Program for Beginning
(Primer-Level) Piano Students

• Up and down on the keyboard
• The musical alphabet; the musical alphabet backwards
• Exploration of the keyboard; black-note groups
• Location of C and F using black-note groups as guide
• Location of middle C on the keyboard
  
• Five-finger scales
• hand position #1 (all white notes)
• hand position #2 (wh, wh, bl, wh, wh) 
  • Introduced after the student has mastered hand position #1

At this point, the concepts of half step/whole step and sharp/flat can be introduced.

• Stepping vs. skipping on the keyboard
• Exploration of the staff
  
• Stepping vs. skipping on the staff
  • 10 Possibilities of Simple Pitch-Reading (chart)
    
• Introduction of treble clef
  • G above middle C
    
• Right-hand pitch-reading exercises
  
• Introduction of bass clef
  • 2nd G below middle C
    
• Left-hand pitch-reading exercises
• Introduction to counting
  • quarter note
    
• “The Golden Rule of Counting” (i.e., subdivision)
• Concept of tie
• Half note (i.e., two quarter notes tied together)
• Dotted half note (i.e., three quarter notes tied together)
  

NOTE: For older students, the theory behind dotted notes can be introduced

• Whole note (i.e., four quarter notes tied together)
• Arithmetical relationship between whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes (for older students)
  
• Concept of time signature
  • measure as horizontal grouping of notes; bar line
  • common time (e.g., 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4.)
    
• “Silver Rule of Counting” (i.e., each measure starts with “one”)
  
• Concept of “next available number” (sequential number placement within measure)
• Counting exercises (single pitch)
• Concept of melody as combination of changing pitches and changing note-values
  
• Treble clef melodies in various common time signatures
  
• Bass clef melodies in various common time signatures
  
• Two-handed counting exercises (one pitch per hand)
  
• Two-handed songs
  
• Concept of leger line
  
  • location of middle C in relation to the treble staff
    
• Below-the-staff pitch-reading exercises in treble clef

NOTE: At this point, the student is ready for a level I book, such as John Schaum Book A or John Thompson First Grade.

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