Music Moves for Piano: Scope and Sequence
Keyboard Games A, B and Books 1~5
Keyboard Games A
Keyboard Games A is an exciting introduction to music and playing at the piano. This book is foundational for beginners of all ages and transfer students who are new to an audiation approach.
Keyboard Games A Skills
Audiation and musicianship skills studies:
1) Exposure to songs in various tonalities and meters
2) Begin a movement repertoire: move with flow and to macrobeats
3) Listen to and echo duple & triple macro/microbeat rhythm patterns on neutral syllables
4) Listen to and echo major & minor tonal patterns on neutral syllables
5) Learn to find pages in the music book
6) Learn to locate keys to play from the keyboard map in all areas of the keyboard
Keyboard Geography and Technique:
1) Body awareness - Torso, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, wrist joints, elbow joints, hands, fingers
2) Standing or sitting posture at the piano
3) Recognize and play single and clusters of two and three black keys; single white keys
4) Develop the skill to play and move to various positions on the keyboard with ease
5) Develop healthy technique with the use of gentle fists and middle tall finger
6) Balanced use of both hands to play
7) Coordination of both hands playing together to macrobeats
8) Coordination of hand/eye movement
9) Ensemble-playing
Creativity and Improvisation activities:
1) Explore sounds on the entire keyboard
2) Change the dynamics or tempo of a piece
3) Play in different registers
4) Create medleys and mashups
5) Create simple duet parts
6) Create arrangements or compositions using familiar pieces or rhythm patterns
1) Exposure to songs in various tonalities and meters
2) Begin a movement repertoire: move with flow and to macrobeats
3) Listen to and echo duple & triple macro/microbeat rhythm patterns on neutral syllables
4) Listen to and echo major & minor tonal patterns on neutral syllables
5) Learn to find pages in the music book
6) Learn to locate keys to play from the keyboard map in all areas of the keyboard
Keyboard Geography and Technique:
1) Body awareness - Torso, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, wrist joints, elbow joints, hands, fingers
2) Standing or sitting posture at the piano
3) Recognize and play single and clusters of two and three black keys; single white keys
4) Develop the skill to play and move to various positions on the keyboard with ease
5) Develop healthy technique with the use of gentle fists and middle tall finger
6) Balanced use of both hands to play
7) Coordination of both hands playing together to macrobeats
8) Coordination of hand/eye movement
9) Ensemble-playing
Creativity and Improvisation activities:
1) Explore sounds on the entire keyboard
2) Change the dynamics or tempo of a piece
3) Play in different registers
4) Create medleys and mashups
5) Create simple duet parts
6) Create arrangements or compositions using familiar pieces or rhythm patterns
Keyboard Games B
Book B introduces new keyboard, audiation, musicianship, technique and improvisation skills.
Keyboard Games B Skills
Audiation and musicianship skills studies:
1) Exposure to songs in various tonalities and meters
2) Begin a movement repertoire: move with flow and to macrobeats
3) Listen to and echo duple & triple MB/mb rhythm patterns on neutral syllables (rhythm syllables introduced)
4) Listen to and echo major & minor tonal patterns on neutral syllables (tonal syllables introduced)
5) Learn to find pages in the music book and read information on the music page
6) Learn to locate keys to play from the keyboard map in all areas of the keyboard
Keyboard Geography and Technique:
1) Body awareness - Torso, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, wrist joints, elbow joints, hands, fingers
2) Standing or sitting posture at the piano
3) Recognize and play single and clusters of two and three black keys; single white keys
4) Develop the skill to play and move to various positions on the keyboard with ease
5) Develop healthy technique with the use of gentle fists and middle tall finger
6) Balanced use of both hands to play
7) Coordination of both hands playing together to macrobeats
8) Coordination of hand/eye movement
9) Ensemble-playing
Creativity and Improvisation activities:
1) Explore sounds on the entire keyboard
2) Change the dynamics or tempo of a piece
3) Play in different registers
4) Create medleys and mashups
5) Create simple duet parts
6) Create arrangements or compositions using familiar pieces or rhythm patterns
1) Exposure to songs in various tonalities and meters
2) Begin a movement repertoire: move with flow and to macrobeats
3) Listen to and echo duple & triple MB/mb rhythm patterns on neutral syllables (rhythm syllables introduced)
4) Listen to and echo major & minor tonal patterns on neutral syllables (tonal syllables introduced)
5) Learn to find pages in the music book and read information on the music page
6) Learn to locate keys to play from the keyboard map in all areas of the keyboard
Keyboard Geography and Technique:
1) Body awareness - Torso, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, wrist joints, elbow joints, hands, fingers
2) Standing or sitting posture at the piano
3) Recognize and play single and clusters of two and three black keys; single white keys
4) Develop the skill to play and move to various positions on the keyboard with ease
5) Develop healthy technique with the use of gentle fists and middle tall finger
6) Balanced use of both hands to play
7) Coordination of both hands playing together to macrobeats
8) Coordination of hand/eye movement
9) Ensemble-playing
Creativity and Improvisation activities:
1) Explore sounds on the entire keyboard
2) Change the dynamics or tempo of a piece
3) Play in different registers
4) Create medleys and mashups
5) Create simple duet parts
6) Create arrangements or compositions using familiar pieces or rhythm patterns
Book 1
Book 1 introduces new keyboard, audiation, musicianship, technique and improvisation skills.
