Long And Short Notes ‘THE EXAMPLES BELOW WILL HELP GET YOUR FINGERS TOWORK RIGHT PLAYING YOUR FIRST NOTES. = a EE ee © 6 © 10 © @ 16 6 6 |e | a SS =a BES -1© eo |® @ |e eo |eNow it’s time to get your left hand going, playing the accompaniment. The accompaniment is bass notes and chords. Chords can be played by a piano, guitar. accordion - any instrument that can play more than one note at a time. The bass and chords play along with the drums. In a band, the bass, chords and drums are played by THE RHYTHM SECTION. ‘SOME KEYBOARDS LET YOU CHOOSE THE ACCOMPANIMENT VOICE. IF YOURS DOES, PRESS PIANO. IT WILL BE IN A GROUP OF BUTTONS MARKED ACCOMP, LOWER VOICES, OR CHORD VOICES. IF THERE'S A BUTTON CALLED ONE FINGER, OR SINGLE FINGER, PRESS IT. IF THERE'S ANOTHER CALLED MEMORY, PRESS IT 100. THESE WILL LET ‘YOU PLAY A CHORD WITH ONE FINGER, AND WHEN YOU LET GO OF THE KEY, THE CHORD WILL KEEP PLAYING - JUST LIKE MAGIC! THIS MAKES IT REALLY EASY TO PLAY THE ACCOMPANIMENT! TO STOP THE AUTOMATIC ACCOMPANIMENT, PRESS RHYTHM START/STOP.ON TODAY'S KEYBOARDS, THE RHYTHM AND ACCOMPANIMENT WORKIN DIFFERENT WAYS. ON SOME, THERE IS MEMORY BUT NO BUTTON WITH ‘THAT NAME...IT WORKS ONLY WHEN THE DRUMS ARE PLAYING. ON SOME, ‘YOU CAN PLAY ONLY ONE-FINGER CHORDS, ON OTHERS, YOU CAN FORM ‘YOUR OWN CHORDS. IF YOU'RE NOT SURE HOW YOUR KEYBOARD DOES THESE THINGS, LOOK AT THE OWNER'S BOOK THAT CAME WITH IT. CHOPSTICKS uses two chords, the C and G, The accompaniment part of your keyboard shows where you can find these chord keys. For now, use the lower C key if you have more than one in your chord section. If the drums are not playing the waltz rhythm, start them again. Press and release the C chord key. You should hear the bass and piano (or maybe another voice) playing the thythm along with the drums. Listen and count with the next example.Press and release the G chord key and hear how the notes change in the bass and chord parts. Now play the C chord key again. Chord symbols (6) Gl) are in your music at the places where you should change chords. This is important in making the accompaniment match the melody (solo voice). Melody and Accompaniment Together So far, you’ve played four different notes with your right hand. Wouldn’t it be easier if we could see which notes sound higher or lower than others? We can by using some lines called a staff. ‘Names of ‘Lines i As you can see, each line and space has a name. Notes on the same line or space always ae have'the same name.Let’s take one more look at CHOPSTICKS. The big 3 at the beginning reminds you that the beats are in groups of three. The color bars are above the staff to guide you and the chord symbols (boxes) tell you where to change from one chord to the next. Chopsticks G c Oe ES ee ee ee ee 36-00 1o-e-ote—e-ote—e e G c a Ee as Wee ma ULmwSUl ee Lo—o—0 [oy 0 | © os G c [a ES Ee Ge ee ee ee ee === * sy {g] C : eS ee ee 2 SS ee ee . Fee B op 019 ele | ‘Cap @ by HA. LEONARD LEUNG CORFORATEN ‘telon! Copid Sears Ain ReseThe musical alphabet is easy because there are only seven letters: A-B-C-D-E-FandG. These letters name every white key on your keyboard and the lines and spaces of the staff. Playing the melody will be much easier for you if you use the fingering numbers in the music. The fingers of your right hand are numbered as shown. a ~ NW‘THE NOTES SPELL WORDS... CAN YOU PLACE THE LETTERS ON THE STAFF? ‘THE FIRST ONE IS DONE FOR YOU.John’s Dot Game Connect the dots to find your right hand. Registration Numbers From now on, each song has a Registration number. This matches a number on the chart on page 48. The chart tells you which voices you can use to play songs. Always try others, too. vp (i y I IK} ia We il ‘A 15J Time Values You already know how high or low a note will sound by where it is on the staff. You also know that black notes are one beat long and white notes are longer. But this isn’t enough we need to be more exact, Each note not only tells you what key to play but also how long the key has to be held down, This is called the Time Value of the note. Divisions of time in music are Calleg Beats. Here are four common types of notes and their time values: ©) WHOLE NOTE = 4 BEATS HALF NOTE = 2 BEATS DOTTED HALF NOTE = 3 