JOHN THOMPSON’S MODERN COURSE FOR THE PIANO 1ST GRADE

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Targets

If you completed “JOHN THOMPSON’S MODERN COURSE FOR THE PIANO TEACHING LITTLE FINGERS TO PLAY” – No matter how old you are If this book is your beginning – about 9-10 years of age

Elements

-dotted quarter note, sixteenth note, eighth Rest -6/8 time -rit., legato, staccato, arpeggio, accent, fermata, tenuto -ppp・pp・p・mp・mf・f・ff・crescendo・diminuendo -C Major・G Major・F Major・D Major・A Major・E Major・B flat Major・E flat Major・A flat Major

General comments

-The main focus is on reading sheet music in “patterns”. The method of reading the notes one by one is not musical at all, and reading score becomes difficult. As a result, you may think playing the piano is uninteresting.Even though you are beginner, I think you should acquire the ability to read phrases and rhythms in a large frame by taking a brief look at the score.Thus I strongly agree with the policy of this textbook. -Learn the basic five-finger position patterns, and move to the second position … third position … and other keys. Due to position patterns learning, there are no worries that finger numbers are fixed (do = 1, Les = 2 …).I think that textbooks that move the position of the hand a lot from the beginner’s level are rare, but in this book, it is introduced to the students as to which finger, position, and keyboard to play every time a new hand position comes out.The system allows students to be aware of finger position patterns firmly. -Because it starts from C major to 4 sharps(♯) or 4 flats(♭), you should be able to touch songs that use black keyboards from an early stage. -Since the music explanation page is a difficult explanation, it is necessary for younger students to makes it easier. -The large number of songs is also an easy-to-use point.

title	level	YouTube
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Music Land	A2
Play the phrase consciously

Patterns	A2
Understanding the melody patterns

Runaway River	A2
Playing rhythmical by the lyrics accent of 3/4 time

The Traffic Cop	A2
Melody pattern & phrasing

Swans on the Lake	A2
Getting used to various sign

Half-Steps / Sharps, Flats, Natural / Whole Steps / Writing Lesson

The Scissors Grinder	A2
Introduction of accidentals Play expressively by dynamics signs

A Song of Penny Candy	A2
G Major song

The Man in the Moon	A2
Find the patterns of melody & accompaniment

The Party	A2
Repeated combination of short melody patterns Auftakt makes music dynamic

The Phrasing Attack / Two-note Phrase (“Drop, Roll”)

The Robin	A2
Exercising in Drop & Roll

The Merry Clown	A2
Right hand – Staccato．Left hand – Drop & Roll

The Cuckoo	A2
Famous German folk song

Scaling the Wall	A2
C Major scale practice (rising) on with both hands

The Chimes	A2
C Major scale practice (descending) with both hands

Stepping Stones	A2
Chromatic melody is cute

Chord Building / Intervals and Triads Chord Inversions / Triads in C and F Major

Mountain Climbing	A2
Melody by broken chord

A Chord Frolic	A2
Feel sounds of F Major chord

The Fairies’ Harp	B1
Introduction of arpeggio

The Wishing Star	A2
Introduction of eighth note

Lightly Row	A2
Practice of playing the eighth note phrase with Drop & Roll．In Japan, this melody is known as “Butterfly”

Little Spring Song	B1
Introduction of A Major．It is not so difficult to play because of no move of the finger position

Falling Leaves	A2
Exercising in staccato & legato Be aware of dynamics

Dutch Dance	A2
Be aware of dancing rhythm, especially first beat accent ．Let’s play lively

The Fairly Court	B1
Play separately between queen part and march part．Practice of double note accompaniment patterns in F Major

The Tiresome Woodpecker	B1
A song with staccato from the beginning to the end．To relax and play repeated staccato – Make your fingertips hard – Don’t make your wrist stiff