Book 1 Skills
Book 1 introduces many new keyboard, music notation and improvisation skills. Students grow in musicianship and perform more difficult solo repertoire as essential skills for understanding music are acquired.
Audiation and musicianship skills studies:
1) Identify, chant and play duple and triple macro/microbeat, division, division/elongation patterns
2) Identify, sing and play tonic and dominant tonal patterns
3) Hear and identify same and different tonal and rhythm patterns in songs
3) Transpose melodies
4) Play hands together with simple, single-voice accompaniments for melodies
Keyboard Geography and Technique:
1) Keyboard activities to prepare for performance pieces
2) Body awareness and physical gestures
3) How to play a key: fast, slow, softly, loudly
4) Articulation: Separated and Connected touch
5) Tonic arpeggios and Tonic-dominant-tonic melodic cadences
6) Pentascale (Springtime One & Springtime Two), C Major scale
7) G Major, F Major, F# Major, C Major, A Minor
8) Two-note slurs
Improvisation activities build on the performance and understanding of tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in a context. Students will learn to:
1) Improvise short ideas on black and white keys
2) Improvise sound ideas
3) Create and answer an improvised idea/improvise contrasting ideas
4) Explore different sounds on the keyboard and on different areas of the keyboard
5) Use a variety of performance controls: dynamics, articulation, tempo
6) Improvise with tones from major keys (G, F, F#, C) and a minor key (A)
7) Create in two and three part form: A-B, A-B-A
8) Use macrobeat/microbeat, division and division/elongation rhythm patterns
Audiation and musicianship skills studies:
1) Identify, chant and play duple and triple macro/microbeat, division, division/elongation patterns
2) Identify, sing and play tonic and dominant tonal patterns
3) Hear and identify same and different tonal and rhythm patterns in songs
3) Transpose melodies
4) Play hands together with simple, single-voice accompaniments for melodies
Keyboard Geography and Technique:
1) Keyboard activities to prepare for performance pieces
2) Body awareness and physical gestures
3) How to play a key: fast, slow, softly, loudly
4) Articulation: Separated and Connected touch
5) Tonic arpeggios and Tonic-dominant-tonic melodic cadences
6) Pentascale (Springtime One & Springtime Two), C Major scale
7) G Major, F Major, F# Major, C Major, A Minor
8) Two-note slurs
Improvisation activities build on the performance and understanding of tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in a context. Students will learn to:
1) Improvise short ideas on black and white keys
2) Improvise sound ideas
3) Create and answer an improvised idea/improvise contrasting ideas
4) Explore different sounds on the keyboard and on different areas of the keyboard
5) Use a variety of performance controls: dynamics, articulation, tempo
6) Improvise with tones from major keys (G, F, F#, C) and a minor key (A)
7) Create in two and three part form: A-B, A-B-A
8) Use macrobeat/microbeat, division and division/elongation rhythm patterns
Book 2 Skills
Book 2 introduces many new keyboard, music notation and improvisation skills. Students grow in musicianship and perform more difficult solo repertoire as essential skills for understanding music are acquired.
