Lesson 4

Reminder: Parents attend next week.

Be sure to put your yellow stickers on Bass Clef Notes B, D, G for the left hand.

Celebrate Connection

• Have your parent sing while you play, then trade places. Now both sing together!
• Play your chords with a small washcloth or towel over your hands or with your eyes closed. Use your ears to tell you if you are playing the right notes. Don't forget correct fingerings!​

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Homework pp. 10–11: Students write the finger numbers on the keys for C position and Middle C position. We went over this several times in class but students can certainly use the Reference Section p. 55 to check out the answers.

C Position & Middle C Position
How can you tell the difference between these two hand positions?
1. C Position: RH Thumb (Finger 1) is on Middle C and LH Pinky (Finger 5) is on Bass C.
2. Middle C Position: both Thumbs (Fingers 1) share Middle C. We call it butterfly position!

A fun review is to chant each position, simply moving the LEFT HAND back and forth. Practice in the air, at the kitchen table, in the car running errands, and of course on the piano!

C Major Scale
We learned how to play UP the C Major Scale (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do) with our LEFT HAND. We don’t have enough fingers to play this scale, so we learned how to POP our bubble hands and then reset them to complete the scale.

I am Robin Hood
Sing the melody together while parents drum along on laps, the edge of the piano, or on a pot. Switch places so parents can play and kiddos can drum! Students should enjoy ‘drumming’ the slow slugs on the piano with the interval of a 5th using Left Hand fingers 5 and 1 when practicing this song.

YELLOW Chord
This bottom heavy chord is built with a 3rd on the bottom and a 4th on the top using LH fingers 5-3-1. Place Left Hand in C Position. SLIDE Finger 5 (pinky) and Finger 3 (middle finger) down one baby step while Finger 1 (thumb) stays put.

We call our new puppet show “The Pirate Ship” but the real title is Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms. The Hungarian Dances are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes. They are among Brahms' most popular works, and were certainly the most profitable for him. Each dance has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles. Brahms originally wrote the version for piano four-hands and later arranged the first 10 dances for solo piano. The most famous is Hungarian Dance No. 5.