The Knight and the Lady	B1
Learning basic chord accompaniment in A Major

Air from Mozart	A2
Getting used to play dotted quarter notes

A Little Waltz	A2
Exercise in dotted quarter notes

The Owl’s Question	A2
B♭ Major Right hand – Be aware of long breathtaking phrase．Left hand – Play base sounds carefully so as not to disturb the melody

Cheer for the Blue	A2
Introduction of 6/8 time ．Firstly you should count 6 beats accurately．After getting used to, feel and play as 2 beats

The Cuckoo Clock	A2
Practice of Drop & Roll

The Singing Mouse	A2
Exercising 6/8 time

The Birthday Cake	A2
Introduction of D.S. & Fine．Let’s express minor changes in similar rhythms and melodies

The Popcorn Man	A2
Introduction of D.C. Play using the two positions by modulation

The Merry-Go-Round	A2
As with the previous song, play using the two positions

A Spanish Fiesta	A2
Exercise in syncopation．You should do practice of the rhythm before playing．If you don’t clearly play the rhythm and articulation, it will be a little sloppy song

The Fox Hunt	A2
This hunt means as “entertainment ” or “sports” by chasing a fox with a horse

To Celia	A2
The original song is the English song “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes” based on Ben Jonson’s poem “Song.to Celia”

The Frog Chorus	A2
Expressing “young frog” and “old frog” with the pitch of the sound

The Sleigh	A2
Practice for playing double note repeatedly with staccato．Fingertip & palm – Keep hard．Wrist – Keep soft

Little Bo-Peep	A2
E♭ Major Before you start playing, check the position of your hand according to the location of the black key you use

Evening Bells	B1
Playing repeated double notes by using both arms．Firstly find the just timing able to play exactly at the same time．After sounds, let’s relax the wrist to the arm

Peasant Dance	A1
E Major Adjusting hand positions according to the location of the black key．playing left hand like as “Evening Bells”

Long, Long Ago	B1
Right hand – Be careful of changing fingers with the same sound on your right hand. – It is also good to take it out and practice Left hand – Firstly recognize as a chord – Even if it is broken chord, let’s get used to figure out the constituent notes for each units – There are only 2 patterns of chord

Silent Night	B1
There are 3 positions on the right hand, so check before you start playing．If the hand position does not move smoothly, practice stopping at the first note of the new hand position．At that time, you can slow down the tempo, so be sure to play the first note according to the beat．Don’t leave a strange gap because of the move

A Keyboard Recreation	B1
Play the scale separately with both hands without fingering．Good exercise in moving hand positions

The Streamliner	A2
Changing of note values from half notes to eighth notes can express the situation that the streamliner speeds up after departure ．Don’t hurry, and playing at the tempo will be effective

To a Skyscraper	B1
A♭ Major Since the keyboard is widely used, let’s practice weight transfer to the buttocks (pelvis)．Don’t stretch your arms or shift your sitting position．As your hands move, put your weight in the same direction throughout your body．The widely used keyboard seems to represent a tall and tall “skyscraper”. From the pp to the mf in the middle part, the skyscraper that was hazy in the clouds seems to have gradually become clearer

Dublin Town	A2
It’s a simple song, but by changing the key in the middle part, the light and darkness is clear and has a good effect．Let’s make the left hand sound well.

Joan Peel	B1
Introduction of sixteenth note ．It seems the level suddenly go up, however, maybe the introduction to the next volume ．Since hand positions are frequently changed, let’s read the score while organizing by group of hand positions．

Technical Drills
Since the techniques used in the songs recorded in this book are listed, It’s better to practice in parallel when learning the song, rather than playing it all at once. [Reference: Which song do you practice with? ] (1)The Streamliner　(2)Patterns　(3)Runaway River　(4)The Traffic Cop (5)The Robin・The Merry Clown　(6)The Cuckoo　(7)Scaling the Wall (8)Swans on the Lake　(9)The Chimes　(10)Mountain Climbing・A Chord Frolic　(11)The Fairies’ Harp (12)The Birthday Cake (13)A Spanish Fiesta　(14)Evening Bells (15)The Sleigh　(16)Dublin Town