Book 2 Skills
Book 2 introduces many new keyboard, music notation and improvisation skills. Students grow in musicianship and perform more difficult solo repertoire as essential skills for understanding music are acquired.
Audiation and musicianship skills studies:
1) Identify, chant and play duple and triple division, division/elongation and elongation rhythm patterns
2) Identify, sing and play major/minor tonic and subdominant tonal patterns
3) Distinguish between duple and triple meter; distinguish between major and minor tonality
3) Transpose melodies with the new keyalities learned in Book 2
4) Change tonality and meter of familiar folk songs
5) Italian tempo and dynamic terms
Keyboard Geography and Technique:
Relative Minor keyalities, Major scales, Major and Harmonic Minor cadences and tonic-dominant arpeggios are introduced
1) Keyboard activities to prepare for performance pieces
2) Body awareness and physical gestures
3) How to play a key: fast, slow, softly, loudly
4) Articulation: Separated, connected and staccato touch
5) Major and Minor: Tonic arpeggios (various tempo), Tonic-dominant-tonic melodic cadences and Triads (in different inversions)
6) C Major & F Major Scale
7) C Major/A Minor, G Major/E Minor, F Major/D Minor, E Major/C# Minor
Improvisation activities continue to build on the performance and understanding of tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in a context. Students will learn to:
1) Create new music based on rhythm and melodic patterns from familiar music
2) Use tones from a tonic triad
3) Use random piano keys
4) Use triads
5) Improvise with whole tone scale
6) Use a variety of performance controls: dynamics, articulation, tempo, and the damper pedal
7) Use contrasting dynamics or tempo or articulation
8) Play with different arrangements of a minor triad
Audiation and musicianship skills studies:
1) Identify, chant and play duple and triple division, division/elongation and elongation rhythm patterns
2) Identify, sing and play major/minor tonic and subdominant tonal patterns
3) Distinguish between duple and triple meter; distinguish between major and minor tonality
3) Transpose melodies with the new keyalities learned in Book 2
4) Change tonality and meter of familiar folk songs
5) Italian tempo and dynamic terms
Keyboard Geography and Technique:
Relative Minor keyalities, Major scales, Major and Harmonic Minor cadences and tonic-dominant arpeggios are introduced
1) Keyboard activities to prepare for performance pieces
2) Body awareness and physical gestures
3) How to play a key: fast, slow, softly, loudly
4) Articulation: Separated, connected and staccato touch
5) Major and Minor: Tonic arpeggios (various tempo), Tonic-dominant-tonic melodic cadences and Triads (in different inversions)
6) C Major & F Major Scale
7) C Major/A Minor, G Major/E Minor, F Major/D Minor, E Major/C# Minor
Improvisation activities continue to build on the performance and understanding of tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in a context. Students will learn to:
1) Create new music based on rhythm and melodic patterns from familiar music
2) Use tones from a tonic triad
3) Use random piano keys
4) Use triads
5) Improvise with whole tone scale
6) Use a variety of performance controls: dynamics, articulation, tempo, and the damper pedal
7) Use contrasting dynamics or tempo or articulation
8) Play with different arrangements of a minor triad
Book 3 Skills
Book introduces many new keyboard, music notation and improvisation skills. Students grow in musicianship and perform more difficult solo repertoire as essential skills for understanding music are acquired.
Book 3 Skills
Book introduces many new keyboard, music notation and improvisation skills. Students grow in musicianship and perform more difficult solo repertoire as essential skills for understanding music are acquired.
