German - English - French.

In the compilation of this collection of studies, the author was moved principally by the desire to produce a work which would introduce the student gradually to all the problems of the piano technique, give him confidence and technical facilities, develop his pianistic gifts, and thus provide him with the technical and musical background to enable him to master the purely musical material without too great an effort. Studies are also useful in developing a musical sense, if played with taste and charm and not practiced in a dull and mechanical manner. The more gradually the technical difficulties are introduced, the more will be gained from these studies from the purely musical side. The majority of the studies in the first volume have been chosen purposely in the triad form, along with those in diatonic scales. Proceeding from the triad, the student is afforded to the opportunity of combining these exercises with his other musical studies. Ear training is given practical application by singing the triad to the syllables la or do mi sol (or bi gu la), and then playing it in different positions. Short verses of folk or children's songs within a range of five tones can also be played in the same way so that the transposition of the first exercises into other keys will no longer offer any great difficulties for an ordinary musical ear. In this way, the student is gradually introduced to the chromatic signs, tonally and technically, which makes it possible to use other keys than C major much earlier than usual, as is suggested in the present work. Attention should also be paid to dynamics. first awaken a sense of the contrast between loud and soft tones by practical illustration, which the student should then imitate on the instrument. He himself must decide if his tone corresponds to his musical intentions, which accustoms him from the start to listen critically to his own playing. In the first exercises, the right hand part in the original has been divided between both hands for pedagogic reasons, without altering the melodic line of the original. A number of studies have been transposed into other keys.

This is the collection of classical piano repertoire I created for work with my own students, most of whom were not primarily interested in "classical" music.

In my experience, every elementary piano student should be given the opportunity to successfully play:
Spinning Song (even if you leave out the middle section at first)
Minuet in G (page one)
Fur Elise (page one)

Eventually, they should experience (if not master--that's ultimately up to them) each piece in this collection.

All hand positions and finger numbers are presented so that students can spend their time preparing successfully--not "figuring out" with endless frustration and incorrect solutions.

"Minuet in G" from the Bach notebook is a great example. Let's consider just the first page. Many (most) elementary students would love to play this piece. The RH by itself is easy. The LH is also "not difficult", but it's not self-evident, either. The notes are easy enough, and the fingering choices seem inconsequential. You could play it with several different fingering solutions.

Hands Together: Humans can pay attention to only one thing at a time: in this case, the RH or the LH. Whichever hand is receiving the attention, the other must be on "automatic pilot". You can switch focus rapidly to give the appearance that you are paying attention to two things equally, but that is not what is happening.

So... both hands need to be rehearsed (better word than "practiced") until the correct execution is the "default" behavior.

If that (sufficient correct repetetition) has not happened, then consistent successful performance with both hands is never achieved. Students complain that they wish they could be more "consistent". They don't have a chance, sadly.

"Practice Makes... "

If you said "Perfect" then you've fallen into a sinister trap.

"Practice makes Permanent." When a student actually does what has been assigned, in many cases that is the beginning of the end of their piano career.

Here's the process in general:
Students "write in their own fingering" and then, and then practice (repeat) their incorrect solutions. They are unable to perform the desired piece consistently and don't know why. How long can a student tolerate this ineffective approach?

That's something for us professionals to consider.


Perfect for introducing classical repertoire (similar to Suzuki, Bastien Piano Literature, etc). The advantage here is that all fingering is included so that students play more!

Contents

Minuet in G from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
Minuet in G from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
Minuet in G minor from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
Musette in D from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
Minuet in F Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ecossaise in G Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonatina in G Ludwig van Beethoven
I Allegretto
II Romanze
Sonatina (In the Antique Style) Op. 157, No. 4 Fritz Spindler
I Allegro
The Wild Horseman, Op. 68, No. 8 Robert Schumann
Fur Elise (Famous Page 1) Ludwig van Beethoven
Spinning Song, Op. 14, No. 4 Albert Elmenreich
Arabesque, Op. 100, No. 2 Friedrich Burgm�ller
Ballade, Op. 100, No. 15 Friedrich Burgm�ller
Solfeggietto Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Toccatina, Op. 27, No. 12 Dmitri Kabalevsky
Fur Elise (Complete) Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonatina, Op. 55, No. 1 Friedrich Kuhlau
I Allegro
Sonatina, Op. 36, No. 3 Muzio Clementi
I Spiritoso
La V�locit�, Op. 109, No. 10 Friedrich Burgm�ller


These are the documents that I have used to introduce classical music to my piano students. No note is presented without its corresponding proper fundamental technique (fingering). In other words, there is no such thing as a note separate from its hand position and fingering.

The hand position notation is used to better communicate what exactly is being demanded of the student. Students? repertoire is no longer limited by their music staff reading ability. Nor do they suffer from their own painful inability to solve technical issues. This approach restores ?playing music on the piano? to primacy and supports ?helping a student play music on the piano? as the central activity of the piano lesson.

Weak students are able to play real (not simplified) music and not feel penalized. Strong students complete their preparation even more efficiently. In all cases, spending less time on fingering means more time for higher levels of musicianship: coordination, pedaling, physical technique, control, tone, dynamics, tempo, rhythm, articulation, phrasing, expression, emotion, drama, compositional analysis, and historical context.

Good luck!
Scott Camp
scottcampislandpiano@gmail.com

Here?s how to play ?Take Me Home, Country Roads? by John Denver on piano!

With this easy piano sheet music, you can play ?Country Roads? on piano.

I created a more challenging arrangement as well - you can find it here: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/21148082

This here is an easy piano arrangement in the song?s original key of A major. It comes with a seperate system for the singer, the full lyrics and chords.

However, the whole melody is included in the piano part as well, so it sounds great when played without any singing, too!

Of course, you can use these piano sheets to accompany someone as well, or sing along yourself!

In any case, it?s a ?Take Me Home, Country Roads? piano version which is not too hard to play, and sounds fantastic.

"Take Me Home, Country Roads" (also known as simply "Country Roads") first appeared on John Denver?s 1971 album "Poems, Prayers and Promises" and became one of his signature songs, as well as one of the most famous country songs of all time!

Time to play some country music on piano!

Here are the full lyrics to "Country Roads":

"Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze
Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads
All my memories gather round her
Miner's lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye
Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads
I hear her voice, in the morning hour she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
And driving down the road I get a feeling
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday
Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads
Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads
Take me home, down country roads
Take me home, down country roads"

With this sheet music, you can play "The Scientist" by Coldplay on piano!

It's an accurate, carefully created piano arrangement of the full song.

The entire melody is included in the piano part, so it makes for a perfect instrumental / piano solo cover.

Of course, you can also use this piano arrangement to accompany a singer, or sing along yourself - this sheet music includes a system for the singer, as well as the song's full lyrics!

Coldplay wrote "The Scientist" for their 2002 album "A Rush of Blood to the Head" (their second studio album). The song was released in November of that year as the album's second single.

At its core, "The Scientist" is a piano ballad, and the beautiful piano pattern from the song's intro is present throughout the entire piece.

It became one of the band's most successful hits - the music video (which won 3 MTV Music Video Awards) has been watched over 900 million times on YouTube, and the song has been streamed over a billion times on Spotify alone.

The album was a huge success as well: "A Rush of Blood to the Head" topped the UK Albums Chart and became one of the most-sold albums of the 21st century in the UK.
Coldplay won three Grammy Awards for the album ("Best Alternative Album", "Best Rock Performance", and "Record of the Year").
It was also included on Rolling Stone's list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

"The Scientist" is a wonderful song to play on the piano!