November 17 Lesson Notes

C-major scale
– nice work!
– start practicing 2 octaves, Hands Separately
> Right Hand fingering
1-2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5
> Left Hand fingering
5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3-2-1
– remember to play the top note once only
– be careful – don’t let your elbow flip out when your thumb crosses underneath your hand

Glissando (technique)
– “sweep” all the the keys in one direction – up or down
– Right Hand
> Up – turn your hand over and play on the fingernails (2nd,3rd and-or 4th fingers)
> Down – play on the fingernail of your thumb – don’t brace your thumb with your 2nd finger but let your thumb freely move
– Left Hand
> Up – play on the fingernail of your thumb – don’t brace your thumb with your 2nd finger but let your thumb freely move
> Down – turn your hand over and play on the fingernails (2nd,3rd and-or 4th fingers)
– be careful – do NOT play on the skin on the top part of your fingers as it can catch on the keys

Song
– make sure to change the pedal cleanly when the chord changes
– finish writing down the notes for the next part:
> Eb-G-Eb-G-Ab-etc
> C-Eb-C-Eb-D-C-Eb-C-Eb-G-F-etc.

Jingle Bells
– bar 17 to 22
> work on playing Hands Together with your Left Hand using the simplified Boogie Woogie
> take your time and play slowly at first
– for the verses, try playing only the single notes written above the staff in your Left Hand
> if no note is listed, use the last note that was previously listed
– try the “Singing version”
> Right Hand plays triads
> Left Hand plays single notes
> Sing the melody
> make sure to move your hands to new notes when the chord changes
– example for chords
> For F – C-F-A
> for D – C-D-F# (sharp)

Make a list of some other Christmas songs you would like to play/sing

Russian Dance
– work on playing with a steady rhythm
– practice counting out loud with 1-2-3-4
– watch the note letter skip in bar 7

C-major triad
– excellent work!
– make sure to keep your 5th fingers curved as you play
– Broken – try to keep the same speed throughout

Continue to practice:
Sight Reading