Music Moves for Piano

Keyboard Games -- Book A

Designed for four-year old children to add keyboard experiences to their music and movement classes. Short keyboard pieces, in both duple and triple meters with duet parts, provide exploration using black and white piano keys.

The accompanying CD includes
performances of the keyboard pieces, tonal and rhythm patterns for students to echo, and songs and chants
for acculturation.

Download Sample Pages

Keyboard Games -- Book B

This book follows Book A with advancing keyboard materials in duple and triple meters with duet parts. Keyboard Games A and B provide a seamless transition from early childhood music activities to the more formal keyboard instruction provided in Student Book 1.

The accompanying CD includes performances of the keyboard pieces, tonal and rhythm patterns for students to echo, and songs and chants
for acculturation.

Download Sample Pages

The Preparatory Book may be used for kindergarten students and as a supplementary book to Student Book 1. The game-like pieces are short, in contrasting styles, and introduce both duple and triple meters. Many pieces have duet parts. Included are several folk song duets where the students play an accompaniment while the teacher plays the folk song.

Students become acquainted with the full range of the keyboard and play on both black keys and white keys. Pieces use the large motor movement of the arms and develop coordinated movement and alignment of the fingers/hand/arm unit.

Improvisation and creative activities are an integral part of this book. There is an accompanying CD recording of the performance pieces.

Download Sample Pages

Book 1 is for students of all ages, beginners and transfers. Students learn keyboard performance, improvisation, and audiation skills. Transfer students become acquainted with singing, moving and chanting activities that help them learn how to play by ear, improvise, and arrange music.

Initially, game-like pieces introduce rhythm/meter concepts, ensemble playing, and technical skills. Students become familiar with the whole range of the keyboard. The beginning pieces have teacher duet parts that are in different tonalities. These duet parts are simplifed for student performance. The pieces use both separated and connected styles of playing and use contrasting dynamics.

Most of the performance pieces in Music Moves for Piano are from our rich folk song heritage. Students learn to play in duple and triple meters and in major and minor tonalities. Students develop the left hand by playing the folk songs with each hand alone.

Accompaniments are added when a student feels comfortable coordinating two hands. Teachers and students are encouraged to adapt the suggested accompaniments to the physical capability of the student.

G Major, F Major, F-sharp Major, C Major and A Minor are introduced in Book 1.

Pattern instruction includes duple and triple meter macrobeat, microbeat, and division rhythm patterns and major and minor tonic and dominant tonal patterns.

Improvisation is the cornerstone of this method. Improvisation activities are included on the opening unit pages of the student books as well as in the Teacher Lesson Plans book.

The accompanying CD includes performances of the music, tonal and rhythm patterns for students to echo, and songs to sing.

Download Sample Pages

Book 2 continues with more difficult major and minor folk songs in duple and triple meters. The melody range is more than five notes. Students learn to play melody and accompaniment hands together. They also learn to transpose, and change tonality and meter.

Tonic and dominant accompaniments are in different styles to serve as model accompaniments. Students may learn these accompaniments or play a single-tone tonic/dominant accompaniment. For many students a single-tone tonic/dominant accompaniment is learned most easily and efficiently.

Improvisation activities are included in weekly lessons and assignments.

Pattern instruction includes duple and triple meter division and elongation rhythm patterns and major and minor tonic and subdominant tonal patterns.

Tonic and dominant arpeggios are introduced in C Major, A Minor, G Major, E Minor, F Major and D Minor. Students learn to play in E Major and C-sharp Minor.

The accompanying CD includes performances of the music, tonal and rhythm patterns for students to echo, and songs to sing.

Download Sample Pages

Book 3 introduces many new keyboard skills. Students learn:
1. Letter-names for all naturals, flats, sharps, and double sharps; different letter-names can be used for the same piano key; the same letter-name can be used for different piano keys.
2. Intervals on scale degrees using syllable names.
3. Major triads on 12 piano keys and all major primary cadences.
4. Minor triads on 12 piano keys and all minor primary cadences.
5. Triads in three positions.
6. Chromatics (half-steps) and whole-tones (whole-steps).
7. Triads on major scale degrees.
8. Articulation symbols.
9. How to use the damper pedal.

Book 3 introduces more difficult major and minor folk songs in duple and triple meters. The emphasis is still on hearing chord changes and playing simple root-harmony. Students now learn to play more difficult accompaniments. They continue to transpose folk songs and to change tonality and meter of the folk songs.

Short improvisation activities are included in weekly lessons and assignments. These activities increase in variety and complexity.

Pattern instruction includes duple and triple meter rest, tie and upbeat patterns and major and minor tonic and subdominant tonal patterns.

D Major and B Minor, A Major and F-sharp Minor, and E major and C-sharp Minor are introduced. Students learn to play
tonic/subdominant arpeggios and melodic cadences.

The accompanying CD includes performances of the music, tonal and rhythm patterns for students to echo, and songs to sing.

Student Books