Keyboard, audiation, and musicianship skills studies:
1) Natural, flat, sharp, double-flat and double-sharp letter names
2) Articulation: staccato, accent and slur
3) Tonic-Subdominant-Tonic arpeggios in Major and Minor
4) Major triads on 12 piano keys organized into four categories: WWW, WBW, BWB and oddballs
5) Major tonality primary cadences: I-V-I, I-IV-I and I-IV-V-I in all keyalities
6) Triads in three positions: root, 1st and 2nd inversion
7) Chromatics (half-steps) and whole-tones (whole-steps)
8) Minor triads on 12 piano keys organized into four categories: WWW, WBW, BWB and oddballs
9) Harmonic minor tonality primary cadences: i-V-i, i-iv-i and i-iv-V-i in all keyalities
10) Triads on major scale degrees
Improvisation activities continue to build on the performance and understanding of tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in a context. Students will learn to:
1) Change tonality
2) Change meter
3) Transpose
4) Create new music based on rhythm and melodic patterns from familiar music
5) Use a variety of performance controls: dynamics, articulation, tempo, and the damper pedal
6) Use tones from a tonic triad
7) Use random piano keys
8) Use different pairs of triads
9) Improvise major and minor melodies above a given chord progression
10) Use chromatics (half-steps) and whole-tones (whole-steps)
11) Use rest and tie patterns
Keyboard, audiation, and musicianship skills studies:
1) Natural, flat, sharp, double-flat and double-sharp letter names
2) Articulation: staccato, accent and slur
3) Tonic-Subdominant-Tonic arpeggios in Major and Minor
4) Major triads on 12 piano keys organized into four categories: WWW, WBW, BWB and oddballs
5) Major tonality primary cadences: I-V-I, I-IV-I and I-IV-V-I in all keyalities
6) Triads in three positions: root, 1st and 2nd inversion
7) Chromatics (half-steps) and whole-tones (whole-steps)
8) Minor triads on 12 piano keys organized into four categories: WWW, WBW, BWB and oddballs
9) Harmonic minor tonality primary cadences: i-V-i, i-iv-i and i-iv-V-i in all keyalities
10) Triads on major scale degrees
Improvisation activities continue to build on the performance and understanding of tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in a context. Students will learn to:
1) Change tonality
2) Change meter
3) Transpose
4) Create new music based on rhythm and melodic patterns from familiar music
5) Use a variety of performance controls: dynamics, articulation, tempo, and the damper pedal
6) Use tones from a tonic triad
7) Use random piano keys
8) Use different pairs of triads
9) Improvise major and minor melodies above a given chord progression
10) Use chromatics (half-steps) and whole-tones (whole-steps)
11) Use rest and tie patterns
Book 4 Skills
Book 4 introduces many new keyboard, music notation and improvisation skills. Students grow in musicianship and perform more difficult solo repertoire as essential skills for understanding music are acquired.
Book 4 Skills
Book 4 introduces many new keyboard, music notation and improvisation skills. Students grow in musicianship and perform more difficult solo repertoire as essential skills for understanding music are acquired.
Keyboard, audiation, and musicianship skills studies:
1) Dorian and Mixolydian tonalities: resting tone, characteristic tone, melodic cadence, and primary cadence
2) How to play and improvise in Dorian and Mixolydian tonalities
3) Play when DO is Ab, Eb, Bb and LA is F, C, G
4) How to create rhythmic variations; How to create melodic variations using passing tones, upper neighbours, and lower neighbours
5) How to create music in different forms: variation, three-part and rondo form
6) How to hear, play, and write major and minor intervals & inversions
7) How to write tonal patterns and enrhythmic rhythm patterns
8) How to draw accidentals on the music staff
9) How to improvise in unusual meter
10) How to notate music in a music software program
Improvisation activities continue to build on the performance and understanding of tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in a context. Students will learn to:
1) Change tonality using Major, Harmonic Minor, Dorian and Mixolydian
2) Change meter using Duple, Triple, Unusual Meters
3) Transpose
4) Create new music based on rhythm and melodic patterns from familiar music
5) Use a variety of performance controls: dynamics, articulation, tempo, and the damper pedal
6) Use different combination of triads for improvisation
7) Improvise major and minor melodies above a given chord progression
8) Use chromatics (half-steps) and whole-tones (whole-steps)
9) Use Major and Minor intervals and their inersions
10) Use rest, tie, and upbeat rhythm patterns
Keyboard, audiation, and musicianship skills studies:
1) Dorian and Mixolydian tonalities: resting tone, characteristic tone, melodic cadence, and primary cadence
2) How to play and improvise in Dorian and Mixolydian tonalities
3) Play when DO is Ab, Eb, Bb and LA is F, C, G
4) How to create rhythmic variations; How to create melodic variations using passing tones, upper neighbours, and lower neighbours
5) How to create music in different forms: variation, three-part and rondo form
6) How to hear, play, and write major and minor intervals & inversions
7) How to write tonal patterns and enrhythmic rhythm patterns
8) How to draw accidentals on the music staff
9) How to improvise in unusual meter
10) How to notate music in a music software program
Improvisation activities continue to build on the performance and understanding of tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in a context. Students will learn to:
1) Change tonality using Major, Harmonic Minor, Dorian and Mixolydian
2) Change meter using Duple, Triple, Unusual Meters
3) Transpose
4) Create new music based on rhythm and melodic patterns from familiar music
5) Use a variety of performance controls: dynamics, articulation, tempo, and the damper pedal
6) Use different combination of triads for improvisation
7) Improvise major and minor melodies above a given chord progression
8) Use chromatics (half-steps) and whole-tones (whole-steps)
9) Use Major and Minor intervals and their inersions
10) Use rest, tie, and upbeat rhythm patterns
Book 5 Skills
Book 5 introduces many new keyboard and improvisation skills. Audiation is strengthened as improvisation activities become more complex. Students grow in musicianship and perform more difficult solo repertoire as essential skills for understanding music are acquired.