BEATS | QUARTER NOTE = 1 BEATBarcarolle Copyright @ 1000 by HAL LEONARD PUBLEHING COMPONMATION bienationa Copyright Gequred Al PMigito Magarved Registration 1 Rhythm: Waltz 17WHAT MAKES MUSIC FUN IS THE WAY THE SEVEN LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET AND THE LONG AND SHORT NOTES GET ALL MIXED UP TOGETHER TO MAKE SONGS... Treble clef / Time Signature Double Bar How Music Is Organized You already know about the staff, the lines that divide the beats into groups, and the number that tells you how many beats are in each group. Here’s how the staff looks from now on, with some added information to help you. Treble clef Appears at the beginning of a song. Tells you that what follows is the melody. Bars or These divide the staff into measures. They are the Bar Lines same as the lines used to separate the groups of beats. Measure All the space between two bar lines. Notes are written in the measures. Time The one number you already know becomes two. Signature The upper number tells you how many beats are in each measure. The lower number (usually 4) tells you which kind of note is one beat long (usually the quarter note). Double Bar Tells you where the song ends. 18Match Notes To The Keyboard Draw a line from each note on the staff to th y board One of them 1SRS Four Beats In A Measure When you press the button called SWING, you'll hear a rhythm something like ihis,..listen and count along, 3 -t The upper number in the time signature tells you there are four beats in each measure. As before, the lower number means that a quarter note is worth one beat. This is the time signature you'll see most often - in your dad’s favorite jazz tunes, the songs your mom likes, and the rock hits played on your radio. , 4 Counting Notes In4 Time IN THE FIRST EXAMPLE, WRITE THE COUNTING NUMBERS BELOW AND THEN COUNT OUT LOUD AND PLAY THE MEASURES, IN THE SECOND EXAMPLE, WRITE THE COUNTING NUMBERS AND THEN PUT THE MISSING BAR LINES AFTER EVERY 4 BEATS. [asf i i eT a g) ”Try The Rhythms As you play the next two songs, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG and HUMPTY DUMPTY, try SWING, ROCK, BOSSA NOVA and any other 4/4 rhythm that you may have on your electronic keyboard, Play the whole song with one rhythm; then play it again using another rhythm. You'll notice that the mood of the song changes when you pick a different rhythm. Merrily We Roll Along Registration 1 Rhythm: Experiment Copyright © 1990 by HAL LEONARD PUBLISHING CORPORATION iasenona Copyege Secuwed Al Rights Reserved 21i New Chora: F In HUMPTY DUMPTY, you will play a new chord, F. The picture below shows you where the new chord F is located on your keyboard. CODD E FAGAAME COIOPE F 6 Notes—5 Fingers As you play songs with more and more notes, you might think you'll run out of fingers. Finger substitutions will help keep this from happening. When you see two numbers — like 5-4 — next to the same note, play the note with your fifth finger. Then, while you’re holding down the key, change to your fourth finger. Your fifth finger is now free to play the next note. Finger Substitution Now that you have learned about finger subsitution, play the music example until each finger substitution is easy for you to do. [oe ee | es! ae LO) | pr | Pips ero ce 2stration 3 Reythm: Waltz iG) could not Copyright © 1990 by HAL LEOMARD Intemational Copyright Secured [C] ca PUBLISHING AQ Rights Reserved Humpty Dumpty iC] FF [C| [G| Hump - ty to - geth - er CORPORATION 23 [c| a eA Al ap Cl 6-a—| G ° Ma vcd “ Wats NOW WHERE ARE (Vhs une 5 THOSE MISSING BEATS? Pickup Notes Your next song, IT’S RAINING IT’S POURING, starts differently - melody notes are played before the first chord is played. These are called pickup notes and are shown below. Because the pickup is a quarter note (worth one beat), you may wonder where the other beats in the measure are. Take a look at the end of the song. As you know, the half note is worth two beats - the missing beats from the first measure. 1 2 Pickup Note Missing Beats It’s Raining, It’s Pouring Registration 3 Rhythm: Waltz Copyright © 1990 by HAL LEONARD PUBUSHING CORPORATION international Copyright Secured All Rights Reservedwent He ing. head and he his bumped he and 25