Book 5 Skills
Book 5 introduces many new keyboard and improvisation skills. Audiation is strengthened as improvisation activities become more complex. Students grow in musicianship and perform more difficult solo repertoire as essential skills for understanding music are acquired.
Keyboard, audiation, and musicianship skills studies:
1) Lydian, Phrygian, Aeolian and Locrian tonality: resting tone, characteristic tone, melodic cadence, and primary cadence
2) How to play and improvise in Lydian, Phrygian, Aeolian, and Locrian tonalities
3) Play when DO is Cb, Db, Gb and LA is Ab, Bb, Eb
4) Study of 7th, 9th and 11th chords
5) How to create introductions, endings, interludes and medleys
6) How to create variations using inversion, retrograde, augmentation, and diminution
7) Combined meter and changing meter
8) Accompanying patterns
9) Circle of dominants (4ths)
10) Chromatic mediant
Improvisation activities continue to build on the performance and understanding of tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in a context. Students will learn to:
1) Change tonality using Major, Harmonic Minor, Dorian, Mixolydian, Lydian, Phrygian, Aeolian, and Locrian tonalities
2) Change meter using Duple, Triple, Unusual, Combined and Changing Meters
3) Transpose to many new keyalities
4) Create new music based on rhythm patterns from familiar music
5) Create new music based on melodic patterns from familiar music
6) Use a variety of performance controls: dynamics, articulation, tempo, and the damper pedal
7) Use different inversions of triads, 7th, 9th, and 11th chords for improvisation
8) Improvise melodies in different tonalities above a given chord progression
9) Make harmonic changes to melody tones
Keyboard, audiation, and musicianship skills studies:
1) Lydian, Phrygian, Aeolian and Locrian tonality: resting tone, characteristic tone, melodic cadence, and primary cadence
2) How to play and improvise in Lydian, Phrygian, Aeolian, and Locrian tonalities
3) Play when DO is Cb, Db, Gb and LA is Ab, Bb, Eb
4) Study of 7th, 9th and 11th chords
5) How to create introductions, endings, interludes and medleys
6) How to create variations using inversion, retrograde, augmentation, and diminution
7) Combined meter and changing meter
8) Accompanying patterns
9) Circle of dominants (4ths)
10) Chromatic mediant
Improvisation activities continue to build on the performance and understanding of tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in a context. Students will learn to:
1) Change tonality using Major, Harmonic Minor, Dorian, Mixolydian, Lydian, Phrygian, Aeolian, and Locrian tonalities
2) Change meter using Duple, Triple, Unusual, Combined and Changing Meters
3) Transpose to many new keyalities
4) Create new music based on rhythm patterns from familiar music
5) Create new music based on melodic patterns from familiar music
6) Use a variety of performance controls: dynamics, articulation, tempo, and the damper pedal
7) Use different inversions of triads, 7th, 9th, and 11th chords for improvisation
8) Improvise melodies in different tonalities above a given chord progression
9) Make harmonic changes to melody tones